MLB Stadium Saga: Oakland/Tampa Bay/Southside

[BBTV]

14 hours ago, Burmy said:

Still holding out hope for PDX to get a team...I'm sure they're gonna rebuild their buzz once the A's and Rays handle their business and MLB actually announces that expansion is open.

(Maybe I'm just biased because I'm going there in ten days, and it's one of the places I'm considering moving to)

 

There has to be an ownership group that wants it, and the appetite to either privately fund a stadium (lol) or for the public to finance it (also lol).  I don't follow PNW sports, but I haven't heard of anyone pursuing anything in Portland like they are in Nashville where there's already either an ownership group or at least a lobbying group with some plan in place (feasible or not) to bring a team there.

[McCall]

1 hour ago, BBTV said:

 

There has to be an ownership group that wants it, and the appetite to either privately fund a stadium (lol) or for the public to finance it (also lol).  I don't follow PNW sports, but I haven't heard of anyone pursuing anything in Portland like they are in Nashville where there's already either an ownership group or at least a lobbying group with some plan in place (feasible or not) to bring a team there.

There have been groups in Portland, but they seem to have died down over the past few years. They're at least not as prominent as Las Vegas/Nashville/Montreal. That's why I put them down with Charlotte and San Antonio-Austin. You have some groups making noise, but nothing substantial that's drawing so hard attention. I could see MLB entertaining those places as potential expansion cities, if nothing else, to use as perceived alternatives to one of the primary choices.

[gosioux76]

On 11/2/2022 at 1:06 PM, McCall said:

There have been groups in Portland, but they seem to have died down over the past few years. They're at least not as prominent as Las Vegas/Nashville/Montreal. That's why I put them down with Charlotte and San Antonio-Austin. You have some groups making noise, but nothing substantial that's drawing so hard attention. I could see MLB entertaining those places as potential expansion cities, if nothing else, to use as perceived alternatives to one of the primary choices.

 

The group that's been lobbying for MLB in Portland the last five years has been little more than a loose-knit group of former local executives who've only identified vanity investors, like Russell Wilson, that don't have the sort of scratch to make it a viable enterprise. They've claimed to have big-money backers, but have never disclosed them. 

 

At this point, all that effort has to show for it is a few wildly speculative stadium renderings and some revenue from hat sales. 

[ltjets21]

On 10/29/2022 at 7:16 PM, Dilbert said:

If they are on their way out of Oakland, when and how would they do it? Will they do what the Raiders did and play a couple lame duck seasons at the Coliseum while a ballpark in Las Vegas is constructed? Will they try to split games between Oakland and Las Vegas (similar to what Montreal did in Puerto Rico) until a new ballpark is built? Will they abandon the Coliseum and try to rent from the Giants until a ballpark is built in Vegas? Will they rent from the Giants and split games in San Francisco and Las Vegas? Will they move to Las Vegas and play at their minor league park until a new ballpark is built? Several options but what is the best?

This should suffice in the meantime. 

[Sec19Row53]

16 hours ago, ltjets21 said:

This should suffice in the meantime. 

Too small and not expandable on that site without taking over existing streets.

[Dilbert]

1 hour ago, Sec19Row53 said:

Too small and not expandable on that site without taking over existing streets.

It could work for a handfull of games, like Montreal did in Puerto Rico. I guess if the Coyotes can do it in a 5,000 seat arena then the A's can do it at a 10,000 seat ballpark.

[gosioux76]

35 minutes ago, Dilbert said:

It could work for a handfull of games, like Montreal did in Puerto Rico. I guess if the Coyotes can do it in a 5,000 seat arena then the A's can do it at a 10,000 seat ballpark.

 

That's an interesting thought.  I realize we're talking about two different sports — comparing baseballs to hockey pucks, so to speak – but I wonder if this Coyotes small-venue experiment eventually becomes a success whether it'll prompt other leagues to look more openly at short-term, stop-gap solutions like this.

 

How many times have we handicapped a potential relocation market by saying they don't have a big-league-ready venue?  

 

Say Phil Knight suddenly decides he wants to own a Major League Baseball team in Portland. The lack of ownership has only been one part of the equation. A market also had to have a venue and before, we'd never have considered Ron Tonkin Field, home of the Hillsboro Hops, as a viable short-term venue, at least not without millions spent on improvements. Could the Coyotes example change that?

 

I'm not suggesting it would. I have no idea. Just tossing out a thought experiment. 

[McCall]

5 hours ago, Sec19Row53 said:

Too small and not expandable on that site without taking over existing streets.

It actually has been mentioned as a potential temporary site. The capacity is still more than the A's draw now, so you probably wouldn't even need to increase it to be an improvement over the Coliseum. Not sure how scheduling would work with two teams playing there simultaneously, though.

[rams80]

6 hours ago, Dilbert said:

It could work for a handfull of games, like Montreal did in Puerto Rico. I guess if the Coyotes can do it in a 5,000 seat arena then the A's can do it at a 10,000 seat ballpark.

 

The Coyotes aren't supposed to be a moneymaker by design though.  I don't think that's gonna fly in MLB.

[WestCoastBias]

1 hour ago, McCall said:

It actually has been mentioned as a potential temporary site. The capacity is still more than the A's draw now, so you probably wouldn't even need to increase it to be an improvement over the Coliseum. Not sure how scheduling would work with two teams playing there simultaneously, though.

 

MLB would need to move the Aviators if the A's end up in Las Vegas. No way a city the size of Vegas could support Major League and Triple-A baseball teams. I assume Fresno would likely get the Aviators since they have a Triple-A facility but got demoted to Single-A in the MiLB reshuffling a couple years ago.

[rams80]

2 hours ago, McCall said:

It actually has been mentioned as a potential temporary site. The capacity is still more than the A's draw now, so you probably wouldn't even need to increase it to be an improvement over the Coliseum. Not sure how scheduling would work with two teams playing there simultaneously, though.

 

Las Vegas AAA team would leave on the spot if an MLB team moved in.  That scheduling problem wouldn't exist.

[McCall]

Just now, WestCoastBias said:

 

MLB would need to move the Aviators if the A's end up in Las Vegas. No way a city the size of Vegas could support Major League and Triple-A baseball teams. I assume Fresno would likely get the Aviators since they have a Triple-A facility but got demoted to Single-A in the MiLB reshuffling a couple years ago.

Not necessarily. Sumerlin’s far enough west it may not be much different than Twins-St. Paul or the Astros-Sugar Land. Plus it’s a brand new stadium. They’re not gonna want to abandon it.

[GDAWG]

3 minutes ago, McCall said:

Not necessarily. Sumerlin’s far enough west it may not be much different than Twins-St. Paul or the Astros-Sugar Land. Plus it’s a brand new stadium. They’re not gonna want to abandon it.

 

Or the Rangers-Frisco.  

[GDAWG]

 

Part 2:

 

 

[WestCoastBias]

12 hours ago, McCall said:

Not necessarily. Sumerlin’s far enough west it may not be much different than Twins-St. Paul or the Astros-Sugar Land. Plus it’s a brand new stadium. They’re not gonna want to abandon it.

 

Houston and Dallas are 3x as big as Vegas and the Twin Cities is a more unique situation. Seems like Vegas just gets the benefit of the doubt with everything even though no one knows what the market will be like in the future with likely every major pro sports league. I doubt many other expansion cities would get to keep their Triple-A team.

[Chromatic]

20 hours ago, Sec19Row53 said:

Too small and not expandable on that site without taking over existing streets.

I also question the viability of a team playing outdoor games in Vegas in the middle of July.

[kolob]

1 hour ago, Chromatic said:

I also question the viability of a team playing outdoor games in Vegas in the middle of July.

 

As a temporary solution playing all night home games could work. Or, split the season between a Bay Area ballpark, Reno and/or an International market like Mexico City, Monterrey, Montreal or Vancouver?

[GDAWG]

3 hours ago, kimball said:

 

As a temporary solution playing all night home games could work. Or, split the season between a Bay Area ballpark, Reno and/or an International market like Mexico City, Monterrey, Montreal or Vancouver?

 

Not happening.  MLB turned down the dual Montreal/Tampa plan set forth by the Rays.  Plus the MLBPA would have issues with it.  

[WestCoastBias]

The A's would play in Oakland until the Vegas stadium is done like the Raiders did.

[Red Comet]

1 hour ago, WestCoastBias said:

The A's would play in Oakland until the Vegas stadium is done like the Raiders did.

 

The Raiders were able to pull that off because they have a widespread and dedicated fanbase. Who the hell is going to go watch an A's game when they know they're going to Vegas?

 

 

This is how it is without knowing that they're going to Vegas.