12
2012
Cashman Field Is Less Than Optimal If The Mets Hook Up With Las Vegas
An article by Craig Lerner
The sign that greets all visitors reads Cashman Stadium, but it’s official and better known name is Cashman Field.
I was compelled to do a little research this morning on the home of the Las Vegas 51′s, Cashman Field. I was motivated by a couple of comments that were left on my post yesterday in which I reported that the Mets could be hitching the Triple-A team with Las Vegas after the Oklahoma City Redhawks renewed their PDC with the Houston Astros.
Scott wrote:
As a 16 year resident of Las Vegas, I can’t be more happy, or saddened by the news. Vegas has one of the most antiquated stadiums and facilities in the PCL. I would love to be able to see the Mets, but feel sorry for the players.
Rob wrote:
I live in Vegas and while it would be absolutely incredible to have MY team’s AAA affiliate here, in a way I hope not.
Vegas never has been and never will be a baseball town
Mike Lloyd wrote:
Really, Sin City? That facility makes the movie Major League with the boat propeller in the metal tub look like a health spa. I was there and saw it first hand in 2006… The Wilpon’s and the “Alderson 5″ want to stick their upcoming talent in an inferior facility two time zones away… Really? Fred c’mon… When is it gonna end?
I took a look to see what I could find as far as reviews and discovered this…
Baseball Pilgrimages reviewed Cashman Field and lists the following among their facts and figures:
- The stadium is a part of the Cashman Center complex. The entire complex was built for $26 million and includes two exhibit halls, 16 meeting rooms and a 1,940-seat theatre.
- Named for the Cashman family, the stadium and convention center were built on 50-acres of land donated by family patriarch James “Big Jim” Cashman. The land also housed the city’s previous minor league stadium, which was established in 1948 and also known as Cashman Field.
- Owned and operated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
- Hosted its first game on April 1, 1983, when 13,878 fans turned out for an exhibition between the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners. That game ended in a 1-1 tie after 10 innings.
- Annually plays host to the “Big League Weekend” during spring training, when a pair of Major League teams visit from Arizona for a two-game series that regularly sells out.
- The stadium’s attendance record was set on April 3, 1993, when 15,025 fans turned out for a Big League Weekend game between the Chicago Cubs and White Sox.
- Hosted the Triple-A All-Star Game in 1990, when a crowd of 10,323 watched a team of National League prospects defeat a team of American League prospects 8-5.
- Home to the Triple-A World Series from 1998-2000.
- Became the first minor league park to host a Major League Baseball season opening series when the Oakland A’s played their first six games here in 1996 while renovations were being completed at the Oakland Coliseum. The games drew a total of 54,986 fans, a per game average of 9,164.
- Two mountain ranges are visible beyond the outfield. Extending from left to right, they are the Sheep Mountain Range and Sunrise Mountain.
- The name 51s was inspired by the informal name of the Nevada military base that supposedly is where the government studies alien aircraft. The top secret base, often called Area 51, is 83 miles north of Las Vegas, although it doesn’t appear on US government maps.
Cashman Field will not grab your eyeballs and make your jaw drop. It is old, up front with its intent, but more than adequate for its purpose. Located just a few minutes from both Freemont Street and the new Strip, the stadium is nestled on the back side of the Cashman Center, which is a convention center.
The 51s have been playing at Cashman Field since 1983. Originally the team was called the Stars while they were the AAA affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1983-2000). They became the 51s when the Dodgers became their Big League partners. The 2009 season marked another change as new owners took over and a new affiliation, this time with the Toronto Blue Jays, began. There was a plan to change the team name once again but that seems to have been put on hold. So, for now, the 51s remain at Cashman Field and baseball is alive, if not well, in Sin City.
Day games are played under the most extreme conditions at Cashman Field under the hot sun and dry air. Even during night games, the conditions are less than optimal and players often need to keep themselves very hydrated to avoid injuries.
I’m back to my fall schedule at work and will be providing more minor league coverage at least for the next three months. I hope you enjoy it.
About the Author: Craig Lerner
I'm a data analyst and researcher for a leading news agency who loves life and is hooked on the Mets. I love following the Amateur Draft and have a particular fondness for the Mets Minor Leagues who I follow each day. Give me a cold beer, a summer day, and a Mets game, and I'm good to go.
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Yes I lived there for 2 Years and can attest to that stadium being a mess but I would not count on that being the stadium they will stay in jut yet.
LVCA hs been trying to get a Pro Sports team into Vegas for awhile now. They have the new stadium property already (Accross the street from the M right next to the 15) and even rebuilt the 15 St Rose Exit Ramps to accomodate all the extra traffic that it would generate.
LVCA has promised to pay for the construction and buy a majority of the tickets even, Now that may not apply to a Minor League team (it’s meant to lure a pro team) but I can see this being something that might push them to build that stadium and hoping to draw another pro (football) team in for the Winter.
In case anyone i interested theLVCA is pretty much a consortium of all the Hotel Owners and the Cityto generate and promote Vegas.
I am privy to this as m company was in discussion to handle the TV production side of any stadium as we were already negotiating with the LVCA on other deals (Like a TV network)
So don’t just assume that if we do get into adeal with them that we will remain at that stadium. Maybe for the first few years as they build the place they want, but they could soon be playing in the new stadium once they build it!
What fans SHOULD be worried about is if the Wilpons are forced to sell this team because no one goes due to some Boycott or protest, the New Owners could be that PRO SPORTS team tha moves to Vegas to play in that shiny new stadium!
And then they would have thier AAA Affiliate a mere $10 Can ride away from home!
Man, the Wilpons are killing us at every turn. This sounds like an awful situation!!!
Of course it is. They don’t care anyway, as long as they can continue to own the team.
So this is where Zack Wheeler will call home next season? Pretty sure this park is one of the worst pitching parks in the minors and that it’s a virtual launching pad. Mets pitchers are going to have their egos and confidence put to the test.
Yep this is the park that made Emaus look good!
Lmao
E-Miss will always be a classic! Alderson’s first move and a portent of things to come!
Lerner, where are all the other minor league writers, flying south for the winter?
Actually Alderson made moves before the Rule 5 draft
Exercised 2011 option on Jose Reyes
Hired Ricciardi
Hired DePodesta
Fired Terrasas
Hired Collins
Hired Chad Macdonald
Hired Dick Scott
Also worth noting – Nobody else slams GM’s when Rule 5 picks don’t work out. I’m not quite sure why you think it is a good idea to do so – it only further proves your lack of understanding of the process.
Emaus did well in New Hampshire in 2010, did well working his way up through the minors.
They didn’t draft him because they don’t understand that his 10HR in Las Vegas may be due to the park he played in. They drafted him because they had a hole at 2B thanks to Luis Castillo and friends and they had an opportunity to draft a kid that JP Ricciardi knew and hoped could be a decent big league hitter while they wait to figure out the long term solution at 2B.
They did exactly what you’re supposed to do with the Rule 5 draft. They took a kid who had enough minor experience to give him a test at the big leagues, and they needed to fill his position at a big league level.
That’s what happened. You’re knocking them for inheriting a hole at 2B and using the first opportunity given to fill it. Shame on them……..
Ah the Excuser Crew has arrived!
I don’t need to make excuses for a Rule 5 draft pick. The draft is what it is, everybody knows it. Only 1 bad thing can happen from the draft – you lose a player you should have held back.
And only 1 other outcome can happen worth talking about – the kid makes an impact on the big league level like Beato did in 2011.
That’s it. If a Rule 5 pick doesn’t make it he’s the rule, not the exception.
You didn’t have to but you did didn’t you?
He got sent back to his team but where is he now?
Did they learn from thier mistake?
E-Miss was given a starting job at 2nd Base ask Jessep how many rule 5 pickups are given starting gigs after being claimed!!!
Its ridiculous to even defend the E-mess move, it was horrible and failed miserably. Jessep must have reached a Sandy boiling point and is starting to meltdown.
The fact that a Rule 5 failed isn’t really the point here….
The fact that it was heralded as the new sliced bread and an example of all the great moves we could expect from now on from Sandy is what the problem here is….
Both Him and Beato were the banners of how winners are created according to some here and look now where both if them are?
We took Emaus back but is he anywhere near the guy he was said to be the day we took him Rule 5?
Hell he’s not even talked about as a trade chip these days!
Thats why jessup is making excuses and trying to downplay the failure of the Rule 5 pick…
Because he doesn’t understand the context in which we mention Emaus as a failure!
It’s just another “INCOMING” player deemed a GREAT Acquisition that was neither great or worth having despite all the propaganda we had been fed to the contrary!
who did he take the starting job from that earned it?
Justin Turner earned it during St but got demoted in favor of Emaus and Castillo. Castillo saw the writing on the wall and asked to be released!
Turner even made a snide comment about Emaus staying while he got sent down!
Justin Turned “earned” it in Spring Training?
18 games, 9 hits in 38 AB is “earning” it?
He had an option year to burn, Emaus didn’t.
If I told you 2 2B are in competition for a job: one of them hits .250, in 17 games and the other hits .237 in 18 games, you’re gonna try to tell me the guy who did worse “earned it.”?
Come on.
The whole reason Emaus started was NOBODY earned it and Castillo was on his way out so they had the chance to see what Emaus had while keeping Turner down thanks for option years.
Quit acting like Turner lit up Spring training
Metsie — “So don’t just assume that if we do get into adeal with them that we will remain at that stadium. Maybe for the first few years as they build the place they want.”
Sounds like you’re now OK with the time frame of Sandy Alderson. Welcome aboard!!! Sometimes seeing the light takes time!! LOL.
Wishfull thinking on your part…If I was in charge he would be fired by now!
I also fail to see how the team being sold and leaving NY somehow translates to me liking Sandy but I guess thats about all you guys who like Sandy have left at this point.
Metsie — With all due respect, I’ve never said I like Sandy more than Omar. That is a fact. I was referring to your time frame, somewhat whimsically. You don’t like multi-year time frames, so don’t jump the shark now! LOL
You don’t say it but you sure do infer that you lik Sndy as you always seem to fall to thier side of the argument…
I dont’t really care Des because in the next two years Sandy is getting canned and all those who supported him will have to find some new FENCE they can claim to sit on while the rest of us remind you of your previous fence sitting and how well that worked out for you!
LOL, he’s not going anywhere before his contract is up.
I’ll bet the ranch though he’s gone after that contract. He was never going to be the long time GM here.
You go right on believing that SRT!
The media has already stopped pulling punches with him….
By this time next year if the team is in the same place or David Wright is not extended Sandy will be public enemy #1 and be fired if for no other reason than to deflect blame away from the WIlpons!
Sorry….can’t even remotely agree with you. Especially if the Wilpons aren’t close to out of the woods with the Mets financial situation.
I still believe SA came here as part of the deal Wilpons cut with Selig. I’ve seen nothing to make me think that wasn’t so.
What did Selig have on them SRT to have to cut a deal?
The 50 Mil in loans they paid off at the beginning of the year!
That sword of damocles is gone now so they don’t have to please Selig and keep his GM in place if they don’t want to!
That is unless they need to take another loan from him at the end of this year because Selig’s boy STILL hasn’t figured out how to turn a profit with a 90 Mil payroll in the largest Baseball market on the planet!
Metsie — There you go again. Trying the old Last Man Standing ploy. Again, and again . . .
To set the record straight, back then I thought many fans were unduly harsh to Omar. I actually liked the guy on many levels. Retrospectively it is too bad he let Tony Bernazard and Little Jeff undermine his GM efforts. But what happened is what happened. Today I obviously like Sandy more than you, but don’t try to make me a Sandy lover. It won’t work.
I just have to ask….is anyone who posts here regularly a ‘Sandy lover’?
All I’ve seen is those in the Sandy hater camp and those in the ‘I’m reserving judgement for at least 2 years or better’ camp.
Yep there are a lot of them….
I break them down into two groups….
One who like Moneyball and Sabers and think Sandy is going to use them…
The other those who hate Wilpon and think by dismantling and cheaping out on the team that attendance will drop to cricket proportions and public pressure generated for implementing that small market business in a large market plan will wind up forcing the Wilpons to sell!
Well good cause I don’t fall under either category. I don’t believe in the longrun Moneyball is the best system and I don’t like stats I can’t use a calculator on my own to figure out.
Yes we all know you have absoloutly no opinions and no beliefs you just come here to argue….NOTHING!
Which works cause thats pretty much what Sandy has done over the last two years!
Same here. Math is just not my area of expertise….
So there is no such thing as a “50 shades of Metsie” then.
Metsie — I forgot to tell you that I liked your original post. It had facts and insights that are helpful to understand the situation.
Great Des I’m happy now quote me the sentence where I mentioned anything to do with Sandy and made this thread about Sandy not you in your misguided attempt at putting words in my mouth?
All I talked about was a stadium and the perks and forces aligned with wanting to build one as soon as the LVCA had an excuse to actually put that money out there!
No I’m setting the record straight after your attempt to put words in my mouth and then decided to put words in YOUR mouth to show you how it feels!
And if you want YES I will play last man standing all day long with you guys because I don’t really care!
You guys can play tag team on creating 200 Comment posts all you want but when you try to put words in my mouth I will ALWAYS fight fire with fire!
Metsie — Sometimes I think you spend too much of your time in a classic ‘projection’ mode. I never put words into your mouth. That’s just escapist nutty talk. I drew a comparison of two time frames, one of which you reject out of hand, and the other you provide without commentary.
OK then you quote the part of my Post about a stadium that made you infer something about my feelings on Sandy Des!
If you can’t I rest my case!
Metsie — The need to play the Last Man Standing keeps you going, even if the facts don’t. Many times I’ve given you credit for being smart. Yet you act dumb when I contrast your apparent view of a time frame for Sandy Alderson and a time frame for a LV park.
You can’t have it both ways, even if you’re obstinate enough to pull another Last Man Standing act.
Couldn’t do it could you?
Couldn’t find where you got an opinion of mine regarding Sandy and his timeline from the post you tried to take it from!
Yes I am the last man standing because you fell down when challeneged to show where I said something about Sandy!
Yep I’m the last man standing!
Metsie — I just ignore your childish requests to keep your view alive. The statements don’t have to be made in the same release. You unfortunately (to your mind) don’t call the shots when you’re cornered.
Last Man Standing loses but his obstinacy makes him deny what he’s repeatedly said.
Game over.
Run away my Friend…Run Away!
Next time think twice about trying to put words in someone else’s mouth when you can’t prove they said it!
Man am I great at foreshadowing… Lol
Yep great at doing what Des did to the same effect as well….
NONE!
Start a fight, Keep it going for 50 Comments then blame the guy you started the fight with!
No one is buying it especially not Joe!
This is a mess. You think they would have learned after Norfolk threw them out b/c the organization virtually ignored them.
Although I did read that Buffalo is quite the depressed area now with less of a population in years past. Doesn’t bode well for the next team they lease to (Blue Jays?).
This is just a classic case of pointing the finger at someone else….
The issue isn’t what the Mets are doing to them although we are at a point whe5re we sap them of talent.
Even if we hadn’t they would be having thier problems with draw!
I mean even the NFL Bills who play there have played around with the idea of playing half thier games in Canada because they don’t draw enough attendance to sustain them!
They can blame the Mets and sign with another team and you know what will change for them?
NOTHING!
Location Location Location is the issue they have!
Pointing the finger right where I believe it belongs, for the 2 reasons I gave.
You yourself said ‘location’. I said the same thing with my second statement.
Not sure then why you’re arguing the point.
If you read what I said and you think I was in agreement then why did you conclude I was arguing here SRT?
THIS is why we have the fights we do here!
Because even when we agree you folks get so SENSITIVE that you turn every post into an argument even when no difference of opinion exists!
All I did was comment on the attendance that you mentioned at the end.
The only thing where I could possibly disagree with you (but didn’t say anything about it) was your assertion that the Mets should have learned something from the Norfolk situation….
I didn’t say anything regarding that!
My bad then, Metsie – sorry. I thought you were implying I was trying to shift the blame.
But when I read your comment, I concluded we were saying somewhat the same thing.
Only reason I mentioned Norfolk b/c it was well documented at the time that was the facilities heartache with them. Said it had been some 6 odd years or so since anyone in the upper organization even bothered to visit them.
Then I read recently where Buffalo was complaining more or less the same thing – ‘being ignored’, was how they put it in one article I read.
Well unless the Mets actually own the stadium any attempt by an affiliate to say your ignoring our stadium is just fingerpointing if you ask me.
The idea that the Mets should build them a stadium or facility without a 99 Year agreement in place to make back the money spent is just rediculous.
What would more likely happen is they would invest in that facility and they would leave to the highest bidder once the contract was up anyway!
Thats really whats going on here not much more.
They can’t turn a profit on thier own, So they wan’t some MLB franchise to subsidize their lack of revenue because they have no attendance.
The only gripe they really have is that they don’t get to pick half thier players as it’s all our prospects they are forced to play and while we have been competitive from 2000-2008 we weren’t able to pick the top prospects all the other teams had to send to thier affiliates.
Truth is the MLB teams should all own thier affiliates outright and then these issues would never occurr.
There was another factor to Norfolk ditching the Mets. The Norfolk team owner also owns the AA and High-A franchises for the Orioles ( the present affiliation of the Norfolk Tides).
Joe D – If I were the Mets I’d look into the facility in Ottawa. I know Ottawa will wait til the 2014 season to try and get Toronto to break their agreement with New Hampshire but its supposed to be an awesome facility and it will be empty in 2013.
Craig, I meant that for you not Joe D sorry.
Wilpons and Vegas make a nice combination in greed…..
Sleezey Vegas hustlers, con artists, swindlers etc…..and Im talking about the Casino owners(business men)……The Wilpon gang is due a new scheme
There will be a lot of, the Wilpons are heading to Vegas to see the Triple A team trips. Only problem is they wont be going for baseball purposes
Wish it was the return to Tidewater instead of going out west to Sin City.
As someone who has lived in Vegas a LONG time (too long) Cashman Field is a joke, Not only is baseball not popular here and not only does our minor league Hockey team draw more than our minor league baseball team, here’s a few more things:
I’m a huge baseball fan but have gone to just 2 games in the last 10 years, the last one I attended in 2003! During the day, when it’s 110 degrees and at night when it’s 95, it’s simply too hot to sit thru a ball game. $6 Cokes and $5 bottles of water start adding up. The stadium is located in a terrible area. It’s 2 miles north of downtown, located in an economically depressed area. It’s literally a stone’s throw from 2 homeless shelters and across the street from Vegas’ Potter Field.
Fans who go do not go for the game but rather to be ‘seen.’ The game is secondary to getting drunk and trying to get laid. By the middle innings, the PA announcer will only occasionally announce who is batting, pinch hitters and new pitchers are seldomly announced–so trying to keep score of the game is virtually impossible.
Just a joke…
And keep in mind this: In the 30 years since Cashma first opened, the population of Las Vegas has gone from about 350,000 to 2.2 million…but yet in spite of the population increasing by 600%, the average attendance at Cashman has actually dropped by about 25%
“It’s literally a stone’s throw from 2 homeless shelters and across the street from Vegas’ Potter Field.”
Well it certainly is not conveniently located near Crack Whore Alley on Boulder the way the Bowl is! LOL
In all my time there I never had any reason to go North East of the spaghetti bowl other than to Nellis or the Speedway!
Well this is something I know quite a bit about as my brother is the club house manager for the 51s and has been with them for nearly 20 years. The place is a complete dump. The clubhouse is so small that workout equipment is located in hallways. Zack Wheeler most likely won’t pitch there because teams tend to keep prize pitching prospects away from there. The Blue Jays didn’t let Drabek pitch there. They don’t get much of a crowd there because a 7:05 start when it’s still 108 degrees is just stupid hot and tough to sit thru on the hot aluminum seats.
Las Vegas has long wanted a pro team of some sort and baseball or basketball always seemed to be the front runners. The city will not upgrade cashmen or build a new stadium for a minor league team. They would need a stadium with a retractable roof like in Phoenix due to the extreme heat.
Speaking of Wheeler, Jim Callis of Baseball America said in a chat today that he believes Wheeler will be in the major league rotation to start the 2013 season.
I guess if he has a great spring he could brake camp in the rotation but what if he doesn’t have a good spring. They’ll need a contingency. I don’t want to start the season with Hefner or Young in the rotation.
It makes sense on the surface. Why send him to that dump? And we have him two time zones away?
The only “downside” is you have six guys for five spots.
Harvey-Wheeler-Niese-Gee-Dickey-Santana.
I can’t believe the Wilpons could be so ignorant as to let their AAA team end up in that shithole of a city. Unreal.
Matt,
Whats so hard to believe???
It’s the WILPONZI’S
This is a “STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE” with them.
Well Leroy, it has to be asked….
Who is running the team and who waited until all the other AAA Teams were put under contract with someone else to leave us that limited choice?
Even if you had hoped to keep Buffalo in the fold, with all their grumbling in the past the best way to deal with that was to talk to other available franchise options regarding making a deal so you have some leverage when it came time to negotiate with Buffalo.
No other team seems to have had a problem locking up thier AAA affiliate before the contracts they had ended!