MLB Expansion

[Senatorswin]

The NHL and NFL both have 32 teams. The MLB has 30. One would think the MLB would expand to 32 teams eventually. Any ideas who you would like to get the teams?

My vote - Montreal.

My opinion - definitely nobody in Florida.

[imref]

Montreal seems next on the list. Nashville would be a clear #2 IMHO. Mexico City has been discussed, but the heat and altitude would be tough to overcome.

I'd like to see us get a team here in D.C. first though.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Charlotte, Vegas, and Portland OR would be in the mix. 

San Antonio is the 4th largest metro area without a team, and nearby Austin is 7th. They are an hour 38 minutes apart, 79 miles, by I 35.  For comparison, Orlando to St. Pete is 106 miles and a 2 hours 13 minute drive per google. 

[Senatorswin]

Montreal seems next on the list. Nashville would be a clear #2 IMHO. Mexico City has been discussed, but the heat and altitude would be tough to overcome.

I'd like to see us get a team here in D.C. first though.

Ouch!

[Senatorswin]

Charlotte, Vegas, and Portland OR would be in the mix. 

San Antonio is the 4th largest metro area without a team, and nearby Austin is 7th. They are an hour 38 minutes apart, 79 miles, by I 35.  For comparison, Orlando to St. Pete is 106 miles and a 2 hours 13 minute drive per google.

I was thinking North Carolina but I didn't think about Vegas. That seems to be the hot spot for teams these days when for so long it was taboo.

[Senatorswin]

When there was talk the Expos were in danger of moving, the first thing I'd do every morning was to see what the attendance was at the Expos game the night before. I would read the Montreal newspaper a lot, especially one columnist who constantly wrote about Montreal's quest to get a stadium built. I'd also read the Portland newspaper a lot to see what they were saying.

[Natsinpwc]

Why do so many people think a team will work in Montreal this time? 

[Five Banners]

Why do so many people think a team will work in Montreal this time? 

PR, not a lot of obvious other choices? That their latest version of a pitch included Sharing a team and putting up a cut rate stadium doesn’t exactly seem to show progress

[Senatorswin]

Why do so many people think a team will work in Montreal this time?

If Vegas gets a team it will probably be the A's moving there unless Oakland builds a new stadium. If there's not an agreement in Tampa the Rays could move to Montreal. There doesn't seem to be a lot of momentum for an expansion team in Montreal but they do/did have an organization with Warren Cromartie as the face of the movement. They have a guy who is pushing to be the owner in Stephan Bronfman. I don't think there's a lot of optimism in Montreal they'll get a team though.

I would like for them to get a team so I could go there and watch a game.

That columnist I mentioned earlier was Jack Todd.

[Natsinpwc]

If Vegas gets a team it will probably be the A's moving there unless Oakland builds a new stadium. If there's not an agreement in Tampa the Rays could move to Montreal. There doesn't seem to be a lot of momentum for an expansion team in Montreal but they do/did have an organization with Warren Cromartie as the face of the movement. They have a guy who is pushing to be the owner in Stephan Bronfman. I don't think there's a lot of optimism in Montreal they'll get a team though.

I would like for them to get a team so I could go there and watch a game.

That columnist I mentioned earlier was Jack Todd.

I went with my family as a kid to Montreal and wanted to take in a game at Jarry Park. But was outvoted. Missed opportunity but I did get an Expos hat.  Not sure what happened to that. Someday plan to take in a hockey game there.

[Count Walewski]

Why do so many people think a team will work in Montreal this time? 

Because it did work for years and it wouldn't be Olympic Stadium or Loria this time.

[Five Banners]

Because it did work for years and it wouldn't be Olympic Stadium or Loria this time.

It worked in terms of having reportedly about 2/3 of the seats in Olympic stadium available for one dollar Canadian during their heyday. Then when Bronfman the elder reportedly didn’t want to pay the rising payroll rates, things changed.

They still need to get a decent TV and Radio deal and get local business sponsors, which was the focus of the ongoing efforts to keep team even before Loria arrived on the scene. They also might need to find out if there’s a sizable enough population willing to pay MLB caliber prices for tickets, which has yet to be proven appears to tend towards the negative given their chance to buy a certain number of season tickets when they had a team and that reportedly not occurring.

Then again, with Manfred, who knows. Maybe he’ll think it’s the greatest idea ever. However, since he was in MLB IIRC when the Expos RICO case filed by the Québecois owners occurred, I don’t know that even he would be chomping at the bit roll the dice on that. We will have to see.

[Natsinpwc]

It worked in terms of having reportedly about 2/3 of the seats in Olympic stadium available for one dollar Canadian during their heyday. Then when Bronfman the elder reportedly didn’t want to pay the rising payroll rates, things changed.

They still need to get a decent TV and Radio deal and get local business sponsors, which was the focus of the ongoing efforts to keep team even before Loria arrived on the scene. They also might need to find out if there’s a sizable enough population willing to pay MLB caliber prices for tickets, which has yet to be proven appears to tend towards the negative given their chance to buy a certain number of season tickets when they had a team and that reportedly not occurring.

Then again, with Manfred, who knows. Maybe he’ll think it’s the greatest idea ever. However, since he was in MLB IIRC when the Expos RICO case filed by the Québecois owners occurred, I don’t know that even he would be chomping at the bit roll the dice on that. We will have to see.

They did ok in little Parc Jarry attendance wise and then initial years in Olympic stadium when they had a good team.  I have to think most fans have converted over to the Blue Jays or even other teams and now would have to be won back. Wonder what their tv ratings are now for baseball? 

Nashville seems the most obvious choice to me. And then Charlotte and Vegas. Maybe Portland but they are just too weird.  Would be nice if they could move the Rays to Orlando.  Growing area.

https://news.orlando.org/blog/orlandos-fast-growth-in-a-category-all-its-own/

[nfotiu]

I grew up an expos fan.   It seemed that most of us generally hated the Blue Jays and found other teams or gave up on baseball.

One thing though when Montreal joined the league they were a bigger city than Toronto with a slightly bigger metro population.  Now Toronto has 2 million more people.   The separatist movement of the 80s really set back Montreal as a major city.   

I imagine MLB needs to figure out what the new local TV model is going to look like before seeing where to put new teams.   Teams living off of large tv territories collecting subscriber fees with few people watching are not going to nearly as attractive once the dust settles.

[Mattionals]

I can see Vegas becoming a target only if Oakland falls through and that still is a coin flip in my opinion at this point. Nashville has lots of push as well, and I think that Dombroski said he would leave the Phillies if Nashville picks up more steam.

You still need to figure out what to do with the Rays, and hopefully just get them a stadium IN Tampa and not in such a difficult location to get to. That Ybor City location would be ideal.

It's always fun to speculate, but you've basically got two teams in nasty stadium situations and then other teams who refuse to pay money. Granted this offseason has shown that some franchises are willing to just spend big, and I don't just mean the insane spending from Cohen. I think expansion is bound to happen, and it's more likely than it was 10 years ago. I'd say it happens in the next 10 years and re-alignment happens.


EDIT: Looks like Don Mattingly just joined the Nashville Stars collective according to MLBTR.

[skippy1999]

They did ok in little Parc Jarry attendance wise and then initial years in Olympic stadium when they had a good team.  I have to think most fans have converted over to the Blue Jays or even other teams and now would have to be won back. Wonder what their tv ratings are now for baseball? 

Nashville seems the most obvious choice to me. And then Charlotte and Vegas. Maybe Portland but they are just too weird.  Would be nice if they could move the Rays to Orlando.  Growing area.

https://news.orlando.org/blog/orlandos-fast-growth-in-a-category-all-its-own/

Moving the Rays to Orlando is a fantastic idea!

[Senatorswin]

There's a story in something called "The Street" that says the A's are looking for a site in Vegas on the strip. Possibly where the Tropicana is.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I'm not a fan of Vegas but that seems like it would be a very smart move for the league. 

There's a story in something called "The Street" that says the A's are looking for a site in Vegas on the strip. Possibly where the Tropicana is.

[welch]

The NHL and NFL both have 32 teams. The MLB has 30. One would think the MLB would expand to 32 teams eventually. Any ideas who you would like to get the teams?

My vote - Montreal.

My opinion - definitely nobody in Florida.

Montreal, yes.

Florida? Both teams need to go. I was furious when Miami got a team but DC did not. And Tampa. And Denver. And Phoenix. Florida might deserve three pro-football teams, since it is a football fanatic state. Otherwise, it is a Spring Training state that has never had enough baseball fans.

No, as well, to the many NBA cities, like San Antonio and Oklahoma City, or the minor league cities like Nashville (Sounds), or Charlotte, which was home to the Nats 'A' team.

Subtracting Miami and Tampa Bay, but adding Montreal: maybe there are not 32 Major League cities in North America? Or maybe more cities can support two teams? For instance, move the Browns back to St. Louis or the STL suburbs. Move the Nats AAA team to Baltimore, which has a respectable ballpark. Los Angeles could support three teams, and the NJ suburbs of NYC could support three, also.

[welch]

Why do so many people think a team will work in Montreal this time? 

Montreal failed when the owner backed away. More rich people now.

Add St. Louis and New Jersey. St. Louis has baseball fans everywhere you look, and no NFL team and no NBA team. New Jersey fans drive to Yankee Stadium, or take the bus to Port Authority and then take the subway -- that's a trek. The Yankees will still draw from Manhattan, the Bronx, Westchester County, and, Connecticut. The Mets will draw, as always, from Long Island.

[Natsinpwc]

Montreal was still below average attendance wise before the ownership problems happened. I guess a new downtown stadium would help. Not sure why MLB should avoid football crazed areas but not hockey crazed areas. Don’t know what their tv viewership was but doubt it was very substantial.  I believe the TV market is considered small.  C’est la vie.

[HalfSmokes]

Montreal failed when the owner backed away. More rich people now.

Add St. Louis and New Jersey. St. Louis has baseball fans everywhere you look, and no NFL team and no NBA team. New Jersey fans drive to Yankee Stadium, or take the bus to Port Authority and then take the subway -- that's a trek. The Yankees will still draw from Manhattan, the Bronx, Westchester County, and, Connecticut. The Mets will draw, as always, from Long Island.

The New York metro area could probably support a few more teams better than most candidate could support a single team

[Senatorswin]

Portland has the largest TV market in the US without a major league team. Seattle would fight it though.

[HalfSmokes]

Portland has the largest TV market in the US without a major league team. Seattle would fight it though.

Or they’d use the MASN precedent to claim the team’s media rights

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Perfect location for a park in San Antonio Metro area that can also draw from Austin: