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This. It was all about putting pressure on other cities to build stadiums and he just looked at the list of top attendance cities in the minor league and through out the name on top. Yet I'm sure he's glad that it stirred up/wasted countless hours of pointless water cooler talk for having a MLB team in Charlotte in the interim
While there is some posturing for sure, as any Commissioner should do in order to apply pressure, it's not just him looking at attendance and seeing who's at the top. Multiple articles I've seen this year have all indicated Charlotte as a very viable candidate for a MLB expansion team.
Personally I think MLB should expand beyond the US and go back into Montreal (should have never left in the first place) and Mexico City. If Puerto Rico wasn't such a hot mess fiscally that would be an interesting potential destination as well.
Charlotte should probably enjoy our AAA team for a decade or two and see where we're at before attempting to lure a MLB team.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolf Howl
While there is some posturing for sure, as any Commissioner should do in order to apply pressure, it's not just him looking at attendance and seeing who's at the top. Multiple articles I've seen this year have all indicated Charlotte as a very viable candidate for a MLB expansion team.
Personally I think MLB should expand beyond the US and go back into Montreal (should have never left in the first place) and Mexico City. If Puerto Rico wasn't such a hot mess fiscally that would be an interesting potential destination as well.
Charlotte should probably enjoy our AAA team for a decade or two and see where we're at before attempting to lure a MLB team.
I get why the Expos went back to DC. However, they need to get the first available National League team.
Cuba used to be a big source of baseball players. That probably won't happen in my lifetime, but at some point it should.
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Gastonia is building a new stadium & related sports complex where that motel has been on West Franklin between downtown & the Loray Mill.
If Charlotte gets an MLB team, if the Knights want to stay in the area, they could look at Gastonia, which would be somewhat more central than Kannapolis or Hickory.
I would imagine somewhere in the 5-10 year range, depending on how long it takes to resolve the issues with Oakland and Tampa Bay, but it's very hypothetical at this point.
In terms of NL or AL, I could also see them moving to four divisions in each league, with Charlotte being apart of the NL 'South' with Atlanta, Miami, and Tampa(if they don't get relocated).
I can't see Tampa Bay keeping their team (I live just north of Tampa now, hoping to move to the Charlotte area in a year or two). The issues surrounding the stadium have been going on for 6 years here. There have been studies on locations, fighting with St. Pete (the team is actually in St. Pete, across the bay from Tampa itself) on whether the team can look at locations outside of Pinellas county, etc... Until MLB steps in, I don't see a resolution for this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Redd Jedd
Interesting that Manfred would consider mentioning Charlotte knowing that a new minor league stadium was just build in Uptown - other than noting that the numbers indicate the Knights are currently the best drawing minor league team.
Perhaps is is for leverage against Oakland and Tampa and hoping they do not fully understand the situation in Charlotte (although they must know we just build a new minor league stadium in town).
I think the MLB understands the situation in Charlotte (the attendance numbers for your minor league team are likely a driving factor in them mentioning Charlotte), but the City/County Councils in St Pete/Pinellas absolutely do not. The stadium is in a horrible location, the building was erected in 1990 on an old coal gasification area, the neighborhoods around it are tired and largely dilapidated. Getting to the stadium is not easy for people who live outside of Pinellas county (the city of Tampa itself is in Hillsborough).
St. Pete/Pinellas refuse to believe there are problems, as does the owner of the team. They want out of St. Pete, and the county/city seems to think "if you can't be here, you can't be anywhere."
Quote:
Originally Posted by daniellu91
MLB expansion won't happen for 5+ years in my opinion, barring some miracle happening with Oakland and Tampa regarding their stadium situations. If Charlotte maintains their current growth patterns, there's reason to believe the city/county could support both additions.
I think there is a very real possibility that Tampa will relocate out. Unfortunately, it means they'll likely need to be sold for that to happen, and the current owner doesn't seem to want to sell it. He also doesn't want to be in St. Pete.
Baseball is the only sport in the world that cracks more than 25 million in attendance per year. That means serious money for owners of a team and for stadium operations. Many advertisers for in stadium advertising prefer baseball because you have 81 homes games per year vs. 8 for NFL to brainwash people with your logo. You have 81 games to sell people $8-$12 beer and $6 pretzels vs. just 8, etc....
NOW, for television, NFL is where the big bucks are. Way more people gather to watch NFL and NFL ratings on TV are significantly higher than baseball. This is where both leagues make the big bucks and NFL's 16 game season creates more excitement for television viewing, whereas you can pretty much guarantee a baseball game is on TV so people don't feel as rushed to watch each game on TV. TV is why NFL is tops in revenue, but 4th in total attendance.
Charlotte will not get an MLB team anytime soon. Sports are all about market size and money. Currently Charlotte ranks at #22 out of all the media markets in the United States. That shows you this area is not very large. Charlotte simply does not have the sizable market to support three professional sports teams. Yes there are other markets comparable in size with 3 teams (Pittsburgh and Cleveland for example), but Charlotte's development is rather recent compared to those places. Also many people in and around Charlotte are transplants to the area (including myself) who would prefer to stay loyal to their home teams. I've been to Panthers and Hornets games, and depending on who they're playing that night, it can sometimes feel like there are almost as many fans of the away team in the stands. Some of the largest markets in the US even have trouble selling out ballparks when the team isn't playing well. More importantly, what would become of the Knights park uptown? It would have to be expanded about 5 times its current capacity to fit major league standards.
Charlotte will not get an MLB team anytime soon. Sports are all about market size and money. Currently Charlotte ranks at #22 out of all the media markets in the United States. That shows you this area is not very large. Charlotte simply does not have the sizable market to support three professional sports teams. Yes there are other markets comparable in size with 3 teams (Pittsburgh and Cleveland for example), but Charlotte's development is rather recent compared to those places. Also many people in and around Charlotte are transplants to the area (including myself) who would prefer to stay loyal to their home teams. I've been to Panthers and Hornets games, and depending on who they're playing that night, it can sometimes feel like there are almost as many fans of the away team in the stands. Some of the largest markets in the US even have trouble selling out ballparks when the team isn't playing well. More importantly, what would become of the Knights park uptown? It would have to be expanded about 5 times its current capacity to fit major league standards.
MLB expansion isn't happening in the immediate future. General estimates are 5-10 years. Charlotte has a larger media market than Pittsburgh, Baltimore, San Diego, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati. Future growth is somewhat throwing darts, but if Charlotte continues at, or close to its recent pace, it could also jump St. Louis. Media market size is not a limiting factor in Charlotte getting a MLB franchise. Transplants aside, I don't think it's hyperbole to suggest that a MLB franchise coming to the state of North Carolina would attract fans from across the state. The biggest limiting factor is the last point you make, a stadium. The simple truth is, the Knights park isn't meant to be expanded into a Major League stadium, so the city and county would need to work something out for a new stadium to be built.
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