There’s a lot of change over at Las Vegas’ professional soccer team, the Lights FC.
The team finished last in its division last year, and attendance is down. So some new blood was needed.
Enter Jose Bautista, who became the primary owner of the team. And if that name seems familiar, he’s a former Major League Baseball star who made the All-Star team six times.
He’s since hired a new sporting director from Italy, Gianleonardo Neglia, as well as a new head coach from Austin, Texas, Dennis Sanchez. Together, they’re hoping to turn the team’s fortunes around and get more fans back in the seats of Cashman Field.
The team's first home game of the season is Saturday, March 16 at 5 p.m. at Cashman Field in Las Vegas.
For Bautista, the decision to invest in the Lights FC was a no-brainer. "I'm a student of life, a student of business, and a student of professional sports," he says. "I learned a lot along the way. In my professional career, I ... have also been an investor. Luckily, I was a saver as an athlete, and that put me in a lot of rooms to have a lot of different conversations about businesses and investments. So, I feel like I've gathered a lot of knowledge, [and] it's time to put some of that into play into this great passion of mine, which is the business of sport."
It will take a lot of knowledge and investment — and time — to get folks coming back to Cashman Field as they did in the Lights' inaugural season. Bautista has already made improvements to the food and beverage program.
"Cashman is a historical park," he says. "It has its own charm. But it also comes with limitations. It's still early; we're going to explore every single avenue to make our organization better and the fan experience better, whether that includes some upgrades to Cashman, [or] possibly a new stadium development — all those things are on the table. ... The first focus on these last two months has been, let's put a competitive team on the pitch first, worry about that, and then shift the conversation to the best long-term solution for our stadium later."
Guest: Jose Bautista, chairman and governor (majority team owner), Las Vegas Lights FC
