MAYOR LAMENTS DEAL WITH CORDISH COS.

work.

My fear was that game night would mirror when the Edmonton Oilers came to town last month and T-mobile had a distinct Canadian feel. I argued we’d be the road team every night. But that hasn’t often happened.

Hockey is working and our residents are overboard in their support. Some are even ditching previous allegiances to support the Golden Knights.

“Vegas loves winners,” Carolyn Goodman says. “That’s what we are about.”

But could it have worked in downtown?

Knowing that Las Vegans, in fact, can support major-league sports, would Goodman have gone about her pursuit of a franchise differently? The city spent millions in a pact with Cordish Cos. of Baltimore to design an arena and attract a team, but it was a failed relationship.

“There was nothing wrong (with the city’s approach), but there were two things that perhaps we could have done better,” Goodman said. “Cordish was not the right corporation to work with. They did nothing to help. They did nothing to market. Knowing how well it was orchestrated by (Golden Knights owner) Bill Foley and his team, that is the way it should have been done.”

Goodman also said she wasn’t a fan of putting the arena, or a stadium for soccer, at Symphony Park. Rather, the land where Cashman Field is located was better suited because there was more space to build, she said.

But she isn’t dwelling on the past. She’s thrilled about the Golden Knights and NFL’S Raiders signing on to call the area home, even if they are located within county boundaries instead of the city. It’s still Las Vegas’ team. The players have “Vegas” on their uniforms when they take the ice.

Las Vegas becoming a landing spot for professional sports is one of her crowning achievements. If it weren’t for the Goodmans’ pursuit of the NBA, there wouldn’t be two of the four major sports here. They got the ball rolling.

“To have any team in Southern Nevada is an exciting time in an exciting place,” Carolyn Goodman said. “We are all one here.”