Goodman, in an interview, said Weisbach "was a very impressive looking fellow, very well-dressed, certainly monied," and he allowed Weisbach to represent him in discussions with MLB.
Weisbach contacted Steve Stone, the former major league pitcher and Chicago Cubs broadcaster, who has been trying for years to buy a team. Stone contacted Selig, a longtime friend. The commissioner directed Stone to Corey Busch, his consultant on relocation issues. Busch, in turn, recommended that Weisbach hire his own consultant. He recommended his own close friend, Michael Shapiro, the former general counsel for the San Francisco Giants and later the Atlanta Braves. Earlier, Shapiro had worked in the administration of former California Gov. Jerry Brown at the same time Busch was press secretary to late San Francisco mayor George Moscone.
Las Vegas, Nevada.
(Ethan Miller -- Reuters)
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The District has been without major league baseball for more than 30 years. Look back at a visual history of the Washington Senators.
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Shapiro said he initially thought the idea "was a reach" but was persuaded after looking at Las Vegas's tourism figures and astronomical growth. The city drew 35 million tourists in 2003. Those who visited casinos gambled an average of 3.9 hours a day, leaving time for other activities such as baseball.
On July 7 last year, a letter written by Shapiro and signed by Goodman on City of Las Vegas stationery seemed to offer baseball a fully funded downtown stadium.
Goodman wrote: "I will begin a process to attempt to establish an impact fee on visitors to the city, such as a $2 tax per room per day for a 2-year period or similar tax so as to create sufficient bonding capacity to fund the stadium facilities. Such a program could fully fund a magnificent new retractable stadium."
Goodman predicted that the local casinos would support the Expos. "Of course, gambling on our team would not be permitted," he wrote.
The letter seemed to catch baseball's attention. Two months later, members of the relocation committee -- including Busch and John McHale Jr., baseball's executive vice president for administration and a member of the relocation committee -- flew to Las Vegas to hear Goodman's proposal and to be entertained by Weisbach.
Members of the group took in a Celine Dion concert at Caesar's Palace courtesy of Weisbach and dined at Prime, a Jean-Georges Vongerichten-operated steakhouse inside the Bellagio hotel. On the morning of Sept. 12, the group toured the proposed downtown stadium site, then returned to the Bellagio for a meeting with Goodman in the Renoir conference room.
Goodman told stories about his cameo appearance in the mob movie "Casino." He confessed to the baseball officials, "I drink to excess, I gamble to excess, but everyone knows it, so it's not a big deal."
But it quickly became clear that his promises were a mirage. The downtown site the group had just visited was soon no longer available. Moreover, the proposed public financing was gone. The tax outlined in Goodman's letter required the approval of the state legislature, which will not meet on the issue until 2005.
Las Vegas was now proposing a privately funded stadium on another site. That proposal, confined to one page in a 33-page booklet presented to MLB, called for a $200 million private construction loan -- $30 million more than what the San Francisco Giants borrowed to build Pacific Bell Park. The proposal also anticipated $225 million in unspecified "third party" contributions.
Goodman now says he always intended to offer baseball a privately financed deal. He also said he had no intention of giving the impression that the casinos would alter their sports betting policy. The mayor predicted that the casinos would never eliminate betting on baseball, including a Vegas team.
"It's a matter of principle at this point, and, from my perspective, I don't think they should," he said. "There's nothing wrong with it."
Selig has said publicly that the proliferation of gambling throughout the United States has forced baseball to reassess its position on gambling. Casinos are allowed to advertise with major league teams as long as gambling is not specifically mentioned. The Expos, who are operated by MLB, have an online casino as a main sponsor.
