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Is Raleigh Durham a possible candidate for a mlb team or is charlotte more likely?

JohnU

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The Expos played 9 or 18 games a season in Puerto Rico their last few years. Granted it was Selig, but he did talk about wanting to put a team there. That is what I was basing my opinion off of, but having personally traveled to a number of the islands in the Caribbean I agree with you finances would be an issue.

I could not think of a place where the game would be more embraced.
 

JohnU

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And as for Tennessee, I guess they can have Memphis since it's Cardinals country, but stay out of Nashville and Knoxville.

Nashville could possibly entertain a big-league offer but they have just built a ballpark there and I doubt there's interest in replacing it. It's hard to expand AAA ballparks, so there has clearly not been much interest in MLB expanding there.

The whole of this thread is somewhat nonsense, to be honest. I am sure the commish has said 'sure, why not?" to questions about expansion, as if answering that way means anything. It's better than saying, 'fuck no, we have too many franchises already, so why do we need more?"

If anything there would be a shift and the only teams that are looking for ballparks are the A's and Rays.

Other places in play are way higher up on the list than N.Carolina.
 

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Reason why I created this thread is because I thought Raleigh/Durham could've been a viable candidate for a Major League Baseball team if things don't work out in Charlotte if a MLB team were to possibly relocate like the Oakland A's or Tampa Bay Rays. Raleigh/Durham I understand is a growing city and has a great market not saying Charlotte does'nt. They already have a possibility of a MLS franchise landing in the region if I am not mistaken the Railhawks I believe?
 

black francis

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If the state of north carolina were to land a Major League Baseball Team who could be a top city for a MLB relocated or expansion franchise? The Research Triangle area like Raleigh/Durham or Chapel Hill? Charlotte? Charlotte I understand has a triple AAA baseball club.

They cant have a baseball team. They dont let people use any bathroom they want.
 

black francis

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I'd prefer contraction to relocation.

Get rid of the A's and Rays and move the Brewers back to the AL where they belong
 

VikingFan2k2

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I'd prefer contraction to relocation.

Get rid of the A's and Rays and move the Brewers back to the AL where they belong

As someone who's had to deal with the possibility that my team was contracted, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. 30 is the right number and the MLBPA will never allow contraction that costs 50 players their jobs.
 
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New teams can stay out of Braves country.

Go to Omaha, Go back to Montreal, put a team in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but stay the hell out of the Carolinas, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.

No disrespect, but the Braves can't event sell out their stadium when they make the postseason. There's a reason their new stadium has less capacity than the previous stadium. A new team in the south should wake up the true Braves fans and send off the borderline fans. Growing up, I remember no one gave two s*its about the Braves. But once they made it to the World Series in 1991, suddenly everyone and their brother were big Braves fans. Now I can't find them. And I grew up in "Braves country." I say give the southerners another team to pull for and give the Braves some competition.
 

Chewbaccer

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No disrespect, but the Braves can't event sell out their stadium when they make the postseason. There's a reason their new stadium has less capacity than the previous stadium. A new team in the south should wake up the true Braves fans and send off the borderline fans. Growing up, I remember no one gave two s*its about the Braves. But once they made it to the World Series in 1991, suddenly everyone and their brother were big Braves fans. Now I can't find them. And I grew up in "Braves country." I say give the southerners another team to pull for and give the Braves some competition.

I was born in 91, and I've been to numerous playoff games and every one was a sell out.
 

JohnU

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A new team in the south should wake up the true Braves fans and send off the borderline fans. I say give the southerners another team to pull for and give the Braves some competition.
There is evidence to suggest both areas could generate the sort of economy that makes MLB work. Charlotte just built a AAA ballpark. They won't go back into that process. Raleigh-Durham could, I suppose, but likely won't or they would have been upfront about trying to lure the A's or the Rays, both of whom would love to get out of their sewers.

The idea that Montreal is looking for a team is not a real story yet. They don't have a ballpark. The Expos didn't exactly get a warm hug while they were there. An ownership group would have to emerge. There may be such a group.

Usually when there is smoke, there is fire. Not much smoke, just friction.

MLB will likely wait to see if the Oakland and Tampa areas want a team badly enough to build a ballpark. I'd say the A's are most likely to move out, and there are not very many places to go. Nashville just built a ballpark. Las Vegas would love a team, and MLB would hesitate there on "moral" grounds. The NFL doesn't have that problem, it seems.

I would wager that the longer the Rays go, the more likely Orlando is to drum up a reason to build a stadium.

Oklahoma City is the another continental city that could work.

I suppose the A's could move to Portland.

An outside ringer here is San Antonio. They are considering a ballpark. If talks commence ........

Just sayin'.
 

Bloody Brian Burke

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There is evidence to suggest both areas could generate the sort of economy that makes MLB work. Charlotte just built a AAA ballpark. They won't go back into that process. Raleigh-Durham could, I suppose, but likely won't or they would have been upfront about trying to lure the A's or the Rays, both of whom would love to get out of their sewers.

The idea that Montreal is looking for a team is not a real story yet. They don't have a ballpark. The Expos didn't exactly get a warm hug while they were there. An ownership group would have to emerge. There may be such a group.

Usually when there is smoke, there is fire. Not much smoke, just friction.

MLB will likely wait to see if the Oakland and Tampa areas want a team badly enough to build a ballpark. I'd say the A's are most likely to move out, and there are not very many places to go. Nashville just built a ballpark. Las Vegas would love a team, and MLB would hesitate there on "moral" grounds. The NFL doesn't have that problem, it seems.

I would wager that the longer the Rays go, the more likely Orlando is to drum up a reason to build a stadium.

Oklahoma City is the another continental city that could work.

I suppose the A's could move to Portland.

An outside ringer here is San Antonio. They are considering a ballpark. If talks commence ........

Just sayin'.
Things in Montreal are moving faster than you think:

Montreal investors meet MLB conditions - Article - TSN
 

Bloody Brian Burke

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Look, there are no guarantees people in Montreal would be able to support an MLB team 81 times a year with at least an average attendance of 25,000-30,000, but almost everything about the city and province have changed in the last 15 years. The city underwent declining fortunes for decades after separatists gained traction and came close to pulling out of Canada. Businesses fled to Toronto like crazy. Population declined. The loonie was at rock bottom against the US Dollar.

None of that is relevant anymore. The city is starting to boom the way Toronto and Vancouver have in the last decade. There is plenty of former industrial land there that can be converted into neighborhoods centered around a new ballpark. There's corporate interest. There are national media companies who would pay good money for TV rights (the Expos were pretty much pity-shown nationally by the end of their existence, I don't think they made any TV money after 1999). Being in a division with the Blue Jays would would create a rivalry that, if both teams can be consistently successful, would give any big rivalry in MLB a run for its money.

If they can get a stadium done, and they seem to have a willing partner in municipal government (which is dumb, but whatever) to help them out, there's really no reason that MLB can't give them a green light on either an expansion franchise (as the article states, Manfred wants two more teams in the league) or relocation of the Rays in the next year or two. I really think it's progressed to that point.
 

JohnU

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If they can get a stadium done, and they seem to have a willing partner in municipal government (which is dumb, but whatever) to help them out, there's really no reason that MLB can't give them a green light on either an expansion franchise (as the article states, Manfred wants two more teams in the league) or relocation of the Rays in the next year or two. I really think it's progressed to that point.
I think the key phrase here is 'if they can get a stadium done...." but I don't agree that a ballpark should not be owned by a municipality. Private funding will never get the job done.

As to whether the franchise is imminent or just the product of wishful thinking, it still implies that 2 other ballparks are going to be built (Tampa and Oakland) where there has been absolutely zero indication of positive movement. Tampa has been whining for a ballpark since the place opened and the A's aren't going to thrive in Oakland no matter what they want.

Manfred can advocate for expansion because that's his job to boost the product. Ballparks costing upwards of a billion bucks now are far less likely to be embraced in an era when much of the sport is being financed by TV contracts.

That, of course, does not address the OP about whether MLB would enjoy moving into Raleigh or Charlotte. I personally think the operation would be far better served to stabilize at least one of the weak AL franchises before entertaining a move to a Canadian city where the history of the game has been far from glamorous.
 

soxfan1468927

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I think the key phrase here is 'if they can get a stadium done...." but I don't agree that a ballpark should not be owned by a municipality. Private funding will never get the job done.
Disagree with this. If the stadium is not profitable enough to be funded outside of public money, then it shouldn't exist. The answer is not to force others to pay for it.
 

Bloody Brian Burke

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I think the key phrase here is 'if they can get a stadium done...." but I don't agree that a ballpark should not be owned by a municipality. Private funding will never get the job done.

As to whether the franchise is imminent or just the product of wishful thinking, it still implies that 2 other ballparks are going to be built (Tampa and Oakland) where there has been absolutely zero indication of positive movement. Tampa has been whining for a ballpark since the place opened and the A's aren't going to thrive in Oakland no matter what they want.

Manfred can advocate for expansion because that's his job to boost the product. Ballparks costing upwards of a billion bucks now are far less likely to be embraced in an era when much of the sport is being financed by TV contracts.

That, of course, does not address the OP about whether MLB would enjoy moving into Raleigh or Charlotte. I personally think the operation would be far better served to stabilize at least one of the weak AL franchises before entertaining a move to a Canadian city where the history of the game has been far from glamorous.
Private funding can always get the job done, it's just a question of "why bother?".

I don't think it relies on ballparks in TB or Oakland, it relies on resolutions to those situations and I think Oakland at least is going to progress this year on securing a location and getting the ball rolling (particularly now that the Raiders are gone). The Rays are either going to have to shit or get off the pot at some point. I don't think the MLB ownership of today are going to be much more patient in subsidizing a team nobody cares about via revenue sharing while there is literally zero appetite from the municipal gov't to help them with a new facility. Not when there are viable relocation options.

With regards to Charlotte/Raleigh, is there a local movement on to build a group that could bring an MLB franchise to town in either city? Charlotte has shelled out a lot of money to the Panthers and Hornets for stadium costs and renovations, including covering a larger portion of the Panthers' reno costs when a state referendum that would've covered some of those costs failed. Raleigh might be an option but it would be by far the smallest MSA with a baseball team in the Majors. What kind of TV revenue are we expecting from such a small area? Can they rely on that same attendance at major league ticket pricing that should at least reflect the MLB average of $31?

On the flip, Montreal has a market that is not only limited to its own immediate area which would rank as the 15th largest if they were an American city but they can also follow the model the Blue Jays used to build themselves as a national entity in a country of 35 million. As mentioned before they have a business community enthusiastic about bring MLB back to the city, they have a willing partner in municipal government and they have options available should they be instructed to secure a stadium site and financing.

I am convinced anybody would be hard-pressed to find another city as prepared for an MLB franchise as Montreal is at the moment.
 

Bloody Brian Burke

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Disagree with this. If the stadium is not profitable enough to be funded outside of public money, then it shouldn't exist. The answer is not to force others to pay for it.
Yeah but the fact is pretty much every stadium in use today was built with public financing. It's ugly but it's how it's gone until now and he's probably right in that potential owners in Montreal likely wouldn't be able to finance a ballpark there on their own.
 

soxfan1468927

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Yeah but the fact is pretty much every stadium in use today was built with public financing. It's ugly but it's how it's gone until now and he's probably right in that potential owners in Montreal likely wouldn't be able to finance a ballpark there on their own.
I'm sure they wouldn't completely on their own. However, I would like to see a model where local businesses that would benefit, plus donations, plus the owner's pockets were all used instead of money taking via coercion (taxes)
 

Bloody Brian Burke

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I'm sure they wouldn't completely on their own. However, I would like to see a model where local businesses that would benefit, plus donations, plus the owner's pockets were all used instead of money taking via coercion (taxes)
Yup. Bonds repaid via hotel taxes, service taxes, small property tax increases etc. are quite common. Why not bonds re-paid via tax on ticket sales?
 

moxie

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Does Charlotte still have the Hornets :scratch:

Would that play a factor in it becoming more of a "sports" city or detract with the logic being, "Well, they already have an NBA team so they don't need another sport"?
 

soxfan1468927

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Yup. Bonds repaid via hotel taxes, service taxes, small property tax increases etc. are quite common. Why not bonds re-paid via tax on ticket sales?
Well whether they get the funds to pay back the bonds via a "tax" or by just appropriating funds from ticket sales, I'm fine with that. A consumption tax on those who want to use the facility is the same as people just spending money on the product.
 
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