Charlotte MLB Team Speculation

[SouthEndCLT811]

I live closer to Scaleybark now so I'd like something to be built at Crosland's site. I've joked about using that site for a stadium of any type (MLB/MLS).  With the opposite side of South having development with parking, light rail and so on.  It could be below grade and decent size right field stands to try and dampen any noise for our neighborhood.  Plus leave left field open and hopefully shallow so the Carvana tower can take direct hits till it finally comes down

Edited July 13, 2018 by SouthEndCLT811

[dylansukkert]

Just hypothetically speaking what would be some good locations for a MLB stadium? 

[deleted]

17 minutes ago, dylansukkert said:

Just hypothetically speaking what would be some good locations for a MLB stadium? 

Brooklyn Village would be good (won't happen obviously).  Ideal would be between 9th and 11th  and College and Brevard in Levineland (running the light rail under the stadium).  Unlikely.  Current location of BOA (when Panthers move across Morehead to Charlotte Pipe) would be good but not great based on what is currently there and substation and railroad tracks (since home plate will be at the back end of the property to get those views we all want).  Or put baseball on Charlotte Pipe land with a massive mixed use development (a la Sun Trust in Atlanta).  Where Meridien and Sheraton are now (particularly if the lightly used on ramp is removed) might work.  Northend will still give you great views and proximity to Uptown and there is land there.  I can't think of another place in or near Uptown.  A lot of people like Southend for a stadium but I like it less.  For baseball, it needs to be Uptown or really close.  Football can move and soccer is perfect at Memorial (IMO).  

Edited July 13, 2018 by JBS

[dylansukkert]

What about at the corner of Remount and South Tryon? Right off 77 and they seem to be tearing those houses down.

[deleted]

14 minutes ago, dylansukkert said:

What about at the corner of Remount and South Tryon? Right off 77 and they seem to be tearing those houses down.

This has been mentioned, I think by RDF.  I don't love it but it could work.  Feels too far from Uptown and the skyline (which is a big part of watching a baseball game, compared to enclosed NFL stadiums).  I think Cadi mentioned 30,000 was a good size for a stadium and on that we agree completely.  Smaller is better in baseball and something that looks like PNC inside (without the river and bridges unfortunately) at 30K would be awesome.   

[cjd5050]

33 minutes ago, JBS said:

Brooklyn Village would be good (won't happen obviously).  Ideal would be between 9th and 11th  and College and Brevard in Levineland (running the light rail under the stadium).  Unlikely.  Current location of BOA (when Panthers move across Morehead to Charlotte Pipe) would be good but not great based on what is currently there and substation and railroad tracks (since home plate will be at the back end of the property to get those views we all want).  Or put baseball on Charlotte Pipe land with a massive mixed use development (a la Sun Trust in Atlanta).  Where Meridien and Sheraton are now (particularly if the lightly used on ramp is removed) might work.  Northend will still give you great views and proximity to Uptown and there is land there.  I can't think of another place in or near Uptown.  A lot of people like Southend for a stadium but I like it less.  For baseball, it needs to be Uptown or really close.  Football can move and soccer is perfect at Memorial (IMO).  

Do you think politics will play a role in your Charlotte Pipe projection?  Roddey Dowd is a pretty big 'R' and a supporter of Trump I think. 

 

[jednc]

4 hours ago, dylansukkert said:

Just hypothetically speaking what would be some good locations for a MLB stadium? 

The location of the soon-to-be Common Market in Southend would be good. Too soon?

[deleted]

18 hours ago, cjd5050 said:

Do you think politics will play a role in your Charlotte Pipe projection?  Roddey Dowd is a pretty big 'R' and a supporter of Trump I think. 

 

I know nothing about Charlotte Pipe.  If they sell the land it will be because someone offers a lot of money for it.  Wouldn't think politics would have anything to do with it.

[cjd5050]

5 hours ago, JBS said:

I know nothing about Charlotte Pipe.  If they sell the land it will be because someone offers a lot of money for it.  Wouldn't think politics would have anything to do with it.

They would be selling the land to the city.  No?   At the very least that could drive up the price.  Worst case is it prevents the sale.  To many people money isn't everything.  Especially when you already have lots of it.

[deleted]

8 minutes ago, cjd5050 said:

They would be selling the land to the city.  No?   At the very least that could drive up the price.  Worst case is it prevents the sale.  To many people money isn't everything.  Especially when you already have lots of it.

I'm honestly not following why fondness for Trump would make them more or less likely to sell land to the city or anyone else.  What am I missing?

[cjd5050]

20 minutes ago, JBS said:

I'm honestly not following why fondness for Trump would make them more or less likely to sell land to the city or anyone else.  What am I missing?

The current progressive state of some Charlotte leaders where it's been made public that people who support Trump should not be a part of Charlotte and are not welcome.  Why would someone who is being told they don't belong and not welcome in their city because of their political views work with the same city and body of government that's insulting them?

[deleted]

1 hour ago, cjd5050 said:

The current progressive state of some Charlotte leaders where it's been made public that people who support Trump should not be a part of Charlotte and are not welcome.  Why would someone who is being told they don't belong and not welcome in their city because of their political views work with the same city and body of government that's insulting them?

Are these the same Charlotte leaders who on the whole are pushing for the RNC?  Tepper is on record as being much more critical of Trump.

[cjd5050]

15 hours ago, JBS said:

Are these the same Charlotte leaders who on the whole are pushing for the RNC?  Tepper is on record as being much more critical of Trump.

Nope.  Lyles is doing a fantastic job.  I really like her leadership at the moment.  

I think Mayfield. Ajmera and Winston are divisive and uncouth.  It was the comments of Ajmera that I was referencing above.   Also, I was honestly just asking questions.  The way you were talking about the Charlotte Pipe land sounded like that was the logical next step for it.   Just was curious as to your opinion on the reverb from hostility was all.  

As for Tepper, I don't think that's the same thing.  He's entitled to opinion and he makes a lot of valid criticisms of Trump.  He also spoke only about Trump and not his supporters. That's the key difference.  Tepper hates Trump.  Mayfield. Ajmera and Winston hate Republicans.    Tepper is a Republican by the way...

 

[kickazzz2000]

Uncouth, oh the horror.

[KJHburg]

I think the best site for a MLB stadium if we are just speculating is the Hal Marshall site by 9th street station and up by 277.

[Crucial_Infra]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

I think the best site for a MLB stadium if we are just speculating is the Hal Marshall site by 9th street station and up by 277.

The only problem with a ballpark on that side of uptown is that you won't get the traditional coveted skyline view in the outfield because ballparks are setup with the batter facing east meaning the skyline would be behind home plate and out of view for tv cameras and most of the stadium. I like baseball but like skylines more tbh. 

Edited July 18, 2018 by Crucial_Infra

[cltbwimob]

Nothing new here but the commissioner keeps mentioning Charlotte on his shortlist for expansion cities.

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2018/07/18/major-league-baseball-wants-to-expand-and.html

I hope it happens.

[kermit]

^ I wonder if Tepper was a Pirates fan?

[cltbwimob]

32 minutes ago, kermit said:

^ I wonder if Tepper was a Pirates fan?

I dunno, but Don Beaver, the current owner of the Knights, owns a minority stake in the Pirates...10% I believe.

[elrodvt]

So, JBS, in the MLS thread you accused me of putting a negative spin on Knights attendance which you had used to justify that Charlotte and the SE in general were a "hot spot" for baseball. I'm curious, do you go to a lot of games during the week? 

I have season tickets and took pictures the last 2 nights against the Red Sox affiliate which normally is one of the hottest draws. Announced attendance was SRO. Real attendance I would guess at 40% full at most. MAYBE 3500 not 8K+. I also asked a couple ushers I know and they all said it's normal for a drop with a new team once the novelty wears off (as I said too) but this year was a huge decline. There is no way to know if the seats are sold or they just want to keep the brand and cost up there. I'm also sure other teams pull the same stunt but in this case it seems extreme. There really is no way to know who leads the minors in attendance. The books are closed but wondering if the 3 year "commitment" people made to get seasons isn't hitting them all at once. I know I'm not paying their inflated prices after this year.

Anyhow just wanted to clarify things a bit. 

game start last night:

 

1 hour in:

9th inning tie game:

a while into tonight's game:

[deleted]

12 hours ago, elrodvt said:

So, JBS, in the MLS thread you accused me of putting a negative spin on Knights attendance which you had used to justify that Charlotte and the SE in general were a "hot spot" for baseball. I'm curious, do you go to a lot of games during the week? 

I have season tickets and took pictures the last 2 nights against the Red Sox affiliate which normally is one of the hottest draws. Announced attendance was SRO. Real attendance I would guess at 40% full at most. MAYBE 3500 not 8K+. I also asked a couple ushers I know and they all said it's normal for a drop with a new team once the novelty wears off (as I said too) but this year was a huge decline. There is no way to know if the seats are sold or they just want to keep the brand and cost up there. I'm also sure other teams pull the same stunt but in this case it seems extreme. There really is no way to know who leads the minors in attendance. The books are closed but wondering if the 3 year "commitment" people made to get seasons isn't hitting them all at once. I know I'm not paying their inflated prices after this year.

Anyhow just wanted to clarify things a bit. 

game start last night:

 

1 hour in:

9th inning tie game:

a while into tonight's game:

Fair point (though I used a lot more to justify the SE as ready for MLB).  BTW, there are tons of pictures of empty NFL stadiums last year (see SF, Baltimore, Cleveland, NY/NY, LA, etc.).  I don't think anyone suggests those markets can't support an NFL team.  Also, my point is relative to other minor league markets (whose attendance is presumably ALSO overstated since it's based on sales vs. actual people in seats).  Major League attendance is also down significantly.  BTW, the Marlins have paid attendance in a fairly new stadium of 9,558 (I'm sure there are fewer in attendance, again to your point).  The Knights are 8,822.  This was one point of a larger contention that Charlotte can support MLB (you said it couldn't).

[elrodvt]

^Could or couldn't support MLB is primarily opinion based and we can discuss that for fun (or at least some of us know how to do that such as you).

I really just wanted to be clear I wasn't spinning their attendance as being a negative. It is plumitting this year. While we both agree there is really no way to know what attendance is for each team I doubt they are all dropping this fast. Next year will show if that plateau's or not. I do expect it will level out at a reasonable enough spot though if they adjust pricing accordingly.  We also have the detriment of a AAA franchise which is always non-competitive due to the players sent here by the W.S.. Also, who outside of Chicago cares about the W.S. anyhow? ;-) 

Yep, I do disagree with many of your reasons to say the SE is good for MLB. I see both sides of the story and if I was my money I would pick another city somewhere outside the South. Only (1/3) Atlanta is successful and that is because they're competitive more often. If we were to get an expansion team it might take 15 years or more to win - does our city have the fanatic fans to stick through that? OTH, if a team moved then that is a different story altogether. Maybe court the Rays if Ybor falls through. Whether it works in the long run or folds 20 years later I personally don't care. I would be at every game till then (well if I am lucky ;-) ).

You didn't answer my question about your attendance at Knights games. 

BTW, from an enjoying the game standpoint, have you been to Kannapolis, Hickory or Asheville games? I actually enjoy those a lot more than Knights games. Real prospects, most of whom will flame out, but more fun to see than AAAA and washed up MLB guys. Plus the price is so much more reasonable. Give me some shade though!

[dylansukkert]

Just to butt in, I probably go to 5 Knights games a year mostly for the social aspect to hangout with a group of friends. We don't watch much of the game and are socializing, drinking, and eating more so. We normally show up late 3rd -4th inning. We have never been to a week night game other than Thursday nights which to me always seem full because of Thirty Thursday. Now, if we had a MLB team I could actually root for I would go to many more games even week night games, show up on time, and actually get into the game.

[elrodvt]

44 minutes ago, dylansukkert said:

Just to butt in, I probably go to 5 Knights games a year mostly for the social aspect to hangout with a group of friends. We don't watch much of the game and are socializing, drinking, and eating more so. We normally show up late 3rd -4th inning. We have never been to a week night game other than Thursday nights which to me always seem full because of Thirty Thursday. Now, if we had a MLB team I could actually root for I would go to many more games even week night games, show up on time, and actually get into the game.

Makes sense, I bet that is true of 50% of the people there. But then I guess we cannot extrapolate much from milb attendance. Since a lot of the people who show for that reason would not come to MLB as they don't care about baseball and it would be a lot more expensive.

[dylansukkert]

36 minutes ago, elrodvt said:

Makes sense, I bet that is true of 50% of the people there. But then I guess we cannot extrapolate much from milb attendance. Since a lot of the people who show for that reason would not come to MLB as they don't care about baseball and it would be a lot more expensive.

I think they could still draw from the casual fan if the stadium is in the right location and they have cheaper ticket options. The Hornets have many casual fans that are not big sports fans that just want a different kind of night out.