Nashville as MLB Expansion/Relocation Market

[nashvylle]

I think over time this area could become a cool spot. I would for sure take it over the Murfreesboro potential site. 

Edited June 1, 2022 by nashvylle

[satalac]

2 hours ago, PaulChinetti said:

I think anytime you have a huge group of people leaving anywhere it's gonna be a nightmare, not sure there is anyway to alleviate that, is there?

 

But yeah, I mean Nissan Stadium has multiple outlets and still gets backed up. It's just the nature of the beast. I've yet to go to any large gathering of people and upon leaving thinking to myself "wow, that was a really well planned departure".  Even Disney has boats, buses, walking paths, ubers, cars and....a monorail, and still has long lines of people waiting to exit. It just be that way sometimes. I just hope if it does go by TSU, it's at least a little better thought out than FirstBank Ampitheater.  

[Sean blackdog]

Update. New Brand ? 
 

Edited June 1, 2022 by Sean blackdog

[titanhog]

I like the idea of partnering somehow with TSU (just like I like the idea of Amazon partnering with TSU)…but I’m not sure the location is the best for 42k fans.  Still think it does better near the Titans stadium somehow.

[PillowTalk4]

I know that if a MLB stadium is built on the TSU campus there will be traffic issues.  But, let me offer a perspective as a person that has attended large events on the TSU campus since I was a child (covering mouth as I say 50 years ago)...   One of the biggest (less than a day) events held in Nashville used to be TSU's Homecoming Parade.  In the 80's and 90's it wasn't uncommon for 85K to over a 100K people to line up along Jefferson Street and John Merritt Blvd to watch the Homecoming Parade.  One year in the early 90's MNPD estimated the crowd to be around 125K.  I think it was TSU's 75th anniversary.  One thing that I learned about navigating around the TSU campus was to never park in the interior of the campus, in the Gentry Center parking lot or in Hadley Park or any side street near the park.  It was always best to park on the south side of the campus and make my way towards Charlotte Pike.  When Briley Parkway opened west of the TSU campus that too became a direct route to get out of the area quickly.   Any other route could easily take an hour or longer to get out of the area. 

Also keep in mind that for most of TSU's history, Ed Temple Blvd (previously Schrader Lane) was just one lane in each direction.  And, Walter Davis Blvd didn't exist.  So, when TSU played a football game on campus somehow the 16K upwards of 22K fans that showed up managed to navigate the area pretty well.  When Ed Temple was widened to 2 lanes in each direction, it really helped to reduce traffic on a daily basis as well as during TSU events.  The addition of Walter Davis Blvd running between Ed Temple and Centennial also was a major benefit as it allowed drivers a westward exit from the Gentry Center complex.

If the TSU campus becomes the home of a MLB stadium (still a long shot in my opinion), I do think if people enter and exit the area using the multiple options to get there as opposed to navigating to I-40, then traffic can be managed pretty well.  It will all be about educating folks to the options.

[MidTenn1]

Looks like the Baltimore Orioles moving to Nashville is serious subject again. It involves a dispute between the two brothers who are named in the Trust the deceased father created to allow his two sons to own and operate the Orioles baseball team after he passed on. But it is compelling, and I am on team 'John'. 

From the Baltimore Banner.

Quote

The two sons of longtime Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos are fighting over the future of the baseball team, their father’s law firm and the family fortune, according to an explosive new lawsuit.

Louis Angelos, 52, of Baltimore County, sued his brother and mother Thursday in Baltimore County Circuit Court. He claims his father intended for the two brothers to control the team equally, but that John, 54, of Nashville, has grabbed power.

“John intends to maintain absolute control over the Orioles — to manage, to sell, or, if he chooses, to move to Tennessee (where he has a home and where his wife’s career is headquartered) — without having to answer to anyone,” according to the lawsuit.

It looks like John, living in Nashville, may have an edge in this matter.

Quote

In November 2020, John Angelos emerged as his father’s successor after being approved by other MLB owners as the team’s “control person.” The suit does not explain how that came to be, except to allege that throughout the year John Angelos had “tightened the screws” on his brother and operated the team “in secret and with unchecked power,” the suit says.

However, this subject came up in 2019.

Quote

While the lawsuit speculates that John Angelos might want to move the team, there are no allegations that he took any such steps. John Angelos has said the team would not be moving. “As long as Fort McHenry is watching over the harbor, the Orioles will be in Baltimore,” John Angelos told Baltimore Magazine in 2019.

That's what I would say if I owned the Orioles and was looking at moving them.

Edited June 10, 2022 by MidTenn1

[Skyscrapergeek]

45 minutes ago, MidTenn1 said:

“John intends to maintain absolute control over the Orioles — to manage, to sell, or, if he chooses, to move to Tennessee (where he has a home and where his wife’s career is headquartered) — without having to answer to anyone,”

What you say if you’re trying to get the public, judge/jury  and MLB on your side. 

[Bos2Nash]

Damn! Reading that article almost makes me feel like John Angelos is the next Jeffrey Loria. Family disputes like this are always nasty, but it doesn't sound pretty. 

Not that I wouldn't mind seeing my Red Sox come into town multiple times a year, losing the Orioles would be a huge loss to baseball (think the history of Camden Yards, Cal Ripkin Jr, etc.) and I don't really think the owners would approve such a move.

[nashville born]

4 hours ago, Bos2Nash said:

Damn! Reading that article almost makes me feel like John Angelos is the next Jeffrey Loria. Family disputes like this are always nasty, but it doesn't sound pretty. 

Not that I wouldn't mind seeing my Red Sox come into town multiple times a year, losing the Orioles would be a huge loss to baseball (think the history of Camden Yards, Cal Ripkin Jr, etc.) and I don't really think the owners would approve such a move.

Of course the Nationals are literally 35 minutes down I-95....

[Bos2Nash]

3 hours ago, nashville born said:

Of course the Nationals are literally 35 minutes down I-95....

True, but that is National League vs American League

[markhollin]

Potential MLB stadium in North Nashville would be built with 'almost all private funding.'
 

More at The Tennessee Star here:

https://tennesseestar.com/2022/06/18/report-potential-mlb-stadium-in-north-nashville-would-be-built-with-almost-all-private-funding/

[smeagolsfree]

2 hours ago, markhollin said:

Potential MLB stadium in North Nashville would be built with 'almost all private funding.'
 

More at The Tennessee Star here:

https://tennesseestar.com/2022/06/18/report-potential-mlb-stadium-in-north-nashville-would-be-built-with-almost-all-private-funding/

That sure is shoddy reporting! There are no details about how the stadium would be funded at all, not to mention that if built at the TSU site, TSU has to sign off on it. Metro has to fund the rail line. The State would have to improve traffic access to the area. 2026 is short timeline. I am telling you this is not going to happen by 2026.

With all of that being said, Metro has not gotten one bit of information as far as a SP for the site. That is a 2 year process from start to construction start. These people are delusional.

[titanhog]

I just think placing a stadium over by TSU is shortsighted.  Surely there’s a way to get it closer to the action downtown.

I totally understand the minority ownership deal…the tie to the Nashville Stars…etc…but there has to be a better location.

[Nashvillain]

38 minutes ago, titanhog said:

I just think placing a stadium over by TSU is shortsighted.  Surely there’s a way to get it closer to the action downtown.

I totally understand the minority ownership deal…the tie to the Nashville Stars…etc…but there has to be a better location.

Just as a point of comparison, the distance (as the crow flies) from TSU to downtown (the Capitol) is 2.29 miles. The distance from Geodis to the Capitol is 2.68 miles. I think the issue is accessibility and Geodis offers a good test case for these kinds of facilities existing outside of downtown. 

I think having these stadiums in different neighborhoods around the city is actually a cool thing and reminds me of how stadiums are integrated into older cities like Boston (Fenway) and Chicago (Wrigley) as well as cities in Europe, Latin America, and Asia

Edited June 21, 2022 by Nashvillain

[Nashvillain]

Of course, the difference in those cities is that the urban fabric is much more robust and interconnected as opposed to fragmented and full of physical barriers like Nashville. There are real mobility options whereas we have cars and a hodgepodge of bike lanes where they can be put in with minimal effort and resources and minimal disruption to car throughput. 

These actual destinations--ball parks--should be destination points for transit and it's too bad that we can't incorporate transit infrastructure into their conception and build out. 

Edited June 21, 2022 by Nashvillain

[smeagolsfree]

You have to remember there is more connectivity between there and downtown than there is between TSU and downtown. Two different animals. Geodis has more interstate connectivity as well, thus easier access. There is nothing easy about that area. If you think a CBA was hard for the Fairgrounds, just wait till they start negotiating the one for the Baseball stadium at that site.

[Nashvillain]

2 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

You have to remember there is more connectivity between there and downtown than there is between TSU and downtown. Two different animals. Geodis has more interstate connectivity as well, thus easier access. There is nothing easy about that area. If you think a CBA was hard for the Fairgrounds, just wait till they start negotiating the one for the Baseball stadium at that site.

I'm not arguing in favor of a stadium at TSU, but I think it's important to remember why there is such little connectivity to TSU and North Nashville in the first place and it seems (judging from press releases and media coverage) like the impetus in putting a stadium there and partnering with TSU is to redress the imbalance of investment, care, and attention paid to North Nashville

[WebberThomas4]

5 hours ago, titanhog said:

I just think placing a stadium over by TSU is shortsighted.  Surely there’s a way to get it closer to the action downtown.

I totally understand the minority ownership deal…the tie to the Nashville Stars…etc…but there has to be a better location.

Maybe it is this TSU campus….

 

 

[smeagolsfree]

Another issue is the so-called train they want Metro to do. Thats fine and great, but if it is like the Music City Star or WE-GO Star they will be limited to about 800 people per trip and two trips a day because of the lack of positive train control that is required on the trains that Metro is too cheap to implement. That train will not move a lot of people. 

Again, these folks are blowing smoke up our tailpipes.

[markhollin]

Former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam isn't prepared to take other professional sports team investments off the table even as he prepares to become majority owner of the Nashville Predators.

When asked if he still had an interest in an MLB team investment, Haslam’s answer kept the door open, but pointed out the long road to get there.

“I think Major League Baseball makes sense for Nashville. There are a couple of big problems that have to be solved. A, you have got to get a team and that’s not easy. Then B, you have to get a stadium. Compare that to this opportunity where you have a really good lease in place, you have a really good team in place with a great track record,” Haslam said.

Haslam admitted he’d be surprised if there was not a Major League Baseball team in Nashville in the next 15 years.

When asked if supporters should call on him to invest in a future team, Haslam said, “I’m bullish on Nashville.”

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2022/06/23/predators-deal-doesnt-end-bill-haslams-interest.html

[Richhamleigh, DC]

On 6/24/2022 at 9:30 AM, markhollin said:

Former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam isn't prepared to take other professional sports team investments off the table even as he prepares to become majority owner of the Nashville Predators.

When asked if he still had an interest in an MLB team investment, Haslam’s answer kept the door open, but pointed out the long road to get there.

“I think Major League Baseball makes sense for Nashville. There are a couple of big problems that have to be solved. A, you have got to get a team and that’s not easy. Then B, you have to get a stadium. Compare that to this opportunity where you have a really good lease in place, you have a really good team in place with a great track record,” Haslam said.

Haslam admitted he’d be surprised if there was not a Major League Baseball team in Nashville in the next 15 years.

When asked if supporters should call on him to invest in a future team, Haslam said, “I’m bullish on Nashville.”

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2022/06/23/predators-deal-doesnt-end-bill-haslams-interest.html

Nashville market is smaller than Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham.  Add Greensboro-Winston and you have a market of 7 million in a 150 mile crescent.  I can't see Tennessee lands MLB before North Carolina.  Although look to Georgia to try and block either of us getting it.  

[lmc123]

10 hours ago, Phillydog said:

Nashville market is smaller than Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham.  Add Greensboro-Winston and you have a market of 7 million in a 150 mile crescent.  I can't see Tennessee lands MLB before North Carolina.  Although look to Georgia to try and block either of us getting it.  

Georgia won't block because expansion still means net revenue across the league. 

[Luvemtall]

12 hours ago, Phillydog said:

Nashville market is smaller than Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham.  Add Greensboro-Winston and you have a market of 7 million in a 150 mile crescent.  I can't see Tennessee lands MLB before North Carolina.  Although look to Georgia to try and block either of us getting it.  

It’s not just about population numbers, Nashville has a vibe , a energy and high tourism numbers that propel it into the national spotlight. There’s always national tv shows etc you see from Nashville, can’t remember the last time seeing anything from NC . 

[Sean blackdog]

Today this evening. 
https://mobile.twitter.com/i/web/status/1542198468302831617

[MagicPotato]

There's complaints saying that Nashville doesn't have the population to handle a MLB expansion, but I disagree. Nashville may not quite have the population figures, however the major benefit of Nashville is how centrally located it is. Nashville is a 3-5 hour drive to 3 franchise cities  such as Atlanta, St.Louis, and Cincinnati . That's not including the influential market areas involving those 3 locations. 

Edited June 30, 2022 by MagicPotato