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Charlotte MLB Team Speculation


ncguy06

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The map is cool but pretty pointless in terms of the true market that the team would really serve as fans/spectators.

It looks like the area for Charlotte though, would be pretty close to the exact shape of NC/SC combined minus a few areas around the borders and add in a few spots in SW VA. So you're talking 15 million people which is the upper half of that list.


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  • 1 month later...

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/1997/11/20/oth_217805.shtml#.WaqfmiopAv4

I never knew this happened (and that the Knight's owner was involved or that they would have played in Fort Mill initially).  I assume this was never serious and just used as leverage in MN but I found it interesting.  Greensboro would not have been a good location for a team, IMO...

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8 hours ago, JBS said:

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/1997/11/20/oth_217805.shtml#.WaqfmiopAv4

I never knew this happened (and that the Knight's owner was involved or that they would have played in Fort Mill initially).  I assume this was never serious and just used as leverage in MN but I found it interesting.  Greensboro would not have been a good location for a team, IMO...

And back then everyone said Charlotte was about 10 years away from being ready to host an MLB team. It's been 20 and it's time.

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^ Yea, the old Knights stadium was built with MLB expansion in mind (e.g. space was available, light poles were already tall enough for a double deck stadium etc.). But think about what a disaster an MLB park in Fort Mill would have been these days. I-77 traffic on the way to the game combined with Dodger Stadium-like egress from the parking lots after the game would have been traffic chaos x 2 x 81 games per year. IMO traffic was one of the reasons the York County Knights never could draw fans.

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  • 9 months later...
On 6/23/2018 at 2:30 AM, jednc said:

I really wish we had an MLB Team in Charlotte.

IMG_20180622_204019.jpg

I was just in Texas and went to a Rangers game and had the same feeling. It's a total different game, honestly would go to more games if we actually had a team to root for. I feel like Knights games are just big social events. I was at the Knights game Friday night and I was talking to one of the security supervisors and he was under the impression that BB&T was expandable, I don't know if the team told him this or if he is just hearing rumors.

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2 hours ago, CriticalT said:

It dawned on me I didn't know who owns the Knights.  

Don Beaver.  Apparently a low key owner from Troutman, NC and went to App State and made his money in nursing homes.   He owns the Knights as well as Hickory Crawdads and until a couple years ago he used to own the New Orleans Zephyrs (AAA).  Apparently sold  the New Orleans minor league team because it was difficult as an out of towner and focused too much on health care business - 18 short term/long term nursing home facilities in the Carolinas.   He lives in Conover in an insane home and also owns approximately 10% of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  

 

 

I knew he was fairly local and I knew his name but I had no idea he owns part of the Pirates. Years ago he tried to orchestrate a move by the Minnesota Twins to North Carolina.

11 hours ago, dylansukkert said:

I was just in Texas and went to a Rangers game and had the same feeling. It's a total different game, honestly would go to more games if we actually had a team to root for. I feel like Knights games are just big social events. I was at the Knights game Friday night and I was talking to one of the security supervisors and he was under the impression that BB&T was expandable, I don't know if the team told him this or if he is just hearing rumors.

I was at the Phillies/Nationals game on Friday night. Every time I go to an MLB game it makes me want Charlotte to have a team.

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14 hours ago, JBS said:

MLB will expand by two teams in the next 10 years.  There are only four logical candidates:

Montreal, Portland, Charlotte and (possibly) Nashville.  If Oakland and/or Tampa don't build stadiums, there could be an additional 1-2 teams available (the White Sox aren't in play but probably should be).  

Other cities mentioned have no chance:

Vancouver-great city, too close to Seattle (particularly if Portland gets in) and won't get a team if Montreal gets in (which they should)

Austin/San Antonio-very unlikely that Houston and Texas would allow that to happen.

Vegas-still digesting NHL and NFL, fast growing but too small of a market for 3 major league teams (plus, would require a dome).

Columbus-Cincinnati and Cleveland already in Ohio and neither draws particularly well.

Mexico City/Monterrey-too many political, economic and crime related concerns for a team at this time.

Portland is all but guaranteed a team because of their location (MLB needs more teams in West and they have a head start on ownership and stadium).  It will come down to Montreal and Charlotte.  Both are attractive markets and make sense geographically.  If either/both come up with good ownership and stadium plans, one of the two will get a team.  Nashville (with their smaller population and recent MLS team) only gets a shot if the two others fail.  Ideally, the A's move to Portland (Oakland fans become Giants fans, AT&T is 11 miles away), Tampa builds a new stadium near downtown and the two expansion teams are awarded to Montreal (bring back the Expos) and Charlotte (likely branded as Carolina).

It's a slow game and my fandom of the Padres has mostly lapsed.  However, nothing better than a MLB team.  Don't follow the Knights but I would watch/listen to EVERY game if MLB was here.  Listening to Harry Kalas and Richie Ashburn in Philly and Jerry Coleman (Ted Leitner I could do without) in San Diego were a huge part of my childhood and early adult life.  Also, in the stadium, baseball is conversational in a way that other sports aren't.  I'd definitely buy a mini-season ticket package.

Maybe having the Padres as my MLB team is why I am not really a fan of the MLB.  :tw_astonished:

I don't like the cost of MLB games but if that's what the community wants I fully support it.   I am excited about the opportunity for a new stadium can do for an area outside of Uptown.  Could provide enough gravitational pull to create its own district.  

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51 minutes ago, cjd5050 said:

Maybe having the Padres as my MLB team is why I am not really a fan of the MLB.  :tw_astonished:

I don't like the cost of MLB games but if that's what the community wants I fully support it.   I am excited about the opportunity for a new stadium can do for an area outside of Uptown.  Could provide enough gravitational pull to create its own district.  

I'd rather have 81 baseball games Uptown and 10 football games elsewhere (though ideally Panthers move across Morehead to Charlotte Pipe and new baseball stadium is at BOA).  Soccer eventually would be perfect in Elizabeth and BB&T gets redeveloped. 

Padres haven't made it easy to be a fan but two years from now they should be contending.

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1 hour ago, JBS said:

I'd rather have 81 baseball games Uptown and 10 football games elsewhere (though ideally Panthers move across Morehead to Charlotte Pipe and new baseball stadium is at BOA).  Soccer eventually would be perfect in Elizabeth and BB&T gets redeveloped. 

Padres haven't made it easy to be a fan but two years from now they should be contending.

I'm the opposite.  That much activity from a MLB stadium would be enough to jump-start and support a new area but a football stadium couldn't.  I lived in the East Village and that traffic was nasty on weeknights.   I'd love to see some of those industrial sites converted off the blue line going towards UNCC.  

 

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I am familiar with the Montréal baseball economic environment. There are several issues that did, and will, create less flexibility for a future MTL ownership. Disposable income (post tax and deductions) is 26,000 Cdn/year. For Canada (including Québec) 30,300. Ontario is ~30,000$. Big difference. Montréal has a large population but fewer with means to afford the price of tickets for top line sports entertainment 81 times per year.

Income is measured in Cdn$ which today is ~20% less than US$ and rarely near par. Expenses for player salaries is in US$, thus a 20% or more deficit from the beginning. Player salaries make a large part of team expenses. Minor league teams are also US$ expense. Advertising, sponsorships, broadcast and ancillary income is also in Cdn$. All published information must be in French predominantly with English in a reduced size and position. French language broadcasts earn less income than English broadcasts in other major league cities. 

The climate makes a domed stadium obligatory, not just for spring and fall baseball but in order to have use the other six months of the year. The city and province had a bitter experience with the Olympic construction, known locally as the Big Owe. It could not be used now for baseball as it is obsolete.

Toronto is a different financial proposition. Also Toronto is 100 miles from Buffalo NY with a regional population over a million and the only US city near Montréal is Burlington VT, ~ 100 miles, with an SMSA of 200,000

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-disposable-income-1.3409683

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  • 2 weeks later...

How about some frivolous Friday fun?  Opinions of nicknames for a Charlotte/Carolina MLB team:

Knights-always thought this would be great based on the history and lack of others using it (less great now that the Golden Knights exist in LV)

Pilots-hasn't been used since Seattle did for one year before they became the Brewers (a great name, IMO) in Milwaukee.  Fits here with First in Flight (would SC feel alienated?) and the importance of our airport to the local economy.  Also, a decently cool name.  Colors would be black with gold or silver (which would also work well for Knights).

Interested in other suggestions!

Edited by JBS
Corrected color of LV Knights
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5 hours ago, JBS said:

How about some frivolous Friday fun?  Opinions of nicknames for a Charlotte/Carolina MLB team:

Knights-always thought this would be great based on the history and lack of others using it (less great now that the Black Knights exist in LV)

Pilots-hasn't been used since Seattle did for one year before they became the Brewers (a great name, IMO) in Milwaukee.  Fits here with First in Flight (would SC feel alienated?) and the importance of our airport to the local economy.  Also, a decently cool name.  Colors would be black with gold or silver (which would also work well for Knights).

Interested in other suggestions!

I like the idea of Pilots as well. I grew up in Hampton Roads and way back when I was a little kid, we had a Carolina League team that my father used to take me to see a lot. They were the Peninsula Pilots.

Granted, living in the Triad, Charlotte wouldn't exactly be an easy commute.... and I'd still be an Orioles fan, so I probably wouldn't make it to too many games (unless they were the replacement for the Rays and the Os played in Charlotte multiple times per year).

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Other names with local/regional flare: 

Kudzu 

Cackalacks

Copperheads 

Demolition lol  

Or maybe just name it the Charlotte Culture and then there'd be no more arguments about whether we had it. Charlotte History could work, too. 

Edited by Crucial_Infra
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