Yeah, it's really hard to pinpoint a good location. There are some solid SAL cities here in South Carolina that could probably handle a Carolina League team, but kicking out a SAL team is just another moving piece (though Georgia is littered with former SAL cities that could potentially take a relocated team). I'll be curious to see what happens if/when MLB expands and an additional 10-14 MiLB teams are added.
If the Eastern League isn't a picky as the IL when it comes to the stadium, Rochester is within the EL footprint, so would an org swap be possible? Would Rochester take a league demotion in order to preserve baseball in the city?
Of course, this could just be posturing by the IL President. He reiterated today that he has an actual contingency plan, but wouldn't say what it was. There's speculation that they'd play on the road all year, similar to what a few teams have done in recent years (Scranton, Biloxi, Hartford), playing a good chunk of games in Syracuse and Buffalo.
When the Scranton club was looking at a season on the road, the tried to temporarily move to Newark, NJ, for a year, but the Mets balked at having a Yankees affiliate within their shared market (sound familiar?). But maybe they'd be less likely to protest an affiliate of a non-rival. The Newark park is a much smaller capacity than other AAA parks, but could be a good temp spot.