With the National Hockey League expanding to Las Vegas at the start of next season, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledged Tuesday that his league could also see a franchise in Sin City in the future.
"Las Vegas could be a viable market for us," Manfred told reporters, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I don't think that the presence of legalized gambling in Las Vegas should necessarily disqualify that market as a potential major league city."
Due to its close ties to gambling, Las Vegas had long been considered a no-go for professional franchises, but things have changed in recent years with the NHL, and possibly the NFL, seeing the city as a strong market.
With a population of over 623,000, Las Vegas is the 28th-most populated city in the United States, and with millions of tourists traveling to the city each year, it's likely that a professional sports team could be sustainable.
MLB does currently have some ties with the city. The New York Mets' Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas 51s, are located downtown, while the last two National League MVPs, Kris Bryant and Bryce Harper, were both born there.