While they are still engaged in a long process, the Las Vegas 51s (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) are expressing optimism that they can secure a new ballpark.
Replacing the 34-year-old Cashman Field has been a priority for the 51s. The club’s efforts have been focused on Summerlin, where a new ballpark would be constructed next to the training facility for the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. To this point, however, the 51s have not been able to finalize an agreement.
Despite the lack of a public reveal, the 51st believe that they are making progress in the effort. Several questions about the project–including its funding model–will need to be answered over time, but the 51s are still working through the complexities of the potential project in hopes of having a plan in place down the road. More from the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
“We hope to have something done by the end of the season,” 51s president Don Logan said last week. “We were shooting for the All-Star Break … (but) people are on vacation, people were traveling for business. There’s just so many things going on that everybody needs to weigh in on. … It’s tough.”
Tom Warden, vice president of community and government relations for team owner The Howard Hughes Corp., pointed to the details involved in such a project, which has been discussed for almost five years.
“We continue to work on the details of the new stadium, such as infrastructure, design and timing, but we are not yet at the point of a significant announcement,” Warden said in an email last week.
Cashman Field originally opened in 1983. Starting next year, the ballpark will also be the home of an expansion soccer club in the USL. The addition of the soccer club and the 51s’ ongoing ballpark search are part of a busy sports scene in Las Vegas, as the Golden Knights are gearing up for their debut this fall and the Oakland Raiders are planning to relocate to the city in 2020.
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