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Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,132,373 times
Reputation: 3145
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kcmo
I think Charlotte could within the next few years. MLB is very popular on the east coast and many people have migrated to the Carolina's from Philly, DC, NYC, Boston etc. It does take a large metro area to support MLB, but Charlotte has 2.5 million their region alone and I think Charlotte would draw well from across the state (Raleigh etc). North Carolina alone has 10 million people (4 million more than Missouri with has two MLB teams). It's far enough away from DC, Atlanta etc, but close enough to develop rivalries.
I personally would love to see a new MLB stadium in downtown Charlotte and think it would go over pretty well. Move the Rays there.
But no, I don't think Indy, Austin, LV or Sacramento will support MLB. The only other place other than Charlotte would be Portland.
Perhaps, but more than population figures in. Places where MLB is really successful tend to be dense areas that can support 82 home dates, rather than being event destinations like NFL sites. Often, here in SF, I'll get offered tickets to the game at 4:30 pm and simply walk over to the park for the game. Or, Some A's tickets will be available and I can hop on the train and be there in 30 minutes.
That's on a Tuesday, unplanned. It's a business. Baseball and a baseball culture depend on this level of fan. That's where the "national pastime" stuff comes from. MLB plays practically every day. Truly successful teams over the long term have the advantage of proximity to casual fans to ingrain them into the culture of their cities.
Perhaps, but more than population figures in. Places where MLB is really successful tend to be dense areas that can support 82 home dates, rather than being event destinations like NFL sites. Often, here in SF, I'll get offered tickets to the game at 4:30 pm and simply walk over to the park for the game. Or, Some A's tickets will be available and I can hop on the train and be there in 30 minutes.
That's on a Tuesday, unplanned. It's a business. Baseball and a baseball culture depend on this level of fan. That's where the "national pastime" stuff comes from. MLB plays practically every day. Truly successful teams over the long term have the advantage of proximity to casual fans to ingrain them into the culture of their cities.
I'm not so sure about that...there are plenty of lower-density cities with very successful MLB franchises. I think the main thing for Charlotte is population, and at the rate it is growing Charlotte will be large enough for an MLB team in the not-too-distant future.
Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,132,373 times
Reputation: 3145
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeTarheel
I'm not so sure about that...there are plenty of lower-density cities with very successful MLB franchises. I think the main thing for Charlotte is population, and at the rate it is growing Charlotte will be large enough for an MLB team in the not-too-distant future.
When I think of "very successful" baseball teams, I think of the true baseball towns--where baseball is tightly woven into the city's fabric. Part of it is density. Another is tradition, which goes hand-in-hand with geography. NC is basketball country, so the tradition aspect would be a tough hurdle.
Baseball towns, in my opinion of their baseball townness:
1. Boston
2. St. Louis
3. Chicago
4. New York
5. San Francisco
6. Baltimore
7. Los Angeles
8. Detroit
9. Cleveland
10. Philadelphia
All have big population bases to draw from and all are dense cities. They are also built on long-standing traditions that go back decades. The fans follow the game closely. It's not an event. It's their pastime. It would take a whole lot to foster that kind of culture in NC in my opinion, even if NC somehow was able to catch MLB's eye in terms of its population.
When I think of "very successful" baseball teams, I think of the true baseball towns--where baseball is tightly woven into the city's fabric. Part of it is density. Another is tradition, which goes hand-in-hand with geography. NC is basketball country, so the tradition aspect would be a tough hurdle.
Baseball towns, in my opinion of their baseball townness:
1. Boston
2. St. Louis
3. Chicago
4. New York
5. San Francisco
6. Baltimore
7. Los Angeles
8. Detroit
9. Cleveland
10. Philadelphia
All have big population bases to draw from and all are dense cities. They are also built on long-standing traditions that go back decades. The fans follow the game closely. It's not an event. It's their pastime. It would take a whole lot to foster that kind of culture in NC in my opinion, even if NC somehow was able to catch MLB's eye in terms of its population.
There are plenty of cities that aren't particularly dense where baseball is successful and a pastime to the people there, and they all also have some higher density neighborhoods and big populations to draw from. I respect your opinion, but you're mostly just listing cities that have had baseball teams the longest. I definitely agree that Charlotte doesn't currently have the population to support an MLB team, but it probably will in the near future. If Tampa can (which is questionable) then so can Charlotte. Charlotte is in the center of a large area of population in NC/SC that would undoubtedly love to have a baseball team.
I wouldn't consider Cleveland, Detroit, and St Louis to be dense. I'm sure some people walk to games in all of those cities (especially NYC/Chicago), but the vast majority drive or use public transit...hence the huge parking lots surrounding many of the stadiums.
Baseball towns, in my opinion of their baseball townness:
1. Boston
2. St. Louis
3. Chicago
4. New York
5. San Francisco
6. Baltimore
7. Los Angeles
8. Detroit
9. Cleveland
10. Philadelphia
Actually a couple of your baseball towns, Cleveland and Chicago, had teams ranked 28 and 29 in attendance last year. And two cities that I assume you wouldn't call baseball towns, Denver and Dallas, had teams ranked 9 an 10.
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