@iamgermane lol ok, Baseball is and will always be considered America's Past Time which means it's the most American sport in the country. Football is losing viewership hand over fist. Keep crying though I enjoy your tears.
All of us in Sacramento would absolutely love an MLB team and we have tried before. We fill the RiverCats games all the time, we pack our Kings games and Republic FC games. It would be a great way to keep a Giants rival in the North of California and give more fans a team in the north
@Christian-xf4xm The A's are likely headed to Salt Lake City before completing their move to Vegas. Salt Lake City built a new stadium for its AAA team, but still has the old stadium too. The A's could play in the new Bees stadium while the Bees stay in their old stadium, which would help prove Salt Lake is a great liston for an expansion Majors team. The location for an MLB team is already selected, and largely acquired. It's also near where The Sandlot was filmed, and between the airport and downtown. Salt Lake City is too far ahead of everybody else and has demonstrated on a global level via the 2002 Olympics that they are ready and can do it.
@@domin8ss Either Salt Lake or Sacramento would be a better choice for the A’s than Las Vegas. The weather is more conducive to outdoor baseball in both. Salt Lake would have better tax advantages and operational costs than Sacramento (unless California politicians remove their heads from their posterior orifices, but I don’t see that happening for a while).
Raleigh would be a good option. The Carolina Hurricanes value has skyrocketed, in recent years and have amazing support. Obviously the Braves being super popular, in this region would be a bugaboo.
It'd be a good choice, actually, because the Durham Bulls have drawn well. There's enough distance between Atlanta and Raleigh that it wouldn't be a problem, I don't think.
@@41Brother2They do have a MLB presence in the sense that the Braves own the Southeast and market the team all throughout it. Braves Country is not limited to only Georgia.
@@jamesrfb I mean in-state presence. Cuz you could say that the Hawks market cuts into the Hornets and they're not doing anything about it. Falcons aren't doing anything about the Titans and Panthers. What makes the Braves the exception?
@@41Brother2 The Braves are WAY more popular nationally than the hawks and Falcons. They were on TBS for like 30 years every night. That's like when the Braves go to Tampa Bay and the stadium is packed with Braves fans. I think Raleigh would be good because it's kind of in the middle between Atlanta and DC. Nashville for sure is getting a team tough and there are a lot of Braves and Cards fans there too.
We need to talk about expansion less and relocation more. Neither of the Florida teams draw flies and should both be moved.As far as Salt Lake and Nashville. I'm not sure about either one of them. Don't look at pure population numbers. If that was the key factor both the Marlins and Rays should be doing fine .
I live in San Antonio and I was waiting to hear our city on the definitely not happening anymore list. I know the city/county has plans to build an MLB stadium to lure a team here, but the market for baseball fans is larger closer to Austin I think. They love and support AAA Round Rock very well. San Antonio didn't care at all when the AA Missions moved to AAA for 1 season. Average attendance stayed around 3-5 thousand per game I think. Maybe they'd care more about an MLB team, but it feels like a long shot as a San Antonio native. My fingers are crossed though. I'd drive to New Braunfels or San Marcos though if necessary.
@@Christian-xf4xm Not entirely. There are also a lot of Texas Rangers fans here. Judging by the caps I see worn, it seems about 60% Rangers, 40% Astros. (But that’s admittedly a very unscientific poll, and may vary by which team has been successful most recently!)
@@OldRustySteele Honestly it's nobodies territory. I see people wearing stuff from many different teams. That's what happens when you're too far to go to any games and to close to watch the nearest team with tv blackout shenanigans.
I would love to see a raleigh team. Its a very quickly growing metro area, tom dundon is very invested, and nc has a ton of baseball interest in minor leagues. It would be great here.
I don't know about that, but, back in 1992 (their 20-season streak of having a losing record started the next year), had somebody said that ANY professional sports team would have losing records for a 20-year streak, they'd have either run the risk of being committed or someone would've asked "How much you wanna bet?" On the other side of the coin, the Yankees posting winning records for every season from 1926-64 (39 straight) and have had winning seasons starting in 1993 (31 straight as of last year). One other thing, the Yankees' 4-year streak of losing seasons (1989-92) was the longest for them.
@@gc5907 Odd take coming from Wyoming...I've spent some time there, and I do really enjoy it, but be honest with yourself...its hard to call a city boring when its population is roughly equal to the entire state your reppin
You obviously know nothing about the situation in Portland. When Portland had a chance to get an MLS team (a move that was good for the city) and required a soccer-only facility, necessitating the Beavers moving out of PGE Park (now Providence Park), city officials assured baseball fans over and over that they would get a new ballpark - but they tried to do it "on the cheap". Baseball fans and people working to bring MLB to Portland told the city officials to purchase the Portland Public School building near the Moda Center (PPS wanted to move to a smaller building anyway) and build a Triple A stadium as the first phase of an eventual major league stadium, but they balked at the $50 million price tag. Instead, they tried to go to Lentz Park in SE Portland, but residents there didn't want to lose their park. Then then tried to buy some property in Beaverton that was too small and businesses around the lot wouldn't sell. By the time all that was done, it was too late and the team had to move, and it is now in El Paso. The problem in Portland is not the lack of fans who want MLB; it is trying to get city officials on board who are too skittish about doing anything to improve our city. And now you know "the rest of the story" ...
As a Mariners fan I would love an expansion team in Portland. It would be great to have a natural rival that is within easy driving distance. Ironically, I believe that the Mariners have been fighting any expansion in the Pacific Northwest. They consider that corner of the country their territory.
Except they don't do anything outside of King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties but black out everything from Bend to Utqiagvik! If the M's were playing 1 game a year in Portland, Vancouver, Spokane, Boise, Anchorage, or Fairbanks then I could see them fighting expansion to Portland or BC. They're just not doing that, they made their City Connects for Bellevue soccer moms. I agree Portland would be a great MLB city though.
There is a good reason for that , the Orioles are really hurt by the Nationals being so close with as good as they now they would sale out all the time if it were not for the Nats
As a person that lives in the Seattle area I wish and hope the mariners can move cities like the sonics did. Nothing but disappointment in Seattle professional sports and creates delusional fans believe they can win a title even though they've only made 1 playoff this century
I’ll never stop rooting for the Giants but if Nashville does pull this off I’d be thrilled. Having the Titans here is cool but baseball throughout the spring and summer would make this place perfect.
@@bconni2 haha born in San Francisco, moved to Nashville for college, and Miami is my nickname from college because I am a diehard Miami Dolphins fan for football (despite the fact that I’ve never been to Miami)
@@armyboy1989_ was really into marine biology as a little kid at the exact same time I got into football. Dolphins were a perfect fit for combining those two interests. Ever since I’ve been a diehard fan.
Thank you for pitching Monterrey. It really is the best option, not only for Mexico but in Latin America. They are baseball-crazed there. I saw a Diablos game in Mexico City, and it was pretty exciting, but folks say Monterrey is so much more passionate. Also, they're closer to Houston than the next closest city to the Rockies, so the travel quotient is nullified. They would not only be Mexico's team but also Latin America's team, so when you think of the market, you gotta think multi-country.
As an additional note for the argument for San Antonio/Austin: SA is 5 hours away from the other MLB teams in Texas. Texas is massive; it’s not like a 3rd Texas team would really even be competing with the others (and the Greater Austin metro is at around 2.5m that is within driving distance)
@@jessicacolegrove4152San Marcos being in the 512 area code would make it more of an Austin team than SA, and SA won’t like that. New Braunfels at least is in the 830 area code, separate from both SA and Austin.
The city is pledged to no public financing towards a MLB stadium. Indeed, the city doesn't even want to get involved in an exploratory committee to drum up business support. The mayor's office told me that the Rays are welcome to move to Charlotte, but that Charlotte would do absolutely nothing to bring about such a move.
I would love to see Charlotte or Raleigh get a team here. NC is more than just a college basketball state and they've shown it with the Hurricanes garnering popularity under Dundon and the minor league teams here continuing to do relatively well in their leagues. Even if the Braves are an option in this region, it wouldn't be that much different than expanding to Nashville at that point since they also share the same region as the Braves do.
It would have to be an AL team for it to work in Raleigh or Charlotte. This is Braves country. NFL made the mistake of making Panthers NL with Atlanta. My mom's from Charlotte but I still like Braves and Falcons. 2.3 million in the Raleigh/Durham/Cary Metro area. They need to put a stadium at Dorothea Dix Park, South of Downtown Raleigh. ❤
In NC, Raleigh seems to be more committed to pursuing MLB than Charlotte right now. Also has less competition in the market than either Charlotte or Nashville while being of similar size. If I were king I’d probably go Raleigh/Durham and San Antonio.
I don't see Nashville being able to get taxpayer funding for MLB after funding a new NFL stadium. In NC, it's always Charlotte that gets things, but they don't really have room anywhere near downtown and can't expand the MiLB stadium.
I don’t see us in SA supporting MLB. We would need a domed or retractable roof ballpark due to the heat, and that’s a huge expense. Personally, I’d love it, but I just don’t know if it would work here.
See and looking through the looking glass that is why SA wouldn't get an expansion baseball team. If it would work and that's a big if, it would have to be the SA/Austin expansion team. If you include the population of both cities and the economic impact of Austin into that equation you might have something. Problem is both cities have egos and I am not sure the city leaders would play second fiddle to either city. Oh well one can dream.
Good points, Glenn. And if they wanted to include the Metro Austin area they would need to build the stadium somewhere between New Braunfels and San Marcos which is about 40 miles from downtown SA and 40 miles from downtown Austin. That’s not an ideal situation.
Completely agree with that, I couldn't imagine driving to New Braunfels or San Marcos. The funny thing is that the players would probably love to live in Austin. ;)@@OldRustySteele
Its interesting you sat thay Salt Lake City has 1.27 million in thr Metro area. If you include the Metro area along the Wasatch front (which the Utah Jazz considers) is more like 2.7 million, making it a more comparable market to San Antonio and Charlotte
If you are going to add metro areas together you are only making your case worse. There are 5 million people in the San Antonio / Austin metro area...and it's still growing
It should be noted that the SLC metro is counted weirdly. The way it’s broken up Davis County which literally shares a border with SLC proper isn’t considerer part of the Metro it’s considered part of Ogden 40 miles away. A better way to measure it is to look at the whole Wasatch Front from Provo to Ogden which has 2.8 million people in an 80 mile corridor.
They need to start using what is called the Combined statistical area (CSA) which includes Ogden and Provo mand not the Metropolitan statistical area (MSA)
Exactly! CSA is the Wasatch front and all within 45 miles of downtown SLC. 2.8 million people which translates into the 27th largest TV market in America, bigger than a lot of NFL, MLB, and NBA markets. Its one of the fastest growing urban areas in the country, with the youngest population in America and highly educated with hight tech silicon reputation.
Calgary, Alberta has a metropolitan population of 1,306,784 that would host an MLB expansion team Calgary Cannons and it create a future rivalry with the Seattle Mariners in the American League West and MLB. Calgary is about 1084 kilometres from the Alberta - British Columbia/Washington State border and has TV market for Major League Baseball in Canada
@@ericacottle3507The SLC TV market is skewed- it is all of Utah, plus portions of Nevada. How many people in St. George are going to drive to SLC for games?
Nobody is pointing out the obvious regarding San Antonio, they would need a dome to deal with summer time temperatures. Who has the cash ready to build a $2 billion dome in SA?
@@eugeniusbear2297 I could be wrong. I lived in Austin and only ever visited San Antonio, but they felt the same. Neither ever felt like absolute misery to me like Alabama, Georgia, Brazil, and Africa felt when I lived there.
Two problems with putting in stadiums in either Nashville or Salt Lake City both starring one bad word weather! Both will need Baseball stadiums with roofs. In SLC Snow from opening day till Memorial Day and then again before Sept is out each yr. Open air stadium there your shoveling snow out of all the time like Highmark Stadium in Buffalo the last 2 Bills seasons. In Nashville it's Rain, Rain Rain all the time. Even saw the Grand Olde Oppry and the Hotel got flooded out a few yrs back in spring April- June that tornado season in Nashville. Maybe they can make the 1st stadium that not only has a retractable roof but could also retract itself into the ground when Dorothy says "It's a twister, it's a twister. Also SLC is the capitol of Mormonism. A lot of alcohol, beer and other beverages get consumed by fans at MLB games. Would they go if no beer or alcholholic beverages served I am not sure they would. 😮
Today they do in the NHL. Devils and Islanders both play within 10-15 miles of Manhattan. Makes for a really fun fan rivalry. (Devils fan here, both us and Isles fans get along in having a common enemy in the Rangers)
@davidpollack3556 The non Mormon population now outnumbers the Mormon population. And of the half that are Mormon, a good majority of them are not serious followers of their religion anymore. Salt Lake already has an AAA team and sell beer and alcohol just fine. Along the NBA Jazz.
Main thing here is the strong ownership and corporate sponsorship within the city. Regardless of how attractive the city is in terms of population and high GDP, team can only survive with a solid funding from the ownership. If you run a team like As, local fans will eventualy walk away. Vancouver is a prime example where fan base is massive as among of fans traveling to Seattle to watch Jays is simply remarkable. But they don't really have any marque corporate presence that can take on a MLB team.
I believe Raleigh, NC would be a better choice than Charlotte. Charlotte has way too much going on with the NFL, NBA, NASCAR, professional Soccer, and a Triple-A Baseball team. Where Raleigh only has the NHL. Raleigh has had just as much of a population growth as Charlotte in recent years. Raleigh would be a gold mine for an MLB team. Geographically it's the perfect location between Washington DC and Atlanta.
tbh I don't see portland getting a team - there's some grassroots demand, but most of the "push" has been coming from the real estate developers who own the proposed stadium locations
Austin to San Antonio is an 80 mile drive, one-way. If a team is planted in San Antonio, I can't ever see Austinites making up any significant portion of the crowd, unless there's some sort of special event, like "Austin Night" or something.
Raleigh is far more of a serious contender than Charlotte. It’s growing faster (will catch up in size within the next 15-20 years), is a less crowded sports market (NFL, NBA, and MLS vs just NHL), and most importantly already has an ownership group together actively exploring expansion.
With recent news in San Antonio, San Antonio is out. People would not pay for a new stadium. Paying for a Triple A team stadium is already gonna be a battle in the ballot box. I can't image a MLB stadium making it. Local money leaders have already focused their efforts in that AAA team and getting the San Antonio Spurs a new arena downtown which will already take a huge effort. At this point if there is a new team in Texas it will be in Austin. Austin is growing and has money San Antonio residents don't.
With North Carolina, you are correct population and whatnot, and also about Charlotte being the biggest city. However, Charlotte has shown no interest of note in bringing a team. Whereas Raleigh has shown plenty of interest
Charlotte only has two NASCAR Cup races. Not sure why that would matter. That said, I don't think Charlotte is a good spot. Nashville or Raleigh would be better.
Salt Lake is the number 22 combined metro area at 2.705 million. San Antonio is the number 23 combined metro area at 2.637 million. See “combined statistical area” from the U.S. Census. It’s the only way to compare apples to apples.
San Antonio is a hour from Austin who has 2.4milliin people and the got money. Put the stadium in between both. Like the rangers are between Dallas and ft. Worth
I am fine with Nashville I would have preferred Charlotte but Nashville is acceptable. SLC on the other hand no. Way too small of a market. We can barely keep the Brewers in Milwaukee and SLC is smaller. Austin or San Antonio would make 1000 times more sense.
I wouldn’t compare either CFL or NFL to MLB. In pro football you only have one game per week, so it’s a “Big Event” with tailgating and all-day activities. In baseball, you have to draw a good attendance for 81 home games, with 5 of the 7 on weeknights where many people have to get up early to go to work the next day. So just because Montreal supports the CFL or any city supports CFL or NFL doesn’t automatically mean they’ll support MLB adequately.
That's just North Carolina, you didn't mention that Charlotte is on the State line which will pull South Carolina residents as well. I can't believe Charlotte isn't #1 on this list!!!
Another issue is bandwidth, Charlotte has a lot going on right now. Frankly Tepper is in the way, doesn't he want Another stadium? Baseball is cool but may not be an immediate priority for Charlotte.
Nashville and Salt Lake City will be the next two expansion cities unless the A’s deal falls apart in Las Vegas and in that case the A’s will go to Salt Lake City as they already have 900 million set aside for a new team and Las Vegas will get the new franchise as it makes the most sense.
@@daltontf Las Vegas was screwed once before when the Diamondbacks were supposed to be a Vegas franchise but MLB was against having a team in a place that allowed gambling .The only way for the Vegas deal to fall apart is If Fisher can’t get the funding ..Salt Lake City already has money and stadium renderings to show MLB they are ready for baseball as well as the NHL ..When expansion does come one team will be in the east and one in the west . Las Vegas was the number one choice for expansion until the A’s decided to move there . San Antonio would have to put together a plan to beat out Salt Lake City to compete. Not that it can’t be done , but Salt Lake City already has a head start
@@BoulderCityBlues The Salt Lake City investors, the same that own the Jazz, have been buying up the land where the stadium will be built. Salt Lake has shown it can entertain on a global level, unlike all the other cities "competing". The Salt Lake location is actually really good as its between downtown and the airport, which are only 10 minutes apart anyways, and a light rail line already exists along the route the stadium will be at.
On March 13, 2025, Montreal Baseball Group and a joint partnership of Smith Entertainment Group and Miller Sports + Entertainment will each pay an expansion fee of $2.2 billion to award 2 expansion franchises to Montreal and Salt Lake City for the 2028 MLB season, so the new Montreal franchise will again be known as the Expos and the new Salt Lake City franchise will be known as the Utah Bighorns. The 2nd incarnation of the Montreal Expos will play at their new $1.2 billion 48,000-seat retractable-roof ballpark on the former Blue Bonnets Raceway/Hippodrome de Montreal site and the Utah Bighorns will play at their new $1.8 billion 35,000-seat open-air ballpark in the Power District on Salt Lake City’s west side.
If i am mlb i expand out to 36. If you have 6 owners that want it doit. And toncomment on after 32 it takes a while...once the owners taste expansion money i think it becomes tempting to keep expanding
IMO, another good candidate city for MLB expansion is Louisville KY. The city had a professional baseball team many moons ago (from 1882-1899) called the Louisville Colonels which had the unfortunate distinction of being the last MLB team to suspend operations. But given that it has a relatively large metro population - albeit much smaller than those on the list - and the closest MLB city is in Cincinnati which is almost 100 miles away, there may be some untapped potential for a professional baseball team in that city. Also, there is no other professional sports team in the entire state of Kentucky (the last one being the old Kentucky Colonels of the now-defunct American Basketball Association) and even though the city lost its team more than 125 years ago, there is still a strong baseball tradition in Louisville. Before it folded, hall of fame players Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke once played for the Colonels. To be sure, I am aware of the obvious challenges in bringing baseball to Louisville such as the lack of an MLB-standard stadium but other cities faced similar problems in the beginning so it's not an insurmountable problem.
I’m guessing that with the embarrassing debacle that happened in Oakland, there may be a groundswell to revisiting the plan to put a stadium on the waterfront.
I’d love for San Antonio to get a team but I’d settle for it to go to Austin(preferably south Austin/San Marcos) and have San Antonio be their AAA team.
I wish it was that simple...The support just isn't there for a new MLB team, which sucks because that is a HUGE media market with a dearth of professional sports teams...and I want to be able to find Expos hats easily again😂😂
I think you should also look at this a different way. If teams were not associated with cities, but everyone had their favorite team, where would you want an MLB stadium? When I lived near Dallas, I would go watch a couple of Royals games in Arlington. Now that I live in Austin, I hardly attend but I have traveled to Kansas City a couple of times for the sole purpose of attending a Royals baseball game. MLB made the tough, but intelligent decision to incorporate interleague play several decades ago. The intent was to stimulate additional interest in the league by bringing people's favorite teams closer to a location where they might attend. Over time, people eventually develop a fondness for the local team. Baseball's popularity expands. The best thing for MLB is a stadium near a large expanding metro area that is 3 hours or more away from an existing stadium. Texas is the #1 choice and it isn't even close. A team near Austin or San Antonio wouldn't hurt loyalty to the Rangers or Astros, especially if they are in the same division of 4 teams and they get to see them 9 times per year. You never stop loving your old favorite team. You do stop attending games regularly when it takes more than 3 hours to go see them. Austin is full of transplants with loyalties to other teams from across the country. Give them a chance to watch their favorite team play 3 or 4 times a year. Who knows, they may end up rooting on the local team before it's over.
They need to set things up so that there are two leagues, two conferences in each league, two divisions in each conference, and four teams in each division. Eliminate inter league play, eliminate wild cards, and just have three rounds of playoffs, first place vs. first place.
The A's moving to Vegas is far from a done deal. Sure, MLB has approved the move, but there is still the question whether Fisher can afford to do it. If the Schools Over Stadiums group succeeds in getting a referendum concerning the $$$ in stadium funding on the ballot for November, changes are that the public will vote it down. If that happens, you might just see the Sacramento or Utah A's (or whatever name is left over from naming the NHL team), and an expansion team in Vegas.
I don't get why they always limit the Salt Lake Metro area. The real Area has nearly 2.5 Million. It stretches from Brigham City in the North to Payson in the south. over 2/3rds of the states population live in this area which is all within an hour drive of Salt Lake City. There are an additional 150K people living in the mountain valleys to the east and west also within about an hour drive. The estimates are that the population will be around 5 Million by 2035. The TV Market will be the entire state plus many communities in Idaho, Wyoming, Western Colorado, and Eastern Nevada. Which pushes the current market somewhere at or above 3.5 Million.
Reasons Vancouver will never get an MLB team: - Despite a popular and successful High-A club in the Vancouver Canadians, there just isn't enough casual fan interest in baseball to meet the demands of MLB. Vancouver is more likely to get a Major League Cricket team. (which would be great because cricket is awesome) - Vancouver is on the same path as Portland for the same reasons. - Canadian taxes don't motivate players. - Canada's version of T-Mobile and ESPN combined owns the Blue Jays and they might have a problem with another team taking away fans and their wallets. (Another reason Montreal won't get a team) - Seattle is only a 3 hour drive away & the Mariners definitely get a lot of fans from Vancouver especially when the Jays are in town, and they might have a problem with another team taking away fans and their wallets.
Yeah, i dont see vancouver getting a team. Just not in the local sports culture or history. Plus it wont be an ideal place to attract top players, starting with the crap weather, high taxes, and distance from anywhere. Would feel too much like the gulag for most players.
Monterrey would be indeed a way better option than Mexico City. Besides the reasons mentioned, it also has a stronger baseball culture, even the Mexican Hall of fame is there. Still, one can only dream..
North Carolina needs a team but Raleigh is a much better option than Charlotte. Plus there is actually a concerted effort in Raleigh with a billionaire owner backing the effort.
I've lived in both metroplexes, and I can tell you that Charlotte is a much larger and wealthier metroplex than Raleigh. No comparison. However, you may well be correct that there is more enthusiasm for MLB and willingness to spend on a stadium. Land out in the exurbs would certainly be cheaper southeast of Raleigh around Zebulon than south of Matthews near Weddington. I tried to drum up interest in MLB at Matthews and Charlotte and hit a brick wall.
Indianapolis used to want MLB, but don’t seem to now. Most of Indiana are Cubs fans, and Cardinal or Cincinnati fans in southern Indiana. I don’t think an Indianapolis team would turn Cubs fans into an Indianapolis team’s fans. I think people would rather visit Wrigley.
I think a Mexico City team would be dope as hell. There are more than 20 million people in that city, the fans would improve the genera atmosphere at baseball games and it would also create new rivalries...
Portland can't even keep a Triple A Team. Why do they think an MLB Team could do better? When The Giants were threatening to move to Tampa Bay, a poll taken of the city showed they were not at all excited about the team moving there. So the geniuses at MLB decided the town would prefer an expansion team instead...now they can't figure out why the team isn't drawing fans...my guess is a new stadium will be about as attractive as the first one...especially when the ticket prices go through the roof so the team can hold up their end of the financing....The Rays would have done better to try out that Split home town thing with Montreal...
Portland's loss of the Beavers was not due to a lack of fans, but mismanagement by Portland city officials when MLS took over PGE Park. They tried to build a Triple A park for the Beavers "on the cheap", instead of investing in the Portland Public School building site near downtown that was perfect for an eventual major league stadium, and ran out of time. The problem in Portland is not a lack of interest in baseball, but too many city and state officials who can't see the value to trying to improve things with major league sports. Having worked for all of the minor league teams in this area since 2000, I can tell you that there are more than enough baseball fans here to support an MLB team.
With a lower population than other cities, I couldn’t imagine them building a team in Salt Lake City. OK City, Omaha, San Jose, Nashville, Memphis, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Albuquerque and Louisville would all be better options. And since Canada is now full of Jays fans, I wouldn’t put a team in Canada, either. You also need to keep in mind that people in a lot of these areas are already fans of other teams. People aren’t just going to ditch their favorite team in favor of a local, new team.
I would not be so certain about the A's to Vegas. It hinges on a lot of uncertainties including stadium financing, the questionable financial health of Ballys which is giving them the 9 acres to build on, and a potential referendum on the publicly funded portion of the project. The A's organization has been unquestionably inept at building a stadium thus far, so if any of those details aren't resolved, the move is toast. That opens the door for either a return to Oakland (probably only happens if current ownership sells), moving to SLC, or most likely, staying in Sacramento permanently after they move there next year. Northern California remains an attractive place to host two teams with a large population and plenty of baseball fans. Oakland has a site picked out, legal hurdles cleared, hundreds of millions in grant money for area improvements lined up, and willpower to build a stadium if they were to work with a new owner. Sacramento is a fairly untapped market that could retain nearly all the Bay Area A's fans. Both cities offer a much larger TV contract than Vegas or SLC. I think ultimately the A's stay in Sacramento and get a new stadium built there, and Vegas gets awarded an expansion team along with Nashville. SLC will still push for a team, but their sights will be on snatching the Diamondbacks if their stadium needs aren't met in the next 5-10 years.
Portland has recovered from the dark days of the pandemic. If you ever visit here you will seen a beautiful thriving city. I think it would be the best bet for MLB. Our NBA and MLS teams have incredible attendance
I’m from Portland but I am no longer in favor of having a team because of the location they are planning for right now. First off it’s not even in Portland. The traffic in the area surrounding where they wanna build it is some of the worst in the state. They’ve been trying to expand the freeway in that area for 3 years now and construction always takes much longer than it should in that area. The traffic will only get worse with a pro sports team in that specific area and it’ll take even longer for construction to get done
Utah has been the fastest growing state since 2010. The wasatch front has 2.6 million people and growing every day. They have great support for their nba and mls teams. They also heavily support 2 big12 universities close to each other. They just got a nhl team as well. The nfl and mlb view Utah as a good investment with such growth and fan support. I don’t think the fan support for other pro football leagues translates to potential support for a nfl team.
White Sox has been talking to Nashville... I wouldn't be surprised if they talk about contraction again... Selig wanted to contract the Twins and Expos... Then both got new stadiums, albeit Expos became the Nationals... Played in RFK first...
NASHVILLE CANT USE A STAR >>>>THE RANGERS HAVE THAT NOW !! CAN PEOPLE GET CREATIVE AND COMMON SENSE ABOUT THE NAMES >>> LIKE THE INDIANS TURNED TO THE GUARDIANS WHAT KIND OF NAME IS THAT....IF THE INDIANS WANTED OUT THEN I WOULD HAVE MADE THE CLEAVELAND CALVORIY
if canada gets another team, i'd put it vancouver since that puts one team on the east and the other in the west. I would not go to Montreal since it failed once, plus Montreal is an hour plane ride away from Toronto
Right now there are not enough major leaguers to fill all the teams and they want to expand?!!!! The quality of play is so deleted, its become a boring game to watch!
By law they aren't allowed to move the team at all....the previous owner stated that when the team was sold they cannot move the team out of Kansas City. I could be wrong though.
Also, as others pointed out, it's best to count SLC's metro size by the entirety of the Wasatch front, which is about 2.5 mill. The state has already passed a bill that would allow for the construction of a ballpark. Idk if the group in San Antonio has the same governmental support
I disagree. Here's my 4 picks for expansion MLB teams: West- SLC or Sacramento. East- Nashville or NC. San Antonio: Nope. Texas teams LOVE to limit other new teams competing against what is already there. Especially Dallas/FW. Very fan possessive. Nashville: Not as likely as you think, but strong candidate. It could likely be in NC somewhere, just my opinion. I say 'somewhere' in NC, because, although Charlotte is an obvious option based on population, geographics and CBD (Central Business District), Baseball is VERY popular in Raleigh, and have proven they're a serious sports town with the NHL Hurricane; consider the "Triangle". SLC is also a baseball hotbed, and they're now getting the NHL team from AZ. Sacramento may likely be the current frontrunner in the West, but only because they're hosting the A's for 3 seasons. It'll be 'make-or-break' for them however, as if they don't properly prove success with the A's, they're definitely out. It's like a test-run, which the MLB is most inclined to. If they nail it, the MLB will definitely want them in a front running. My take? SLC vs. Sac for a West team, and Nashville vs. NC in the East. If Sacramento nails it with the trial run with the A's, they'll likely be the nod. Puting new sports teams, in new cities, is a big risk. If a city proves themselves with a trial run, they're in. NC (probably Charlotte, possibly Raleigh) I think will likely get the East team. They're best situated and 'team ready' in many ways.
Notwithstanding that Nashville and Tennessee pledged to the taxpayers that the Titans' stadium would be the last time the taxpayers would ever be asked to finance a stadium???
@@GeraldM_inNC Yes. That stadium is being built mostly out of tourism taxes anyway, and the plan is to continue growing a pool for future use in the same way. Many celebrities have also pledged funds from their personal pockets.
Here’s a reason for a team in Mexico City. It’s the largest city in North America. By far. Of course when Trump gets back in and builds the wall it will be hard to travel back and forth and after Mexico pays for it there won’t be any money left to build a stadium.
Would love to see the Rays move downtown Orlando or even downtown Tampa. They deserve a new stadium and I'm tired of driving a 3 hour round trip to Tropicana field.
San Antonio will happily take an MLB team. Austin and San Antonio would need to bid and share the team but we're all good with that. That's 4 to 5 million people alone. Add the Valley and Border maybe 7 to 8 million. Not a tough choice considering we'd be happy to front a stadium I know people don't hear about it a lot, but San Antonio talks with teams more often than people think. Building a stadium isn't an issue the city just needs guarantees that a team is coming. Yes, the population will vote for a new stadium
The Rays plan to build another facility in St. Petersburg is just ridiculous. People don't attend their games now because of the LOCATION. A move up the I-4 corridor to Orlando would draw from the five surrounding counties (Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Brevard, and Volusia). Orlando already supports the NBA and MLS, has a large Hispanic baseball-loving population (in Kissimmee), and the hordes of northern transplants. And no one can say the population in the Orlando metro area is going to decline anytime soon. Too bad the boat is about to sail.
Montreal has the Alouettes of Canadian Football League as Professional Sports Team. So, that makes {2} Professional Sports Teams in the city of Montreal, after all the Alouettes won the 2023 Grey Cup last Canadian Football League Season last season.
Montreal of the CFL barely draws 20,000 for what 10 games a year? If you count that maybe SLC should count 65,000 for a BYU football game and 50,000 for an utah football game going on at the same time.
"Some of us will be really old by then. Some of YOU will be dead." 🤣🤣🤣
I would be one of the dead guys
@@scottcarter6623 lmao
I was JUST about to type this same thing. What an odd thing to say. lol
I'll be dead by then and so will my children. I'm 52 years old and don't have any children yet, so go figure how long this will happen if ever.
Yer mean!!
Raleigh NC is a great market.
Until both the A's and the Ray's break ground, nothing is certain.
MLB is declining in popularity. Few people except the old fools go to the games. The games are boring.
Breaking Ground in Las Vegas is no certainty of completion.
@iamgermane lol ok, Baseball is and will always be considered America's Past Time which means it's the most American sport in the country. Football is losing viewership hand over fist. Keep crying though I enjoy your tears.
@@blackhatfreak Ah you have it backwards. Football has replaced baseball.
@@iamgermane old fools and Idiot Cub fans
Geez this is the last MLB expansion until I die. How morbid thanks 😅
Geographically, Deadwood, South Dakota leads.
All of us in Sacramento would absolutely love an MLB team and we have tried before. We fill the RiverCats games all the time, we pack our Kings games and Republic FC games. It would be a great way to keep a Giants rival in the North of California and give more fans a team in the north
Sac’s best chance is to land the Oakland A’s.
Sacramento would be better permanent destination for the A's than Vegas.
Let’s be honest we don’t have the corporate sponsorships even tho we have everything else
@Christian-xf4xm The A's are likely headed to Salt Lake City before completing their move to Vegas. Salt Lake City built a new stadium for its AAA team, but still has the old stadium too. The A's could play in the new Bees stadium while the Bees stay in their old stadium, which would help prove Salt Lake is a great liston for an expansion Majors team. The location for an MLB team is already selected, and largely acquired. It's also near where The Sandlot was filmed, and between the airport and downtown. Salt Lake City is too far ahead of everybody else and has demonstrated on a global level via the 2002 Olympics that they are ready and can do it.
@@domin8ss Either Salt Lake or Sacramento would be a better choice for the A’s than Las Vegas. The weather is more conducive to outdoor baseball in both. Salt Lake would have better tax advantages and operational costs than Sacramento (unless California politicians remove their heads from their posterior orifices, but I don’t see that happening for a while).
Raleigh would be a good option. The Carolina Hurricanes value has skyrocketed, in recent years and have amazing support. Obviously the Braves being super popular, in this region would be a bugaboo.
Given that both NC and Tennessee both have NFL, NHL and NBA teams it's kinda odd to see such a large section of the country without an MLB presence
It'd be a good choice, actually, because the Durham Bulls have drawn well. There's enough distance between Atlanta and Raleigh that it wouldn't be a problem, I don't think.
@@41Brother2They do have a MLB presence in the sense that the Braves own the Southeast and market the team all throughout it. Braves Country is not limited to only Georgia.
@@jamesrfb I mean in-state presence. Cuz you could say that the Hawks market cuts into the Hornets and they're not doing anything about it. Falcons aren't doing anything about the Titans and Panthers. What makes the Braves the exception?
@@41Brother2 The Braves are WAY more popular nationally than the hawks and Falcons. They were on TBS for like 30 years every night. That's like when the Braves go to Tampa Bay and the stadium is packed with Braves fans. I think Raleigh would be good because it's kind of in the middle between Atlanta and DC. Nashville for sure is getting a team tough and there are a lot of Braves and Cards fans there too.
We need to talk about expansion less and relocation more. Neither of the Florida teams draw flies and should both be moved.As far as Salt Lake and Nashville. I'm not sure about either one of them. Don't look at pure population numbers. If that was the key factor both the Marlins and Rays should be doing fine .
I live in San Antonio and I was waiting to hear our city on the definitely not happening anymore list. I know the city/county has plans to build an MLB stadium to lure a team here, but the market for baseball fans is larger closer to Austin I think. They love and support AAA Round Rock very well. San Antonio didn't care at all when the AA Missions moved to AAA for 1 season. Average attendance stayed around 3-5 thousand per game I think. Maybe they'd care more about an MLB team, but it feels like a long shot as a San Antonio native. My fingers are crossed though. I'd drive to New Braunfels or San Marcos though if necessary.
SA is Astros territory
put the stadium in San Marcos along with mass transit links into San Antonio and Austin
Remember what Ted Nugent said in San Antonio?
@@Christian-xf4xm Not entirely. There are also a lot of Texas Rangers fans here. Judging by the caps I see worn, it seems about 60% Rangers, 40% Astros. (But that’s admittedly a very unscientific poll, and may vary by which team has been successful most recently!)
@@OldRustySteele Honestly it's nobodies territory. I see people wearing stuff from many different teams. That's what happens when you're too far to go to any games and to close to watch the nearest team with tv blackout shenanigans.
I would love to see a raleigh team. Its a very quickly growing metro area, tom dundon is very invested, and nc has a ton of baseball interest in minor leagues. It would be great here.
Serious ownership is the remedy for attendance issues. Look at Pittsburgh.
They have long since forfeited the right to have a MLB franchise.
@@GeraldM_inNC Agreed.
I don't know about that, but, back in 1992 (their 20-season streak of having a losing record started the next year), had somebody said that ANY professional sports team would have losing records for a 20-year streak, they'd have either run the risk of being committed or someone would've asked "How much you wanna bet?" On the other side of the coin, the Yankees posting winning records for every season from 1926-64 (39 straight) and have had winning seasons starting in 1993 (31 straight as of last year). One other thing, the Yankees' 4-year streak of losing seasons (1989-92) was the longest for them.
Sacramento is long ready for an MLB team honestly.
Yep, A's should move there permanently
Sacramento is just blah...boring a.f.
Eff California and eff Sacramento baseball
@@gc5907says the guy who suggested a ski town in Wyoming with a population of 10k😂
@anthonytitone JacksonHole would be perfect, they already have a domed stadium just begging for a team the BobbyDome...they use it for Rodeo
@@gc5907 Odd take coming from Wyoming...I've spent some time there, and I do really enjoy it, but be honest with yourself...its hard to call a city boring when its population is roughly equal to the entire state your reppin
Portland kicked out Baseball for Soccer!!! They deserve MLB the LEAST!!! GO WATCH THE STUPID TIMBERS!!!! Soccer and Portland are Lame
soccer isn't lame. but Portland is
You obviously know nothing about the situation in Portland. When Portland had a chance to get an MLS team (a move that was good for the city) and required a soccer-only facility, necessitating the Beavers moving out of PGE Park (now Providence Park), city officials assured baseball fans over and over that they would get a new ballpark - but they tried to do it "on the cheap". Baseball fans and people working to bring MLB to Portland told the city officials to purchase the Portland Public School building near the Moda Center (PPS wanted to move to a smaller building anyway) and build a Triple A stadium as the first phase of an eventual major league stadium, but they balked at the $50 million price tag. Instead, they tried to go to Lentz Park in SE Portland, but residents there didn't want to lose their park. Then then tried to buy some property in Beaverton that was too small and businesses around the lot wouldn't sell. By the time all that was done, it was too late and the team had to move, and it is now in El Paso. The problem in Portland is not the lack of fans who want MLB; it is trying to get city officials on board who are too skittish about doing anything to improve our city. And now you know "the rest of the story" ...
As a Mariners fan I would love an expansion team in Portland. It would be great to have a natural rival that is within easy driving distance. Ironically, I believe that the Mariners have been fighting any expansion in the Pacific Northwest. They consider that corner of the country their territory.
I wonder if since Boise continues to explode in population if within 20 years they’ll have a team.
Except they don't do anything outside of King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties but black out everything from Bend to Utqiagvik! If the M's were playing 1 game a year in Portland, Vancouver, Spokane, Boise, Anchorage, or Fairbanks then I could see them fighting expansion to Portland or BC. They're just not doing that, they made their City Connects for Bellevue soccer moms. I agree Portland would be a great MLB city though.
It would also help with team's travel. The Mariners are somewhat isolated from the rest of MLB.
There is a good reason for that , the Orioles are really hurt by the Nationals being so close with as good as they now they would sale out all the time if it were not for the Nats
As a person that lives in the Seattle area I wish and hope the mariners can move cities like the sonics did. Nothing but disappointment in Seattle professional sports and creates delusional fans believe they can win a title even though they've only made 1 playoff this century
I’ll never stop rooting for the Giants but if Nashville does pull this off I’d be thrilled. Having the Titans here is cool but baseball throughout the spring and summer would make this place perfect.
Miami , Giants , Nashville.? WTF.?
@@bconni2 haha born in San Francisco, moved to Nashville for college, and Miami is my nickname from college because I am a diehard Miami Dolphins fan for football (despite the fact that I’ve never been to Miami)
@@MiamiMarkYT how u a fan and never been to miami
@@armyboy1989_ was really into marine biology as a little kid at the exact same time I got into football. Dolphins were a perfect fit for combining those two interests. Ever since I’ve been a diehard fan.
Thank you for pitching Monterrey. It really is the best option, not only for Mexico but in Latin America. They are baseball-crazed there. I saw a Diablos game in Mexico City, and it was pretty exciting, but folks say Monterrey is so much more passionate. Also, they're closer to Houston than the next closest city to the Rockies, so the travel quotient is nullified. They would not only be Mexico's team but also Latin America's team, so when you think of the market, you gotta think multi-country.
As an additional note for the argument for San Antonio/Austin: SA is 5 hours away from the other MLB teams in Texas. Texas is massive; it’s not like a 3rd Texas team would really even be competing with the others (and the Greater Austin metro is at around 2.5m that is within driving distance)
stadum in San Marcos with transit links to Austin and San Antonio than market as an ASA area team
@@jessicacolegrove4152San Marcos being in the 512 area code would make it more of an Austin team than SA, and SA won’t like that. New Braunfels at least is in the 830 area code, separate from both SA and Austin.
@@Unknown-us6xh like it or not the sad truth is that San Antonio has put its self on track to be the Fort Worth to Austin's Dallas
@@Unknown-us6xhSan Marcos and New Braunfels are getting close to connecting at this point.
I could see Charlotte getting a team, but not San Antonio.
No matter who gets expansion teams, they're going to have to realign the divisions.
The city is pledged to no public financing towards a MLB stadium. Indeed, the city doesn't even want to get involved in an exploratory committee to drum up business support. The mayor's office told me that the Rays are welcome to move to Charlotte, but that Charlotte would do absolutely nothing to bring about such a move.
I would love to see Charlotte or Raleigh get a team here. NC is more than just a college basketball state and they've shown it with the Hurricanes garnering popularity under Dundon and the minor league teams here continuing to do relatively well in their leagues. Even if the Braves are an option in this region, it wouldn't be that much different than expanding to Nashville at that point since they also share the same region as the Braves do.
It would have to be an AL team for it to work in Raleigh or Charlotte. This is Braves country.
NFL made the mistake of making Panthers NL with Atlanta. My mom's from Charlotte but I still like Braves and Falcons.
2.3 million in the Raleigh/Durham/Cary Metro area. They need to put a stadium at Dorothea Dix Park, South of Downtown Raleigh. ❤
@@aarongeorge5816u liking the falcons just shows ur low level of intelligence😂
In NC, Raleigh seems to be more committed to pursuing MLB than Charlotte right now. Also has less competition in the market than either Charlotte or Nashville while being of similar size.
If I were king I’d probably go Raleigh/Durham and San Antonio.
I don't see Nashville being able to get taxpayer funding for MLB after funding a new NFL stadium. In NC, it's always Charlotte that gets things, but they don't really have room anywhere near downtown and can't expand the MiLB stadium.
Austin over San Antonio. MLB needs wealthy fans- Raleigh & Austin are the two richest metros without an MLB team within 100 miles
If San Antonio got serious they would build the New SPURS arena and an MLB ballpark at Hemisfair
I don’t see us in SA supporting MLB. We would need a domed or retractable roof ballpark due to the heat, and that’s a huge expense. Personally, I’d love it, but I just don’t know if it would work here.
Big IF
See and looking through the looking glass that is why SA wouldn't get an expansion baseball team. If it would work and that's a big if, it would have to be the SA/Austin expansion team. If you include the population of both cities and the economic impact of Austin into that equation you might have something. Problem is both cities have egos and I am not sure the city leaders would play second fiddle to either city. Oh well one can dream.
Good points, Glenn. And if they wanted to include the Metro Austin area they would need to build the stadium somewhere between New Braunfels and San Marcos which is about 40 miles from downtown SA and 40 miles from downtown Austin. That’s not an ideal situation.
Completely agree with that, I couldn't imagine driving to New Braunfels or San Marcos. The funny thing is that the players would probably love to live in Austin. ;)@@OldRustySteele
Salt Lake is out because there will be nobody there for Sunday games. Even when church lets out, they still aren't free. They have to go visiting.
So they play day-night doubleheaders on Saturday.The players would love having a day off.
The Jazz are doing just fine
@@GravityFalloutPines Good point
@@GravityFalloutPines you deserve a prize here have a head that’s always screaming
😂
It’s probably going to be Nashville and Montreal. However the Rays or the Marlins could be relocated.
Its interesting you sat thay Salt Lake City has 1.27 million in thr Metro area. If you include the Metro area along the Wasatch front (which the Utah Jazz considers) is more like 2.7 million, making it a more comparable market to San Antonio and Charlotte
Yes, but you're only in competition with San Antonio. They'll put one out West and one in the Southeast.
If you are going to add metro areas together you are only making your case worse. There are 5 million people in the San Antonio / Austin metro area...and it's still growing
It should be noted that the SLC metro is counted weirdly. The way it’s broken up Davis County which literally shares a border with SLC proper isn’t considerer part of the Metro it’s considered part of Ogden 40 miles away. A better way to measure it is to look at the whole Wasatch Front from Provo to Ogden which has 2.8 million people in an 80 mile corridor.
They need to start using what is called the Combined statistical area (CSA) which includes Ogden and Provo mand not the Metropolitan statistical area (MSA)
Exactly! CSA is the Wasatch front and all within 45 miles of downtown SLC. 2.8 million people which translates into the 27th largest TV market in America, bigger than a lot of NFL, MLB, and NBA markets. Its one of the fastest growing urban areas in the country, with the youngest population in America and highly educated with hight tech silicon reputation.
Calgary, Alberta has a metropolitan population of 1,306,784 that would host an MLB expansion team Calgary Cannons and it create a future rivalry with the Seattle Mariners in the American League West and MLB. Calgary is about 1084 kilometres from the Alberta - British Columbia/Washington State border and has TV market for Major League Baseball in Canada
Everything I hear from former residents of SLC is that the region is thriving and expanding like mad.
@@ericacottle3507The SLC TV market is skewed- it is all of Utah, plus portions of Nevada. How many people in St. George are going to drive to SLC for games?
Nobody is pointing out the obvious regarding San Antonio, they would need a dome to deal with summer time temperatures. Who has the cash ready to build a $2 billion dome in SA?
It has high temperatures but usually low humidity so it usually just feels warm and not miserably hot outside.
@@donkeysaurusrex7881 low humidity ....🤣🤣🤣🤣 no it isn't
@@eugeniusbear2297 I could be wrong. I lived in Austin and only ever visited San Antonio, but they felt the same. Neither ever felt like absolute misery to me like Alabama, Georgia, Brazil, and Africa felt when I lived there.
Imagine, New York carried 3 teams within a few miles of each other…New York Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Baseball Giants…
And there's a good reason they don't anymore
Two problems with putting in stadiums in either Nashville or Salt Lake City both starring one bad word weather! Both will need Baseball stadiums with roofs. In SLC Snow from opening day till Memorial Day and then again before Sept is out each yr. Open air stadium there your shoveling snow out of all the time like Highmark Stadium in Buffalo the last 2 Bills seasons. In Nashville it's Rain, Rain Rain all the time. Even saw the Grand Olde Oppry and the Hotel got flooded out a few yrs back in spring April- June that tornado season in Nashville. Maybe they can make the 1st stadium that not only has a retractable roof but could also retract itself into the ground when Dorothy says "It's a twister, it's a twister. Also SLC is the capitol of Mormonism. A lot of alcohol, beer and other beverages get consumed by fans at MLB games. Would they go if no beer or alcholholic beverages served I am not sure they would. 😮
Today they do in the NHL. Devils and Islanders both play within 10-15 miles of Manhattan. Makes for a really fun fan rivalry. (Devils fan here, both us and Isles fans get along in having a common enemy in the Rangers)
@davidpollack3556 The non Mormon population now outnumbers the Mormon population. And of the half that are Mormon, a good majority of them are not serious followers of their religion anymore. Salt Lake already has an AAA team and sell beer and alcohol just fine. Along the NBA Jazz.
Main thing here is the strong ownership and corporate sponsorship within the city. Regardless of how attractive the city is in terms of population and high GDP, team can only survive with a solid funding from the ownership. If you run a team like As, local fans will eventualy walk away. Vancouver is a prime example where fan base is massive as among of fans traveling to Seattle to watch Jays is simply remarkable. But they don't really have any marque corporate presence that can take on a MLB team.
I would buy season tickets in Charlotte!
I believe Raleigh, NC would be a better choice than Charlotte. Charlotte has way too much going on with the NFL, NBA, NASCAR, professional Soccer, and a Triple-A Baseball team. Where Raleigh only has the NHL. Raleigh has had just as much of a population growth as Charlotte in recent years. Raleigh would be a gold mine for an MLB team. Geographically it's the perfect location between Washington DC and Atlanta.
tbh I don't see portland getting a team - there's some grassroots demand, but most of the "push" has been coming from the real estate developers who own the proposed stadium locations
I don’t believe Portland will ever get an MLB baseball team. The political issues there would never allow it to happen!
Makes more sense than SLC.
@@OldManSurvivalAgreed. It's a lawless city with hard drugs running rampant after being decriminalized.
Portland has been trash ever since like 2020. Crime and anarchy has been on the rise
With Portland, you build a stadium today, 5 years later you and the cops watch it burn down at the hands of protesters.
As a NC local, don't count out Raleigh over Charlotte.
Austin to San Antonio is an 80 mile drive, one-way. If a team is planted in San Antonio, I can't ever see Austinites making up any significant portion of the crowd, unless there's some sort of special event, like "Austin Night" or something.
A study found that 1 out of 4 people at Spurs games is from the Austin area. So I don’t know
All the more reason we need a high speed train connecting the two cities so more out of towners can attend SPURS games
I live in South Austin and work in North San Antonio. It’s a faster commute than going to Round Rock or Cedar Park
Literally exact opposite
I think it'd be more appealing to put the team in South Austin anyway.
Raleigh is far more of a serious contender than Charlotte. It’s growing faster (will catch up in size within the next 15-20 years), is a less crowded sports market (NFL, NBA, and MLS vs just NHL), and most importantly already has an ownership group together actively exploring expansion.
With recent news in San Antonio, San Antonio is out. People would not pay for a new stadium. Paying for a Triple A team stadium is already gonna be a battle in the ballot box. I can't image a MLB stadium making it. Local money leaders have already focused their efforts in that AAA team and getting the San Antonio Spurs a new arena downtown which will already take a huge effort. At this point if there is a new team in Texas it will be in Austin. Austin is growing and has money San Antonio residents don't.
With North Carolina, you are correct population and whatnot, and also about Charlotte being the biggest city. However, Charlotte has shown no interest of note in bringing a team. Whereas Raleigh has shown plenty of interest
Charlotte only has two NASCAR Cup races. Not sure why that would matter. That said, I don't think Charlotte is a good spot. Nashville or Raleigh would be better.
Salt Lake is the number 22 combined metro area at 2.705 million. San Antonio is the number 23 combined metro area at 2.637 million. See “combined statistical area” from the U.S. Census. It’s the only way to compare apples to apples.
People in SLC have money, people in SA do not
San Antonio is a hour from Austin who has 2.4milliin people and the got money. Put the stadium in between both. Like the rangers are between Dallas and ft. Worth
The Racial slurs gonna be flying in SLC
And Portland is 3.3 million so what?
I can see Nashville & San Antonio. I get a lot of cities want a team, but BL is projected revenue will rule the day.
If and when the Oakland Athletics complete their move to Las Vegas, I believe Nashville and Salt Lake City are done deals for expansion.
I am fine with Nashville I would have preferred Charlotte but Nashville is acceptable. SLC on the other hand no. Way too small of a market. We can barely keep the Brewers in Milwaukee and SLC is smaller. Austin or San Antonio would make 1000 times more sense.
The Salt Lake Market is bigger than Nashville and San Antonio sooo...
@@chriseaton6203 Nope
SLC 1.2 million
Nashville 2.1 million
San Antonio 2.5 million
There are MLS teams in Portland, Montréal, and Salt Lake, too. Also, don't forget the CFL in Montréal.
I wouldn’t compare either CFL or NFL to MLB. In pro football you only have one game per week, so it’s a “Big Event” with tailgating and all-day activities. In baseball, you have to draw a good attendance for 81 home games, with 5 of the 7 on weeknights where many people have to get up early to go to work the next day. So just because Montreal supports the CFL or any city supports CFL or NFL doesn’t automatically mean they’ll support MLB adequately.
Austin has MLS also.
That's just North Carolina, you didn't mention that Charlotte is on the State line which will pull South Carolina residents as well. I can't believe Charlotte isn't #1 on this list!!!
The city has zero interest in getting involved. ZERO!
Another issue is bandwidth, Charlotte has a lot going on right now. Frankly Tepper is in the way, doesn't he want Another stadium? Baseball is cool but may not be an immediate priority for Charlotte.
That’s because Raleigh is higher than Charlotte. The city has actual interest unlike Charlotte.
Tbh I think the Southern East teams would give the mlb an attendance boots especially in the Carolinas.
Great video ............Salt Lake City and Nashville will be the two expansion cities.
Nashville and Salt Lake City will be the next two expansion cities unless the A’s deal falls apart in Las Vegas and in that case the A’s will go to Salt Lake City as they already have 900 million set aside for a new team and Las Vegas will get the new franchise as it makes the most sense.
MLB should not expand to Vegas if the A's deal falls apart. Better got to San Antonio in that scenario.
@@daltontf Las Vegas was screwed once before when the Diamondbacks were supposed to be a Vegas franchise but MLB was against having a team in a place that allowed gambling .The only way for the Vegas deal to fall apart is If Fisher can’t get the funding ..Salt Lake City already has money and stadium renderings to show MLB they are ready for baseball as well as the NHL ..When expansion does come one team will be in the east and one in the west . Las Vegas was the number one choice for expansion until the A’s decided to move there . San Antonio would have to put together a plan to beat out Salt Lake City to compete. Not that it can’t be done , but Salt Lake City already has a head start
@@BoulderCityBlues The Salt Lake City investors, the same that own the Jazz, have been buying up the land where the stadium will be built. Salt Lake has shown it can entertain on a global level, unlike all the other cities "competing". The Salt Lake location is actually really good as its between downtown and the airport, which are only 10 minutes apart anyways, and a light rail line already exists along the route the stadium will be at.
@@domin8ssYou’re confused, Smith Entertainment owns the Jazz and now the the Utah NHL team, the Miller group wants to bring in an MLB expansion team.
On March 13, 2025, Montreal Baseball Group and a joint partnership of Smith Entertainment Group and Miller Sports + Entertainment will each pay an expansion fee of $2.2 billion to award 2 expansion franchises to Montreal and Salt Lake City for the 2028 MLB season, so the new Montreal franchise will again be known as the Expos and the new Salt Lake City franchise will be known as the Utah Bighorns. The 2nd incarnation of the Montreal Expos will play at their new $1.2 billion 48,000-seat retractable-roof ballpark on the former Blue Bonnets Raceway/Hippodrome de Montreal site and the Utah Bighorns will play at their new $1.8 billion 35,000-seat open-air ballpark in the Power District on Salt Lake City’s west side.
If i am mlb i expand out to 36. If you have 6 owners that want it doit. And toncomment on after 32 it takes a while...once the owners taste expansion money i think it becomes tempting to keep expanding
IMO, another good candidate city for MLB expansion is Louisville KY. The city had a professional baseball team many moons ago (from 1882-1899) called the Louisville Colonels which had the unfortunate distinction of being the last MLB team to suspend operations. But given that it has a relatively large metro population - albeit much smaller than those on the list - and the closest MLB city is in Cincinnati which is almost 100 miles away, there may be some untapped potential for a professional baseball team in that city. Also, there is no other professional sports team in the entire state of Kentucky (the last one being the old Kentucky Colonels of the now-defunct American Basketball Association) and even though the city lost its team more than 125 years ago, there is still a strong baseball tradition in Louisville. Before it folded, hall of fame players Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke once played for the Colonels. To be sure, I am aware of the obvious challenges in bringing baseball to Louisville such as the lack of an MLB-standard stadium but other cities faced similar problems in the beginning so it's not an insurmountable problem.
MLB teams' future relocations are Athletics from Oakland to Las Vegas & Padres from San Diego to Salt Lake City as the Utah Mormons.
I’m guessing that with the embarrassing debacle that happened in Oakland, there may be a groundswell to revisiting the plan to put a stadium on the waterfront.
That's the only way they would even be considered for another team.
I’d love for San Antonio to get a team but I’d settle for it to go to Austin(preferably south Austin/San Marcos) and have San Antonio be their AAA team.
If it's not Montreal , it's not the best option .. simple .
I wish it was that simple...The support just isn't there for a new MLB team, which sucks because that is a HUGE media market with a dearth of professional sports teams...and I want to be able to find Expos hats easily again😂😂
Screw Montreal
@bobbytownsend1868 why tho ... it's very clearly the best option here , and the best city in North America .. why the hate ??
@@datass666 got my expos hat and my expos Tom Brady jersey lol . I truly feel the support would be there this time if the franchise was run properly
I think you should also look at this a different way. If teams were not associated with cities, but everyone had their favorite team, where would you want an MLB stadium? When I lived near Dallas, I would go watch a couple of Royals games in Arlington. Now that I live in Austin, I hardly attend but I have traveled to Kansas City a couple of times for the sole purpose of attending a Royals baseball game.
MLB made the tough, but intelligent decision to incorporate interleague play several decades ago. The intent was to stimulate additional interest in the league by bringing people's favorite teams closer to a location where they might attend. Over time, people eventually develop a fondness for the local team. Baseball's popularity expands.
The best thing for MLB is a stadium near a large expanding metro area that is 3 hours or more away from an existing stadium. Texas is the #1 choice and it isn't even close. A team near Austin or San Antonio wouldn't hurt loyalty to the Rangers or Astros, especially if they are in the same division of 4 teams and they get to see them 9 times per year. You never stop loving your old favorite team. You do stop attending games regularly when it takes more than 3 hours to go see them.
Austin is full of transplants with loyalties to other teams from across the country. Give them a chance to watch their favorite team play 3 or 4 times a year. Who knows, they may end up rooting on the local team before it's over.
They need to set things up so that there are two leagues, two conferences in each league, two divisions in each conference, and four teams in each division.
Eliminate inter league play, eliminate wild cards, and just have three rounds of playoffs, first place vs. first place.
The A's moving to Vegas is far from a done deal. Sure, MLB has approved the move, but there is still the question whether Fisher can afford to do it. If the Schools Over Stadiums group succeeds in getting a referendum concerning the $$$ in stadium funding on the ballot for November, changes are that the public will vote it down. If that happens, you might just see the Sacramento or Utah A's (or whatever name is left over from naming the NHL team), and an expansion team in Vegas.
Austin A's has a nice ring to it.
I don't get why they always limit the Salt Lake Metro area. The real Area has nearly 2.5 Million. It stretches from Brigham City in the North to Payson in the south. over 2/3rds of the states population live in this area which is all within an hour drive of Salt Lake City. There are an additional 150K people living in the mountain valleys to the east and west also within about an hour drive. The estimates are that the population will be around 5 Million by 2035. The TV Market will be the entire state plus many communities in Idaho, Wyoming, Western Colorado, and Eastern Nevada. Which pushes the current market somewhere at or above 3.5 Million.
Reasons Vancouver will never get an MLB team:
- Despite a popular and successful High-A club in the Vancouver Canadians, there just isn't enough casual fan interest in baseball to meet the demands of MLB. Vancouver is more likely to get a Major League Cricket team. (which would be great because cricket is awesome)
- Vancouver is on the same path as Portland for the same reasons.
- Canadian taxes don't motivate players.
- Canada's version of T-Mobile and ESPN combined owns the Blue Jays and they might have a problem with another team taking away fans and their wallets. (Another reason Montreal won't get a team)
- Seattle is only a 3 hour drive away & the Mariners definitely get a lot of fans from Vancouver especially when the Jays are in town, and they might have a problem with another team taking away fans and their wallets.
Yeah, i dont see vancouver getting a team. Just not in the local sports culture or history. Plus it wont be an ideal place to attract top players, starting with the crap weather, high taxes, and distance from anywhere. Would feel too much like the gulag for most players.
And besides, who wants to give them *another pretense* to burn down their own city?
😝
The west coast doesn’t need another team
Raleigh/Durham/Cary Metropolitan area has ~2.3 million. Oak City Baseball!
I have a feeling the A’s will stay in Sac. There already is a huge A’s fan base here.
Monterrey would be indeed a way better option than Mexico City. Besides the reasons mentioned, it also has a stronger baseball culture, even the Mexican Hall of fame is there. Still, one can only dream..
North Carolina needs a team but Raleigh is a much better option than Charlotte. Plus there is actually a concerted effort in Raleigh with a billionaire owner backing the effort.
I've lived in both metroplexes, and I can tell you that Charlotte is a much larger and wealthier metroplex than Raleigh. No comparison. However, you may well be correct that there is more enthusiasm for MLB and willingness to spend on a stadium. Land out in the exurbs would certainly be cheaper southeast of Raleigh around Zebulon than south of Matthews near Weddington. I tried to drum up interest in MLB at Matthews and Charlotte and hit a brick wall.
If Nashville can’t come up with a better name than Stars, then they shouldn’t get a team.
New Orleans should have an MLB team
What do you think about this if I had my blank check ✅ I would bring a MLB to Austin tx
Baseball expansion....with the current enviroment and baseball not being what it used to be, new MLB teams are a big mistake.
Indianapolis used to want MLB, but don’t seem to now. Most of Indiana are Cubs fans, and Cardinal or Cincinnati fans in southern Indiana. I don’t think an Indianapolis team would turn Cubs fans into an Indianapolis team’s fans. I think people would rather visit Wrigley.
I think a Mexico City team would be dope as hell. There are more than 20 million people in that city, the fans would improve the genera atmosphere at baseball games and it would also create new rivalries...
And unlike Northern Mexico they have a functioning government. Might as well have a team in Port-Au-Prince.
They'd have to build a stadium with an outfield that's 525 to left and right field, and 600' to center because of the altitude.
Charlotte has a MLS team
Albuquerque, NM and Birmingham, AL be the next cities for MLB expansion teams. In the year 2072.
Ha ha ha ha…………lol stop please stop
By 2072 Huntsville will be a lot more likely than Birmingham.
@@donkeysaurusrex7881 I will be 100 years old by then. If I'm still alive in 2072.
Portland can't even keep a Triple A Team. Why do they think an MLB Team could do better? When The Giants were threatening to move to Tampa Bay, a poll taken of the city showed they were not at all excited about the team moving there. So the geniuses at MLB decided the town would prefer an expansion team instead...now they can't figure out why the team isn't drawing fans...my guess is a new stadium will be about as attractive as the first one...especially when the ticket prices go through the roof so the team can hold up their end of the financing....The Rays would have done better to try out that Split home town thing with Montreal...
Portland is overrun with liberal trash now. No one wants to be there. Thats why they are leaving.
Portland's loss of the Beavers was not due to a lack of fans, but mismanagement by Portland city officials when MLS took over PGE Park. They tried to build a Triple A park for the Beavers "on the cheap", instead of investing in the Portland Public School building site near downtown that was perfect for an eventual major league stadium, and ran out of time. The problem in Portland is not a lack of interest in baseball, but too many city and state officials who can't see the value to trying to improve things with major league sports. Having worked for all of the minor league teams in this area since 2000, I can tell you that there are more than enough baseball fans here to support an MLB team.
As an Alabamian, I pray that one of our cities gets a spots team in the big four leagues or even the mls. The minors and the USXFL aren’t worth it
Alabamians love their football. An NFL team would fare better, I think. Birmingham Bruins?
@@fbales or maybe something in Huntsville like the rockets or moon men
@@warrenpierce3282or Tuscaloosa bears or bear Bryant
Bring MLB to Austin tx
With a lower population than other cities, I couldn’t imagine them building a team in Salt Lake City. OK City, Omaha, San Jose, Nashville, Memphis, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Albuquerque and Louisville would all be better options. And since Canada is now full of Jays fans, I wouldn’t put a team in Canada, either. You also need to keep in mind that people in a lot of these areas are already fans of other teams. People aren’t just going to ditch their favorite team in favor of a local, new team.
I would not be so certain about the A's to Vegas. It hinges on a lot of uncertainties including stadium financing, the questionable financial health of Ballys which is giving them the 9 acres to build on, and a potential referendum on the publicly funded portion of the project. The A's organization has been unquestionably inept at building a stadium thus far, so if any of those details aren't resolved, the move is toast. That opens the door for either a return to Oakland (probably only happens if current ownership sells), moving to SLC, or most likely, staying in Sacramento permanently after they move there next year.
Northern California remains an attractive place to host two teams with a large population and plenty of baseball fans. Oakland has a site picked out, legal hurdles cleared, hundreds of millions in grant money for area improvements lined up, and willpower to build a stadium if they were to work with a new owner. Sacramento is a fairly untapped market that could retain nearly all the Bay Area A's fans. Both cities offer a much larger TV contract than Vegas or SLC.
I think ultimately the A's stay in Sacramento and get a new stadium built there, and Vegas gets awarded an expansion team along with Nashville. SLC will still push for a team, but their sights will be on snatching the Diamondbacks if their stadium needs aren't met in the next 5-10 years.
Love to see baseball international getting recognition!
30% of teams are not drawing 13000 per game. And the league wants to expand?
TV Inventory. More teams = more games. Attendance is just the cream on top.
Portland has recovered from the dark days of the pandemic. If you ever visit here you will seen a beautiful thriving city. I think it would be the best bet for MLB. Our NBA and MLS teams have incredible attendance
I’m from Portland but I am no longer in favor of having a team because of the location they are planning for right now. First off it’s not even in Portland. The traffic in the area surrounding where they wanna build it is some of the worst in the state. They’ve been trying to expand the freeway in that area for 3 years now and construction always takes much longer than it should in that area. The traffic will only get worse with a pro sports team in that specific area and it’ll take even longer for construction to get done
Portland would be a great choice. It would help with travel, too.
They aren’t thinking about putting it in Hillsboro are they?
@@zanedodge5060 no they are planning to put it in Beaverton where Red Tail is located
@@timphares3061for a riot, or scoring drugs…..baseball not so much
Utah has been the fastest growing state since 2010. The wasatch front has 2.6 million people and growing every day. They have great support for their nba and mls teams. They also heavily support 2 big12 universities close to each other. They just got a nhl team as well. The nfl and mlb view Utah as a good investment with such growth and fan support. I don’t think the fan support for other pro football leagues translates to potential support for a nfl team.
White Sox has been talking to Nashville...
I wouldn't be surprised if they talk about contraction again...
Selig wanted to contract the Twins and Expos... Then both got new stadiums, albeit Expos became the Nationals... Played in RFK first...
San Antonio needs Football and Baseball
NASHVILLE CANT USE A STAR >>>>THE RANGERS HAVE THAT NOW !! CAN PEOPLE GET CREATIVE AND COMMON SENSE ABOUT THE NAMES >>> LIKE THE INDIANS TURNED TO THE GUARDIANS WHAT KIND OF NAME IS THAT....IF THE INDIANS WANTED OUT THEN I WOULD HAVE MADE THE CLEAVELAND CALVORIY
if canada gets another team, i'd put it vancouver since that puts one team on the east and the other in the west. I would not go to Montreal since it failed once, plus Montreal is an hour plane ride away from Toronto
I tend to agree but I do believe in second chances. Montreal is a very large and potentially lucrative city for MLB.
4:36 yea, let me tell you it’s definitely not because of the pandemic, it’s because crime is out of control there, taxes are high, and politics suck
Right now there are not enough major leaguers to fill all the teams and they want to expand?!!!!
The quality of play is so deleted, its become a boring game to watch!
When Kansas City-Jackson County voted down the downtown stadium, the rumor is moving to Nashville.
By law they aren't allowed to move the team at all....the previous owner stated that when the team was sold they cannot move the team out of Kansas City. I could be wrong though.
SLC now has NHL. Does that change things?
There is no excuse for not having a team in North Carolina at this point.
As a Utahn Im praying we win the bid. It would be awesome to that the big leagues here 🤞🤞
Also, as others pointed out, it's best to count SLC's metro size by the entirety of the Wasatch front, which is about 2.5 mill.
The state has already passed a bill that would allow for the construction of a ballpark. Idk if the group in San Antonio has the same governmental support
I disagree. Here's my 4 picks for expansion MLB teams: West- SLC or Sacramento. East- Nashville or NC. San Antonio: Nope. Texas teams LOVE to limit other new teams competing against what is already there. Especially Dallas/FW. Very fan possessive. Nashville: Not as likely as you think, but strong candidate. It could likely be in NC somewhere, just my opinion. I say 'somewhere' in NC, because, although Charlotte is an obvious option based on population, geographics and CBD (Central Business District), Baseball is VERY popular in Raleigh, and have proven they're a serious sports town with the NHL Hurricane; consider the "Triangle". SLC is also a baseball hotbed, and they're now getting the NHL team from AZ. Sacramento may likely be the current frontrunner in the West, but only because they're hosting the A's for 3 seasons. It'll be 'make-or-break' for them however, as if they don't properly prove success with the A's, they're definitely out. It's like a test-run, which the MLB is most inclined to. If they nail it, the MLB will definitely want them in a front running. My take? SLC vs. Sac for a West team, and Nashville vs. NC in the East. If Sacramento nails it with the trial run with the A's, they'll likely be the nod. Puting new sports teams, in new cities, is a big risk. If a city proves themselves with a trial run, they're in. NC (probably Charlotte, possibly Raleigh) I think will likely get the East team. They're best situated and 'team ready' in many ways.
Charlotte,NC
Neither Charlotte nor Matthews has the least bit of interest in getting involved with such a project.
Nashville's pretty much a lock at this point.
Notwithstanding that Nashville and Tennessee pledged to the taxpayers that the Titans' stadium would be the last time the taxpayers would ever be asked to finance a stadium???
@@GeraldM_inNC Yes. That stadium is being built mostly out of tourism taxes anyway, and the plan is to continue growing a pool for future use in the same way. Many celebrities have also pledged funds from their personal pockets.
@@verde7595 "Is being built"? You mean they've broken ground already prior to obtaining a MLB franchise?
Here’s a reason for a team in Mexico City. It’s the largest city in North America. By far. Of course when Trump gets back in and builds the wall it will be hard to travel back and forth and after Mexico pays for it there won’t be any money left to build a stadium.
Would love to see the Rays move downtown Orlando or even downtown Tampa. They deserve a new stadium and I'm tired of driving a 3 hour round trip to Tropicana field.
I go when the Red Sox visit. Still hate the travel, but still go.
Hillsborough county doesn’t have the $$ for a new Rays ballpark 😊
San Antonio will happily take an MLB team. Austin and San Antonio would need to bid and share the team but we're all good with that. That's 4 to 5 million people alone. Add the Valley and Border maybe 7 to 8 million. Not a tough choice considering we'd be happy to front a stadium
I know people don't hear about it a lot, but San Antonio talks with teams more often than people think. Building a stadium isn't an issue the city just needs guarantees that a team is coming. Yes, the population will vote for a new stadium
The Rays plan to build another facility in St. Petersburg is just ridiculous. People don't attend their games now because of the LOCATION. A move up the I-4 corridor to Orlando would draw from the five surrounding counties (Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Brevard, and Volusia). Orlando already supports the NBA and MLS, has a large Hispanic baseball-loving population (in Kissimmee), and the hordes of northern transplants. And no one can say the population in the Orlando metro area is going to decline anytime soon. Too bad the boat is about to sail.
Very well reasoned. Great job
Montreal has the Alouettes of Canadian Football League as Professional Sports Team. So, that makes {2} Professional Sports Teams in the city of Montreal, after all the Alouettes won the 2023 Grey Cup last Canadian Football League Season last season.
Montreal of the CFL barely draws 20,000 for what 10 games a year? If you count that maybe SLC should count 65,000 for a BYU football game and 50,000 for an utah football game going on at the same time.
Montreal expos, in their retro logo, and uniform. Enough said.