MLB Expansion

[tabascojet]

I don't like domes but the fact is, they can play inside them. If they insist on starting the season on Easter and ending it on Thanksgiving, we need more indoor places. The OP thread was about expansion. Ain't nobody who might be an expansion franchise gonna build a dome. They just won't. The places that can have MLB teams already built new ballparks.
Montreal might be the last place anybody would move. Who fuckin' wants Montreal in the big leagues?

aint nothing wrong with montreal......

 

[JohnU]

aint nothing wrong with montreal......

probably not. I just don't think it's necessary for MLB to try to get them in the league.

 

[tabascojet]

probably not. I just don't think it's necessary for MLB to try to get them in the league.

id like a better product (cough 30 teams 154 games cough)but mlb is too greedy for that.....

 

[broncosmitty]

Mariners - EVERYONE hated the Kingdome, and Safeco Field is open most of the time
Twins - No one liked the Hoover Dome, and the Twins moved to an open air stadium
Rays - everyone, and I mean everyone hates the Trop and they're looking at building a new stadium
Dbacks - has a retractable roof and they usually only close it when it's extremely hot
Houston - Astrodome sucked for baseball, Minute Maid has a retractable roof, which is open as much as possible
Montreal - That stadium sucked for baseball
Toronto - The Rogers Center was a marvel at the time it was built, and again is retractable which it was/is a lot during baseball

Permanent domed stadiums suck for baseball, and football for that matter.

I do t think Houston has left the roof open 20 times in a season yet.

 

[broncosmitty]

id like a better product (cough 30 teams 154 games cough)but mlb is too greedy for that.....

Why would that be a better product?

 

[wazzu31]

Mariners - EVERYONE hated the Kingdome, and Safeco Field is open most of the time
Twins - No one liked the Hoover Dome, and the Twins moved to an open air stadium
Rays - everyone, and I mean everyone hates the Trop and they're looking at building a new stadium
Dbacks - has a retractable roof and they usually only close it when it's extremely hot
Houston - Astrodome sucked for baseball, Minute Maid has a retractable roof, which is open as much as possible
Montreal - That stadium sucked for baseball
Toronto - The Rogers Center was a marvel at the time it was built, and again is retractable which it was/is a lot during baseball

Permanent domed stadiums suck for baseball, and football for that matter.

Just because you think it sucks doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. Baseball indoors isn’t terrible if the stadium is nice. The Kingdome > Safeco Field if you cared about actually watching the baseball games. Safeco Field now is the largest hipster bar in the world.

Personally any city that builds a new stadium and doesn’t put a retractable roof on it should lose their franchise.

 

[carson]

I know it technically wouldn't be expansion ... but there's no way the Rays are playing in that tin can through 2027. Nashville would be something worth exploring.

 

[78Cyclones]

Not sure if Montreal is a viable option, but I love Le Stade Olympique!

 

[The Q]

Yeah, retractable domes are good for that reason, i.e bad weather etc. I just hate permanent domes and think games should be open air as much as possible.

Retractable roofs should be mandatory in this day and age.

 

[The Q]

id like a better product (cough 30 teams 154 games cough)but mlb is too greedy for that.....

Retractable roofs would make it easier to start the season a week earlier to give a Few more off days

 

[JohnU]

Just trying to get back on the topic about expansion, Montreal IS the only city where expansion looks good but it's more like a franchise shift that gets them into MLB. Tampa or Oakland are the only two franchises in any trouble, just because of their ballparks. If Oakland builds, they don't need a roof. Their floor plan doesn't include it, if I recall correctly on the drawings.
Every other market has already built a ballpark, even if it is Triple-A, you are not gonna ask these people to shell out another $500 million for a stadium.
Portland, possibly could build a ballpark if somebody wanted to move there. Hell, Brooklyn would be my first choice!
Expansion doesn't make baseball better in any form. Sorry but not everybody should have a major league team.
Montreal has to build if they get a team. That stadium doesn't work now and it's 40-some years old. Retrofits cost more than new. MLB doesn't need the Montreal market. It's not worth it unless it's a shift.
I agree that retractable is better than a dome but those things add millions to the cost. It allows fans some flexibility and helps extend the season -- if MLB would use a fuckin' brain and schedule the ballparks into the equation instead of having a Sunday night game in Minnesota on March 30.

 

[rsw626]

Just trying to get back on the topic about expansion, Montreal IS the only city where expansion looks good but it's more like a franchise shift that gets them into MLB. Tampa or Oakland are the only two franchises in any trouble, just because of their ballparks. If Oakland builds, they don't need a roof. Their floor plan doesn't include it, if I recall correctly on the drawings.
Every other market has already built a ballpark, even if it is Triple-A, you are not gonna ask these people to shell out another $500 million for a stadium.
Portland, possibly could build a ballpark if somebody wanted to move there. Hell, Brooklyn would be my first choice!
Expansion doesn't make baseball better in any form. Sorry but not everybody should have a major league team.
Montreal has to build if they get a team. That stadium doesn't work now and it's 40-some years old. Retrofits cost more than new. MLB doesn't need the Montreal market. It's not worth it unless it's a shift.
I agree that retractable is better than a dome but those things add millions to the cost. It allows fans some flexibility and helps extend the season -- if MLB would use a fuckin' brain and schedule the ballparks into the equation instead of having a Sunday night game in Minnesota on March 30.

That would be cool, but the Yankees and Mets would block that in a heartbeat.

Not sure why everyone keeps saying Montreal, they couldn't keep the Expos, yeah there were a lot of factors on why they moved, but the never had great attendance. I have friends that live there and they always said that baseball MAY only work of they build a new stadium in a good location, no one wanted to go to the Olympic stadium, but most people in Montreal don't care about baseball, attendance was shit way before Loria took over, and Montreal is and always will be a hockey town. If I were expanding in Canada, I'd go to Vancouver before Montreal.

San Juan would be cool if the Rays were going to relocate, they wouldn't even have to switch divisions etc, but not Sure PR could or wants to support an MLB team right now.

 

[The Q]

That would be cool, but the Yankees and Mets would block that in a heartbeat.

This is the real downside to MLB's antitrust exemption.

 

[JohnU]

This is the real downside to MLB's antitrust exemption.

Modern marketing virtually eliminates the introduction of a 'neighborhood' team and after all these years, building a fan base in Brooklyn is next to impossible. Brooklyn was all right in the days when people took the trolley to the ballpark. Those fans are long gone. Still, it would be interesting, more than another ridiculous attempt to make a baseball team for London or some other European bullshit operation. I'd rather see a team in Brooklyn than in Portland. Hell, they ran their AAA team out of town in favor of a soccer team. Screw Portland.

Expansion into Latin America isn't even on the table. Thse economies don't really exist. They just have a lot of fans. Puerto Rico is clearly off the table now, with the disasters they have to fix there. Latin islands are in the 3rd world. They can't afford the tickets and for sure can't afford to build the ballparks. The ballparks they have are 50 or 60 years old.

Vancouver might work but it would be a very small market.

To be honest, expansion is just a word. There's not much that compels it to happen unless we're just brain-addled about some kind of "even numbers" or some bizarre form of anal geographic rivalries that exist in our minds.

 

[SideSwipe52]

I see a team relocating to another city, before expansion happens. The Rays need to relocate. Charlotte would be a good choice. I think the city of Oakland will hold on to the A's and build them another stadium.

 

[78Cyclones]

If anything, baseball needs to contract, not expand. As mentioned by others, let's just find a nice home for the Rays.

 

[The Q]

If anything, baseball needs to contract, not expand. As mentioned by others, let's just find a nice home for the Rays.

The marlins and Rockies only exist because of collusion law suit expenses.

 

[BritishDolfan]

If there is expansion then it really needs to be to 32 teams. Montreal would, presumably, be one. The other would have to be somewhere like Charlotte. I can't see them going to Vegas, although you never know I guess.

 

[WindyCityCoug]

probably not. I just don't think it's necessary for MLB to try to get them in the league.

Montreal (with new stadium) would do A LOT BETTER than Miami and Tampa, easily.

every spring, at end of spring training final week, they play those 2 or 3 games, it is TOR vs NL someone exhibition series, during the final week after spring breaks, and they been selling Out all those games for past 7 years or so.

Montreal would do fine with a great stadium. Part of their previous Expo issue and move was due to the old stadium. There is baseball love and fandom in Quebec.

and, MLB knows an awesome TOR/ MONT rivalry would be great for TOR and the AL East. So Tampa would make the most sense for a move....

 

[The Q]

Montreal (with new stadium) would do A LOT BETTER than Miami and Tampa, easily.

every spring, at end of spring training final week, they play those 2 or 3 games, it is TOR vs NL someone exhibition series, during the final week after spring breaks, and they been selling Out all those games for past 7 years or so.

Montreal would do fine with a great stadium. Part of their previous Expo issue and move was due to the old stadium. There is baseball love and fandom in Quebec.

and, MLB knows an awesome TOR/ MONT rivalry would be great for TOR and the AL East. So Tampa would make the most sense for a move....

Makes sense to me. Send them to the nl east.