Phoenix offers Vegas model for big time

Every project begins with a vision. That vision usually leads to a blueprint that ultimately culminates with a finished product.

When Mayor Oscar Goodman talks about his vision for major league sports in Las Vegas, he sees a downtown arena housing an NBA and NHL team with an adjoining stadium serving a Major League Baseball team and, he hopes, an NFL franchise.

It is a critical part of his master plan to redevelop downtown and breathe economic life into the area.

With NBA owners prepared to meet Friday in New York, the topic of Las Vegas as a future city for the league is on the agenda. Several hurdles need to be overcome, two major ones being the stance regarding legalized gambling on the league in Nevada and the prospects for a facility in Las Vegas.

Several owners have said they support the idea of a Las Vegas franchise at some point. They aren't as concerned about the gambling issue as they are about an arena. Most of the owners spent time at the Thomas & Mack Center during the NBA's All-Star Weekend in February and said they don't see the building as a suitable long-term home. No new arena, no team, they say.

With 30 franchises to pick from, Goodman has no shortage of NBA cities to emulate in his quest to bring major league sports to Las Vegas. Given its proximity and success in luring sports to its city, Phoenix might offer the best blueprint.

The city is one of 12 in North America to have franchises in the four major league sports -- baseball, football, basketball and hockey. It also houses each of its franchises in individual state-of-the-art facilities built with various funding plans, from excise and sales taxes to bonds to private money.

Goodman wants to revitalize downtown. So did Phoenix. U.S. Airways Center, home to the NBA's Suns, and Chase Field, home to baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks, sit side by side in downtown Phoenix. They have helped give that area a much-needed economic boost. How much, nobody knows because the city hasn't done an economic impact study. But according to the Phoenix Downtown Partnership, the two venues attract approximately 5 million people to the downtown area annually.

On Wednesday, the Suns played the Seattle SuperSonics and drew 18,422, and the Diamondbacks, playing at the same time next door, had 19,534 show up for their game with the Cincinnati Reds. That's a lot of people descending on downtown Phoenix, the type of activity Goodman wants to see for downtown Las Vegas.

Yet Goodman said he doesn't necessarily see Phoenix as the perfect model for Las Vegas.

"I'm not sure," he said. "Las Vegas is unique. We have a unique downtown unlike Phoenix with our freeways that reach downtown and the Fremont Street Experience. I can't say we're patterning ourselves after Phoenix. But we're hoping the success we have is similar to the success Phoenix has had with its downtown."

Those who have helped bring major league sports to Phoenix say Goodman would be wise to study the city's growth with its teams. It started with the NBA in 1968 when the Suns were an expansion team. Twenty years later, the NFL came to town when the Cardinals relocated from St. Louis. In 1996, the NHL's Winnipeg Jets moved and became the Coyotes. Baseball arrived in 1998 with the expansion Diamondbacks.

"There's a lot of similarities," said Jerry Colangelo, who helped bring the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball to Phoenix and is the Suns' chairman and CEO. "The thing is, Vegas and Phoenix are two of the fastest growth areas in the nation. When I look at Las Vegas, Las Vegas has come a long way in a similar period of time. When we brought the Suns to Phoenix, there were 700,000 people. Now, there's 4 million.

"What people outside of Las Vegas don't understand is what exists beyond the Strip. There's 2 million people and there's unlimited wealth and potential."

Rich Dozer, who oversaw the construction of U.S. Airways Center and Chase Field and is the former president of the Diamondbacks, said Phoenix is a good model for Las Vegas in some respects. But he said Goodman would be wise to take the best of what several cities have done to bring major league sports to their communities and apply that to Las Vegas.

"There is no one best model," Dozer said. "What Vegas should do is take the best of many cities' models and incorporate it into their own demographics."

Still, Dozer said Phoenix does offer some similarities to Las Vegas.

"There are aspects between the two cities that are similar," Dozer said. "You have the location and the weather and the transient nature of the population is similar. Here in Phoenix, a lot of people have come from somewhere else and if you have a Las Vegas basketball team, you're going to have people at first root for the visiting team until you can cultivate your own fans. That was the case early on with the Suns."

Colangelo and Dozer said facilities will be key to Las Vegas luring major league sports, particularly the NBA.

"You need the mechanism that can build a facility," Dozer said. "You can do it on the come. But there are risks involved. You don't get the owners' invitation and that's important. If you have the land and the team in place, it's much easier."

Goodman applauds what Phoenix has done in making itself a major league sports city. But he has his eye on another city within driving distance of Las Vegas to use as a role model.

"I'm thinking more about San Diego," he said, "what happened with their ballpark (Petco Park) and the way it revitalized the downtown area. It was an area that was filled with derelicts. Unfortunately, a lot of homeless people were there. But the ballpark brought with it a lot of redevelopment. You go down to the (Gaslamp) district and it's vibrant. There's a lot of energy there."

On the surface, it appears the NBA is in the lead to be the first league to test the waters in Las Vegas. The fact that the owners are going to spend time Friday talking about the city's viability is indicative of the legitimate interest that exists. The NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins had a brief visit with Goodman in early March before striking a deal to keep the team in Pittsburgh, and no other NHL team has publicly admitted it has talked to the mayor.

Baseball, of course, flirted with Las Vegas when the Montreal Expos were seeking to relocate from Canada. The Expos ultimately landed in Washington, D.C. The Florida Marlins also have explored the possibility of a move to Southern Nevada while trying to convince officials in South Florida to partner with them on a new ballpark.

Dozer said whichever team gets to Las Vegas first will have a huge leg up on others that follow.

"I think the first team in will have control for a long time," he said. "Of all the sports, and I'm not including the NFL in this because of the relationship with the town over the gambling, I think (Las Vegas) is more of an NBA market than baseball or the NHL."

Colangelo agreed.

"You ultimately get down to basketball and hockey, and to me, it's basketball all the way," he said. "Las Vegas has a history with basketball because of UNLV's success and the city has shown an ability to support the game. Then you look at the way the city supported USA Basketball last summer, you look at the growth of the (NBA) summer league, the way the city embraced the All-Star Weekend, the interest in the NBA is there. Plus you have the right market size and the proximity to other NBA cities (Phoenix, Los Angeles and Utah).

"Hockey has a cult following and I think there's a hard-core group of hockey fans in Vegas. I'm not sure it would support the NHL the way it would the NBA."

Colangelo said he believes Goodman can get it done, provided he and NBA commissioner David Stern come to an agreement on the gambling issue and the mayor delivers a new facility.

"I don't know the mayor well, but I like his enthusiasm," Colangelo said. "I think David sees the same things I do. All the things are there for Las Vegas to be a successful franchise, provided they clear the obstacles."

A MAJOR LEAGUE CITY

Phoenix is one of just 12 cities in North America to have a franchise in each of the four major sports professional leagues. In addition to having teams in the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball and the NHL, Phoenix also is home to a WNBA Team (Phoenix Mercury), an Arena Football team (Arizona Rattlers), an indoor lacrosse team (Arizona Sting), NASCAR, and a PGA Tour and LPGA Tour event.

PHOENIX SUNS

• Founded: 1968 as NBA expansion team

• Arena: U.S. Airways Center (Cap. 19,023)

• Cost to build: $90 million

• How funded: city bonds, city loan, private debt

• Championships won: 0

ARIZONA CARDINALS

• Founded: 1920 in Chicago. Relocated to Phoenix from St. Louis in 1988

• Stadium: U. of Phoenix Stadium (Cap. 73,000)

• Cost to build: $455 million

• How funded: Bonds, private money

• Championships won: 1 (1947)