When will we see the MLB expand or get another expansion team to a big city that's never held a Professional Baseball Squad before? Maybe like relocate a team or expand to maybe North Carolina, Indiana, Nevada, Oregon,etc.??? Just a thought what do you think?

When the Rays move.

I think the Rays stay put. I would assume Las Vegas/Charlotte/Raleigh/Portland/Memphis would be good candidates.

I love Raleigh, but I can't see it maintaining a baseball team.

League expansion is a terrible idea when you consider that Oakland and Tampa could end up needing to be relocated if they cannot get stadium deals in place.

 

Anywhere in North Carolina is a terrible idea. Raleigh and Charlotte don't have enough people living within a reasonable distance to support a MLB team. You can expect Rays-like support there.

 

Only three markets are truly viable: Portland, San Antonio, and Las Vegas.

I love Raleigh, but I can't see it maintaining a baseball team.

 

The Hurricanes do very well.

I love Raleigh, but I can't see it maintaining a baseball team.

 

The Hurricanes do very well.

First, having other teams actually lowers the chances an additional team will survive. There's a decreasing marginal utility of attending sports games/having local teams. Plus, as Penguino said, there aren't enough people to support a baseball team. You need a good bit more attendance than a hockey game, and twice as often, to support a baseball team.

I can't see it happening anytime soon, looking at the financial struggles of current teams and the fact they were looking at contraction just a few years ago. Its also hard to see that many more cities are of a MLB caliber, of the teams in the minors that draw over 500k, only Indianpolis, Buffalo, Louisville and surprisingly Albuquerque would possibly fit the bill.

There's another reason expansion is a terrible idea. Not enough talent. The MLB talent pool is already too watered down. The Rays and Diamondbacks should never have come into existence. And you could argue, neither should've the Marlins and the Rockies. All four of the major sports are over expanded in this regard. Especially the NBA.

The rule I go by is that there should be a minimum of 1.2 million people located within a 30 minute drive of the ballpark. Otherwise attendance will be a problem.

I still have a hard time in saying that the talent pool is to thin. That's really a matter of opinion to me.

 

While I like the theory and the excitement of a new team, I'm not in favor of expansion as much as I used to be. I have debated abou whether I would want a team In NC I just don't see it as feasible really. You would have to draw from Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and the Raleigh Durham area have a decent attendance. Greensboro is about dead center in between those other three areas but there is no way a stadium would be built and I doubt people would make a two hour drive for it. From what I can tell, NC draws high minor league attendance numbers. I couldn't see a Ballpark being built for anymore than 35,000 people..

 

Besides I would be torn between cheering for the Marlins and my new local team if that were the case.

I still have a hard time in saying that the talent pool is to thin. That's really a matter of opinion to me.

 

While I like the theory and the excitement of a new team, I'm not in favor of expansion as much as I used to be. I have debated abou whether I would want a team In NC I just don't see it as feasible really. You would have to draw from Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and the Raleigh Durham area have a decent attendance. Greensboro is about dead center in between those other three areas but there is no way a stadium would be built and I doubt people would make a two hour drive for it. From what I can tell, NC draws high minor league attendance numbers. I couldn't see a Ballpark being built for anymore than 35,000 people..

 

Besides I would be torn between cheering for the Marlins and my new local team if that were the case.

 

Charlotte and Raleigh each have about 800,000 people within 30 minutes of their centers, which is only slightly better than what the Rays currently have. I don't think that will be enough to generate crowds of 20,000+ through both the good times and bad.

By the way, this was created as a spam thread. I feel kind of like a sucker for responding to it.

Dont see it happening.

 

Technically they would need 2 now since both leagues are even with Astros moving in 2013

By the way, this was created as a spam thread. I feel kind of like a sucker for responding to it.

 

Eh, it's a somewhat interesting topic. I kinda figured, though. This guy's first few posts were new threads, which was odd. And his avatar was some website logo, which was of course strange.

I still have a hard time in saying that the talent pool is to thin. That's really a matter of opinion to me.

 

While I like the theory and the excitement of a new team, I'm not in favor of expansion as much as I used to be. I have debated abou whether I would want a team In NC I just don't see it as feasible really. You would have to draw from Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and the Raleigh Durham area have a decent attendance. Greensboro is about dead center in between those other three areas but there is no way a stadium would be built and I doubt people would make a two hour drive for it. From what I can tell, NC draws high minor league attendance numbers. I couldn't see a Ballpark being built for anymore than 35,000 people..

 

Besides I would be torn between cheering for the Marlins and my new local team if that were the case.

 

Charlotte and Raleigh each have about 800,000 people within 30 minutes of their centers, which is only slightly better than what the Rays currently have. I don't think that will be enough to generate crowds of 20,000+ through both the good times and bad.

 

Which is why I included Greensboro and Winston-salem in there and didn't just say Raleigh or Charlotte. You have use those to boost attendance.

I'm not sure what your point is then.

 

Greensboro is just short of 100 miles from both Raleigh and Charlotte. That's probably about a 90 minute driving time. If you put the stadium there you will get no fans.

 

Based on that geography you won't be able to draw from all three of those areas at once. You will get some fans making the hike, but you cannot expect to consistently draw 20,000+ by expect fans to drive 80-90 miles.

 

What I'm trying to say is that there is no place in North Carolina right now that can sustain a baseball team.

Pen, I'm not trying to be a smartass but all that you just said was pretty much what I said in my post. I said it doesn't seem feasible. I also said people arent really going to make a two hour drive. I don't know what's confusing because the only thing I really said was that you would have to draw from all 4 to major center cities to have a decent attendance, and that's where I said that they are not goig to build a stadium or drive 2 hours.

I dont think there will be another expansion team for a while, especially with the economic situation in the U.S.