MLB to Orlando?

[orange87]

15 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

Due to a family generational shift, control of the Baltimore Orioles is about to change. As a result, there’s a lot of back and forth about whether the team will stay or go and what incentives the city and state will offer for that to happen. 

At the end of the day, they’re probably not moving. The Orioles and the Camden Yards stadium are likely too entrenched to go anywhere assuming a deal can be made.

What’s interesting, though, is the rumor of where they COULD go if they needed to. The city that came up again and again was Nashville. Music City basically has all the ingredients for an MLB team (I’ve listed them before so I won’t bore you with them again here).

Why do we care? So far as I can tell, Pat Williams, his Hawaiian shirt and the Dreamers notwithstanding, Orlando’s name never came up.

Never say never, but this is one Dream that should probably be put to rest and let’s think what we as a city should invest in instead.

Going all out to support our Hometown National Champions as they move to the P5 and need much more booster support in the NIL era might be a very good start.

What a huge coincidence. My dad and I are both diehard Baltimore Orioles fans even though neither of us has ever lived in Maryland. I watch every game no matter how awful the O's are. The owner is Peter Angelos, and he has single handedly destroyed a once proud franchise. He's caused misery for decades for us fans. That said, I doubt the O's will leave Baltimore. The owners two sons have taken control of the team recently, and apparently there's infighting over who controls the team. The owner's wife stepped in and said her son John has done the majority of running the team recently, and the other son (I forgot his name) aired family drama publicly by falsely claiming John wants to move the team to Nashville to try to get the fans mad at him. The owner's wife said her and Peter have lived in Baltimore their whole lives and they would never allow the team to move out of Baltimore.

[spenser1058]

While I agree the Orioles will likely stay put, when we old folks think of Baltimore, we remember Colts owner. Bob Irsay, who loaded the trucks in the middle of the night and moved the team to Indy. It was not Charm City’s finest moment…

[spenser1058]

The MLB commissioner says it’s time for the Rays to get serious about a decision:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-sp-mlb-commish-wants-tampa-bay-rays-stadium-settled-0617-20220616-zvjuxkbhwfch7pa36aoqw3biaa-story.html

[prahaboheme]

No way the O’s are leaving Baltimore. 
Despite the franchise issues it’s a huge and loyal fan base that extends well beyond the Baltimore metro into the larger mid-Atlantic.

It should also be noted they are so deeply indoctrinated into civic programs in West Baltimore and programs with Johns Hopkins that cannot be, and would not be, uplifted to another city. Basically , they ain’t leaving. 

Edited June 17, 2022 by prahaboheme

[spenser1058]

9 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

No way the O’s are leaving Baltimore. 
Despite the franchise issues it’s a huge and loyal fan base that extends well beyond the Baltimore metro into the larger mid-Atlantic.

Sort of like the Washington Senators, right?

[prahaboheme]

4 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

Sort of like the Washington Senators, right?

I fail to see a comparison.

[spenser1058]

17 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

I fail to see a comparison.

They were also not going to move right up until they did (and became the Minnesota Twins, who did spring training at… Tinker Field!) I agree the Orioles are unlikely to go anywhere right now but too many owners over the years have followed the money after pledging undying loyalty to their home cities. 

The Brooklyn Dodgers were one of the ultimate NYC teams right up until the day they moved to LA. Did you ever wonder how the LA Lakers got their name given the city isn’t exactly famous for its lakes? It’s because the team moved from Minnesota, “The Land of 10,000 Lakes”. Oh, and my favorite, the Utah Jazz, because the Mormons are so well- known for their love of music from the Delta and inner cities.
 

[prahaboheme]

OK - but, does history have precedent in this discussion? I doubt it really does (and it sounds like you don’t think so either).

The more apt comparison would be — are the LA Dodgers going to leave LA rather than why the Brooklyn Dodgers left NYC.

[spenser1058]

Rays partners are suing Sternberg again:

https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/2022/06/29/rays-partners-sue-sternberg-again-alleging-fraudulent-control-of-team/

From The Tampa Bay Times 

Stay tuned for more madness…
 

[spenser1058]

Joe Henderson at Florida Politics has a different take. He suggests the Rays have already signaled to St Pete Mayor Welch that the Rays are staying put and, whatever development happens on the 86-acre Trop site, the mayor wants to include a new stadium.

Henderson’s thought is that Hillsborough County’s tourist tax is maxed out, while Pinellas’ , which is almost twice as large, isn’t.

Apparently, the folks on the Tampa side of the bay concede there’s no money to pay for it, even as almost everyone agrees attendance would be bigger in Tampa.

Henderson also notes how much different St. Pete is since the Trop was conceived and that’s likely to have an impact.

Stay tuned:

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/536056-joe-henderson-can-a-new-rays-stadium-work-in-st-pete-when-it-never-has-sure-it-can/

[jrs2]

18 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Joe Henderson at Florida Politics has a different take. He suggests the Rays have already signaled to St Pete Mayor Welch that the Rays are staying put and, whatever development happens on the 86-acre Trop site, the mayor wants to include a new stadium.

Henderson’s thought is that Hillsborough County’s tourist tax is maxed out, while Pinellas’ , which is almost twice as large, isn’t.

Apparently, the folks on the Tampa side of the bay concede there’s no money to pay for it, even as almost everyone agrees attendance would be bigger in Tampa.

Henderson also notes how much different St. Pete is since the Trop was conceived and that’s likely to have an impact.

Stay tuned:

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/536056-joe-henderson-can-a-new-rays-stadium-work-in-st-pete-when-it-never-has-sure-it-can/

my feel is that The Rays should stay put.  You have to have geographical consistency because the team and region are interwoven.

Okay, so The Raiders left Oakland for LA and left yet again.  They are, as a franchise, an icon...the Silver and Black; Al Davis; etc.  Same with The Browns, The Vikings, etc.

But like The Rams left LA and went to St. Louis when they did.  The Chicago Cardinals went to...somewhere before AZ. I didn't like that. 

Maybe The Rays have that already; I don't know.  But my feel is that if they came here to Orlando that would be bad for the franchise; maybe not.

[spenser1058]

It’s looking more and more like the Rays are staying put in St. Pete. Today the MLB commish weighed in:

‘Most of the recent public talk regarding a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium has come from St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch about building near the current site as part of the redevelopment of the Tropicana Field area. Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday he considered Tampa sites more preferable but acknowledged that location would not be the only factor in the process. “Let me say this, I have always thought that a stadium on the other side of the causeway would be preferable in some respects,” Manfred said in Los Angeles before the All-Star Game. “So it’s not just the location. There are other things that you need to take into account.” Manfred said last month there was an “urgency” to resolve the Rays’ decades-long effort to get a new stadium and that “wherever it is in the region that has an interest” in hosting the team “they need to get to it.”’
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-sp-tampa-bay-rays-stadium-update-0720-20220719-7zsmvi7lujcv5b2fzfcqi7ib5m-story.html

From The Sentinel