City That Deserves an MLB Team the Most

[davidthecornman]

Which City in the us or canada deserves an mlb team?

I think Portland or New Orleans.

[Wall-E]

Brooklyn.
.....

[davidthecornman]

the new york area already has two teams.

[mandrake]

Which City in the us or canada deserves an mlb team?

I think Portland or New Orleans.

Portland yes. New Orleans, no. They did not support basketball. The Saints have a very up and down history. The population base is way down from pre Katrina.

I have already angered many people by saying NJ; move the A's there.

[Mario Mendoza...HOF Lock]

I sound like a politician, but I don't know if I can narrow it down to one. There are no clear cut "home run" choices.

Memphis-
Pro:17th largest city in US; 1.2 million in metro area(41st); beautiful downtown ballpark, though small for MLB
Con:not the best demographics for an MLB base

Charlotte-
Pro:Explosive population growth..20th largest city and 1.4 million in metro area(37th); NBA Hornets led league in attendance their first several years;
Con:Hornets departure show fans can be fickle; considered football territory; expect crowds to dwindle once football season starts; no stadium

Portland-probably my #1 choice
Pro:2 million in metro area; very desirable demographics(esp. income); good potential fan base
Con:no stadium.

Northern NJ-
Pro:baseball crazed area (majority of calls to WFAN are about baseball...in December); 18 million in metro area (4+million in JerseyCity/Newark area alone);good demographics
Con:Mets & Yankees would fight a 3rd team; no stadium, and financing would be an issue;most BF members hate the idea:)

[jimmyjimjimz]

Las Vegas

Except that it's supposedly always hot there

I don't know, cause I was never there, all thanks to my brother. We were supposed to go there like 4 years ago for my parents wedding anniversary, and my brother started wineing and complaining that if we go to Vegas, he's not gonna be able to drink, cause he wasn't 21 yet, so, of course, he got his way, and we went to RacistLand aka The Bahamas.

[BigMac1212]

I sound like a politician, but I don't know if I can narrow it down to one. There are no clear cut "home run" choices.

Memphis-
Pro:17th largest city in US; 1.2 million in metro area(41st); beautiful downtown ballpark, though small for MLB
Con:not the best demographics for an MLB base

Charlotte-
Pro:Explosive population growth..20th largest city and 1.4 million in metro area(37th); NBA Hornets led league in attendance their first several years;
Con:Hornets departure show fans can be fickle; considered football territory; expect crowds to dwindle once football season starts; no stadium

Portland-probably my #1 choice
Pro:2 million in metro area; very desirable demographics(esp. income); good potential fan base
Con:no stadium.

Northern NJ-
Pro:baseball crazed area (majority of calls to WFAN are about baseball...in December); 18 million in metro area (4+million in JerseyCity/Newark area alone);good demographics
Con:Mets & Yankees would fight a 3rd team; no stadium, and financing would be an issue;most BF members hate the idea:)

Charlotte & Portland I agree with. I think St. Louis my be hesitant about having Memphis as a MLB team.

[War Paint]

Oklahoma City. We got the NBA now it's time for MLB! :D

[BMF]

out on a limb here RICHMOND or VEGAS

[GordonGecko]

Brooklyn definitely deserves a team the most. New York City metro region has only 1 team for every 9.4 million people, whereas Chicago has one for every 4.8 million. Heck, there's only 1.5 million people in Milwaukee.

NYC used to have three teams, and it should have three teams now

[Manhattan]

Brooklyn definitely deserves a team the most. New York City metro region has only 1 team for every 9.4 million people, whereas Chicago has one for every 4.8 million. Heck, there's only 1.5 million people in Milwaukee.

NYC used to have three teams, and it should have three teams nowSacramento deserves a Major League Baseball team.

[DiggerODell]

Sacramento deserves a Major League Baseball team.

I'm tellin ya! The "Golden State Athletics" . . . smilin. When Sac figures out they can't support em in 10 years (probably even after a couple of mini payroll World Champions) they can go back down and try out San Jose, Santa Clara etc. . . . and not even have to change the name . . . and after that? Who knows?

Heck (I mean Hell) . . . "Golden State Rovin' A's" even better.

Bay Region World Champs 1972, 1973, 1974 & 1989. Damn I miss those ole "Swingin' A's" ;-)

[Manhattan]

I'm tellin ya! The "Golden State Athletics" . . . smilin. When Sac figures out they can't support em in 10 years (probably even after a couple of mini payroll World Champions) they can go back down and try out San Jose, Santa Clara etc. . . . and not even have to change the name . . . and after that? Who knows?

Heck (I mean Hell) . . . "Golden State Rovin' A's" even better.

Bay Region World Champs 1972, 1973, 1974 & 1989. Damn I miss those ole "Swingin' A's" ;-)
San Bernadino definitely deserves an MLB team.

[Yankees12]

Portland and San Antonio would be my top two choices - not sure in which order, though.

[DiggerODell]

San Bernadino definitely deserves an MLB team.

Oh the possibilities are endless

[jimmyjimjimz]

Brooklyn definitely deserves a team the most. New York City metro region has only 1 team for every 9.4 million people, whereas Chicago has one for every 4.8 million. Heck, there's only 1.5 million people in Milwaukee.

NYC used to have three teams, and it should have three teams now

we already have 3 teams. Actually we have 4 now. The Yankees, the Mets, the Cyclnes and the Staten Island Yankees.

[The Football Ref]

It's a no brainer guys.

Build a Dome in Vegas. Air Conditioned Baseball, The Superbowl, etc ......

[RegoRooter]

I think New England would support another team, a National League team! What about Providence R.I. ?

[GordonGecko]

we already have 3 teams. Actually we have 4 now. The Yankees, the Mets, the Cyclnes and the Staten Island Yankees.

Single-A ball doesn't count

[mandrake]

Single-A ball doesn't count

It's lower than Single A. It is Single A "rookie" league which only plays half a season. Locally, we have the Hudson Valley Renegades (who had 4 players in this years MLB All Star game) who sell out every game. However, the season is only about 10 weeks or so. They play SI and Brooklyn.

Bring the A's to the metro area. Let them rent one of the stadiums (Citi, NYS) or split the season between both. Add revenue to both NYC teams by never having an empty stadium. And then let some rich billionaire with an existing cable system with an empty sports network(s) build a ball park soley with the funds generated by the cable network. (Let's say $50 million per for 15 years should do it nicely). Whether it is Brooklyn or NJ. (Not Long Island)
Or the West Side of Manhattan.

NYC could actually support a 3rd NFL team, but the Network TV situation would be too messy. MLB does not have that problem. The Yanks and Mets would fight a 3rd team, but when they are drawing 100% of capacity and own their own TV netorks, it would be tough to block another team. Let's see: Brooklyn, NJ, Manhattan, or......Fremont? Tough call.

[Buzzy05401]

I can't wait to see the responses to this: Montreal (with a new stadium of course)

Stick Montreal in the American League East and the 27 home games against the Red Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays would draw big crowds. I would bet that an AL East Montreal would have better crowds than the first place Rays are having this season.

[wvkeeper]

I can't wait to see the responses to this: Montreal (with a new stadium of course)

Stick Montreal in the American League East and the 27 home games against the Red Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays would draw big crowds. I would bet that an AL East Montreal would have better crowds than the first place Rays are having this season.

Agreed.......

[PeteU]

Right now, nobody.

No market currently has a financing deal for a new stadium on the table or a ready to go new ballpark built on spec.

And the only markets with large enough temporary stadiums are Montreal, Vancouver (if BC Place is still even baseball convertable), and Portland (barely). Is MLB ready to move back to Montreal? Is Vancouver a good idea? Can Portland guarantee that the team won't be stuck at 20,000 seat PGE Park indefinitely?

Las Vegas is a horrible, horrible idea. Remember when they tried for two years to tout the whole "Triple A World Series" as a selling point? It was a horrible failure. Las Vegas is a tourist town, and tourist towns aren't really suited well for major league sports.

And I've said all that needs to be said about a third team in the NYC metro area.

[Tyrus4189Cobb]

I think there are enough teams in the MLB right now. We should just move one to another city. Maybe from California, which has 5! Maybe the Padres could move to San Antonio or Indianapolis.

[Seattle1]

Oklahoma City. We got the NBA now....

:mad: :rant: :evil :banghead:

[fitch94]

I always thought New Orleans would be a good baseball town especially with the success of LSU at the collegian level. The NBA is huge there now so professional sports can flourish.

Portland Oregon also makes sense. I always felt Seattle got screwed since they have to travel so far when they go on the road.

[BMF]

It's a no brainer guys.

Build a Dome in Vegas. Air Conditioned Baseball, The Superbowl, etc ......

that would be cool... since the next nba team might be vegas....

[BMF]

I can't wait to see the responses to this: Montreal (with a new stadium of course)

Stick Montreal in the American League East and the 27 home games against the Red Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays would draw big crowds. I would bet that an AL East Montreal would have better crowds than the first place Rays are having this season.

id agree... toronto is now the only team cross the border, when hocky has like 5. bring back mlb to canada but not in the east more like central or west

[Dodgeboy]

Right now, I'd have to say Portland and Montreal. After all, you need to add teams two at a time to balance the scheduling.
Portland: Was second in the Expos derby, doomed by a mayor who didn't care, and the desire to return to DC. Stadium is already partially funded thanks to the Oregon Legislature.
Montreal: Face it, they were screwed over with bad ownership, bad exchange rates (see Hockey too) etc. With a good owner and a stadium plan worked out, they would stand a good chance. They would NEED to be an AL team though, just to build off the Montreal / Toronto rivalry.

Actually, I think the league will grow to 36 teams by 2030, just bringing the divisions up to six teams each.

Also, I've always wondered about an NL team in Hartford, to "counteract" NY and Boston. Any thoughts?

[mets16]

when hocky has like 5.

Yeah being that hockEy is Canada's pastime, they should have more than five which they do, 6. And Canada has proved time after time they cannot support a Professional MLB team. Montreal had a good team in the 90's and still didn't draw well... The city obviously had no interest so why would a once failed franchise deserve a second chance?

[metfan13]

Oh look, the monthly thread on adding teams.

First they don't need to be diluting the talent any more.

Second, there are no great spots for a team.
No need to rehash the reasons against NJ, been done dozens of times recently.

Also forget Charlotte. I live in Charlotte. It's NOT ready for MLB.

[monkeypants]

And Canada has proved time after time they cannot support a Professional MLB team. Montreal had a good team in the 90's and still didn't draw well... The city obviously had no interest so why would a once failed franchise deserve a second chance?

What do you mean "time after time"? Canada has had two teams, one has failed. So, at worst you can say that Canada has proved they cannot support a MLB team "time."

Also, the situation in MTL in the 1990s is pretty misleading. They had good teams only in 1993 and 1994 (maybe 1992), and then the strike killed their best season. Then they sold off the whole team, and MLB and the owner spent the next ten years talking about contraction or re-location. The last few seasons everyone knew the team was leaving--so when the Expos weren't playing home games in Puerto Rico the fans stayed home. Do you blame them?

Montreal can support an MLB team, at least as well as Tampa Bay or Miami or Milwaukee. It has a long baseball tradition pre-dating the Expos. What the city would need is an owner who is actually serious about winning, and a new stadium.

Now, for a place that haas shown time after time that it can't support a MLB franchise, that would be...Washington D.C., our nation's capital.

[Dodgeboy]

I realize the talent pool is a bit thin now, but I would think that by 2012 we might be to the point of supporting two more teams. Add two more in 2020 and the final two several years after that. One of these days Castro will finally die, that should help out the talent pool a bit.

[monkeypants]

I don't really think the talent pool is particularly thin right now in any case. MLB is drawing from a worldwide talent base larger than it has ever been.

[Nat Bailey]

And the only markets with large enough temporary stadiums are Montreal, Vancouver (if BC Place is still even baseball convertable), and Portland (barely). Is MLB ready to move back to Montreal? Is Vancouver a good idea? .

Vancouver is a great, great idea. BC Place is being converted to have a retractable roof, therefore bringing back the possibility of a grass field...
The GVRD population is 2,249,725 and ripe for MLB to come in. Imagine, the Mariners could have a better rival than San Diego! :highfive:

Before anyone mentions the failure of the NBA Grizzlies, here are the relevant stats:
95-96: W15-L67 Av. Att.: 17,183 (lost 23 straight games at one point)
96-97: W14-L68 Av. Att.: 16,571
97-98: W19-L63 Av. Att.: 16,109
98-99: W8-L42 Av. Att.: 16,719 (lockout shortened year)
99-00: W22-L60 Av. Att.: 13,899 (Steve Francis claims God did not want him playing here, and rumours swirled of a relocation)
00-01: W23-L59 Av. Att.: 13,737

A record of W101-L359... and they still got 13,737 the final year, knowing they were going? Its a solid loyal sports town, and I do belive MLB will get here one day especially given the strong dollar, which is another factor for the Grizzlies leaving....

[Milwaukee County Stadium]

I Have Some Photos Of Some Of The Stadiums where they could add or move a team to:
BC Place Stadium Seating: Vancouver, Canada Pop. 611,869
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a279/manicjaguar/baseballclassic1.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a279/manicjaguar/spectatorfloor_fullampbaseball.jpg
PGE Park Seating: 19,566 Portland Oregon Pop. 568,380
Home Of The Portland Beavers AAA Baseball, AAA Affiliate Of The San Diego Padres
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/PGE_Park2.jpg
http://www.portlandground.com/Downtown/2005-01-14PGEPark_1711.jpg
Cashman Field Seating: 9,334 Las Vegas, Nevada Pop. 552,539
Home Of Las Vegas 51s AAA Baseball Affiliate Of The Los Angeles Dodgers
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2005/11/28/eMDdOcCh.jpg
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2005/11/16/HwFn6SZZ.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/232/449055203_55c2abfeff.jpg?v=0
AutoZone Park Seating: 14,320 Memphis, Tennesee Pop. 674,028
Home Of The Memphis Redbirds AAA Baseball Affiliate Of The St. Louis Cardinals
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/01bD5UVciugrQ/610x.jpg
http://www.hummerhomes.com/images/Autozone_Park.jpg

[Milwaukee County Stadium]

AutoZone Park Seating: 14,320 Memphis, Tennesee Pop. 674,028
Home Of The Memphis Redbirds AAA Baseball Affiliate Of The St. Louis Cardinals
http://memphis.redbirds.milb.com/images/2006/01/11/dxZL9kTo.jpg
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/01bD5UVciugrQ/610x.jpg
AT&T Bricktown Ballpark Seating:13,066 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Pop.547,274
Home Of Oklahoma RedHawks AAA Baseball Affiliate Of The Texas Rangers
http://www.digitalballparks.com/PCL/Bricktown_-_Exterior_Far_784T.jpg
http://www.skyflightaviation.com/BricktownBallpark.png
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2039/2542324026_e46d6f990c.jpg?v=0
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2170/2242830276_3ed5da1769.jpg
http://mysite.verizon.net/charliesballparks/stadiums/ph/bricktn3.jpg

[metfan13]

I realize the talent pool is a bit thin now, but I would think that by 2012 we might be to the point of supporting two more teams. Add two more in 2020 and the final two several years after that. One of these days Castro will finally die, that should help out the talent pool a bit.

Why do you want 36 teams?

[metfan13]

I don't really think the talent pool is particularly thin right now in any case. MLB is drawing from a worldwide talent base larger than it has ever been.

Yeah it is. Most teams have 3-4 crappy pitchers in the bullpen each night.

[Dodgeboy]

Why do you want 36 teams?

Six teams in each division x six divisions = 36 teams. AND, having an even number of teams in divisions means only divisional play for every team down the stretch.

Not saying next year, but in twenty years or so.

[YankeeFanBx]

Oh yeah, baseball really needs to expand.:eek:

[Yankees12]

Please, no more expansions. The 1998 expansions were a mistake as it is (talent is spread too thin, and 30 teams is too much - I have doubts that there are 30 markets that can successfully support ML teams).

Considering Bud Selig wanted to contract 2 teams only 4 years after the 1998 expansions, it shows that even he is recognizing that MLB quite possibly overexpanded.

[Dodgeboy]

IN TWENTY YEARS OR SO!!:banghead:

Not next year!

Hell, the US population alone has doubled since there were only 16 teams. Not to mention foreign players now making up almost half of most rosters.

[BMF]

Yeah being that hockEy is Canada's pastime, they should have more than five which they do, 6. And Canada has proved time after time they cannot support a Professional MLB team. Montreal had a good team in the 90's and still didn't draw well... The city obviously had no interest so why would a once failed franchise deserve a second chance?

im no hockey fan so I wouldnt know how many they had.. i just knew they had more than four. As far as mlb I think they should try to use a different part.vancouver, winnepeg, calgary even nova scotia.

[BMF]

I realize the talent pool is a bit thin now, but I would think that by 2012 we might be to the point of supporting two more teams. Add two more in 2020 and the final two several years after that. One of these days Castro will finally die, that should help out the talent pool a bit.

there will always be ball players. scouts just have to find them

[placount]

Forget just putting one more team in New York. We need one team for every borough, and at least four for the metro region. I think Kansas City, Florida, Tampa, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Minnesota should be moved to New York. We don't need those markets.

[J.R.]

The Vancouver and Vegas stadiums would instantly be the worst in the majors upon entry.

MLB better have expansion plans on the table. A static business is a dying business.

[Philtration]

Six teams in each division x six divisions = 36 teams. AND, having an even number of teams in divisions means only divisional play for every team down the stretch.

Not saying next year, but in twenty years or so.

Four teams, six divisions = 24 teams. This is more than enough and for the cities that would not support their existing teams... oh well. You had your chance and you choose to do something else instead.

You don't see any other businesses staying open for years and years without paying customers just for old times sake do you?
Nostalgia aside, MLB is still a business and it is time that they ran it like one.

[Chevy114]

Like I always say when this topic comes up on here, anyonen from the old pcl espically cities that can hold nba teams.

[History Of Baseball Fan]

Before we get even more teams, how about getting rid of the teams that can't even draw 15,000 to a game lol. The cities that deserve a team are the cities that lost teams in the first place. I say bring back the NY Giants, Dodgers, Browns, Athletics back to Philly, Braves back to Boston etc. :)

[HoJoPiazza2031]

I say Las Vegas. For one, it's the fastest growing city in the US. Secondly, there are a ton of LA transplants there. The biggest following there outside of college sports is for the Lakers and Dodgers. I think they would draw like crazy, but would probably need a dome during the July 120 degree evenings.

[J.R.]

Here are the top 60 DMAs in order of size. This information will greatly influence any future expansion/relocations.

Rank DMA TV Homes % of US
1 New York 7,433,820 6.495
2 Los Angeles 5,654,260 4.940
3 Chicago 3,492,850 3.052
4 Philadelphia 2,950,220 2.578
5 Dallas-Ft. Worth 2,489,970 2.175
6 San Francisco-Oak-San Jose 2,476,450 2.164
7 Boston (Manchester) 2,409,080 2.105
8 Atlanta 2,369,780 2.070
9 Washington, DC (Hagrstwn) 2,321,610 2.028
10 Houston 2,106,210 1.840
11 Detroit 1,926,970 1.684
12 Phoenix (Prescott) 1,855,930 1.622
13 Tampa-St. Pete (Sarasota) 1,822,160 1.592
14 Seattle-Tacoma 1,819,970 1.590
15 Minneapolis-St. Paul 1,730,530 1.512
16 Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 1,546,920 1.352
17 Cleveland-Akron (Canton) 1,524,930 1.332
18 Denver 1,524,210 1.332
19 Orlando-Daytona Bch-Melbrn 1,466,420 1.281
20 Sacramnto-Stkton-Modesto 1,399,520 1.223
21 St. Louis 1,249,820 1.092
22 Portland, OR 1,175,100 1.027
23 Pittsburgh 1,156,460 1.010
24 Charlotte 1,122,860 0.981
25 Indianapolis 1,114,970 0.974
26 Baltimore 1,102,080 0.963
27 Raleigh-Durham (Fayetvlle) 1,080,680 0.944
28 San Diego 1,066,680 0.932
29 Nashville 1,016,290 0.888
30 Hartford & New Haven 1,014,990 0.887
31 Kansas City 937,970 0.819
32 Columbus, OH 925,840 0.809
33 Salt Lake City 919,390 0.803
34 Cincinnati 915,570 0.800
35 Milwaukee 905,350 0.791
36 Greenvll-Spart-Ashevll-And 858,050 0.750
37 San Antonio 818,560 0.715
38 West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce 779,430 0.681
39 Grand Rapids-Kalmzoo-B.Crk 741,420 0.648
40 Birmingham (Ann and Tusc) 739,750 0.646
41 Harrisburg-Lncstr-Leb-York 738,880 0.646
42 Las Vegas 728,410 0.636
43 Norfolk-Portsmth-Newpt Nws 718,020 0.627
44 Albuquerque-Santa Fe 689,120 0.602
45 Oklahoma City 687,300 0.600
46 Greensboro-H.Point-W.Salem 685,110 0.599
47 Jacksonville 674,860 0.590
48 Memphis 673,770 0.589
49 Austin 667,670 0.583
50 Louisville 667,230 0.583
51 Buffalo 631,120 0.551
52 Providence-New Bedford 622,580 0.544
53 New Orleans 602,740 0.527
54 Wilkes Barre-Scranton 594,570 0.519
55 Fresno-Visalia 574,900 0.502
56 Little Rock-Pine Bluff 567,060 0.495
57 Albany-Schenectady-Troy 556,750 0.486
58 Richmond-Petersburg 550,240 0.481
59 Knoxville 547,930 0.479
60 Mobile-Pensacola (Ft Walt) 537,810 0.470

[monkeypants]

Yeah it is. Most teams have 3-4 crappy pitchers in the bullpen each night.

That's because they insist on carrying 13 pitchers. Maybe if everyone didn't use the Tony LaRussa bullpen style, and carry 11 pitchers and a deeper bench, you wouldn't have as many crappy relievers.

And really, teams always carried crappy pitchers in the BP. That's why they were there to begin with.

[monkeypants]

Considering Bud Selig wanted to contract 2 teams only 4 years after the 1998 expansions, it shows that even he is recognizing that MLB quite possibly overexpanded.

Selig had no intention of contracting teams. That was a ploy to force cities to pony up money for his owner-buddies, and it worked. That, he got to benefit from his team..er, I mean his daughter's team, because we all know that Bud was completely neutral and was not running the Brewers while acting as commissioner...moving to the NL and getting a new stadium.

[Mario Mendoza...HOF Lock]

I say Las Vegas. For one, it's the fastest growing city in the US. Secondly, there are a ton of LA transplants there. The biggest following there outside of college sports is for the Lakers and Dodgers. I think they would draw like crazy, but would probably need a dome during the July 120 degree evenings.

Given MLB's refusal to budge on the Rose ban, and any commissioner's general uneasiness with gambling and the potential for scandal (ask David Stern), I give Vegas almost a zero shot of getting a team.

And a dome? Please, no more domes. The only dome I want in baseball is this one.........
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x97/soxanddawgs/fukudome-782665.jpg

[OlympianX]

Not USA or Canada... but Monterrey must be considered!

[Philtration]

Before we get even more teams, how about getting rid of the teams that can't even draw 15,000 to a game lol. The cities that deserve a team are the cities that lost teams in the first place. I say bring back the NY Giants, Dodgers, Browns, Athletics back to Philly, Braves back to Boston etc. :)

The A's back in Philly would be cool. They played there for 53 years and the town would have an American League team again.

I doubt that Boston would support another team after all these years. How do they compete with the Red Sox?
St. Louis is just too small to have another team unless it was the Royals. That might actually work but they just built a new park and it would be risky to shell out that kind of money again.

[PeteU]

Before we get even more teams, how about getting rid of the teams that can't even draw 15,000 to a game lol. The cities that deserve a team are the cities that lost teams in the first place. I say bring back the NY Giants, Dodgers, Browns, Athletics back to Philly, Braves back to Boston etc. :)

Yep. Back to the good old days of handlebar mustaches when teams....drew less....than......15,000....

Maybe we can reinamiate the corpses of Ruth, Cobb, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Williams, and other baseball greats and they can play for those teams, too!

[Capt Jack]

Agreed.......

Prior to their D.C. move, there was speculation that the Expos (with their Montreal attendance dwindling amidst open discussion of where and when they would leave town)would temporarily be sited in Boston as Fenway tenants. The Expos would obviously play home games during Red Sox road trips, at a different (lower) ticket price scale.

As a Red Sox ticket holder, I recall nothing but excitement in the Fenway stands at the prospect of seeing barry Bonds, Junior Griffey, Sammy Sosa, et al during the regular season (this was prior to the big steroids flap).

The Henry ownership group had just taken over the Sox, and was obviously searching for revenue optimization options (they've raised ticket prices very year since then, as well as "co-branded" the Sox with everyone from Dunkin' Donuts to W.B. Mason), so this idea made sense economically.

[Capt Jack]

Here are the top 60 DMAs in order of size. This information will greatly influence any future expansion/relocations.

Rank DMA TV Homes % of US
1 New York 7,433,820 6.495
2 Los Angeles 5,654,260 4.940
3 Chicago 3,492,850 3.052
4 Philadelphia 2,950,220 2.578
5 Dallas-Ft. Worth 2,489,970 2.175
6 San Francisco-Oak-San Jose 2,476,450 2.164
7 Boston (Manchester) 2,409,080 2.105
8 Atlanta 2,369,780 2.070
9 Washington, DC (Hagrstwn) 2,321,610 2.028
10 Houston 2,106,210 1.840
11 Detroit 1,926,970 1.684
12 Phoenix (Prescott) 1,855,930 1.622
13 Tampa-St. Pete (Sarasota) 1,822,160 1.592
14 Seattle-Tacoma 1,819,970 1.590
15 Minneapolis-St. Paul 1,730,530 1.512
16 Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 1,546,920 1.352
17 Cleveland-Akron (Canton) 1,524,930 1.332
18 Denver 1,524,210 1.332
19 Orlando-Daytona Bch-Melbrn 1,466,420 1.281
20 Sacramnto-Stkton-Modesto 1,399,520 1.223
21 St. Louis 1,249,820 1.092
22 Portland, OR 1,175,100 1.027
23 Pittsburgh 1,156,460 1.010
24 Charlotte 1,122,860 0.981
25 Indianapolis 1,114,970 0.974
26 Baltimore 1,102,080 0.963
27 Raleigh-Durham (Fayetvlle) 1,080,680 0.944
28 San Diego 1,066,680 0.932
29 Nashville 1,016,290 0.888
30 Hartford & New Haven 1,014,990 0.887
31 Kansas City 937,970 0.819
32 Columbus, OH 925,840 0.809
33 Salt Lake City 919,390 0.803
34 Cincinnati 915,570 0.800
35 Milwaukee 905,350 0.791
36 Greenvll-Spart-Ashevll-And 858,050 0.750
37 San Antonio 818,560 0.715
38 West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce 779,430 0.681
39 Grand Rapids-Kalmzoo-B.Crk 741,420 0.648
40 Birmingham (Ann and Tusc) 739,750 0.646
41 Harrisburg-Lncstr-Leb-York 738,880 0.646
42 Las Vegas 728,410 0.636
43 Norfolk-Portsmth-Newpt Nws 718,020 0.627
44 Albuquerque-Santa Fe 689,120 0.602
45 Oklahoma City 687,300 0.600
46 Greensboro-H.Point-W.Salem 685,110 0.599
47 Jacksonville 674,860 0.590
48 Memphis 673,770 0.589
49 Austin 667,670 0.583
50 Louisville 667,230 0.583
51 Buffalo 631,120 0.551
52 Providence-New Bedford 622,580 0.544
53 New Orleans 602,740 0.527
54 Wilkes Barre-Scranton 594,570 0.519
55 Fresno-Visalia 574,900 0.502
56 Little Rock-Pine Bluff 567,060 0.495
57 Albany-Schenectady-Troy 556,750 0.486
58 Richmond-Petersburg 550,240 0.481
59 Knoxville 547,930 0.479
60 Mobile-Pensacola (Ft Walt) 537,810 0.470


Excellent data! Now, can someone develop a "fan interest" quotient per each SMSA? I mean does Phoenix or Miami or Charlotte have a rabid fan base which turns out for the local MLB or AAA franchise? And why?

I have been fascinated with this issue regarding the Marlins stadium plight in South Florida (among others). Reasons why the attendance is low (despite fielding two world chamionship teams in the last eleven seasons)range from "poor stadium location" to "no dome" to "reconfigured football venue". This just doesn't make sense to me, in a SMSA full of (baseball crazy) Latin Americans.

My personal opinion is that some are just not "Major League Towns". Baseball franchises will be supported in places that have exhibited prior economic support. If that means another Metro NYC team, fine! (Brooklyn of all places, deserves another MLB team). Southern CT, Northern NJ each could (and would) support MLB. Ambient fan interest alone would produce a walk up gate of 10-20,000 fans per game...consult the chart above to see how large the Greater NYC population is.

[Milwaukee County Stadium]

Given MLB's refusal to budge on the Rose ban, and any commissioner's general uneasiness with gambling and the potential for scandal (ask David Stern), I give Vegas almost a zero shot of getting a team.

And a dome? Please, no more domes. The only dome I want in baseball is this one.........
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x97/soxanddawgs/fukudome-782665.jpg
I Love That Name FUK U DOME LOL
OR FUK U DOM EH
It sounds like F*ck You Dome Eh!!!

[J.R.]

My personal opinion is that some are just not "Major League Towns". Baseball franchises will be supported in places that have exhibited prior economic support. If that means another Metro NYC team, fine! (Brooklyn of all places, deserves another MLB team). Southern CT, Northern NJ each could (and would) support MLB. Ambient fan interest alone would produce a walk up gate of 10-20,000 fans per game...consult the chart above to see how large the Greater NYC population is.

I agree.

Another issue raised by that chart ... I could easily see growing towns making a play for teams in old-line but bottom-rung DMAs in the rust belt decades down the line when their current parks need replacement, and if current trends hold, they likely won't have the tax base to fund replacements.

[PeteU]

Forget just putting one more team in New York. We need one team for every borough, and at least four for the metro region. I think Kansas City, Florida, Tampa, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Minnesota should be moved to New York. We don't need those markets.

:rofl: Funny guy. :)

Sad thing is, I think it went over most people's heads.

[PeteU]

I Have Some Photos Of Some Of The Stadiums where they could add or move a team to:

BC Place Stadium Seating: Vancouver, Canada Pop. 611,869

PGE Park Seating: 19,566 Portland Oregon Pop. 568,380
Home Of The Portland Beavers AAA Baseball, AAA Affiliate Of The San Diego Padres

Cashman Field Seating: 9,334 Las Vegas, Nevada Pop. 552,539
Home Of Las Vegas 51s AAA Baseball Affiliate Of The Los Angeles Dodgers

AutoZone Park Seating: 14,320 Memphis, Tennesee Pop. 674,028
Home Of The Memphis Redbirds AAA Baseball Affiliate Of The St. Louis Cardinals



Only BC Place and PGE are remotely MLB ready. And that's assuming that BC Place is still baseball convertable and PGE is strictly temporary.

[PeteU]

Vancouver is a great, great idea. BC Place is being converted to have a retractable roof, therefore bringing back the possibility of a grass field...
The GVRD population is 2,249,725 and ripe for MLB to come in. Imagine, the Mariners could have a better rival than San Diego! :highfive:



Is BC Place still baseball convertable?

Just wondering.

I know that both the Superdome and Aloha Stadium had once been baseball convertable, but I think recent renovations of both fixed them into football only configurations. Has BC Place followed suit?

[Brad MCdonald]

BC Place is still baseball convertible, even more so after the renovations coming up.

[Lafferty Daniel]

Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville

Top 30 media market
Fast growing metropolitan area
Minor leagues are popular here, but can they support the majors?

[War Paint]

:mad: :rant: :evil :banghead:


Now we need Clay Bennett to go steal the Mariners away from Seattle!

The OKC Mariners would have a good ring to it...


All joking aside, I would be pissed too if my team got relocated...

[Philtration]

Yep. Back to the good old days of handlebar mustaches when teams....drew less....than......15,000....

Maybe we can reinamiate the corpses of Ruth, Cobb, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Williams, and other baseball greats and they can play for those teams, too!

You are a little hard to figure out.
You want teams like the Pirates and Royals to stay where they are and struggle with attendance just for traditions sake yet you laugh at the idea of a team moving back to a city (New York, Philadelphia) where they once had decades of tradition and fan support.

By the way.... since 1999 the Marlins have averaged 16,568 per game. That is abysmal for a market that is the seventh-largest metro area in the United States with over 5.4 million residents.
This is not a case of a team needing time to grow a fan base.
This is a team that has no fan base even while they have been competitive on the field.
They do not even support winning baseball for a team that is now in their 16th season.

They would probably draw more fans playing in poverty stricken Havana and it is pretty much a given that they can do better than 16,000 a game some place else.
It looks like Florida does not want MLB period.

[metfan13]

You are a little hard to figure out.
You want teams like the Pirates and Royals to stay where they are and struggle with attendance just for traditions sake yet you laugh at the idea of a team moving back to a city (New York, Philadelphia) where they once had decades of tradition and fan support.

By the way.... since 1999 the Marlins have averaged 16,568 per game. That is abysmal for a market that is the seventh-largest metro area in the United States with over 5.4 million residents.
This is not a case of a team needing time to grow a fan base.
This is a team that has no fan base even while they have been competitive on the field.
They do not even support winning baseball for a team that is now in their 16th season.

They would probably draw more fans playing in poverty stricken Havana and it is pretty much a given that they can do better than 16,000 a game some place else.
It looks like Florida does not want MLB period.

Florida is a team that had a fan base, that was screwed by ownership, and now continues to play in a football stadium with regular threats of moving the team. That'll sure get them out to the park.

[Dodgersfan323]

Move the Rays and Marlins to Portland/San Antonio/Sacramento or whatever.
Before we get even more teams, how about getting rid of the teams that can't even draw 15,000 to a game lol. The cities that deserve a team are the cities that lost teams in the first place. I say bring back the NY Giants, Dodgers, Browns, Athletics back to Philly, Braves back to Boston etc. :)
Pffft! Even when the Dodgers stink they bring in 40,000 :dance

[Dodgeboy]

I believe the topic is "What city deserves a (NEW) team the most" ie: expansion. NOT "what cities don't deserve their existing teams" Give up the move Florida's teams debate, it's never gonna happen.

Besides, putting a second team in Boston or Philly, or a third in NY, would be creating baseball's own LA Clippers - always a distant second fiddle, the red-headed stepchild of the local sports scene.

[Shadly]

Buffalo's Triple A team sells out every night. They are very popular, and the Toronto/Buffalo rivalry in Hockey is pretty intense. The stadium the Bisons play in is pretty good size. Good enough to support a team until a new stadium can be built. If there is another largish city out there with a successful triple A team, these should be considered if expansion is on the menu.

[J.R.]

Buffalo will be lucky to still have the Bills and Sabres in 15 years. It's a major league sports market on the way out.

[PeteU]

Move the Rays and Marlins to Portland/San Antonio/Sacramento or whatever.



And they'd play....where?

[GuitarPunk2512]

i think the US ran out of markets ....its time to go to other countries...either another candian team ( montreal, vancouver) a mexican team ( monterrey, mexico city), or puerto rico ( make the stadium that the expos playe din mlb capacity and standards)

[bdhact1]

Put a team in Green Bay ! LOL

[Shadly]

Buffalo will be lucky to still have the Bills and Sabres in 15 years. It's a major league sports market on the way out.

A major league sports market that still sells out every football game, and had the highest attendance in hockey last year, and pretty high the previous year. The Sabres also sold more merchandise than any other team last year and the year before.

I guess that's what happens when a sports franchise is ready to jump ship huh.

[GordonGecko]

A major league sports market that still sells out every football game, and had the highest attendance in hockey last year, and pretty high the previous year. The Sabres also sold more merchandise than any other team last year and the year before.

I guess that's what happens when a sports franchise is ready to jump ship huh.

What are you talking about? The Bills have huge problems selling out such that Buffalo fans can't watch the games on TV because of local blackouts.

Last year the Bills only sold 88% of their tickets:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/attendance?year=2007

The Sabres were 8th in total attendance, not first
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance?year=2007

Sabres are in good shape but the Bills are definitely on their way out

[aqib]

Prior to their D.C. move, there was speculation that the Expos (with their Montreal attendance dwindling amidst open discussion of where and when they would leave town)would temporarily be sited in Boston as Fenway tenants. The Expos would obviously play home games during Red Sox road trips, at a different (lower) ticket price scale.

As a Red Sox ticket holder, I recall nothing but excitement in the Fenway stands at the prospect of seeing barry Bonds, Junior Griffey, Sammy Sosa, et al during the regular season (this was prior to the big steroids flap).

The Henry ownership group had just taken over the Sox, and was obviously searching for revenue optimization options (they've raised ticket prices very year since then, as well as "co-branded" the Sox with everyone from Dunkin' Donuts to W.B. Mason), so this idea made sense economically.

Do you have a link? I never heard of that one.

[GordonGecko]

Do you have a link? I never heard of that one.

http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/2002/10/24/2002-10-24_expos_looking_fenway_way_wou.html

[Yankees2k6]

Buffalo will be lucky to still have the Bills and Sabres in 15 years. It's a major league sports market on the way out.

They will stay, Buffalo has always had a big fan base for their teams.

[108stitches]

Maybe they should just merge two teams into existing ones. Contraction if you will. It would even out the leagues and strengthen the talent pool. There are troubled franchises already in MLB. Why bring in two new ones?

[dkane739]

One of these days Castro will finally die, that should help out the talent pool a bit.

Let's not forget that a new Major League market would open up.:highfive:

[GordonGecko]

Cuba's going not going to be capitalist in our lifetime. Even if Fidel dies somone will continue the policy.

Wouldn't that be something though, "Yankees open up a weekend series tonight in Havana at Estadio Cohiba, with El Duque coming out of retirement to start at the age of 50!"

[Meadowlark]

Cuba's going not going to be capitalist in our lifetime. Even if Fidel dies somone will continue the policy.



I'll lay money that within 10 years of Castro dying Cuba will be America's playground again.

He's the modern day equivalent of Oliver Cromwell.

[six4three]

http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/2002/10/24/2002-10-24_expos_looking_fenway_way_wou.html

I remember that being floated, but I don't think it was ever seriously considered.