|
It's been a wild week of gambling news, with rumors still flying about a Las Vegas MLB team. Add to that the speculation surrounding a new arena that could host a Las Vegas NBA team and there's a lot to talk about. Oh, and Las Vegas flooding was shutting down the city.
Ten years ago, no one would have ever considered a Las Vegas NBA team. But the city now has both NFL and NHL teams, and pro baseball seems to be on the horizon. But unlike these other sports, there are currently no NBA teams looking for a new home. And while doesn’t mean that Vegas is out of luck, it does mean that the best chance to land a team may be via expansion rather than relocation.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was recently in town for the Summer League games and said that there was currently no talk of expansion. However, he did state that while Las Vegas is a smaller market in terms of TV households, that may not be an issue when it comes to the future of league expansion. So here we are, with two professional teams in Nevada, with probably a couple more on the way. And while they may get a baseball team sooner rather than later, they may have to wait for their Las Vegas NBA dreams.
What would you wager on the odds of a Major League Las Vegas baseball team? Well, if you’re purely playing the odds, things are looking better and better for Sin City all the time. Nevada has already managed to lure one team away from Oakland: The NFL’s Raiders. And it’s important to note that the Raider’s move occurred in a similar situation to what the Oakland Athletics are facing now.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has been putting the squeeze on the city of Oakland to commit one way or another on the matter. He recently went so far as to state that the city needs to decide if they really want the Athletics to stay or not. And the primary way Oakland would demonstrate a commitment to their baseball team is to build them a new stadium. So far, that sort of deal has not materialized. He recently visited the Coliseum where the Athletics play, stating that it is “…not a major-league-quality facility at this point.” He went on to comment that if the city does not move quickly, then relocating the team would be the best option.
|