MLB Stadium Saga: Oakland/Tampa Bay/Southside

[Gothamite]

14 hours ago, rams80 said:

They rebuilt the local AAA baseball stadium into a Soccer Specific Stadium, so no, it isn't.

 

Yeah, Portland is only a viable option if they come up with a stadium plan, but they don't even have the fallback of a AAA stadium to either serve as a temporary stadium or to be expanded.

 

Portland chose soccer over baseball years ago.  If they want to pursue baseball now, they'll have to start from absolute scratch.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

I absolutely love the city of Montreal. The amount of people out and about in the summer is insane. The downtown streets are filled. The old O is at the end of the metro line with literally nothing to do around it. I think, with the right stadium in the right place, it could be a success. I do understand the hesitance, though.

[bosrs1]

21 hours ago, rams80 said:

 

They rebuilt the local AAA baseball stadium into a Soccer Specific Stadium, so no, it isn't.

 

To be fair, PGE Park was never going to host MLB. So what's happened with it today has little bearing on Portland's ability to host or not host MLB. They'd have needed an MLB sized ballpark regardless.

[The_Admiral]

11 hours ago, Proc said:

As for Tampa, if the stadium was in Tampa and not in the Forbidden Zone of St. Pete, I bet attendance would be a ton higher.

 

Burkina Faso? Disputed Zone?!? Who called all these weird places?

[neo_prankster]

Where exactly in Tampa proper could the Rays build a new park?

[Cosmic]

5 hours ago, the admiral said:

 

Burkina Faso? Disputed Zone?!? Who called all these weird places?

What? You've never heard of the Special Administrative Region of Clearwater?

[Gothamite]

18 hours ago, bosrs1 said:

To be fair, PGE Park was never going to host MLB. So what's happened with it today has little bearing on Portland's ability to host or not host MLB. They'd have needed an MLB sized ballpark regardless.

 

True, but in converting it to a soccer stadium, Portland was shipping its minor-league baseball team out of town.  Tougher to build support for major league baseball when you don't even have minor-league ball in the city.

 

[bosrs1]

1 hour ago, Gothamite said:

 

True, but in converting it to a soccer stadium, Portland was shipping its minor-league baseball team out of town.  Tougher to build support for major league baseball when you don't even have minor-league ball in the city.

 

 

Well it's not like they don't have MiLB in town still. HIllsboro is a Portland suburb only 12 miles west, and the Hops supposedly do pretty well.

[Gothamite]

True, but the Hillsboro Hops came along years after the Beavers moved, and weren't part of the decision to convert Civic Stadium to soccer.  

 

They average about 3500 per game, okay for the low-level minors but not exactly screaming out for a major-league club.  This year they're right about on par with the Eugene Emeralds.

[HedleyLamarr]

2 hours ago, OnWis97 said:

So I'm curious as to how much any of this has impacted our football (and not just NFL) fandom.  And, if you have kids (I don't) whether you'd let 'em play.

None to me.  I recognize that watching football is simply an entertainment option, and I don't have any attachment to the participants involved.  They know what they're getting themselves into...a rough, dangerous game.  You're responsible for the decisions you make.

 

I don't have any kids, but if I did, I'd let them play football.  I'd educate the hell out of them (like Sex Ed, Drugs, etc) and let them make that choice on playing or not.  There are plenty of positives of kids and young adults getting involved in team sports, too.

[OnWis97]

20 minutes ago, HedleyLamarr said:

None to me.  I recognize that watching football is simply an entertainment option, and I don't have any attachment to the participants involved.  They know what they're getting themselves into...a rough, dangerous game.  You're responsible for the decisions you make.

 

I don't have any kids, but if I did, I'd let them play football.  I'd educate the hell out of them (like Sex Ed, Drugs, etc) and let them make that choice on playing or not.  There are plenty of positives of kids and young adults getting involved in team sports, too.

What I am really curious about is your reply to my quote from the CTE thread ended up in the Rays thread...

[BeerGuyJordan]

6 hours ago, Gothamite said:

 

True, but in converting it to a soccer stadium, Portland was shipping its minor-league baseball team out of town.  Tougher to build support for major league baseball when you don't even have minor-league ball in the city.

 

I don't know, there are a lot of other factors. In some cases, I'd go so far as to say that the AAA presence may actually hurt your chances of landing an MLB team.

 

Charlotte and Nashville are prime examples. The cities recently dumped so much money into new stadiums that gaining traction, on building an MLB park, would be challenging.

[Gothamite]

I'm not sure either of those cities have been a serious contender for a franchise.   The Triangle could have made a play for the Twins back when, but didn't. 

[Rebuy]

I'm always amazed Nashville doesn't get more consideration in these talks about relocation for baseball because I think it's clearly the best option. It's a wealthy area, with good sports fans, a  growing population and has strong secondary markets to draw fans from(Memphis, Knoxville,Chattanooga, Louisville, Huntsville, Birmingham).

[HedleyLamarr]

1 hour ago, OnWis97 said:

What I am really curious about is your reply to my quote from the CTE thread ended up in the Rays thread...

I've no idea.  Maybe the board got hit in the head.....

[The_Admiral]

4 hours ago, Gothamite said:

I'm not sure either of those cities have been a serious contender for a franchise.   The Triangle could have made a play for the Twins back when, but didn't. 

That was Winston-Salem/Greensboro that was gunning for the Twins, I believe. That probably would have been a small disaster.

[Brian in Boston]

9 hours ago, the admiral said:

That was Winston-Salem/Greensboro that was gunning for the Twins, I believe. That probably would have been a small disaster.

 

Correct. The Twins played "footsie" with the Triad, as opposed to the Triangle.

[Mitch B]

I support any action that gets the Mets triple-A affiliate out of Vegas and back to the east coast.

[BeerGuyJordan]

15 hours ago, Rebuy said:

I'm always amazed Nashville doesn't get more consideration in these talks about relocation for baseball because I think it's clearly the best option. It's a wealthy area, with good sports fans, a  growing population and has strong secondary markets to draw fans from(Memphis, Knoxville,Chattanooga, Louisville, Huntsville, Birmingham).

There are two main factors to no real push, for a Nashville franchise:

 

1. Nashville is pretty content with the Sounds. Tennessee is smack dab in the middle of SEC country, where football reigns supreme. The Predators have done well, to build their fanbase, and I'm not sure how much room the market has for a third big 4 franchise.

 

2. Based on my time in Nashville, the city seems to have no real strong allegiance, to any MLB team. If they built a franchise, though, they'd be eating into a significant portion of the secondary markets of three other teams. St. Louis (Memphis, west TN, and western KY), Cincinnati (Louisville and southeastern KY), and Atlanta (eastern TN and Alabama). For a new market to get off the ground, when they'd be taking so much from three others, there needs to be a much greater demand.

[Gothamite]

11 hours ago, the admiral said:

That was Winston-Salem/Greensboro that was gunning for the Twins, I believe. That probably would have been a small disaster.

 

1 hour ago, Brian in Boston said:

 

Correct. The Twins played "footsie" with the Triad, as opposed to the Triangle.

 

 Thanks for the correction, guys.