Many sides to ballpark debate

It wasn’t likely the best of nights for media outlets to descend on Cashman Field to discuss a proposal to build a new ballpark in Summerlin.

“(Expletive) yeah they should,” were the first words out of Las Vegas 51s fan Scott Marshall.

Yikes. Why such a definitive response?

While the bases in the 30-year-old Cashman Field could have been jammed in the first inning, Marshall — like hundreds of fans headed to the home opener — was in a jam of his own, inching along U.S. Highway 95 and then Las Vegas Boulevard for more than an hour on Friday.

Marshall was fortunate; he had his Opening Night tickets in hand. A horde of other fans waited in a lengthy line where a friendly debate broke out about whether a new stadium on the west side of town was warranted.

As he sipped on his Coke — no, wait, he shyly admitted, whiskey and Coke — Geoff Jones, who lives in Summerlin, was engaged in a lively discussion with his buddies, including Christopher Kennedy, a Henderson resident, about the proposal.

Jones is pro-Summerlin, of course, because he lives there.

“A new stadium brings new events, outdoor concerts that would attract people. There isn’t anywhere else to have those types of events right now,” Jones said, adding that the present location isn’t ideal and Las Vegas doesn’t offer more quaint outdoor venues. “Besides, I think people have a stigma about this part of town.”

Kennedy offers his own argument. Why move a stadium during an unprecedented resurgence of downtown Las Vegas, not to mention that the 51s outfit is now the New York Mets Triple-A affiliate. Tourists from New York would attend games close to downtown and the Strip.

But Summerlin? Fuhgeddaboudit.

“I believe if they were to move it to a place like Summerlin ... culturally it’s everyone’s sport and they would be moving it away from 90 percent of the community,” Kennedy said. “I hate to use the phrase ‘working man,’ but that’s what baseball is, a working man’s sport.”

Robbie Wingfield backed his buddy, Kennedy.

“It sucks. I was born and raised here and have been coming here since I was a kid,” Wingfield said, adding that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, owners of Cashman, owes it to downtown to stay put.

“With all the stuff going on downtown — they’ve been here through the dark times before it was cool and trendy to come downtown, now they’re going to move?”

A fourth friend is standing by as these guys slowly move closer to the ticket counter. Will Adam Hallam support his Summerlin-residing buddy Jones? Nope.

Hallam has nostalgic memories of Cashman Field. His wife went into labor while watching childhood friend Scott Patterson pitch for the Tacoma Rainiers. It wasn’t an easy choice for these guys: Do they actually leave Patterson and head for the hospital?

All was well with Hallam’s son, but that memory isn’t the only reason he opposes the move. Hallam lives in Boulder City.

“I wouldn’t drive all the way over there. That’s ridiculous,” Hallam said. “There’s so much culture and history down here.”

Culture? Las Vegas? Same sentence?

Hallam can make that argument. There is the Neon Museum, the old Mormon Fort, the Mob Museum, Smith Center. Las Vegas is certainly changing and so why now relocate the stadium to Summerlin? Hallam’s friend Kennedy couldn’t help but take one last shot at the northwest community.

“To move it to a part of town where people complain about planes flying overhead?” he said.

There have to be a few more fans who will line up with Jones and Marshall’s opinion that a new ballpark should be built in Summerlin.

Liz Hague is perfectly happy with the current location, and why not? Her season tickets put Hague and her friends in the third row just above the 51s dugout.

Ultimately, she believes Summerlin would be a better option. Fans can take Interstate 215, Summerlin Parkway, Charleston Boulevard or Sahara Avenue to get to Summerlin, so ingress and egress options are far more plentiful than they are leading to Cashman.

There would likely be more restaurants near the new stadium. It’s a hassle to find parking downtown, eat dinner, walk back to the car, drive to Cashman and look for parking again.

“I think it could be a destination like the Gaslamp district,” she said, referring to San Diego’s restaurant and pub district, which is within walking distance to Petco Park. “There are great restaurants (in Summerlin) and it’s a safer community.”

What if the ballpark remains at Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue?

“We have to have a better way to get from downtown to here,” she said.

Las Vegas north of U.S. 95 has had plenty taken away from it over the decades and at least one resident of North Las Vegas said this would simply be another hit.

“Why do we have to move everything outside of this area?” asked Earl Greer, a resident of North Las Vegas. “Why? Why? Would you move the T&M? No. Why should they (Summerlin residents) get all the benefits?”

Frank Gesvaldo is concerned about prices. He won’t lie, he’s a big fan of Dollar Beer Night and cheap ticket prices. Gesvaldo attends between 15 and 20 games a season, he said, and the reason is that tickets go for $11.

“Thursday is the best night here because it’s $1 beer night,” Gesvaldo said. “And more people are coming because the Mets own it. Tickets could go from $11 to $20, which could be too much for an entire family.”

Gesvaldo acknowledged that a new stadium would create new jobs for construction workers stricken by the economy. He also admitted Friday was particularly busy because it was Opening Night and the 51s organization shot off fireworks after the game.

“How many times will there be like this throughout the year?” he asked.

That is the question: If they build it in Summerlin, will they come?