My point is this... do you really think a multi-million dollar athlete needs to physically be in Las Vegas to be able to bet? That's ridiculous. A-Rod's servants probably have servants who can afford to go to a bookie in Vegas anytime. If someone's going to do it, they're going to find a way to do it no matter what.
there's always San Juan as a possibility. No one wants to travel there, and no one would probably want to play there, which are both big problems, as was Montreal. But they do sell well when the Marlins go there.
i agree with you completely. ballplayers gambling is only part of the equation. if they're in vegas 24/7 in the season, suddenly these guys are a lot more accessible to the type of guys you don't want hanging around a ballpark. and not just ballplayers either, coaching staff, front office types, etc, etc. it's like this: if you move to leville, you really can't bitch if a hurricane floods your home. if you put a team in vegas, you really can't bitch if games start looking "fixed"
Agree to disagree. I definitely get what you're saying, but I think it's not fair to the 99.99% of people in Vegas who have nothing to do with that. It's like moving the Saints, because Drew Brees is too close to the murderers in the projects. Can't let the terrorists win. :lol:
Regarding potential of MLB in New Orleans, this is my honest opinion. I agree with the OP, New Orleans couldn't possibly do any worse, regarding Tampa Bay attendance for a team right in the thick of a pennant race. You see stories like this all the time late in the season with teams long since out of it (ie, a Pirates game a few years back that drew less than 700 fans, a Marlins game that drew 450 fans, actual butts-in-seats, no joke), but that kind of attendance for a team still fighting is bad. I think if MLB had it to do over again, they would not have expanded to Tampa Bay. I don't know if New Orleans would be significantly different, ie, baseball crazy. Yes, baseball has a following down here, particularly college baseball. I think an MLB team could tap into that. I don't think the attendance would be any worse than any other small market baseball town. You wouldn't have any problem putting fans in the stands for a weekend series with the Cubs, Cardinals, Yankees or Red Sox. But what about a Wednesday night game against the Twins while school is still going on? Or what if you have a team 20 games under .500 in late August playing another team of similar fortunes? You're going to see three-digit crowds. Don't get me wrong, I think MLB in NOLA would succeed well enough, but you have to be prepared to look past that, and win on the field and be creative in marketing and selling tickets. Maximize your big games to cover the games you know won't sell well. Someone brought up the Hornets attendance issues. They've moved out of crisis mode, and have a good base, but it's the same issue as anywhere else. Attendance is just fine on the weekends. Tuesday nights, not so much. Bottom line, the Hornets win, the house is packed, like in the playoff runs of 2008 and 2009. When LeBron and Kobe come to town, the house is packed (moreso on a Saturday night). The franchise is financially stable, and will be more so when the sale to Chouest finally goes through. Biggest obstacle to baseball coming to NOLA now (besides lack of corporate citizenship) is now facilities. The Superdome, which even in years past would have been only a medium-term home, is now no longer an option, not with the new concourse renovations that will essentially make it a football-only venue. Zephyr Field location is inadequate for many reasons. You need a new stadium. I'm sure Benson will love getting bumped back yet again for a new team, especially after just winning a Super Bowl (don't think for a minute the old man has changed all that much). I don't think MLB or NHL will come to NOLA anytime soon, for a variety of reasons, but whether or not the city would support them well enough attendance-wise is NOT the biggest reason why.
FYI, watching SportsCenter highlights of bench-clearing melee' at Nats-Marlins game. Think at the height of that dogpile, there were more people on the field than in the stands. I fail to see how a shiny new baseball Orange Bowl is gonna magically cure the Marlins attendance issues. Perhaps baseball just isn't the thing in South Florida.
What about managers, assistant coaches, trainers, everyone involved in baseball operations has an opportunity to put the fix in, not just players.
