Additional Baseball Relocation/Expansion

[Gamingboy]

After looking at the tropicana field thread, I was wondering: WHAT BASEBALL RELOCATION/EXPANSION CANIDATES ARE LEFT?

I mean, it's not like there are any obvious ones like Washington was (or what LA is for Football). So I was wondering, where'd a relocation/expansion canidate would a team do good? (DOn't bring up the fact that the talent pool is diluted already, this is a "semi-fantasy" topic).

I figured the following would be "good" (as in, "tolerable to the extent that they'd get mentioned as canidates on ESPN") canidates:

Tokyo:

Pros: They love Baseball there. The stadium (even though it is a dome) is already in place. If a agreement could be reached with the Japanese leagues to somehow stock the team with Japanese prospects, it'd be even better.

Cons: Foreign language would be hard for managers and American players. Long travelling to Tokyo. Any games played there would start at 9:00 in the morning at the latest here.

Portland, OR:

Pros: Is a untapped market.

Cons: Public funding for a stadium... it's a small market..... and so on and so on.

Buffalo, NY:

Pros: There'd be a MLB team within 2 hours drive form me , O, and the stadium they currently have could be expanded and used for a few years. Natural rivalry with Toronto.

Cons: Buffalo... isn't exactly a prosperous town, so getting a new stadium would be tough if not impossible.

Monterrey, Mexico:

Pro: Have a stadium there, although one that would need to be expanded AND brought up to modern standards. They like baseball there.

Con: Would be too expensive for most families in Mexico to go to games on a regular basis. Foreign language would make it hard for managers and American players. Sanitary, water purification and food systems aren't good, I can see it now: "Left Fielder placed on DL due to Montezuma's revenge"

San Juan, Puerto Rico:

Pro: Basically the same as Monterrey, only not as big of a stadium.

Con: Basically the same as Monterrey, only more remote, since Puerto Rico is on a ISLAND.

Virginia

Pro: Untapped market.

Con: Small market. Close (although not real close) to Baltimore and Washington.

Las Vegas, NV

Pro: One of the most rapidly growing cities in North America. Lots of tourists.

Cons: Small TV market. Crime and Corruption possible. It'd be like Colt Stadium all over again in the year before a retractable roofed stadium could be built. Not to mention a lot of those aforementioned tourists would find things to do that don't involve baseball.

Sacramento and San Jose (grouped because I'm lazy, sorry folks)

Pros: Growing markets.

Cons: Close to Oakland and San Francisco, both of whom would NOT want a third MLB team (although Oakland could be the one moving..).

So, anyone else wanna comment. In my opinion, the best place up there would be Tokyo, but that'll never happen unless if someone invents a transporter from star trek tommorrow.

[NJTank]

Forget about Viriginia now that DC is back Virginia will never get a team just too close. VA was just an option if DC was not willing to build a ballpark as a team in Northern Virginia would basically be Washington's team.

Eventually someone will be gutsy enough to put a team in Vegas see there are no issues and everyone will soo wnat a team in Vegas

[slapshot]

I don't see a problem with putting a team in Vegas, but I don't know if it would happen in the next few years.

Sure, it would pack in the visiting crowds, because Vegas is a fun and exciting place to go on vacation. But during the summer? Gotta have a retractable dome there, it's hotter than Phoenix.

I haven't checked the statistics, but I don't know how sports-hungry the city is. Gambling aside, do the 51s sell out? What about UNLV football and basketball? Minor league hockey? Arena football?

It's hard to compare college and minor league sports with pro sports, but I get the impression that the residents of Vegas are somewhat ambivalent about having their own team. Outsiders seem to think that Vegas is the inevitable expansion city for various sports, but how about current residents of Vegas and suburbs?

So I picked Portland, a city that has had a stronger history of pro and minor league sports than Las Vegas, and which seems like a thriving metropolis.

[RyanB06]

I went with "Somewhere Else", seeing that IMO none of the cities listed are good choices.

I think New Orleans would be a good choice, considering the Superdome is capable of handling baseball on a temporary basis (Tulane, IIRC, plays an occasional game there) until a suitable open-air park is built. Yes, market size is an issue, but all of the other choices are equally questionable.

[BaltimoreFan]

Unfortunately, there will be no expansion in baseball. They were talking contraction just a few years ago. I'd like to see a team in Portland they probably the best of the choices for a team. Las Vegas would be nice, but MLB would never allow it after Pete Rose. Sacramento and San Jose aren't that great, doesn't California have enough teams. Virginia would not work especially with Angelos as the O's owner. Toyko would not work. They love baseball, but the team would have to travel overseas constantly. The rest of the cities probably dont have much interest in a team.

I did make some new division plans to make baseball similar to football. This would be a plan for 20-30 years from now though:

National League

East

Baltimore

Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

Washington

North

Chicago Cubs

Chicago White Sox

Kansas City

St. Louis

South

Atlanta

Carolina(expansion team)

Florida

Tampa Bay

West

Arizona

Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem

San Diego

American League

East

Boston

Brooklynn Mets (just renaming them)

New York Yankees

Toronto

North

Cincinnati

Cleveland

Detriot

Milwaukee

South

Colorado

Houston

New Orleans (expansion team)

Texas

West

Oakland

Portland (Twins relocate)

San Francisco

Seattle

[The_Admiral]

STOP DOING FOUR DIVISIONS ALL OF YOU

[Dilbert]

putting Cincinnati in the AL would be a sin. Major no no.

Tokyo is just too far and the players would all be tired before and after playing there. Like mentioned before, language would be a little bit of a problem(I even felt weird about Montreal speaking French and English for the games)

Portland could work. MLB needs another western team(Really I consider the Rangers more Central than West)

Ive been to a Bisons game and it is a really nice park and could be expandable for MLB, however I dont know if Buffalo could support a Major League Baseball team.

Monterrey- Too much of a health hazzard. Fans would not be able to afford to go to games, again language as well.

Puerto Rico- Having the Expos play 22 games there was enough. The first year attendance was good as well as the first few games last year. Towards the end no one on the Island really seemed to care.

Virginia- Forget it. DC got the Nationals, Virginia wouldnt work, and Angelos would be crying about another team that is too close to his.

Las Vegas- After Pete Rose, no way. The only way MLB would get a team was if Gambling was banned from Nevada.(and I dont see that happening)

San Jose- The Bay Area would be getting cramped, that and the A's are looking at San Jose right now anyway.

Sacramento- I just dont think they could support a team. California has too many MLb teams anyway.

As for Somewhere else- I think the Southeast could use another team. Atlanta is there, and Florida and Tampa Bay dont really get much support(my best bet is to stay out of Florida, leave Florida to support the MLB for Spring Training) My picks would be New Orleans, Charlotte, or Nashville.

On a side note- I am leaving for Chicago in the morning for a school trip and will be gone Thursday through Sunday evening. So while Im gone, dont forget to water the plants, feed the dog, and bring in the mail. Dont do anything stupid while Im gone. See ya next week!

[Gary]

Sure, it would pack in the visiting crowds, because Vegas is a fun and exciting place to go on vacation. But during the summer? Gotta have a retractable dome there, it's hotter than Phoenix.

actually that's not really true, Phoenix's Average Temperature during the summer is 106-7 degrees Fahrenheit, while Las Vegas's Average reaches to 103-4 Degrees.

[See Red]

Las Vegas- After Pete Rose, no way. The only way MLB would get a team was if Gambling was banned from Nevada.(and I dont see that happening)

I don't think the worry of gambling would be any worse in Las Vegas. There's other ways to gamble then just walking into the casino.

While I've never bet on a sports game, whether online or at a casino, I'd imagine it's no easier to walk into a casino and place a bet than it is to do online.

[pcgd]

It'd be much harder to place bets on those games in vegas. Why? It'd be illegal just like UNLV games are. And plus, everyone would be watching it like a hawk. Gambling is not a real issue. People are trying to make it one. The heat is more an issue but it was solved in Arizona.

Gambling coruption could happen in St. Louis just as easy as it could happen in Vegas.

Here's the key to vegas for me. Visiting FANS. Not neccesarily tourists, but the fans that woudl visit would more than help fill up the park. People go to vegas alot as it is, but to be able to see their favorite team in action and have some vegas fun on the side? That would boom ticket sales to me.

[mjrbaseball]

When Buffalo's stadium was built, it was designed so that it could be expanded to Major League size. So actually, Buffalo would only have to build half a stadium.

[jrh31584]

The problem with Buffalo is that it has more than 500,000 fewer people than the smallest current MLB market. It is the smallest market with 2 teams in the 4 major sports.

[gosioux76]

Portland (Twins relocate)

[GeneralW91]

I don't see a problem with putting a team in Vegas, but I don't know if it would happen in the next few years.

Sure, it would pack in the visiting crowds, because Vegas is a fun and exciting place to go on vacation. But during the summer? Gotta have a retractable dome there, it's hotter than Phoenix.

I haven't checked the statistics, but I don't know how sports-hungry the city is. Gambling aside, do the 51s sell out? What about UNLV football and basketball? Minor league hockey? Arena football?

Vegas has the arena bowl for a few years, and I heard that the ECHL team does alright at Orleans Arena. I chose Vegas.

[OB33]

I know a team in Northern VA wouldn't work but I think a Norfolk or maybe even Charlotte team could work

[winters in buffalo]

The thing to consider is that baseball is a big-market game. With 80-plus home games a year, it takes a lot of people to fill up seats.

Small markets survive in the NFL beacuse it's easy to fill a stadium just 8 times a year and almost always on a weekend. Baseball plays a lot of games, many in the afternoon, during the week. The only way to fill that many seats is to have plenty of available asses to begin with.

That said, the only two markets that could realistically support a team are Portland and Las Vegas. POrtland's big enough, but when you add in the tourist population and their expendable budgets, Vegas is the clear choice.

[Frylock]

Portland, OR:

Pros: Is a untapped market.

Cons: Public funding for a stadium... it's a small market..... and so on and so on.

Eh... What exactly do you mean by "so on and so on?" If you're going to make cases for and against these cities, you've got to back up your argument with more than just "so on and so on."

As much as I would love to see Portland get a team, and I firmly believe they were this close to getting the Expos, I see Vegas and Sacramento being the odds on leaders at this point.

Vegas has SO much money behind them, and they could easily get a stadium built quickly if they needed to. Sacramento does AMAZING with the RiverCats, so a fan base is already established. Besides, when the Kings do well, people don't seem to have a problem driving out to the middle of nowhere to watch them play.

I've never been to Sacto, but it reminds me of Portland. One pro team, countless minor-league teams, little head-to-head competition for the sports dollar. I could see the A's ending up in Sacramento should things go sour in Oakland. And yes, I know the RiverCats are the A's AAA afilliate.

Now, that being said, I'm voting for Portland because that's MY territory. I want MLB in Portland NOW!!!

[winghaz]

It's funny. One can think of a number of legit places for the NFL to add teams, but very few, if any, in baseball.

[Alphabet Man]

send a team to Melbourne, we'd back the team like we do with every sports team we have......they can play from the MCG........

Did you know that largest crowd for a baseball match was in 1956 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) over (i think) 100,000 turned up for a match between the Army and some other team..... see we do support sports in in the 50's

[CZzyzx41]

I think relocation is all that's left for baseball. Any more expansion would further hurt the sport more than it already has. I see Portland and Las Vegas as the only viable options. One day I'd love to see World Baseball played including the Caribbean and Mexican teams, the Japanese League, an Australian team or two, and perhaps a few European teams (though they're more into Cricket and may not accept Baseball as widely as say Japan has)