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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
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
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.
"Some of us will be really old by then. Some of YOU will be dead." 🤣🤣🤣
Until both the A's and the Ray's break ground, nothing is certain.
Geez this is the last MLB expansion until I die. How morbid thanks 😅
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.
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
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.
If San Antonio got serious they would build the New SPURS arena and an MLB ballpark at Hemisfair
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.
Raleigh NC is a great market.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
MLB teams' future relocations are Athletics from Oakland to Las Vegas & Padres from San Diego to Salt Lake City as the Utah Mormons.
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.
Tampa and Miami need to go elsewhere
Sacramento is long ready for an MLB team honestly.
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