As many have pointed out, there are 2 mistakes in this video. Charlotte doesn’t have an NHL team. The Hurricanes play in Raleigh. And PGE Park in Portland can no longer be used for baseball. They will have to build a new ballpark before a team can move there.
I live in the San Antonio and Austin areas. Allow me a bit of prospective: Austin and San Antonio outskirts are really an hour or less between each other. 2 - Austin is dense with no room for a new stadium, 3 - Austin has a homeless and panhandling problem 4 - Austin has a transportation problem in the downtown areas. Austin in the downtown areas won't work. What will work though is a stadium and sports complex between Schertz and San Marcos makes the most sense. San Antonio has expansion areas like near Schertz there is a horse track with a lot of room for additional expressways and parking, and Schertz is 20 minutes from downtown SA and 50 minutes from Austin. San Antonio makes more sense for football, Austin maybe for baseball, but places to build in Austin are expensive and hard to find. Even the downtown UT Austin stadiums are built on a hill. It makes sense for an NFL expansion with a MLB stadium built in San Antonio
The reason Montreal failed was : 1- 1994 Lock out and Fire sale that followed 2- Bad/cheap Owners 3- Too many years finishing last in a row with lowest salary avg in the league. (So basically 2 again!) I was a huge Baseball fan and went to the BigO once a week until 1994... After that I may have went 4 times total and had stop following the team. I was heart broken and felt betrayed... 10+ years of building up for 1994 only for it to vanish in thin air and back to one of the worse team in the league. I just couldn't take it. I haven't followed MLB since, not even sure if I'd go back to be honest.
Just an FYI that PGE park is not a temporary option for Portland. It is now called Providence Park and has been permanently converted to a soccer specific stadium (e.g. with a huge permanent stand where left field used to be).
Before MLB even discuss expansion, they need to address the stadium issue in Tampa. If they cannot get a stadium in Tampa then the Rays will have to relocate.
considering they choked in the world series thanks to Cash's terrible decision, they denied Tampa their dynasty being the only Tampa sports team NOT to win their championship, Tampa Bay doesn't want them. They have the Lightning and the Bucs and have animosity against the baseball team for losing the biggest game of their history. St Petersburg is the only city that will keep them and St Pete is the EXACT place TB want to leave, as a result, only 3 out of 8 plans for the Tropicana Field area contain a new ballpark.It's almost a guarantee they'll move to Montréal and be rechristened the new Montréal Expos. Unless they can get their act together and win when it ACTUALLY MATTERS, The Rays are dead. And will always be yet another bridesmaid "Underrated team" that could never finish the job.
As a Montrealer, I really appreciate this video (and the comments supporting the return of MLB baseball to Montreal). I miss going to the Big O, even if it was a terrible place to watch baseball. But I'm pessimistic the city will get a team back. There's still a lot of hurt feelings from the team leaving in 2004 with blame placed squarely on MLB and former owner Jeff Loria. I'm not crazy about where they want to build the new stadium (and there are plenty of roadblocks for that). Financing the stadium is another big issue. One of the reasons the Expos left was no one would pony up the $$ to build a new stadium closer to the downtown core. Spending public money on a stadium is still not popular, and I don't think any level of government is willing to provide the financial support for it
I grew up bleeding Expo blanc, bleu et rouge. I don't know what hurt more: Black Monday, the cancelled 1994 season, or losing the team. The video maker doesn't give much credit to Vancouver and Montreal's history as baseball cities. The Montreal Royals history speaks volumes, and so does the Vancouver Canadians AAA baseball team of the 1960s to 1999 (see my comment the same day I post this).
and unlike Charlotte, there is an active movement in Raleigh to bring MLB here. The trouble will be overcoming any rules concerning the number of established minor league clubs so close by.
He's right; Montreal should be an AL team this time. Not only for the lucrative natural rivalry with Toronto, but there are far more AL cities close to Montreal than AL ones.
@@damontweedy7230 Once MLB has 32 teams, each league will have 4 divisions of 4 teams each, just like the NFL. Montreal would probably be grouped with Philly, the Mets, and either Washington or Pittsburgh.
@@Punnybone55 they should put Pittsburgh in the AL much like the Steelers switched from the NFL/NFC to the AFL/AFC after the ALF-NFL Merger. At the same time, they could put the Astros back into the NL. In truth, the NHL should scrap the geographical conferences and reinstate the old Campbell and Prince of Wales Conferences and place the Original Six (Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, NY Rangers, and Toronto) into the Prince of Wales Conference and put the New Six (Dallas, LA, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and San Jose [as "successors" of the old California Golden Seals/Cleveland Barons]) into the Campbell Conference, then build out the remainder of the conferences with teams by year of incorporation (with the NY Islanders specifically being placed in the Campbell Conference) or from the NHL-WHA Merger (Edmonton, Hartford/Carolina, Quebec/Colorado, and Winnepeg; the last team being a continuation of the original Winnepeg team that is now in Arizona). Just picture a hypothetical Stanley Cup Finals with let's say, the Rangers and Islanders, or Ottawa or a resurrected Quebec Nordiques (from a relocated Arizona team) against either Montreal or Toronto.
A team in Montreal would be doomed to fail...again. The higher tax burden and the culture would make it unattractive to free agents, so the team would never be competitive.
Another factor to consider: rail transit. Fans should have an alternative to fighting traffic to and from the games. This way they can stay for the entire game even if it's close. There were several people who missed Kirk Gibson's home run in the 1988 World Series because they were trying to beat the traffic. Then there was the time Joe Cowley threw a no hitter for the White Sox in Anaheim and EVERYBODY left after the 8th inning. Fortunately Montreal has a full Metro system and Portland has the best "Light Rail" in the USA, which does go to the existing ballpark.
Great video. However, I do believe the southeast is where the MLB will look to expand. The Braves have the largest market in the MLB. They have almost no competition in the SE. Charlotte or Nashville will definitely be getting a team.
Nashville is surely next on the list, though I don't think it will be expansion, but rather relocation of the Rays. Charlotte won't spend public money on a site or stadium, so they're out although I think it would be an excellent market if they put the stadium in northern Union County.
Top 2: 1. Portland. The Mariners have the roughest travel in MLB. It's a problem. Portland will help a lot with that, plus they already have a stadium location and design. 2. Montreal. MLB has said they want a team back in Montreal. It is a very big city with a lot of money. The French Canadian version of Toronto. They too already have a development plan that will have room for a stadium. This could be the Rays. The St Petersburg mayor recently said the Rays want to much. Not looking like he is fully committed on keeping them. Next 2 is a tie between Austin and Charlotte. Austin only has one other pro sports franchise unless you count UT, plus they got Tech money. Charlotte has banking money, nearby tech money, plus no team in the Carolina's that combined has over 15.6M people. I do not think Vegas is an option nor Nashville. Vancouver has no shot at all imo. I think Monterrey Mexico is more of an option than Vancouver.
San Antonio has something Austin lacks: the military presence. that’s a huge fanbase for teams making it a home feel even away. there’s also the fact that it’s close enough to Austin to attract fans from there giving it a chance to serve both cities.
Despite the truly admirable efforts to bring MLB to PDX (which was the name of the group advocating to do so), MLB ain’t coming to the Rose City now. Fact is, there’s history and pedigree for baseball in Portland, but after the city has gone to crap with it’s infrastructure, rioting in recent years, and it’s garbage-ridden streets, no owner will want to even attempt to place a team here.
You’re wrong about Portland. No one here talks about bringing a MLB team here. Seattle has spent the last 50 years building a fan-base & Western Oregon is a component of it (just 3 hours away). Also, there’s plenty of competition with the Blazers, Thorns & Timbers ML Soccer teams - there’s also too many other things to do during the Oregon warm months (golf, tennis, camping, water skiing, hiking, the Coast, wine country, the mountains, etc.). There’s no support to publicly build a stadium. A MLB team in Portland is a fool’s errand.
As a native austinite who'd love to see MLB here, the big problem is the city isn't willing to publicly fund a stadium. With MLS, the team had to pay for construction themselves, and jump through a ton of legal hoops to obtain the land for the stadium. So for MLB to come here, an owner would need to pay the expansion fee, pay for land, and pay for construction.
@@sabrecatsmiladon7380 Maybe, but fans may not wanna drive an hour to san marcos 81 times a year. My guess is it'd be either in San Antonio or an owner would buy the land and eat the cost of construction themselves.
Being from Austin, I don't think that will happen. University of Texas doesn't want competition, and if you don't know, UT has deeper pockets than some pro teams of any sport as a whole.
Right now, I cannot see any expansion since stadium situations in Tampa and Oakland need to be resolved first. Looks like Tampa may be more of a relocate candidate and if so, it could be Montreal since they already mentioned splitting a season there.
If Vancouver came in, I'd put it in the American League as there's a ton of National League teams in just the southwest region alone. Maybe Austin for the National League as your 3rd Texas team since the other two are already in the AL. But I'd say Las Vegas would also be good expansion spot for an American League franchise too. Not listed but maybe New Orleans and Salt Lake City, they've had recent expansions in different sports too. Personally I'd add four new teams but I know there's a lot that goes into supporting teams in the cities.
This was a very well done video on a topic I have a big interest in. Thanks so much for posting. I enjoyed this very much. I’m in Western Canada and believe it or not I follow baseball more closely than hockey.
I would love to see a Carolina mlb team I think it would draw well, Montreal would be good too if it happens they will definitely bring back the expos name & logo they would have to have a better stadium for sure im almost positive the Tampa bay rays will be moving in the next 10 years & I could see them relocating to Montreal. Nashville & Portland, Oregon would be cool too I saw a great stadium plan for Nashville
Portland and Montreal are my top choices. Portland - Seattle and Montreal - Toronto rivalries are appealing. Having another Texas team has less appeal.
Agreed ... it's not that Austin or San Antonio are horrible options, but Portland and Montreal are better. Portland actually has an expansion ownership group that is attempting to buy land and build a stadium ... Montreal is also working on ideas for a stadium location.
Yeah, I don't know much about the Super Sonics and Trail Blazers, but i know the Timbers and Sounders have a pretty insane rivalry. I don't remember the exact name of it, but their was a chant compilation video (Probably NA specific because i don't remember any Euro Soccer teams being included) and it started out (or was close to starting out) with a combined skol like chant for Seattle, and the Timbers Army PTFC chant during a Timbers-Sounders game in Seattle.
10:51 Montreal deserves to stay in the National League. I'd rather see one Canadian team for each league as opposed to placing both the Expos and the Blue Jays in the same league. Nice idea, but if the Blue Jays and the Expos faced each other in the World Series, that would be a very interesting World Series indeed plus the novelty will be there just like the 2000 Subway Series between the Yankees and the Mets. Another expansion I could see for the American League would be maybe placing a team in either Charlotte or San Antonio (via moving the Astros back to the National League and giving TX a National League Team once again as well as moving the Milwaukee Brewers back into the American League). Here's my fantasy American and National Leagues: AL East: NYY, BOS, TOR, BAL, TB AL Central: CLE, CHW, DET, MIL, MN, KC AL West: CA, OAK, SA, SEA, TX, NL East: ATL, MIA, MTL, NYM, PHI, WAS NL Central: CIN, CHC, PIT, STL, HOU NL West: AZ, COL, LA, SF, SD
Portland already has a major organization trying to bring baseball to the city (Portland Diamond Project). The future stadium is already pre-approved to be built at the Port of Portland in the NW Industrial district. If they do get an expansion team, they ought to name them the Beavers as homage to the Beaver state and to the old Minor League team. Or even the Portland Cascades. Colorado has the Rockies, Portland could have the Cascades. However, as a person who grew up in the North Bay in Northern California, I wouldn't say no to the A's moving up here. There is also a very mixed group of Giants, Dodgers and Mariners fans up here due to the influx in those moving up. That and the Giants also had a Minor League (A) Team in the Salem-Keiser Volcanoes. So not only would it be bringing baseball back to people who can't really regularly see their team play could do so if they moved to Portland. On the A's-Mariners rivalry being strengthened. It would also see that old friendly Bay Area rivalry of A's and Giants fans whenever the Giants come to play.
One huge problem with this video The Carolina Hurricanes play in Raleigh NC. Nowhere near Charlotte NC Please correct your video because this is a HUGE inaccuracy to a very well thought out idea and concept. I still think Nashville will get a team (relocation or expansion) cause they already have an ownership group ready and they can finance a stadium.
Just found your channel and loved this topic and video. As a lifelong Baseball fan, who has felt the league (not the game) leaving me behind, I LOVE the idea of bringing the Expos back to Montreal. I also love the idea of putting them in the AL, because as an NHL fan, there is nothing like a Montreal/Toronto rivalry. The Great White North would eat it up! Baseball needs a team in Quebec (are you listening Gary Bettman?) Also as a resident of Texas, putting an expansion team in Austin is gold. The metro area is growing by leaps and bounds (with plenty of California Baseball fans/transplants) who would pull fans from San Antonio and Waco. Texas is also big enough to create loyalties and natural rivalries between 3 fan bases. If they are all in the same division, it could get as heated as the Dodgers/Giants, because as everyone knows “everything is bigger in Texas.” 😉 Finally, the idea of Oakland moving to Portland is intriguing to me. A’s fans (yes, there are some good ones) could still make the trek to see their team (maybe even sell/retain TV rights to the Oakland area?), but it would keep that west coast division/travel flow. Again, great thought provoking video.
@@bostonrailfan2427 Yeah, because in 19 years, F-all has happened. Unlike in the USA, Canadian cities don't blow money on stadia without a reason first. As it turned out, not building a stadium was the right choice. Not only that, an MLB team could start play immediately in the Olympic Stadium and MLB is fine with that as long as a new stadium gets built.
@@MikoDarkblade Yeah but that's because Butthead Betteman is focused on growing the NHL in the USA. It has nothing to do with Quebec's viability, it has to do with his nationalistic bias.
@@AvroBellow Agreed, but still the populations won't let that happen again and politicians won't risk it either... The only politicians who might have gone ahead with it anyway got sack 2 elections ago and last time around lost his comeback as well...
Even though Vegas has the Golden Knights and Raiders already, they both play in the Fall and Winter, leaving the Spring and Summer wide open which would be perfect for an MLB team. I believe Montreal are going to get a relocation team, more then likely the Rays, and Portland or Vegas would be good options for the A's if they relocate. I love all your choices, and they would all make great destinations for future MLB cities. Being Canadian, I'd love Vancouver and Montreal to both get teams, but Vancouver would have to build a new stadium before a team could relocate or expand there.
@@LoydChampion You mean, like Allegiant Stadium? Getting 30-35,000 fans to show up for 81 games is whole other thing then 40 games At 16-18,000 f/hockey or basketball. Or 60,000 f/8 games in football.
@@johngustavsen6406 True. I do ponder if they could get enough fans per game average for a MLB game. But one thing they would have going for them in post pandemic is that people come to Las Vegas from all over the country and the world. If it is enclosed and comfortable, could be a casino alternative.
There are 115,000+ visitors daily (non-covid) 42,000000 annually here, but 30,000 night in night out? As like T-Mobile arena, a Casino could help. I have been there, it's different w/NY NY 100 yards down the hallway. Also, the ballpark would not be on Las Vegas Blvd, like the arena, it would at best be on the other side of interstate 15. I guess they would tie in the Elon Musk tunnel in progress now.
My personal choices would be Vegas and Montreal. I'm confident that Vegas would respond very positively to an MLB team, and the city is growing at an insane rate, so getting a team there now will cost a lot less than getting it there in 30 years. Montreal is just kind of an obvious choice. With 32 teams, the MLB would have to change its playoff structure and would probably align the division to 4 divisions per league of 4 teams each. If you have Vegas going NL and Montreal going AL, you'd have: NL North Cardinals Cubs Brewers Reds NL South (this one is sort of inconvenient) Vegas* D-Backs Marlins Braves NL East Pirates Phillies Mets Nationals NL West Rockies Dodgers Padres Giants AL North Twins White Sox Tigers Indians AL South (also rather inconvenient) Astros Rays Orioles Royals AL East Yankees Red Sox Blue Jays Montreal* AL West Mariners Angels A's Rangers If you had Montreal going NL and Vegas going AL, you'd have: NL North Cardinals Cubs Brewers Reds NL South (these southern divisions seem to be inconvenient in general) Marlins Braves Nationals D-Backs NL East Montreal* Mets Pirates Phillies NL West Rockies Dodgers Padres Giants AL North Twins White Sox Tigers Indians AL South Royals Rangers Astros Rays AL East Yankees Red Sox Blue Jays Orioles AL West Mariners A's Angels Vegas*
How about putting an expansion on the north side of San Antonio or the south side of Austin, that way it can draw new fans from the city that didn’t get the expansion?
What about an ideal tribute to naming a candidate for an expansion stadium name in Austin. How would you feel about naming Austin's playing field "American Dream Stadium" or "Dusty Rhodes Park" to honor the late most entertaining sports personality in Austin's history.
The MLB and other baseball and music my two true loves. I can't go a week without watching a few games and I can't go a day without listening to my favorite bands like Delta Parole.
The Charlotte Knights (AAA) have a relatively new (and beautifully-located center city) stadium... whose building was "complicated" in that involved city and county governments swapping land parcels and acknowledging at the time that this site could not be expanded to stadium large enough for MLB. Therefore a new stadium at a different location would be required for MLB in Charlotte.
I don’t think the league is doing well enough right now for expansion, but relocation is very realistic and would definitely benefit the A’s and to a lesser degree Tampa.
Vancouver didn't support an NBA team, while far smaller markets (San Antonio, Portland, Salt Lake City) have. Las Vegas is probably the best bet of the western cities (then again it might get the A's at some point, they already got the Raiders). San Antonio and Austin are large but lack a lot of suburban areas surrounding them, plus Texas and Houston would certainly try to block expansion into areas they consider their own (Austin also has horrific traffic issues). Nashville and Charlotte are both good choices.
@@jkeelsnc more like certainly nashville and maybe charlotte, charlotte might not be able to get a stadium built whereas nashville has already said they would build one
:55 I wouldn’t worry about metro population but I’d worry about the media market. Braces have the entire area from Houston to St Louis to Cincy to DC and down to Tampa. That’s a massive media market that 1 team dominates. A team in Nashville or Charlotte makes the most sense as a result. Same for attendance
Unless mayor and city council of Oakland (plus Alameda County) can negotiate with A's owners, A's could say 'bye felicia'. See what happened to the Raiders. Raiders were promised new stadium when returned to Oakland for 2nd time from LA due to terrible conditions now at Oakland-Alamaeda Coliseum, which was suppose to be a "temporary" home again until update/renovations/new stadium took place. However, maybe ownership too/communication problem didn't go well and rest is history. Plus, at time Raiders tried to ask 49ers before relocation to Vegas about sharing a new stadium in/near Santa Clara (near 49ers training camp ironically), but Niners said NO (i.e. screw you). In addition to 49ers hate Raiders, San Francisco didn't want another Bay Area team for professional football but not sure on professional baseball. Likewise, from prior rumors, San Francisco 'controls jurisdiction' of San Jose and surrounding that they don't want competition among other factors that make it hard overall.
Vegas would have to build a domed stadium as well which would add to the cost. One of the reasons why the Las Vegas 51s weren't supported is no one wanted to go off the Strip and sit in the scorching desert heat for three hours watching a game.
Vegas has a minor league team outdoors and they sell out almost every game, they play late in the evening. Not sure that would work for MLB but it does for the minor league team. They have a new stadium in Summerlin.
Sacramento would be a underrated one too. Kings have low attendance but that’s more so because the team sucks rather than the city because everyone in sac loves the river cats. Plus Sacramento and the area around it is growing more and more each year
I'd be expanding for 36 teams so: Montreal Expos Las Vegas Aviators (it's Vegas they'll get support somehow) Portland Pioneers San Antonio/Austin Bats (1 team for the whole region) Nashville Sounds Louisville Jockeys (biggest market without a major league sport including MLS)
In the US we have four major spectator sports but in Canada it is one and one semi-major Canadian Football and then every thing else sure they have MLS teams but MLS does not have major league ticket prices so I would not put a team in Canada.
The two cities I think should get MLB teams are Raleigh and Nashville. If Nashville can support the Titans, which require tens of thousands of more fans to fill in seats, then they can support a baseball team. Raleigh can rely on the Academic Triangle area to draw in fans. There would be some league realignment, notably adding two divisions and killing off the AL & NL Central. It would also require a few teams to switch leagues
I say move the A's to Portland and the Rays to Montreal, then give Austin and Nashville the expansion Nashville is a growing city with a very successful AAA team, and the city would very strongly support the Stars if they are ever able to come into being. Plus I think the southeast is really lacking in Major League baseball teams considering how popular the sport is in the area
This seems like the best route. It works geographically, as the A's (who'd probably keep their name, as the Athletics name has survived multiple previous moves) and Rays (who'd almost certainly change their name moving from balmy Tampa to chilly Montreal) could stay in their divisions. The Austin team could play at the Alamodome in nearby San Antonio for a few years while their ballpark was being built, while the Nashville team would have to wait for a new ballpark to be built. Nashville could be swapped out for Charlotte, but other than that this sounds good. Sorry that this is over a year late, but I just wanted to share my thoughts.
@@gabingston3430 Phil Wood who used to a big DC baseball advocate, now lives in the Nashville area and works at Austin Peau University and supports the MLB expanding there.
@@gabingston3430 The Alamodome is not suitable for baseball. The Rangers played exhibition games there, but right field is only 272 feet. The sightlines are terrible. Omaha already has a beautiful ballpark. All it needs is 15,000 more seats.
I like the idea of teams shared between cities after hearing about the potential tampa/montreal plan. Only not two cities thousands of miles away and in entirely different countries. Nearby would work, Tampa and Orlando, Charlotte and Raleigh, Oakland and Sacramento, Nashville and Memphis, Austin and San Antonio, Calgary and Edmonton. Still 40 games per season in each place, as many as an NHL or NBA team, two 20-30k seat ballparks I think would be cheaper than one 40k seat ballpark
Wouldn't really work with Nashville and Memphis. There is literally nothing in between the two, except for Jackson, TN. And the less said about Jackson, the better. And Memphis for that matter.
Nashvile and Memphis wouldn't work at all. Those two cities hate each other and would never support anything related to the other city. Memphis is really unlike the rest of Tennessee. I remember when the Titans played in Memphis between Houston and Nashville. Nobody from Memphis went to the games. They weren't about to support anything that would be Nashville's in the future.
@@theroachden6195 1. I think that both Vancouver and Montreal would figure better into teams that are already "built" so it would be helpful for growth 2. You'd have the Expos (just gonna assume this will be the name) in the same division as the Blue Jays so that is easily 22 large crowd games 3. Nashville and Portland would be better for expansion franchises anyway (see: Predators and Timbers) 4. Prob Bias I just want more baseball in Canada
I’d prefer relocation to expansion. Move the Rays to Montreal and rename them back to the Expos and they can stay in the AL East and have a perfect rival with the Jays. Move the A’s to Vegas just like the Raiders and they would still play in the AL West. Whatever happens Montreal has to get the Expos back so we can see those sweet uniforms again.
Montreal really does want a baseball team back, but I think the biggest barrier might be the language/culture issue. EVERYTHING is done in French in Quebec. It's hard enough getting big name free agents to come to another country in Toronto, and we speak the same language. The passion and fan interest are DEFENITLY there however.
@@fixpacifica Being a tourist in Montreal is one thing, but you're not the one doing interviews, events, and meetings fans. French is especially key with the media. And that's why it would be tough to get big names to go to Montreal. Players already hate speaking to the press. Now they need to do it in French as well?
@@CanadaMMA When the Expos were there, all of that was done in English. They may have used a translator or captioning for fans, but everything outside of PA announcements were handled in English. The problem is, Montreal has NEVER come remotely close to supporting a baseball team. They didn't even support the AAA team they had prior to the Expos. Personally, I think it's pure folly to put a team in a market that has done nothing but failed.
Then there is the concept of a third Major League that could be used a leverage for expansion. In the late 50s the was the Continental League with 8 teams run by Branch Rickey, and Shea Stadium was supposed to be built for a team in that league. It folded when New York got an expansion National League team known as the Mets. In the mid 80s there was supposed to be the United Baseball League, with team in Long Island, LA, DC, LA, Puerto Rico. Even had the blessing of the MLB players Union, because it would provide more jobs for Baseball Players.
The Continental League was probably not that serious. Even then, the startup costs of a new major league were prohibitive. The entire thing was floated by "New Yawk" interests, backed by New York Giants (NFL) owner Wellington Mara and run by prominent NYC attorney William Shea, whose REAL motive, since both the Dodgers and the baseball Giants had fled NYC, was to bring a major league franchise back. There were quite a few OTHER proposals, including the Reds, the Pirates, and the White Sox, to relocate an existing team to NYC. The Giants sold their interest in the AAA-Minneapolis Millers, who had a new, expandable stadium in Bloomington. to Calvin Griffith, owner of the perennially-hapless Washington Senators ("first in war, first in peace, and LAST in the American League"), who saw his ballpark and the area around it deteriorate. Given also that, even with the presence of the Dodgers and the Giants in California, the rest of the Pacific Coast League still did well (the Hollywood Stars, the prior rival of the PCL LA Angels, were sold to a Utah-based group and moved to Salt Lake City for the '1958 season), and the "Continentals expressed interest in placing franchises in California and also in Seattle, WA. This was enough to get the AL to revive the Angels as an AL expansion team, the question was where to put them. They played their inaugural season in the previous home of the PCL Angels, LA's Wrigley Field, which was also showcased on the then-TV show "Home Run Derby" and also featured in several TV shows featuring major league clubs like "Mr Ed" or "The Munsters". The Angels would move to Dodger Stadium for the next four seasons while a new venue was worked out and built, per agreement the stadium was referred to as "Chavez Ravine" for Angels broadcasts and in their literature. They got their present home thanks to Disney wanting to sell off some property in Anaheim which they'd originally acquired years before for others purposes, which is where the present ballpark sits. In irony, Disney owned the Angels for a few years as well. As for the Senators, even though Calvin Griffith knew that DC planned to build a new stadium, which would later be known as RFK stadium, he still felt that the "demographics" of the city meant that a MLB club wouldn't make it in that city. Although in recent times Griffith has been lambasted as being a "racist", he was proved correct. Griffith relocated his team to Minneapolis-St. Paul for the '61 season, and though the Continental League had already collapsed, the replacement expansion franchise, likewise named the Senators and inheriting Washington baseball history, had been awarded, but fared rather poorly in its eleven seasons in the nation's capital. While poor play, and having to compete with perennial powerhouses like the Yankees, Twins, Tigers, and especially the Orioles, who played but 45 miles distant, were certainly reasons for lackluster attendance, so was the specter of CRIME in the nation's capital: most of the few fans the Senators had lived in the suburbs, and few were willing to brave night games, fearing for their safety! Although the last WASHINGTON Senators owner, Bob Short, had invested significantly in the club when he bought it prior to the 1969 season, including hiring baseball legend "Teddy Ballgame" Williams as manager, he already had relocation in mind, as he'd been courted by interested parties from DFW, who finally got the Senators after the 1971 season, becoming the Rangers.
@@selfdo The United Baseball league was even worse Curt Flood was supposed to be Commissioner. Their big selling point was the MLB players union had their blessing. Of course, more jobs for players and personnel.
Exactly, put the stadium in San Marcos that would be close to each city. The more prosperous side of SA is the northern part. They would have very good highway access to San Marcos.
@@Speedster___ --- Yeah it's a potential issue, but Texas tends to do good infrastructure. To me the bigger issue is what kind of stadium you want. I'm from Denver and the beauty of Coors Field is it's not surrounded by a huge parking lot. You walk out of the front door and you're immediately in the coolest part of downtown Denver with tons of restaurants, hotels, night clubs. Because it's fun before and after games it results in the Rockies having the best attendance of any team in a medium size city in MLB.
@@Speedster___ ----- The cities that are above Denver in attendance are places like LA, NY, Chicago, STL. So compared to that it's mid-sized. Also the surrounding area has a small population. The nearest city is Cheyenne, WY which only has 60,000 people.
Austin is a great choice.. Vegas is interesting.. The Golden knights play 41 home games mainly through the winter so they aren't competing with summer pool parties and the casinos as much as an 81game summer baseball schedule would... But you could get west coast Dodger, Angel, and Padre fans that would travel. The key (for any team) is put the stadium in the middle of the downtown entertainment hub and make it an entertainment experience. Like Petco park in the San Diego gas Lamp district. Imagine if a Vegas stadium is right on the strip. People could walk to the park catch a game and go out after..
The A's were never yours. They came from philly and KC if my memory serves. They are really messing up by not moving to Sacramento or Vallejo or maybe even Vacaville. Nobody in Norcal wants to visit that terdhole of a city in Oakland. If they would move over the hill, I and many others would attend far more games.
First, I doubt we'll have any expansion until we have recovered from the covid financial crisis. When we're ready, we should have 6 expansion teams and not just two. Two will upset the near perfect balance we have now with 5 teams in each of six divisions. Six team new teams expanding in hockey style.
I wonder if they could use Shalen Field in Buffalo. The Blue Jays last years renovated with their money and weren’t they supposed be able to add a upper deck in less than 6 months?
A 32-team MLB would probably re-align into four divisions in each league, with two wild card teams, to keep the present six teams in each league making the playoffs, but out of sixteen instead of fifteen, with the two division champs with the best records getting a bye. Me, I'd keep that round a three-game set, so the layoff for the "bye" teams isn't too long. And make it all in the better team's park, as the "one and done" WC playoff was, to further shorten the postseason and not reward mediocrity.
I love Vancouver, really hope they get an MLB team. But people have told me BC Place is not an option. A stadium will most likely have to be built. If the city was willing to build it in Stanley Park, that ballpark could be jewel.
@@waynejohanson1083 In fairness, the owners had no idea how to support the Grizzlies or market them. The fan support was there, but the team was so poorly run it had no chance of surviving. Any other pro team that goes will have the right person this time. Vancouver has learned it's lesson and deserves another shot.
My guess is Vegas. All the major sports leagues seem to be moving there or thinking about a move there with The Golden Knights for the NHL and the Raiders for the NFL being new to town. Plus the Vegas metro area is growing extremely fast. And some of the most famous MLB players are from Vegas. It seems like a no brainer.
Possible on Vegas getting one. Great example is the Raiders in the NFL. If Oakland/Alameda County mayor + city council didn't screw themselves in pulling rig out (among other factors) from them after 2nd retur to Oakland at time, there wouldn't be as much conversation as it is now. A's are in similar situation where if political powers that be didn't learn lesson and things are not negotiated soon rather than later, it's bye felicia. Plus no brainer, Montreal brings back Expos as feel there's still that hunger and MLB knew in someway it was a mistake on their part. Even though a 12 year old, the 1994 strike really hurt/devastated Expos chances for possible World Series title the most. Been interesting to see if Montreal and Toronto did battle for World Series as both were really good teams.
PGE Park in Portland is now Progressive Park, a soccer-specific stadium that no longer accommodates baseball. And the Carolina Hurricanes do not play in Charlotte, they play in Raleigh, about three hours away. There are no major college sports in Charlotte, they're closer to the Raleigh area and down in South Carolina.
@@zedxyle I am from ''la belle province'' and let me tell you, Montreal is unfortunately not a real baseball city... Unless they have a winning team, that's it ! There's the Canadians in media year round. I recall attendence of 45- 50 K at home game opening, but 10 K the next game. Since they would'nt be able to pay top players, they would always have losing teams. Sorry but that's the truth.
Factoring in the distance from an existing MLB team and picking the other league for the new team: NL: Montreal, Vancouver, Portland, Austin/San Antonio AL: Charlotte, Nashville, Las Vegas BTW - "PGE Park" in Portland has changed its name twice since it was called that, and it was permanently converted to soccer/football use in 2011. This forced the PCL Portland Beavers to leave for Tucson, then El Paso. The city won't be converting the stadium back any time soon.
Here's my take. It would be two teams per area. One American League and One National League West: AL: Portland OR NL: Las Vegas NV Central; AL; Austin TX NL; Nashville TN/Louisville KY/Indianapolis IN East; AL; Montreal QC NL; Charlotte NC/Birmingham AL.
How about this idea from a life long 65 year old Pittsburgh Pirates fan. Ship this present entire Pittsburgh Pirates organization to ANY of these 8 cities and award an expansion franchise with NEW OWNERSHIP to Pittsburgh. (One caveat: the Pirates name stays with Pittsburgh!!!!!). Sorry folks in these other cities but we Pirates fans are desperate to get rid of the present owner (Bob Nutting) who could care less about fielding and/or paying for a competitive and competent team! "If you build a team, we will come!" Just call me "Desperate in Pittsburgh!" LOL
I travel to see my Yankees play road games, and PNC Park is a great facility. What a nice location ... right on the Allegheny River. Big statues of Pirates greats outside the gates. Easy post-game walk over the pedestrians-only Clemente Bridge, back to the hotel. Wonderful experience.
Nashville already has pro hockey and football, so it would be a stretch to support a third pro team. Austin is the largest city with no big-4 team, so it makes more sense than San Antonio. (By similar reasoning, that was a big factor in why the NHL expanded into Columbus.)
The Montreal Expos as an American League team? I like that idea for the exact reasons already stated. It would be great to see two teams in Canada within the same division playing each other on a regular basis
No. It would create a DELIBERATE and an inconvenient geographic disparity. Save Boston, Montreal is closer to NYC and Philadelphia than it is to Baltimore and Cleveland. And the novelty of Interleague Play has long worn out its welcome.
MLB expansion is now imperitive for the economies of smaller communities, many if which are being negatively affected by the upheaval and contraction of the minor league system.
Not happening Mexico’s too poor too foreign and already has there own National League honestly if the MLB tried to go there it would probably be met protest
3 other cities to consider Salt Lake City, small population yes, but $$ & loyalty are a trait in Utah, see the Jazz. Albuquerque - a bit small and median income may be an issue, but any major pro sport that takes a chance on New Mexico will be rewarded financially. El Paso, border city, could take advantage of 2 nation market. I know none of these cities will be considered, but I believe they should
It's not going to happen. But I'm just gonna throw in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Hampton Roads metro has a larger population than that of Milwaukee. And is growing at a rate in which it'll over take the metros of Cleveland, Cincinnati, and possibly Pittsburgh (other MLB cities) by 2030. The area has also been fighting to get a "Big 4" franchise since the late 90s. In '97 Norfolk tried to get an NHL expansion team (failed). In '02 Norfolk then tried to win the Charlotte Hornets in relocation (New Orleans won). In '04 leading the charge again, Norfolk was a possible relocation spot for the Expos (of course lost to Washington). In '07 Virginia Beach started talks of trying to lure the NBA. In '12 Virginia Beach again tried with the NBA to lure the Kings from Sacramento. Even going so far as to design an ocean front arena. (Course we know now that went nowhere). Then as recently as '17 Virginia Beach, now spearheading pro sports in Hampton Roads mulled with the NBA again with an expansion team (talks again have stuttered). Virginia is the largest state (12th overall) that doesn't have a "big 4" pro sports team. And the Hampton Roads area has made it abundantly clear they want a franchise of some sort. If they didn't, they wouldn't have been fighting for the last 24 years for any sort of pro team.
@@alcarbo8613 I don’t believe the fact the Nationals exist is a good argument though. Milwaukee is only an hour and a half from Chicago - a city with two teams. And they were granted a relocated franchise. Hampton Roads is 3+ hours from Washington. They are far enough away to form their own identity. Also, Washington doesn’t represent Virginia in sports. The city also isn’t “effectively in Virginia.” All the land for the district is land that once belonged to Maryland. So in technical terms they’re “effectively part of Maryland.” They do however, represent Northern Virginia - where I live. But we only make up 27% of the states population. Once you go past Richmond in any direction, I know more Braves fans than Nats fans as well. Additionally, the only reason the Kings didn’t move was due to the fact the city couldn’t come to an agreement on an arena. So if the Wizards existing wasn’t a problem for the NBA. Why would the Nationals existing be a problem for the MLB? Governor Northam also signed HB 1102 last year. Which created a regional arena authority to help negate the issues that happened in 2012. Now the cities are working with each other. Not competing against one another. They could very easily in the 2022 session change it to stadium authority to help try and lure the MLB. Remember, the Nats did almost end up in Hampton Roads.
@@ReinSouls Look I’m not a Virginian I’m just telling you how any MLB exec would look at it, also Washington DC absolutely inserts more cultural effluence on Virginia than Maryland, mostly because Maryland has Baltimore well Virginia really doesn’t have any really well known and important city’s to the outside world like it or not, another reason there probably not getting a team.
@@alcarbo8613 I acknowledge Virginia is more than likely never getting a team. However, Washington’s influence is about the same in both Maryland and Virginia. And that influence also dies quickly in both. Rockville, Bethesda, and all the towns up I-270 wouldn’t be what they are without Washington. And once you get up past Frederick, MD that DC influence is gone. Same is the case in Virginia. Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax wouldn’t be what that are without the city. But once you get down past Fredericksburg that influence is gone. You’re honestly just making yourself look like a fool trying to argue something you admittedly know nothing about since as you stated you don’t live here - I do. And I’ve been here for almost a decade now. You also can’t speak for MLB execs. As stated, they looked at Hampton Roads as a possible relocation for the Expos. You just write off the area since you know nothing about it. Clearly, you think like an MLB exec when they did the opposite as you. What speaks to MLB execs? Money. As stated, Hampton Roads within the next decade will outside 4 MLB markets - maybe 5 depending where Kansas City falls. And, if you include The Richmond metro, that’s 3 million people as of today. Or the 17th largest metro. That’s 3 million people not in seats in Washington. Or Atlanta since the Braves have a bigger fan base than the Nats in that region. There’s money to be made and that’s all the execs care about. Now, it is that money in which why I agree Virginia is unlikely to get a team. Charlotte and Nashville (a city currently trying to suit the MLB) do have more lucrative markets. Nashville is also growing much faster than Richmond and Hampton Roads combined. That’s where you shoulda staked your argument. Not Washington. Also, Hampton Roads is looking at suiting the NHL or NBA, not the MLB, at least, not currently. I do think the NBA is going to establish a franchise there this decade. The Kings were so close to moving in 2012. And now funds for an NBA caliber arena are much easier to obtain. All I did was say Virginia Beach as a “why not give them a look” option. Then showed how they want a team of some sort. And it’s a viable market. Is it the perfect market? No. That title belongs to Nashville. Who will get a team in the near future.
@@ReinSouls The one thing I don’t get is why people in Virginia Beach and Richmond would root for the Braves 1000 miles away rather than the Nationals a 2 hour drive away.
Agree with most of the possible expansion markets here, but really money talks too and a weaker market with both a very wealthy prospective owner and a very supportive local government and private sector could potentially get a city a team too. There are almost certainly prospective oweners out there for other cities (maybe like Columbus, Albequerque, Sacramento) but i agree, baseball loves big markets. Honestly, they'd probably be more likely to try NY or LA again, its mostly the teams there that would be against it. Which is why i think Montreal will definitely get a team. If Montreal got a team and it didnt work, there are 5 cities on this list that they could move to a decade from now without more expansion. What Montreal never had the first time was a plan. Right from the get-go in '69 they almost lost their team to Buffalo, played at Jarry Park, a joke by anyone's standards, and when they did get a stadium, the Big O, it wasn't designed for baseball and within a decade, the roof started giving out. For Montreal, they need a 40000 grass stadium, either with a retractable roof that works this time, or just indoor stadium with really good field turf or grass. And decent dimensions too. Expos never had a 50 home-run guy, and that was something they really lacked was power.
If Charlotte does get a team, don't be surprised if Michael Jordan is part of the ownership group in some capacity. Remember when he played minor league baseball in the mid 90s?
@@alcarbo8613 He played with them during Spring Training but got sent down to AA. Speaking of the White Sox, what's going to to happen to them Reinsdorf passes on. Would he sell the team to MJ and he moves them to Charlotte?
@@bjnt922 Unlikely the White Sox Have a solid stadium, cooperative City and large fan base. So even if the new owner wanted to, the MLB wouldn’t allow it.
@@imagine9265 the rays will stay but the Marlins have to move nobody goes to their games people in Miami care about basketball and football,soccer, everything else gets no attention
The Marlins lost all credibility in Miami when their owner tore down the 1997 World Series champs in a snit over not getting a new stadium. Even the 2003 Series couldn't help.
You should add Pittsburgh as a candidate for an MLB expansion team: big sports town, beautiful Triple-A ballpark that is MLB ready, and not much to compete with the summer dollar aside from Kennywood.
I live in Vegas. The word is that the Rio hotel and casino will be torn down to make room for the MLB team. It is only a matter of time before we have Major League Baseball here
The new owners of the Rio already applied for their gambling license and are going to do an extensive remodel of the property.... The Rio isn't going anywhere! If they do build a ballpark in Vegas they already have a huge plot of empty land on the strip across from the Sahara hotel. That would be the perfect location...
I should also point out that Montreal has already expressed interest for NBA expansion as well. There’s a separate ownership group in place for it and Silver is well aware.
Not too long ago they were saying the NHL would never work in Las Vegas. What some don't understand is how many fans not from Vegas make the trip to come watch a game. I cant even imagine how many Dodgers, Yankees or Redsox fans would make a weekend of it.
The Titans and the Predators both got great support from the beginning, but I don't see a Nashville MLB team doing as well. This is Braves Country, and it will stay that way even if Nashville were to get a team. The Titans and Predators didn't have to compete with an already existing fan base in their respective sports.
Nashville will support a MLB team for sure ,,, we have enormous growth happening ,,, big money getting behind the push for it ... as well as a plan for a stadium ... good rivalry with Atlanta , St.Louis , Cincinnati !!! Low taxes here ,,, and big corporations here !!! Definitely a great fit for Nashville !!!
The Charlotte one has a simple solution even though the team will be based in Charlotte the ballpark can be built in nearby Raleigh in order to avoid competition with NASCAR plus the Panthers & Hornets Plus I think other cities like Buffalo, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, and Winnipeg can make good hosts
@@jkeelsnc Greensboro would be a better compromise, right in between Charlotte and Raleigh, plus the Triad area has about 1.6 million people of its own. It could pull from the 2.7 million Charlotte area and 2.2 million Raleigh area.
As many have pointed out, there are 2 mistakes in this video.
Charlotte doesn’t have an NHL team. The Hurricanes play in Raleigh.
And PGE Park in Portland can no longer be used for baseball. They will have to build a new ballpark before a team can move there.
Pretty sure Portland is it’s own country at this point
I live in the San Antonio and Austin areas.
Allow me a bit of prospective:
Austin and San Antonio outskirts are really an hour or less between each other.
2 - Austin is dense with no room for a new stadium,
3 - Austin has a homeless and panhandling problem
4 - Austin has a transportation problem in the downtown areas.
Austin in the downtown areas won't work. What will work though is a stadium and sports complex between Schertz and San Marcos makes the most sense.
San Antonio has expansion areas like near Schertz there is a horse track with a lot of room for additional expressways and parking, and Schertz is 20 minutes from downtown SA and 50 minutes from Austin.
San Antonio makes more sense for football, Austin maybe for baseball, but places to build in Austin are expensive and hard to find. Even the downtown UT Austin stadiums are built on a hill.
It makes sense for an NFL expansion with a MLB stadium built in San Antonio
3 mistakes. He mispronounced Quebec.
BOYCOTT MLB &
THE ALL STAR GAME 🌠
@@PurpleObscuration The boycott is over because they took it out of Georgia. I’m going to buy thousands of dollars in merch now.
The reason Montreal failed was :
1- 1994 Lock out and Fire sale that followed
2- Bad/cheap Owners
3- Too many years finishing last in a row with lowest salary avg in the league. (So basically 2 again!)
I was a huge Baseball fan and went to the BigO once a week until 1994...
After that I may have went 4 times total and had stop following the team. I was heart broken and felt betrayed... 10+ years of building up for 1994 only for it to vanish in thin air and back to one of the worse team in the league. I just couldn't take it. I haven't followed MLB since, not even sure if I'd go back to be honest.
Austin is the largest city with no big-4 team, so it makes a lot of sense. That was a big factor in why the NHL expanded into Columbus in 2000.
Always thought Austin deserves an NFL team if they were ever to go to 36.
In Austin, a pro sports team has one huge competitor -UT
The reason the Express play in Round Rock is the politics in Austin we’re a pain in the ass.
@@jeffreylasky2737 And there's no Ohio State in Columbus?
Austin has an MLS team. Hampton Roads VA is now the largest metro without a pro team.
@@dvferyance I said big 4; MLS is a distant 5th.
Just an FYI that PGE park is not a temporary option for Portland. It is now called Providence Park and has been permanently converted to a soccer specific stadium (e.g. with a huge permanent stand where left field used to be).
Was about to comment
Before MLB even discuss expansion, they need to address the stadium issue in Tampa. If they cannot get a stadium in Tampa then the Rays will have to relocate.
Montreal baby
considering they choked in the world series thanks to Cash's terrible decision, they denied Tampa their dynasty being the only Tampa sports team NOT to win their championship, Tampa Bay doesn't want them. They have the Lightning and the Bucs and have animosity against the baseball team for losing the biggest game of their history. St Petersburg is the only city that will keep them and St Pete is the EXACT place TB want to leave, as a result, only 3 out of 8 plans for the Tropicana Field area contain a new ballpark.It's almost a guarantee they'll move to Montréal and be rechristened the new Montréal Expos. Unless they can get their act together and win when it ACTUALLY MATTERS, The Rays are dead. And will always be yet another bridesmaid "Underrated team" that could never finish the job.
@@immersion726 Like the Bills in the early 90's. LOL.
and oakland
As a Montrealer, I really appreciate this video (and the comments supporting the return of MLB baseball to Montreal). I miss going to the Big O, even if it was a terrible place to watch baseball. But I'm pessimistic the city will get a team back. There's still a lot of hurt feelings from the team leaving in 2004 with blame placed squarely on MLB and former owner Jeff Loria. I'm not crazy about where they want to build the new stadium (and there are plenty of roadblocks for that). Financing the stadium is another big issue. One of the reasons the Expos left was no one would pony up the $$ to build a new stadium closer to the downtown core. Spending public money on a stadium is still not popular, and I don't think any level of government is willing to provide the financial support for it
I grew up bleeding Expo blanc, bleu et rouge. I don't know what hurt more: Black Monday, the cancelled 1994 season, or losing the team.
The video maker doesn't give much credit to Vancouver and Montreal's history as baseball cities. The Montreal Royals history speaks volumes, and so does the Vancouver Canadians AAA baseball team of the 1960s to 1999 (see my comment the same day I post this).
The Carolina Hurricanes are in Raleigh, not Charlotte.
But the biggest city in the Carolina (North and South) is Charlotte so it's easy to confuse
Either way, it’s 2 1/2 hours away by car.
Their arena is near the campus of NCState.
and unlike Charlotte, there is an active movement in Raleigh to bring MLB here. The trouble will be overcoming any rules concerning the number of established minor league clubs so close by.
@@richardzamora902 Charlotte is big the same what Jacksonville, FL is a big city. It consumed its county.
I still like the Expos in the NL East. Call it nostalgia. We get interleague every year.
He's right; Montreal should be an AL team this time. Not only for the lucrative natural rivalry with Toronto, but there are far more AL cities close to Montreal than AL ones.
Move Pittsburgh to the NL East rivals with Philly put Montreal in NL Central
@@damontweedy7230 Once MLB has 32 teams, each league will have 4 divisions of 4 teams each, just like the NFL. Montreal would probably be grouped with Philly, the Mets, and either Washington or Pittsburgh.
@@Punnybone55 they should put Pittsburgh in the AL much like the Steelers switched from the NFL/NFC to the AFL/AFC after the ALF-NFL Merger. At the same time, they could put the Astros back into the NL. In truth, the NHL should scrap the geographical conferences and reinstate the old Campbell and Prince of Wales Conferences and place the Original Six (Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, NY Rangers, and Toronto) into the Prince of Wales Conference and put the New Six (Dallas, LA, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and San Jose [as "successors" of the old California Golden Seals/Cleveland Barons]) into the Campbell Conference, then build out the remainder of the conferences with teams by year of incorporation (with the NY Islanders specifically being placed in the Campbell Conference) or from the NHL-WHA Merger (Edmonton, Hartford/Carolina, Quebec/Colorado, and Winnepeg; the last team being a continuation of the original Winnepeg team that is now in Arizona). Just picture a hypothetical Stanley Cup Finals with let's say, the Rangers and Islanders, or Ottawa or a resurrected Quebec Nordiques (from a relocated Arizona team) against either Montreal or Toronto.
A team in Montreal would be doomed to fail...again. The higher tax burden and the culture would make it unattractive to free agents, so the team would never be competitive.
Another factor to consider: rail transit. Fans should have an alternative to fighting traffic to and from the games. This way they can stay for the entire game even if it's close. There were several people who missed Kirk Gibson's home run in the 1988 World Series because they were trying to beat the traffic. Then there was the time Joe Cowley threw a no hitter for the White Sox in Anaheim and EVERYBODY left after the 8th inning. Fortunately Montreal has a full Metro system and Portland has the best "Light Rail" in the USA, which does go to the existing ballpark.
Great video. However, I do believe the southeast is where the MLB will look to expand. The Braves have the largest market in the MLB. They have almost no competition in the SE. Charlotte or Nashville will definitely be getting a team.
Nashville is surely next on the list, though I don't think it will be expansion, but rather relocation of the Rays. Charlotte won't spend public money on a site or stadium, so they're out although I think it would be an excellent market if they put the stadium in northern Union County.
atlanta is no longer allowed to host an all star game based on a pile of lies; the question is moot
@@AsylumSaint you mean just like mlb does?
Charlotte doesn’t have a NHL team. The Carolina Hurricanes play in Raleigh which is almost three hours away.
It so odd that their minor league affiliate (Charlotte Checkers) are in a bigger city.
@@BronchoKyle what is even odder is that since the Thrashers left, Atlanta is left with an ECHL tram, for metro CSA approaching 7 million.
Vegas would be insane! Harper, Bryant and Gallo fans would be stocked to be able to have their own team haha
Stocked?
As a Vegas local, not it wouldn’t. People here don’t want another stadium. We’re already annoyed by the raiders being here.
What's up FUZZY
I like too. Vegas would be cool.
FUZZY!!!!!
Top 2: 1. Portland. The Mariners have the roughest travel in MLB. It's a problem. Portland will help a lot with that, plus they already have a stadium location and design. 2. Montreal. MLB has said they want a team back in Montreal. It is a very big city with a lot of money. The French Canadian version of Toronto. They too already have a development plan that will have room for a stadium. This could be the Rays. The St Petersburg mayor recently said the Rays want to much. Not looking like he is fully committed on keeping them. Next 2 is a tie between Austin and Charlotte. Austin only has one other pro sports franchise unless you count UT, plus they got Tech money. Charlotte has banking money, nearby tech money, plus no team in the Carolina's that combined has over 15.6M people. I do not think Vegas is an option nor Nashville. Vancouver has no shot at all imo. I think Monterrey Mexico is more of an option than Vancouver.
San Antonio has something Austin lacks: the military presence. that’s a huge fanbase for teams making it a home feel even away. there’s also the fact that it’s close enough to Austin to attract fans from there giving it a chance to serve both cities.
4:50 PGE Park can't be used for baseball anymore. The Portland Timbers built a giant grandstand in Left Field to turn it into a Soccer Stadium
@The Spacedog it's a different name for football I live in the USA and we call football soccer
Despite the truly admirable efforts to bring MLB to PDX (which was the name of the group advocating to do so), MLB ain’t coming to the Rose City now.
Fact is, there’s history and pedigree for baseball in Portland, but after the city has gone to crap with it’s infrastructure, rioting in recent years, and it’s garbage-ridden streets, no owner will want to even attempt to place a team here.
You’re wrong about Portland. No one here talks about bringing a MLB team here. Seattle has spent the last 50 years building a fan-base & Western Oregon is a component of it (just 3 hours away). Also, there’s plenty of competition with the Blazers, Thorns & Timbers ML Soccer teams - there’s also too many other things to do during the Oregon warm months (golf, tennis, camping, water skiing, hiking, the Coast, wine country, the mountains, etc.). There’s no support to publicly build a stadium. A MLB team in Portland is a fool’s errand.
As a native austinite who'd love to see MLB here, the big problem is the city isn't willing to publicly fund a stadium. With MLS, the team had to pay for construction themselves, and jump through a ton of legal hoops to obtain the land for the stadium. So for MLB to come here, an owner would need to pay the expansion fee, pay for land, and pay for construction.
HIll Country Stadium.... I love it! Would it be better to put it 1/2 way between San Antonio?
@@sabrecatsmiladon7380 Maybe, but fans may not wanna drive an hour to san marcos 81 times a year. My guess is it'd be either in San Antonio or an owner would buy the land and eat the cost of construction themselves.
Being from Austin, I don't think that will happen. University of Texas doesn't want competition, and if you don't know, UT has deeper pockets than some pro teams of any sport as a whole.
With all of the Californians moving there, perhaps the A's should follow.
Nancy pelosi for mayor of Austin 👍🏾
There was no minor league baseball in the Austin area until a team came to Round Rock.
True..but with Cedar Park, RR etc..The whole area could support a team..
pretty similar to what columbus has, but the owners of the blue jackets privately built their arena when a publicly-funded one was rejected by voters
Right now, I cannot see any expansion since stadium situations in Tampa and Oakland need to be resolved first. Looks like Tampa may be more of a relocate candidate and if so, it could be Montreal since they already mentioned splitting a season there.
The information given about Charlotte wasn’t accurate. But they would do well with an expansion team as the Carolinas are big on baseball.
When I lived in the area I was shocked that Atlanta wasn't their baseball tv market being so close it was Cincinnati
@@keithharper1470 yea the tv markets aren’t good for fan representation. East of Raleigh, the NFL tv market should be Washington and not the Panthers.
If Vancouver came in, I'd put it in the American League as there's a ton of National League teams in just the southwest region alone. Maybe Austin for the National League as your 3rd Texas team since the other two are already in the AL. But I'd say Las Vegas would also be good expansion spot for an American League franchise too. Not listed but maybe New Orleans and Salt Lake City, they've had recent expansions in different sports too. Personally I'd add four new teams but I know there's a lot that goes into supporting teams in the cities.
This was a very well done video on a topic I have a big interest in. Thanks so much for posting. I enjoyed this very much. I’m in Western Canada and believe it or not I follow baseball more closely than hockey.
I would love to see a Carolina mlb team I think it would draw well, Montreal would be good too if it happens they will definitely bring back the expos name & logo they would have to have a better stadium for sure im almost positive the Tampa bay rays will be moving in the next 10 years & I could see them relocating to Montreal. Nashville & Portland, Oregon would be cool too I saw a great stadium plan for Nashville
Portland and Montreal are my top choices. Portland - Seattle and Montreal - Toronto rivalries are appealing. Having another Texas team has less appeal.
Agreed ... it's not that Austin or San Antonio are horrible options, but Portland and Montreal are better. Portland actually has an expansion ownership group that is attempting to buy land and build a stadium ... Montreal is also working on ideas for a stadium location.
Yeah, I don't know much about the Super Sonics and Trail Blazers, but i know the Timbers and Sounders have a pretty insane rivalry. I don't remember the exact name of it, but their was a chant compilation video (Probably NA specific because i don't remember any Euro Soccer teams being included) and it started out (or was close to starting out) with a combined skol like chant for Seattle, and the Timbers Army PTFC chant during a Timbers-Sounders game in Seattle.
I don't think baseball would work in Portland. They've had so many minor league teams over the years and they all leave.
Montreal couldn't even support the Expos so they moved to Washington DC.
Montreal baby
10:51 Montreal deserves to stay in the National League. I'd rather see one Canadian team for each league as opposed to placing both the Expos and the Blue Jays in the same league. Nice idea, but if the Blue Jays and the Expos faced each other in the World Series, that would be a very interesting World Series indeed plus the novelty will be there just like the 2000 Subway Series between the Yankees and the Mets.
Another expansion I could see for the American League would be maybe placing a team in either Charlotte or San Antonio (via moving the Astros back to the National League and giving TX a National League Team once again as well as moving the Milwaukee Brewers back into the American League). Here's my fantasy American and National Leagues:
AL East: NYY, BOS, TOR, BAL, TB
AL Central: CLE, CHW, DET, MIL, MN, KC
AL West: CA, OAK, SA, SEA, TX,
NL East: ATL, MIA, MTL, NYM, PHI, WAS
NL Central: CIN, CHC, PIT, STL, HOU
NL West: AZ, COL, LA, SF, SD
The Astros don’t want to change leagues.
Who is CA ?
Portland already has a major organization trying to bring baseball to the city (Portland Diamond Project). The future stadium is already pre-approved to be built at the Port of Portland in the NW Industrial district. If they do get an expansion team, they ought to name them the Beavers as homage to the Beaver state and to the old Minor League team. Or even the Portland Cascades. Colorado has the Rockies, Portland could have the Cascades. However, as a person who grew up in the North Bay in Northern California, I wouldn't say no to the A's moving up here. There is also a very mixed group of Giants, Dodgers and Mariners fans up here due to the influx in those moving up. That and the Giants also had a Minor League (A) Team in the Salem-Keiser Volcanoes. So not only would it be bringing baseball back to people who can't really regularly see their team play could do so if they moved to Portland. On the A's-Mariners rivalry being strengthened. It would also see that old friendly Bay Area rivalry of A's and Giants fans whenever the Giants come to play.
One huge problem with this video
The Carolina Hurricanes play in Raleigh NC. Nowhere near Charlotte NC
Please correct your video because this is a HUGE inaccuracy to a very well thought out idea and concept. I still think Nashville will get a team (relocation or expansion) cause they already have an ownership group ready and they can finance a stadium.
Just found your channel and loved this topic and video.
As a lifelong Baseball fan, who has felt the league (not the game) leaving me behind, I LOVE the idea of bringing the Expos back to Montreal. I also love the idea of putting them in the AL, because as an NHL fan, there is nothing like a Montreal/Toronto rivalry. The Great White North would eat it up! Baseball needs a team in Quebec (are you listening Gary Bettman?)
Also as a resident of Texas, putting an expansion team in Austin is gold. The metro area is growing by leaps and bounds (with plenty of California Baseball fans/transplants) who would pull fans from San Antonio and Waco. Texas is also big enough to create loyalties and natural rivalries between 3 fan bases. If they are all in the same division, it could get as heated as the Dodgers/Giants, because as everyone knows “everything is bigger in Texas.” 😉
Finally, the idea of Oakland moving to Portland is intriguing to me. A’s fans (yes, there are some good ones) could still make the trek to see their team (maybe even sell/retain TV rights to the Oakland area?), but it would keep that west coast division/travel flow.
Again, great thought provoking video.
Montreal will have so much support in a new stadium in downtown. Such a beautiful vibrant city
yet they have had 19 years to build anything and have done nothing
@@bostonrailfan2427 Yeah, because in 19 years, F-all has happened. Unlike in the USA, Canadian cities don't blow money on stadia without a reason first. As it turned out, not building a stadium was the right choice. Not only that, an MLB team could start play immediately in the Olympic Stadium and MLB is fine with that as long as a new stadium gets built.
@@AvroBellow Moreover, they built an NHL level hockey rink in Quebec and never got a team... They won't do the same mistake twice!!
@@MikoDarkblade Yeah but that's because Butthead Betteman is focused on growing the NHL in the USA. It has nothing to do with Quebec's viability, it has to do with his nationalistic bias.
@@AvroBellow Agreed, but still the populations won't let that happen again and politicians won't risk it either...
The only politicians who might have gone ahead with it anyway got sack 2 elections ago and last time around lost his comeback as well...
Even though Vegas has the Golden Knights and Raiders already, they both play in the Fall and Winter, leaving the Spring and Summer wide open which would be perfect for an MLB team.
I believe Montreal are going to get a relocation team, more then likely the Rays, and Portland or Vegas would be good options for the A's if they relocate.
I love all your choices, and they would all make great destinations for future MLB cities. Being Canadian, I'd love Vancouver and Montreal to both get teams, but Vancouver would have to build a new stadium before a team could relocate or expand there.
For Las Vegas to have a Major League team it will require an indoor stadium with a giant air conditioning system to hold games over the summer.
@@LoydChampion Yes, it would have to be something similar to the Astros and Rangers.
@@LoydChampion You mean, like Allegiant Stadium? Getting 30-35,000 fans to show up for 81 games is whole other thing then 40 games At 16-18,000 f/hockey or basketball. Or 60,000 f/8 games in football.
@@johngustavsen6406 True. I do ponder if they could get enough fans per game average for a MLB game. But one thing they would have going for them in post pandemic is that people come to Las Vegas from all over the country and the world. If it is enclosed and comfortable, could be a casino alternative.
There are 115,000+ visitors daily (non-covid) 42,000000 annually here, but 30,000 night in night out? As like T-Mobile arena, a Casino could help. I have been there, it's different w/NY NY 100 yards down the hallway. Also, the ballpark would not be on Las Vegas Blvd, like the arena, it would at best be on the other side of interstate 15. I guess they would tie in the Elon Musk tunnel in progress now.
My personal choices would be Vegas and Montreal. I'm confident that Vegas would respond very positively to an MLB team, and the city is growing at an insane rate, so getting a team there now will cost a lot less than getting it there in 30 years. Montreal is just kind of an obvious choice. With 32 teams, the MLB would have to change its playoff structure and would probably align the division to 4 divisions per league of 4 teams each. If you have Vegas going NL and Montreal going AL, you'd have:
NL North
Cardinals
Cubs
Brewers
Reds
NL South (this one is sort of inconvenient)
Vegas*
D-Backs
Marlins
Braves
NL East
Pirates
Phillies
Mets
Nationals
NL West
Rockies
Dodgers
Padres
Giants
AL North
Twins
White Sox
Tigers
Indians
AL South (also rather inconvenient)
Astros
Rays
Orioles
Royals
AL East
Yankees
Red Sox
Blue Jays
Montreal*
AL West
Mariners
Angels
A's
Rangers
If you had Montreal going NL and Vegas going AL, you'd have:
NL North
Cardinals
Cubs
Brewers
Reds
NL South (these southern divisions seem to be inconvenient in general)
Marlins
Braves
Nationals
D-Backs
NL East
Montreal*
Mets
Pirates
Phillies
NL West
Rockies
Dodgers
Padres
Giants
AL North
Twins
White Sox
Tigers
Indians
AL South
Royals
Rangers
Astros
Rays
AL East
Yankees
Red Sox
Blue Jays
Orioles
AL West
Mariners
A's
Angels
Vegas*
I wonder which city should get an MLB team?
And Portland. Seattle needs a friend.
Seattle can have a local friend in Vancouver :)))
How about putting an expansion on the north side of San Antonio or the south side of Austin, that way it can draw new fans from the city that didn’t get the expansion?
Wouldn't make that much of a difference. Plus, baseball stadiums like to be downtown for the aesthetics
How about the fact the Astro’s will make sure an expansion team is put on no side of San Antonio
@@zedxyle Well Not always the Rangers play in a Suburb 20 miles from Downtown Dallas
What about an ideal tribute to naming a candidate for an expansion stadium name in Austin. How would you feel about naming Austin's playing field "American Dream Stadium" or "Dusty Rhodes Park" to honor the late most entertaining sports personality in Austin's history.
@@zedxyle Traffic in downtown Atlanta is so bad that the Braves moved 20 miles north to get away from it.
The MLB and other baseball and music my two true loves. I can't go a week without watching a few games and I can't go a day without listening to my favorite bands like Delta Parole.
The Charlotte Knights (AAA) have a relatively new (and beautifully-located center city) stadium... whose building was "complicated" in that involved city and county governments swapping land parcels and acknowledging at the time that this site could not be expanded to stadium large enough for MLB. Therefore a new stadium at a different location would be required for MLB in Charlotte.
I don’t think the league is doing well enough right now for expansion, but relocation is very realistic and would definitely benefit the A’s and to a lesser degree Tampa.
Vancouver didn't support an NBA team, while far smaller markets (San Antonio, Portland, Salt Lake City) have. Las Vegas is probably the best bet of the western cities (then again it might get the A's at some point, they already got the Raiders). San Antonio and Austin are large but lack a lot of suburban areas surrounding them, plus Texas and Houston would certainly try to block expansion into areas they consider their own (Austin also has horrific traffic issues). Nashville and Charlotte are both good choices.
@@jkeelsnc more like certainly nashville and maybe charlotte, charlotte might not be able to get a stadium built whereas nashville has already said they would build one
The Grizzlies never had bad attendance, new ownership’s plan at the time was to move to Memphis all along.
How come there are no grizzly bears in Tennessee, Mississippi, or Arkansas?
:55 I wouldn’t worry about metro population but I’d worry about the media market. Braces have the entire area from Houston to St Louis to Cincy to DC and down to Tampa. That’s a massive media market that 1 team dominates. A team in Nashville or Charlotte makes the most sense as a result.
Same for attendance
The A’s are definitely not relocating out of California any time soon.
Unless mayor and city council of Oakland (plus Alameda County) can negotiate with A's owners, A's could say 'bye felicia'. See what happened to the Raiders. Raiders were promised new stadium when returned to Oakland for 2nd time from LA due to terrible conditions now at Oakland-Alamaeda Coliseum, which was suppose to be a "temporary" home again until update/renovations/new stadium took place. However, maybe ownership too/communication problem didn't go well and rest is history. Plus, at time Raiders tried to ask 49ers before relocation to Vegas about sharing a new stadium in/near Santa Clara (near 49ers training camp ironically), but Niners said NO (i.e. screw you). In addition to 49ers hate Raiders, San Francisco didn't want another Bay Area team for professional football but not sure on professional baseball. Likewise, from prior rumors, San Francisco 'controls jurisdiction' of San Jose and surrounding that they don't want competition among other factors that make it hard overall.
Vegas would have to build a domed stadium as well which would add to the cost. One of the reasons why the Las Vegas 51s weren't supported is no one wanted to go off the Strip and sit in the scorching desert heat for three hours watching a game.
Vegas has a minor league team outdoors and they sell out almost every game, they play late in the evening. Not sure that would work for MLB but it does for the minor league team. They have a new stadium in Summerlin.
Due to Canada's tax system, an expansion Canadian team will have trouble acquiring free agents.
Taxes in Canada are not particularly different than in California. In fact, they may be less
If that were true it would be true for MLS and hockey as well. Some Canadian provinces like Alberta have some of the lowest tax rates in N. America.
They pay the players in US dollars and 15 states have higher taxes than Quebec.
Sacramento would be a underrated one too. Kings have low attendance but that’s more so because the team sucks rather than the city because everyone in sac loves the river cats. Plus Sacramento and the area around it is growing more and more each year
I think it would be a good relocation target, if the Bay Area were to lose a team.
PGE Park no longer exists it was converted to soccer. So the only option would be Hillsboro stadium were the Single A Hops play
I'd be expanding for 36 teams so:
Montreal Expos
Las Vegas Aviators (it's Vegas they'll get support somehow)
Portland Pioneers
San Antonio/Austin Bats (1 team for the whole region)
Nashville Sounds
Louisville Jockeys (biggest market without a major league sport including MLS)
In the US we have four major spectator sports but in Canada it is one and one semi-major Canadian Football and then every thing else sure they have MLS teams but MLS does not have major league ticket prices so I would not put a team in Canada.
The two cities I think should get MLB teams are Raleigh and Nashville. If Nashville can support the Titans, which require tens of thousands of more fans to fill in seats, then they can support a baseball team. Raleigh can rely on the Academic Triangle area to draw in fans. There would be some league realignment, notably adding two divisions and killing off the AL & NL Central. It would also require a few teams to switch leagues
what happened in mtl was bad ownership dad and thanks dad davy samson and jeffrey loria killed it here
The Braunfmanns should never have sold the Expos in 1991.
@@P00katube yes but charles wanted out he was fed up.with baseball.
the Las Vegas A's perfect with Raiders
good one
8:06
I say move the A's to Portland and the Rays to Montreal, then give Austin and Nashville the expansion
Nashville is a growing city with a very successful AAA team, and the city would very strongly support the Stars if they are ever able to come into being. Plus I think the southeast is really lacking in Major League baseball teams considering how popular the sport is in the area
This seems like the best route. It works geographically, as the A's (who'd probably keep their name, as the Athletics name has survived multiple previous moves) and Rays (who'd almost certainly change their name moving from balmy Tampa to chilly Montreal) could stay in their divisions. The Austin team could play at the Alamodome in nearby San Antonio for a few years while their ballpark was being built, while the Nashville team would have to wait for a new ballpark to be built. Nashville could be swapped out for Charlotte, but other than that this sounds good. Sorry that this is over a year late, but I just wanted to share my thoughts.
@@gabingston3430 Phil Wood who used to a big DC baseball advocate, now lives in the Nashville area and works at Austin Peau University and supports the MLB expanding there.
@@gabingston3430 The Alamodome is not suitable for baseball. The Rangers played exhibition games there, but right field is only 272 feet. The sightlines are terrible. Omaha already has a beautiful ballpark. All it needs is 15,000 more seats.
I like the idea of teams shared between cities after hearing about the potential tampa/montreal plan. Only not two cities thousands of miles away and in entirely different countries. Nearby would work, Tampa and Orlando, Charlotte and Raleigh, Oakland and Sacramento, Nashville and Memphis, Austin and San Antonio, Calgary and Edmonton. Still 40 games per season in each place, as many as an NHL or NBA team, two 20-30k seat ballparks I think would be cheaper than one 40k seat ballpark
Wouldn't really work with Nashville and Memphis. There is literally nothing in between the two, except for Jackson, TN. And the less said about Jackson, the better. And Memphis for that matter.
Nashvile and Memphis wouldn't work at all. Those two cities hate each other and would never support anything related to the other city. Memphis is really unlike the rest of Tennessee. I remember when the Titans played in Memphis between Houston and Nashville. Nobody from Memphis went to the games. They weren't about to support anything that would be Nashville's in the future.
Would be better to move A's to Vancouver and Rays to Montreal, expand to Vegas and Nashville
Why move the Rays to Montreal?
@@theroachden6195 1. I think that both Vancouver and Montreal would figure better into teams that are already "built" so it would be helpful for growth
2. You'd have the Expos (just gonna assume this will be the name) in the same division as the Blue Jays so that is easily 22 large crowd games
3. Nashville and Portland would be better for expansion franchises anyway (see: Predators and Timbers)
4. Prob Bias I just want more baseball in Canada
I’d prefer relocation to expansion. Move the Rays to Montreal and rename them back to the Expos and they can stay in the AL East and have a perfect rival with the Jays. Move the A’s to Vegas just like the Raiders and they would still play in the AL West. Whatever happens Montreal has to get the Expos back so we can see those sweet uniforms again.
Montreal really does want a baseball team back, but I think the biggest barrier might be the language/culture issue. EVERYTHING is done in French in Quebec. It's hard enough getting big name free agents to come to another country in Toronto, and we speak the same language.
The passion and fan interest are DEFENITLY there however.
Maybe things have changed, but I went to several Expos games in Montreal and didn't have problems speaking only English.
@@fixpacifica
Being a tourist in Montreal is one thing, but you're not the one doing interviews, events, and meetings fans.
French is especially key with the media.
And that's why it would be tough to get big names to go to Montreal. Players already hate speaking to the press. Now they need to do it in French as well?
@@CanadaMMA When the Expos were there, all of that was done in English. They may have used a translator or captioning for fans, but everything outside of PA announcements were handled in English.
The problem is, Montreal has NEVER come remotely close to supporting a baseball team. They didn't even support the AAA team they had prior to the Expos. Personally, I think it's pure folly to put a team in a market that has done nothing but failed.
It wasn't there in the 90's / early 2000's What makes you beleive that has changed?
@@Unlitedsoul in the late 70s and half the 80s the Expos were above the NL average in attendance. They even outdrew the Yankees!
Then there is the concept of a third Major League that could be used a leverage for expansion. In the late 50s the was the Continental League with 8 teams run by Branch Rickey, and Shea Stadium was supposed to be built for a team in that league. It folded when New York got an expansion National League team known as the Mets. In the mid 80s there was supposed to be the United Baseball League, with team in Long Island, LA, DC, LA, Puerto Rico. Even had the blessing of the MLB players Union, because it would provide more jobs for Baseball Players.
The Continental League was probably not that serious. Even then, the startup costs of a new major league were prohibitive. The entire thing was floated by "New Yawk" interests, backed by New York Giants (NFL) owner Wellington Mara and run by prominent NYC attorney William Shea, whose REAL motive, since both the Dodgers and the baseball Giants had fled NYC, was to bring a major league franchise back. There were quite a few OTHER proposals, including the Reds, the Pirates, and the White Sox, to relocate an existing team to NYC. The Giants sold their interest in the AAA-Minneapolis Millers, who had a new, expandable stadium in Bloomington. to Calvin Griffith, owner of the perennially-hapless Washington Senators ("first in war, first in peace, and LAST in the American League"), who saw his ballpark and the area around it deteriorate. Given also that, even with the presence of the Dodgers and the Giants in California, the rest of the Pacific Coast League still did well (the Hollywood Stars, the prior rival of the PCL LA Angels, were sold to a Utah-based group and moved to Salt Lake City for the '1958 season), and the "Continentals expressed interest in placing franchises in California and also in Seattle, WA. This was enough to get the AL to revive the Angels as an AL expansion team, the question was where to put them. They played their inaugural season in the previous home of the PCL Angels, LA's Wrigley Field, which was also showcased on the then-TV show "Home Run Derby" and also featured in several TV shows featuring major league clubs like "Mr Ed" or "The Munsters". The Angels would move to Dodger Stadium for the next four seasons while a new venue was worked out and built, per agreement the stadium was referred to as "Chavez Ravine" for Angels broadcasts and in their literature. They got their present home thanks to Disney wanting to sell off some property in Anaheim which they'd originally acquired years before for others purposes, which is where the present ballpark sits. In irony, Disney owned the Angels for a few years as well.
As for the Senators, even though Calvin Griffith knew that DC planned to build a new stadium, which would later be known as RFK stadium, he still felt that the "demographics" of the city meant that a MLB club wouldn't make it in that city. Although in recent times Griffith has been lambasted as being a "racist", he was proved correct. Griffith relocated his team to Minneapolis-St. Paul for the '61 season, and though the Continental League had already collapsed, the replacement expansion franchise, likewise named the Senators and inheriting Washington baseball history, had been awarded, but fared rather poorly in its eleven seasons in the nation's capital. While poor play, and having to compete with perennial powerhouses like the Yankees, Twins, Tigers, and especially the Orioles, who played but 45 miles distant, were certainly reasons for lackluster attendance, so was the specter of CRIME in the nation's capital: most of the few fans the Senators had lived in the suburbs, and few were willing to brave night games, fearing for their safety! Although the last WASHINGTON Senators owner, Bob Short, had invested significantly in the club when he bought it prior to the 1969 season, including hiring baseball legend "Teddy Ballgame" Williams as manager, he already had relocation in mind, as he'd been courted by interested parties from DFW, who finally got the Senators after the 1971 season, becoming the Rangers.
@@selfdo The United Baseball league was even worse Curt Flood was supposed to be Commissioner. Their big selling point was the MLB players union had their blessing. Of course, more jobs for players and personnel.
For Austin and San Antonio I can see a joint proposal as in a single bid.
Exactly, put the stadium in San Marcos that would be close to each city. The more prosperous side of SA is the northern part. They would have very good highway access to San Marcos.
@@bruxi78230 IDK if San Marcos would be built up enough with transport links etc
@@Speedster___ --- Yeah it's a potential issue, but Texas tends to do good infrastructure. To me the bigger issue is what kind of stadium you want.
I'm from Denver and the beauty of Coors Field is it's not surrounded by a huge parking lot. You walk out of the front door and you're immediately in the coolest part of downtown Denver with tons of restaurants, hotels, night clubs. Because it's fun before and after games it results in the Rockies having the best attendance of any team in a medium size city in MLB.
@@bruxi78230 Denver is mid sized???
But also I can kinda see them going forward a rural-ish stadium. Look at Omaha Storm chasers as an example
@@Speedster___ ----- The cities that are above Denver in attendance are places like LA, NY, Chicago, STL. So compared to that it's mid-sized. Also the surrounding area has a small population. The nearest city is Cheyenne, WY which only has 60,000 people.
I have to go with San Antonio and Portland as mlb expansion cities.
The Hurricanes aren’t in Charlotte. They are in Raleigh.
Austin is a great choice.. Vegas is interesting.. The Golden knights play 41 home games mainly through the winter so they aren't competing with summer pool parties and the casinos as much as an 81game summer baseball schedule would... But you could get west coast Dodger, Angel, and Padre fans that would travel. The key (for any team) is put the stadium in the middle of the downtown entertainment hub and make it an entertainment experience. Like Petco park in the San Diego gas Lamp district. Imagine if a Vegas stadium is right on the strip. People could walk to the park catch a game and go out after..
Austin is the largest metro area with no big-4 pro team.
Austin is a soccer city
Please don’t move the A’s. They are all I got
The A's were never yours. They came from philly and KC if my memory serves. They are really messing up by not moving to Sacramento or Vallejo or maybe even Vacaville. Nobody in Norcal wants to visit that terdhole of a city in Oakland. If they would move over the hill, I and many others would attend far more games.
@Hayden L F*** the giants😁
@@ra3975 well I live in vallejo so that would be awesome. Mare island would be a perfect place for a stadium
If they get out of that shit whole they are playing in now and build a new stadium it well be the end of the a's in Oakland
If they don't get a new stadium soon, they will more than likely move to Vegas. If Vegas is taken then maybe Portland.
in 2027, the Rays are moving to Montreal, Que
Indianapolis White Sox
@@mariagloriadelcarmen Buffalo Mets and Winnipeg Twins
@New World Gardens Landscape White Sox are not relocating anytime soon indianapolis is a small market
The Carolina Hurricanes NHL franchise is based in Raleigh, NC, not Charlotte.
Exactly right, over 2 hours apart to be precise.
As a long time Portland resident. Yes. Hope we get a team.
Portland and Nashville would be my choice for an expansion teams, Portland -Seattle in the Northwest and having a Music City there is terrific.😀😀⚾⚾
The Carolina Hurricanes play in Raleigh NC which is a solid 3 hour drive from Charlotte
Do you think New Orleans and Oklahoma City would be good candidates?
Also what about Indianapolis?
No not really
Yes. It's high time to bring MLB to The Big Easy!!!!!
I think it will be Nashville and Vegas getting the next expansion teams. They get a big draw from tourism so small population could be offset.
First, I doubt we'll have any expansion until we have recovered from the covid financial crisis. When we're ready, we should have 6 expansion teams and not just two. Two will upset the near perfect balance we have now with 5 teams in each of six divisions. Six team new teams expanding in hockey style.
2026 or beyond.
I wonder if they could use Shalen Field in Buffalo. The Blue Jays last years renovated with their money and weren’t they supposed be able to add a upper deck in less than 6 months?
A 32-team MLB would probably re-align into four divisions in each league, with two wild card teams, to keep the present six teams in each league making the playoffs, but out of sixteen instead of fifteen, with the two division champs with the best records getting a bye. Me, I'd keep that round a three-game set, so the layoff for the "bye" teams isn't too long. And make it all in the better team's park, as the "one and done" WC playoff was, to further shorten the postseason and not reward mediocrity.
I love Vancouver, really hope they get an MLB team. But people have told me BC Place is not an option. A stadium will most likely have to be built. If the city was willing to build it in Stanley Park, that ballpark could be jewel.
They will not get a team. They got a NBA team and did not support it and lost it to Memphis.
@@waynejohanson1083 In fairness, the owners had no idea how to support the Grizzlies or market them. The fan support was there, but the team was so poorly run it had no chance of surviving. Any other pro team that goes will have the right person this time. Vancouver has learned it's lesson and deserves another shot.
@@dodger1214 Good point and I would love to see a team in Vancouver and Montreal again. That would make 3 teams from Canada.
If MLB expands to 32 teams, then I say eliminate the Central divisions, and go back to Eastern & Western divisions with 8 teams per division.
My guess is Vegas. All the major sports leagues seem to be moving there or thinking about a move there with The Golden Knights for the NHL and the Raiders for the NFL being new to town. Plus the Vegas metro area is growing extremely fast. And some of the most famous MLB players are from Vegas. It seems like a no brainer.
Possible on Vegas getting one. Great example is the Raiders in the NFL. If Oakland/Alameda County mayor + city council didn't screw themselves in pulling rig out (among other factors) from them after 2nd retur to Oakland at time, there wouldn't be as much conversation as it is now. A's are in similar situation where if political powers that be didn't learn lesson and things are not negotiated soon rather than later, it's bye felicia.
Plus no brainer, Montreal brings back Expos as feel there's still that hunger and MLB knew in someway it was a mistake on their part. Even though a 12 year old, the 1994 strike really hurt/devastated Expos chances for possible World Series title the most. Been interesting to see if Montreal and Toronto did battle for World Series as both were really good teams.
Charlotte doesn't have the Carolina Hurricanes, Ralrigh does so it shouldn't be a problem.
PGE Park in Portland is now Progressive Park, a soccer-specific stadium that no longer accommodates baseball. And the Carolina Hurricanes do not play in Charlotte, they play in Raleigh, about three hours away. There are no major college sports in Charlotte, they're closer to the Raleigh area and down in South Carolina.
Montreal must build a stadium downtown and make it 35,000 + in capacity.
There are plans to build a whole shopping/residential/baseball stadium and entertainment area close to downtown
@@zedxyle I am from ''la belle province'' and let me tell you, Montreal is unfortunately not a real baseball city... Unless they have a winning team, that's it ! There's the Canadians in media year round. I recall attendence of 45- 50 K at home game opening, but 10 K the next game. Since they would'nt be able to pay top players, they would always have losing teams. Sorry but that's the truth.
And a retractable roof, with those winters.
Factoring in the distance from an existing MLB team and picking the other league for the new team:
NL: Montreal, Vancouver, Portland, Austin/San Antonio
AL: Charlotte, Nashville, Las Vegas
BTW - "PGE Park" in Portland has changed its name twice since it was called that, and it was permanently converted to soccer/football use in 2011. This forced the PCL Portland Beavers to leave for Tucson, then El Paso. The city won't be converting the stadium back any time soon.
San Antonio, Vancouver, Las Vegas and Montreal are the best bet.
What about Orlando
Here's my take. It would be two teams per area. One American League and One National League
West: AL: Portland OR NL: Las Vegas NV
Central; AL; Austin TX NL; Nashville TN/Louisville KY/Indianapolis IN
East; AL; Montreal QC NL; Charlotte NC/Birmingham AL.
How about this idea from a life long 65 year old Pittsburgh Pirates fan. Ship this present entire Pittsburgh Pirates organization to ANY of these 8 cities and award an expansion franchise with NEW OWNERSHIP to Pittsburgh. (One caveat: the Pirates name stays with Pittsburgh!!!!!). Sorry folks in these other cities but we Pirates fans are desperate to get rid of the present owner (Bob Nutting) who could care less about fielding and/or paying for a competitive and competent team! "If you build a team, we will come!" Just call me "Desperate in Pittsburgh!" LOL
I travel to see my Yankees play road games, and PNC Park is a great facility. What a nice location ... right on the Allegheny River. Big statues of Pirates greats outside the gates. Easy post-game walk over the pedestrians-only Clemente Bridge, back to the hotel.
Wonderful experience.
The Pirates have many upcoming young stars, from Baseball report. they going to be good when young talent arrives.
Nashville and San Antonio make the most sense. Two rapidly growing markets with large population bases.
Nashville already has pro hockey and football, so it would be a stretch to support a third pro team. Austin is the largest city with no big-4 team, so it makes more sense than San Antonio. (By similar reasoning, that was a big factor in why the NHL expanded into Columbus.)
I think 30 teams is more than enough, what are your thoughts on the MLB adding a 2nd division with promotion and relegation like many soccer leagues?
Wouldn't work in North America. Our sports leagues are based around big cities, and the diversity in major sports is much higher.
@@zedxyle I agree that it wouldn’t work but I’d much rather have that than see teams tanking and constantly rebuilding.
The Montreal Expos as an American League team? I like that idea for the exact reasons already stated. It would be great to see two teams in Canada within the same division playing each other on a regular basis
No. It would create a DELIBERATE and an inconvenient geographic disparity. Save Boston, Montreal is closer to NYC and Philadelphia than it is to Baltimore and Cleveland.
And the novelty of Interleague Play has long worn out its welcome.
As a Rangers fan, I just hope we get a team in DFW someday soon
Baseball doesn’t have enough talent for another expansion. Talent was watered down with the last expansion.
MLB expansion is now imperitive for the economies of smaller communities, many if which are being negatively affected by the upheaval and contraction of the minor league system.
Monterrey Mexico and Mexico City have hosted preseason and regular season games. They are both short flight to the US.
Not happening Mexico’s too poor too foreign and already has there own National League honestly if the MLB tried to go there it would probably be met protest
Mexico ~Mexico city, Monterrey . Canada ~Vancouver, Calgary .
the problem MLB has is that is hasnt invested in youth baseball. this next generation doesn't play or care about baseball
Great point. Where is the talent going to come from. It would have to come from other countries where youth do play baseball.
3 other cities to consider
Salt Lake City, small population yes, but $$ & loyalty are a trait in Utah, see the Jazz.
Albuquerque - a bit small and median income may be an issue, but any major pro sport that takes a chance on New Mexico will be rewarded financially.
El Paso, border city, could take advantage of 2 nation market.
I know none of these cities will be considered, but I believe they should
It's not going to happen. But I'm just gonna throw in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Hampton Roads metro has a larger population than that of Milwaukee. And is growing at a rate in which it'll over take the metros of Cleveland, Cincinnati, and possibly Pittsburgh (other MLB cities) by 2030. The area has also been fighting to get a "Big 4" franchise since the late 90s. In '97 Norfolk tried to get an NHL expansion team (failed). In '02 Norfolk then tried to win the Charlotte Hornets in relocation (New Orleans won). In '04 leading the charge again, Norfolk was a possible relocation spot for the Expos (of course lost to Washington). In '07 Virginia Beach started talks of trying to lure the NBA. In '12 Virginia Beach again tried with the NBA to lure the Kings from Sacramento. Even going so far as to design an ocean front arena. (Course we know now that went nowhere). Then as recently as '17 Virginia Beach, now spearheading pro sports in Hampton Roads mulled with the NBA again with an expansion team (talks again have stuttered).
Virginia is the largest state (12th overall) that doesn't have a "big 4" pro sports team. And the Hampton Roads area has made it abundantly clear they want a franchise of some sort. If they didn't, they wouldn't have been fighting for the last 24 years for any sort of pro team.
Yea but the Washington National already serve as a team for Virginia so not happening don’t forget Washington DC is effectively in Virginia
@@alcarbo8613 I don’t believe the fact the Nationals exist is a good argument though. Milwaukee is only an hour and a half from Chicago - a city with two teams. And they were granted a relocated franchise. Hampton Roads is 3+ hours from Washington. They are far enough away to form their own identity.
Also, Washington doesn’t represent Virginia in sports. The city also isn’t “effectively in Virginia.” All the land for the district is land that once belonged to Maryland. So in technical terms they’re “effectively part of Maryland.” They do however, represent Northern Virginia - where I live. But we only make up 27% of the states population. Once you go past Richmond in any direction, I know more Braves fans than Nats fans as well.
Additionally, the only reason the Kings didn’t move was due to the fact the city couldn’t come to an agreement on an arena. So if the Wizards existing wasn’t a problem for the NBA. Why would the Nationals existing be a problem for the MLB?
Governor Northam also signed HB 1102 last year. Which created a regional arena authority to help negate the issues that happened in 2012. Now the cities are working with each other. Not competing against one another. They could very easily in the 2022 session change it to stadium authority to help try and lure the MLB. Remember, the Nats did almost end up in Hampton Roads.
@@ReinSouls Look I’m not a Virginian I’m just telling you how any MLB exec would look at it,
also Washington DC absolutely inserts more cultural effluence on Virginia than Maryland, mostly because Maryland has Baltimore well Virginia really doesn’t have any really well known and important city’s to the outside world like it or not, another reason there probably not getting a team.
@@alcarbo8613 I acknowledge Virginia is more than likely never getting a team. However, Washington’s influence is about the same in both Maryland and Virginia. And that influence also dies quickly in both. Rockville, Bethesda, and all the towns up I-270 wouldn’t be what they are without Washington. And once you get up past Frederick, MD that DC influence is gone.
Same is the case in Virginia. Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax wouldn’t be what that are without the city. But once you get down past Fredericksburg that influence is gone. You’re honestly just making yourself look like a fool trying to argue something you admittedly know nothing about since as you stated you don’t live here - I do. And I’ve been here for almost a decade now.
You also can’t speak for MLB execs. As stated, they looked at Hampton Roads as a possible relocation for the Expos. You just write off the area since you know nothing about it. Clearly, you think like an MLB exec when they did the opposite as you. What speaks to MLB execs? Money. As stated, Hampton Roads within the next decade will outside 4 MLB markets - maybe 5 depending where Kansas City falls. And, if you include The Richmond metro, that’s 3 million people as of today. Or the 17th largest metro. That’s 3 million people not in seats in Washington. Or Atlanta since the Braves have a bigger fan base than the Nats in that region. There’s money to be made and that’s all the execs care about.
Now, it is that money in which why I agree Virginia is unlikely to get a team. Charlotte and Nashville (a city currently trying to suit the MLB) do have more lucrative markets. Nashville is also growing much faster than Richmond and Hampton Roads combined. That’s where you shoulda staked your argument. Not Washington. Also, Hampton Roads is looking at suiting the NHL or NBA, not the MLB, at least, not currently. I do think the NBA is going to establish a franchise there this decade. The Kings were so close to moving in 2012. And now funds for an NBA caliber arena are much easier to obtain.
All I did was say Virginia Beach as a “why not give them a look” option. Then showed how they want a team of some sort. And it’s a viable market. Is it the perfect market? No. That title belongs to Nashville. Who will get a team in the near future.
@@ReinSouls The one thing I don’t get is why people in Virginia Beach and Richmond would root for the Braves 1000 miles away rather than the Nationals a 2 hour drive away.
Agree with most of the possible expansion markets here, but really money talks too and a weaker market with both a very wealthy prospective owner and a very supportive local government and private sector could potentially get a city a team too. There are almost certainly prospective oweners out there for other cities (maybe like Columbus, Albequerque, Sacramento) but i agree, baseball loves big markets. Honestly, they'd probably be more likely to try NY or LA again, its mostly the teams there that would be against it. Which is why i think Montreal will definitely get a team. If Montreal got a team and it didnt work, there are 5 cities on this list that they could move to a decade from now without more expansion. What Montreal never had the first time was a plan. Right from the get-go in '69 they almost lost their team to Buffalo, played at Jarry Park, a joke by anyone's standards, and when they did get a stadium, the Big O, it wasn't designed for baseball and within a decade, the roof started giving out. For Montreal, they need a 40000 grass stadium, either with a retractable roof that works this time, or just indoor stadium with really good field turf or grass. And decent dimensions too. Expos never had a 50 home-run guy, and that was something they really lacked was power.
If Charlotte does get a team, don't be surprised if Michael Jordan is part of the ownership group in some capacity. Remember when he played minor league baseball in the mid 90s?
Wait didn’t Micheal Jordon play for the White Sox’s at one point
@@alcarbo8613 He played with them during Spring Training but got sent down to AA. Speaking of the White Sox, what's going to to happen to them Reinsdorf passes on. Would he sell the team to MJ and he moves them to Charlotte?
@@bjnt922 Unlikely the White Sox Have a solid stadium, cooperative City and large fan base. So even if the new owner wanted to, the MLB wouldn’t allow it.
If Nashville can have the Titans, and a draft etc they should get the MLB team
Instead of expanding just move the Marlins and Ray's, nobody goes to the games and Florida already has the spring training season...
Yeah for sure
@@imagine9265 the rays will stay but the Marlins have to move nobody goes to their games people in Miami care about basketball and football,soccer, everything else gets no attention
The Marlins lost all credibility in Miami when their owner tore down the 1997 World Series champs in a snit over not getting a new stadium. Even the 2003 Series couldn't help.
You should add Pittsburgh as a candidate for an MLB expansion team: big sports town, beautiful Triple-A ballpark that is MLB ready, and not much to compete with the summer dollar aside from Kennywood.
Pirate's?
@@michaelaugustine6271 yeah they're a Triple-A team masquerading as a member of the National League.
@@guiseppe8032 Gotcha. Where is Omar Mereno when you need him? Lol
I live in Vegas. The word is that the Rio hotel and casino will be torn down to make room for the MLB team. It is only a matter of time before we have Major League Baseball here
Is the hotel and casino old and out of date now.
@@waynejohanson1083 Well, compared to Circus Circus, I would say no... 😉
@@waynejohanson1083 this is what the rumor is. Caesars owns the Rio
The new owners of the Rio already applied for their gambling license and are going to do an extensive remodel of the property.... The Rio isn't going anywhere! If they do build a ballpark in Vegas they already have a huge plot of empty land on the strip across from the Sahara hotel. That would be the perfect location...
I should also point out that Montreal has already expressed interest for NBA expansion as well. There’s a separate ownership group in place for it and Silver is well aware.
In Canada, Montreal has a hold of a potential MLB team the same way how if an MBA team was to come to Canada it'll likely be Vancouver.
Should be Indianapolis Indiana. Makes total since !!!!!!
There will need to be a name change
Right? I'm from Pittsburgh and always hear good things about Indianapolis. It's total bullshit the Indians attendance consistently gets overlooked.
@@roadtrip2943 Indianapolis Racers
Not too long ago they were saying the NHL would never work in Las Vegas. What some don't understand is how many fans not from Vegas make the trip to come watch a game. I cant even imagine how many Dodgers, Yankees or Redsox fans would make a weekend of it.
You forgotten about the MLS team in Nashville
Exactly
I would got with Portland and Charlotte with relocating the A's to Vegas.
The Titans and the Predators both got great support from the beginning, but I don't see a Nashville MLB team doing as well. This is Braves Country, and it will stay that way even if Nashville were to get a team. The Titans and Predators didn't have to compete with an already existing fan base in their respective sports.
St.Louis is about the same distance from Nashville as Atlanta is
People in Nashville aren't into the Falcons much?
Nashville will support a MLB team for sure ,,, we have enormous growth happening ,,, big money getting behind the push for it ... as well as a plan for a stadium ...
good rivalry with Atlanta , St.Louis , Cincinnati !!!
Low taxes here ,,, and big corporations here !!!
Definitely a great fit for Nashville !!!
New Orleans would have a better shot at getting the Rays or an expansion franchise
Atlanta did get an NHL expansion team at the same time Nashville did they jsut ended up losing it later on.
The Charlotte one has a simple solution even though the team will be based in Charlotte the ballpark can be built in nearby Raleigh in order to avoid competition with NASCAR plus the Panthers & Hornets
Plus I think other cities like Buffalo, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, and Winnipeg can make good hosts
@@jkeelsnc Greensboro would be a better compromise, right in between Charlotte and Raleigh, plus the Triad area has about 1.6 million people of its own. It could pull from the 2.7 million Charlotte area and 2.2 million Raleigh area.