Rob Manfred: Las Vegas ‘viable’ option for MLB expansion

The NHL and NFL are considering putting teams in Las Vegas, and MLB could eventually follow.

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MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the league would consider Las Vegas as a potential expansion site as other leagues express interest in moving to the city as well, he said on the YES Network on Tuesday.

“I think the whole, ‘you can’t go to Vegas because there’s casinos there,’ we passed that by a long time ago, right? There’s casinos all over the place,” Manfred said. “I see Las Vegas as a viable alternative. I would not disqualify it just because of the gambling issue.”

The NHL’s Board of Governors is expected to approve Las Vegas as the location for its newest team on Wednesday, and there has been increasing discussion on moving the NFL’s Raiders to Sin City. The NBA holds its summer league in Vegas, and commissioner Adam Silver has said he is monitoring the possibility of a team calling the city home.

Manfred has previously said expansion could be in the league’s future, and named Mexico City and Montreal as possible locations.

MLB has not expanded since adding the Diamondbacks and Rays in 1998.