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If MLB comes to North Carolina, it will be Charlotte. Sports are a much bigger deal to those in and around the Charlotte area than Raleigh's NHL is to the Triangle.
I vote a resounding no to MLB in the Triangle. It will not happen without major funding by City/State taxpayer revenue. We have more priorities than MLB in the Triangle. Plus who in their right mind are going to pay MLB ticket pricing for week night baseball in Triangle? Player strikes, TV instant review of plays that drag out games, primadonna players, players using perfomance enhancement drugs, billionaire owners, etc. has ruined major league baseball. Watching a MLB baseball is like watching "Cold Molasses Running Up Hill". Bulls and Mudcats are all we need in Triangle!
You do realize that 8 NFL home games @ 70k per game is a lot different than 82 home baseball games at 40k per game, right?
You do realize that ~40 NBA home games at 16k per game is also different, right? As is 3 NASCAR races at 150k per race. It takes a TON of fans to support a baseball team. Even Atlanta has trouble putting butts in the seats for Braves games (although that is probably more of a fan apathy thing. Another subject for another time.)
I think you underestimate the massive amount of support required to host a successful MLB franchise.
Oh really? I had NOOO idea, thanks for that!!!
Who are you watching that averages 40k for a baseball game? Only 4 teams averaged >40k. The league average was 30k last year. The same 4 teams are the only four that average >40k this year as well.
The fact is there is a MLB desert between Atlanta and Washington.
Sports are a much bigger deal to those in and around the Charlotte area than Raleigh's NHL is to the Triangle.
Don't dismiss the huge pull that we have in the Triangle in regard to College Athletics. The Triangle lives and breathes Collegiate Sports.
However I do agree that I just don't see an MLB team here. Charlotte doesn't have a huge dynamic force of Collegiate Sports, so the MLB would probably fill a gap there. We've got the Bulls and that seems to fill any baseball cravings for people.
That map illustrates perfectly: This is Braves country. Nobody will be at the games unless this team is in the NL East and only when the Braves are in town.
And even if you only count 20k per game, that's over 1.6 million per season.
That map illustrates perfectly: This is Braves country. Nobody will be at the games unless this team is in the NL East and only when the Braves are in town.
And even if you only count 20k per game, ghat's over 1.6 million per season.
Never. Gonna. Happen.
We aren't solidly Braves country. And the cool thing about that 1.6 million, it could be the same person more than once. Heck the Durham Bulls averaged over 7k in 2013, and almost 500k total.
It will be interesting to see what the Knights do with their uptown ball park.
If you think it will NEVER happen, that's extremely short sighted.
We aren't solidly Braves country. And the cool thing about that 1.6 million, it could be the same person more than once. Heck the Durham Bulls averaged over 7k in 2013, and almost 500k total.
It will be interesting to see what the Knights do with their uptown ball park.
If you think it will NEVER happen, that's extremely short sighted.
Thus far, with a little over a quarter of their home games played, the Knights have gone from worst to first in the IL in terms of average attendance, despite being in last place in the South Division and the worst team in the entire International League (14-28, 10.5 games behind Division-leading Gwinnett):
Charlotte Knights (9,556)
Lehigh Valley IronPigs (8,384)
Indianapolis Indians (7,845)
Columbus Clippers (7,158)
Louisville Bats (7,104)
Durham Bulls (7,075)
Toledo Mud Hens (5,729)
Buffalo Bisons (5,610)
Pawtucket Red Sox (5,134)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (4,883)
Gwinnett Braves (4,492)
Norfolk Tides (4,430)
Rochester Red Wings (3,745)
Syracuse Chiefs (2,268)
Comparatively, Charlotte averaged 3,803 last year when they still played in Fort Mill. Granted the "newness" haven't worn off of BB&T yet and there's still a lot of baseball to go, but I think the numbers look pretty encouraging thus far.
That map illustrates perfectly: This is Braves country. Nobody will be at the games unless this team is in the NL East and only when the Braves are in town.
And even if you only count 20k per game, that's over 1.6 million per season.
Never. Gonna. Happen.
Of all my friends that are native North Carolinians....only a few are Braves fans.....so not a clue where you get this idea that this is 'Braves Country'.
Didn't realize you were friends with every baseball fan in the Carolinas. My bad.
To be fair, when I go to Bulls games, there seems to be a bigger "away fan" turnout (ie people wearing the gear of the MLB team the away team's affiliated with) for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees) and Pawtucket (Red Sox) than for Gwinnett (Braves). The Braves contingent is respectable, but, at least in the Triangle, I don't think the Braves are as dominant as they are in other parts of the Carolinas, particularly where I grew up in South Carolina where it was practically heresy to follow any team but Atlanta.
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