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Charlotte MLB Team Speculation


ncguy06

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Personally, I'd prefer the Carolina Cougars... I know it's the old ABA team name, but think it's pretty good. Charlotte Cobras would be good as well if we stuck with the city in the name.

IMO, the only conceivable way to make baseball work here is, among other things, to make it a "regionally marketed" team like the Carolina Panthers. As such, the Carolina Cougars has some appeal. I personally prefer the Hornets, since that has historically been Charlotte's team. The Carolina Hornets has a good ring to it as well.

I still don't buy into the notion that the Marlins would relocate or that if they did, they could sell enough tickets to fill up a stadium for the 80+ home games each year.

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Well considering that the Marlins started construction on a new stadium in Miami in July of this year and an estimated completion date of 2012, I think the notion that the Marlins may move is pretty much dead. They are also changing their name to the Miami Marlins upon moving into the new stadium.

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Well considering that the Marlins started construction on a new stadium in Miami in July of this year and an estimated completion date of 2012, I think the notion that the Marlins may move is pretty much dead. They are also changing their name to the Miami Marlins upon moving into the new stadium.

I was pretty sure I had heard they were building a stadium and I meant to look that up. Thanks for posting that info.

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I was pretty sure I had heard they were building a stadium and I meant to look that up. Thanks for posting that info.

Yea, the Marlins are dead in terms of relocating anywhere... I guess I was too lazy to point that out before. Right now I think the only team that could relo in the next 5 years is the Rays. They are in dire need of a stadium upgrade and are having a hard time finding it in Tampa/St Pete.

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Yea, the Marlins are dead in terms of relocating anywhere... I guess I was too lazy to point that out before. Right now I think the only team that could relo in the next 5 years is the Rays. They are in dire need of a stadium upgrade and are having a hard time finding it in Tampa/St Pete.

Yep. And the only other team that has an insufficient (in modern terms) stadium is the Oakland A's (McAfee Stadium is shared with The Raiders). Kansas City plays at the same old Kauffman Stadium, but they have done some pretty significant upgrades in the last couple of years.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yea, the Marlins are dead in terms of relocating anywhere... I guess I was too lazy to point that out before. Right now I think the only team that could relo in the next 5 years is the Rays. They are in dire need of a stadium upgrade and are having a hard time finding it in Tampa/St Pete.

There was an article yesterday about baseball in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area which mentions the possible move of the Rays. While it looks like Tampa business leaders are trying to secure the deal for the city there seems to be no certainty of the location or deal which could play in Charlotte's favor.

To be frank, I don't think we are are ready for a MLB franchise but I thought the article would be of interest.

Will St. Petersburg regret loss of spring training for its history and economic stimulus?

...Don't forget that area business poobahs are helping the Rays, who now play at Tropicana Field, look for a potentially superior location for a new stadium for their regular season games. That site, if it materializes, probably won't be in downtown St. Pete and may not be in St. Pete at all.

So consider this scenario. The Rays relocate at some point to Tampa or at least mid-Pinellas, leaving downtown St. Pete with an empty Trop and a still empty Al Lang Field. The city will regret losing spring training all the more.

Edited by Urbanity
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  • 3 years later...

I am creating this topic in order to hopefully continue the debate with respect to MLB in Charlotte.  Unlike some other posters I was actually enjoying the debate and did a fair amount of research throughout just to ensure my positions were justified.  I believe, as many know, that Charlotte absolutely has the population, the corporate base, and the proper fan base to be a great ball club if given a chance; most others do not and I can respect that opinion. There might be some evidence to support such an assertion, but most comments in support of said position were simply filled with unequivocal, non-falsifiable statements regarding the topic, and had little justification other than some anecdotal evidence based on personal preferences. 

 

To start, I would like to answer nonewsone, ah59396, and DMann since their comments were directed at my comments from earlier in the week.  I wanted to post them in the AAA stadium discussion.  I believe they are completely relevant to the Knights discussion since talk of MLB in Charlotte was couched in a discussion of how bringing the Knights Uptown could potentially represent a lost opportunity for Charlotte with respect to MLB.  The discussion of MLB was certainly at least as relevant as discussing the development set to occur around the Knights new stadium in that topic, but in order to appease the mod-gods before they sentenced me to a life in Urban Planet purgatory for being off-topic I chose to start a new one.

 

Nowensone, 

 

As far as payrolls go, I submit that  it is not the limiting factor in an area's ability to financially support a team.  There are small markets in MLB with bigger payrolls (Milwaukee), and mid-large market teams with small payrolls (San Diego, Oakland).  Futhermore, a team's payroll does not always portend it's success.  The Yankees are typically a good team, but they pay an exorbitant amount relative to their actual skill level.  The Cardinals, for example, have won two World Series since 2005 compared to the Yankees single title, and the cardinals have done so on approximately half the pay roll.  This is not the only story of large payroll teams falling prey to smaller ones, but for brevity's sake, it will be the only one I provide. Now for your other question regarding the profitability of teams at lower attendance levels.  If I told you that the only teams to lose money in the past 3 years were all major market teams with a population base of 5+ million, would you believe it?  If not, here are all the teams that lost money during at least one season from 2009-2011 (2012 data is not yet available):  Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, NY Mets, LA Angels, and the real shockers...Philadelphia Phillies, and Boston Red Sox.  Noticeably absent from that list are Charlotte's peer MLB cities of Cincinatti, KC, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Milwaukee.  I would say these numbers speak pretty well of the viability and sustainability of small market teams.

 

AH59396 [and Nowensone],

You may be willing to go to more MiLB games because they are cheaper, but you are a statistical outlier.  If you were the statistical norm, then MLB would be the farm league for AAA baseball.  On average, over 2 million per year will go to MLB games for any given team.  The Knights are hoping to break 600K year over year.  That means, as a purely rough statistical measure, for every one person like you, there are 3-4 like me who prefer MLB.  And we are the types who will spend $50-$100 per ticket to watch a game versus spending $10-$20 for the MiLB experience.  This is why MLB teams are exponentially more valuable than MiLB teams.  As a side note PPP just did a poll and a majority of NC residents want MLB to come to the state. 

 

DMann,

I already pointed out that MLS moved into a renovated MiLB stadium in Portland, I will also point out that the Raiders moved to a renovated Oakland Collisseum, and I will point out that Buffalo, NY was a finalist for the 1993 National League expansion team.  If they would have been awarded that team, they were going to place the team in a renovated AAA stadium.  The reason that a renovated MiLB stadium can be used is that the lower bowl is nearly all that will be salvaged in such an upgrade.  Since there are usually very few luxury amenities incorporated into the lower level seating of any stadium, as it is nothing but concrete and stadium seating, it can be easily incorporated into the design of a mostly new stadium if the seating area is large enough and the underlying support structure is in place.  This is not the case for the Knights and why I believe BB&T Park was an opportunity lost.  With a little more forethought this stadium could have been a win for both the Knights and a future MLB team if we did end up acquiring a team.

Edited by cltbwimob
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You make great points. I'll even go so far as to admit I travel (hotel room, food, bars) to Atlanta anytime the Jays play there. So there is obviously a benefit to MLB, and yes, I'm an outlier in my mindset on MiLB. I'm a baseball fan, I love spring training because its the way the game is supposed to be. I love the game no matter what form.

Do I WANT MLB in Charlotte? Hell yes. But I'm still skeptical it could survive, especially if the team was bad. Take away the Bobcats or NASCAR and I've got a different opinion. I know that sounds silly; a winter sport and another with only 2-3 events a year, but it soaks up disposable income. And corporate sponsors.

I'd rather us just be truly ready and able to support a team, as opposed to being a teetering, poorly attended one that ESPN cites as a constant candidate for relocation a la Miami.

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At this point in time I don't think Charlotte is ready. Corporate dollars are already stretched with other big league sports like the NBA and NFL. This is also a tough economy..Major League Baseball is the most difficult pro sport to support because of the number of home games, high ticket prices and all the seats that need to be filled. The team would also have to consistently attract fans from surrounding areas like the Triad and the Columbia, SC area. How many people from those areas are going to pay those high ticket prices? It can't be a Charlotte team, it has to be a Carolinas team. The city decided it wanted AAA baseball downtown. I don't know how taxpayers can afford a brand new major league ballpark which can easily range between $500 million and $1 billion dollars. The city has to get creative just to find $100 million in funds to upgrade Panther Stadium. There are just too many road blocks at this time. Once the new AAA ballpark is obsolete in about 20 years, I'm sure by then the Queen City will be ready. The question is will there be enough vacant land uptown for a big league stadium by then? Tearing the AAA stadium down won't work because the foot print isn't large enough for a big league stadium. The new Knights stadium really won't be much bigger than the new downtown ballparks in Winston-Salem and Greensboro. It's really a border line AA/AAA stadium. Minor League Baseball in the Charlotte area really doesn't have the kind of support seen in Durham, arguably the most successful baseball team in North Carolina. Charlotte is going to have to prove itself before it can play in the big leagues. If Charlotte somehow had a major league team today, it would be considered a small market team and small market teams have struggled.

Edited by cityboi
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As far as payrolls go, I submit that  it is not the limiting factor in an area's ability to financially support a team.  There are small markets in MLB with bigger payrolls (Milwaukee), and mid-large market teams with small payrolls (San Diego, Oakland).  Futhermore, a team's payroll does not always portend it's success.  The Yankees are typically a good team, but they pay an exorbitant amount relative to their actual skill level.  The Cardinals, for example, have won two World Series since 2005 compared to the Yankees single title, and the cardinals have done so on approximately half the pay roll.  This is not the only story of large payroll teams falling prey to smaller ones, but for brevity's sake, it will be the only one I provide. Now for your other question regarding the profitability of teams at lower attendance levels.  If I told you that the only teams to lose money in the past 3 years were all major market teams with a population base of 5+ million, would you believe it?  If not, here are all the teams that lost money during at least one season from 2009-2011 (2012 data is not yet available):  Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, NY Mets, LA Angels, and the real shockers...Philadelphia Phillies, and Boston Red Sox.  Noticeably absent from that list are Charlotte's peer MLB cities of Cincinatti, KC, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Milwaukee.  I would say these numbers speak pretty well of the viability and sustainability of small market teams.

 

AH59396 [and Nowensone],

You may be willing to go to more MiLB games because they are cheaper, but you are a statistical outlier.  If you were the statistical norm, then MLB would be the farm league for AAA baseball.  On average, over 2 million per year will go to MLB games for any given team.  The Knights are hoping to break 600K year over year.  That means, as a purely rough statistical measure, for every one person like you, there are 3-4 like me who prefer MLB.  And we are the types who will spend $50-$100 per ticket to watch a game versus spending $10-$20 for the MiLB experience.  This is why MLB teams are exponentially more valuable than MiLB teams.  As a side note PPP just did a poll and a majority of NC residents want MLB to come to the state. 

 

 

Of the Charlotte peer cities you cite, I would only agree that CLT is peer to Milwaukee, the others have historically much larger metros, and are perhaps only now about the same "size", but in past decades, whose data we'd have to go back to for proper comparisons, they are not.  Not to mention that they've been building a fan base for a long time, I simply do not see why we could expect similar numbers on Day 1, or even Year 5.  To return to Milwaukee, it is supporting MLB and NBA, one could possibly argue nominal support of the Packers, but the entire fanatical state of Wisconsin does that, relieving it's largest city of that burden.  Point being, it would have one less Pro team than CLT for this comparison.  While we’re at it, it has also been building fan loyalty for over 40 years.

 

So not sure why we’d expect to see anywhere near the average of 2,000,000 a year at an MLB stadium in Charlotte any time soon.  I’d also argue the Knights 600K could expect to see their numbers rise due to the new venue and proximity to the population center they serve.  The question really is, what attendance numbers could we expect?  And what are the average overheads of an MLB team versus the Knights overhead?

 

I see your perspective on this, the numbers dictate the viability, but I think you need to look at it the other way around – the fans must be willing and able to handle the differences in costs.  You’d need 25,000 people on average willing to attend each home game and shell out $50-$100 per ticket to meet average MLB numbers now.  Knights capacity is around 10K, currently and at BB&T, so $10 to $15 there allows them to have far lower attendance numbers and survive.  If MLB only averaged, say, 17K per game for the first few years, would that be sustainable?  What about 15K?

Edited by nowensone
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I am creating this topic in order to hopefully continue the debate with respect to MLB in Charlotte.  Unlike some other posters I was actually enjoying the debate and did a fair amount of research throughout just to ensure my positions were justified.  I believe, as many know, that Charlotte absolutely has the population, the corporate base, and the proper fan base to be a great ball club if given a chance; most others do not and I can respect that opinion. There might be some evidence to support such an assertion, but most comments in support of said position were simply filled with unequivocal, non-falsifiable statements regarding the topic, and had little justification other than some anecdotal evidence based on personal preferences. 

 

To start, I would like to answer nonewsone, ah59396, and DMann since their comments were directed at my comments from earlier in the week.  I wanted to post them in the AAA stadium discussion.  I believe they are completely relevant to the Knights discussion since talk of MLB in Charlotte was couched in a discussion of how bringing the Knights Uptown could potentially represent a lost opportunity for Charlotte with respect to MLB.  The discussion of MLB was certainly at least as relevant as discussing the development set to occur around the Knights new stadium in that topic, but in order to appease the mod-gods before they sentenced me to a life in Urban Planet purgatory for being off-topic I chose to start a new one.

 

Nowensone, 

 

As far as payrolls go, I submit that  it is not the limiting factor in an area's ability to financially support a team.  There are small markets in MLB with bigger payrolls (Milwaukee), and mid-large market teams with small payrolls (San Diego, Oakland).  Futhermore, a team's payroll does not always portend it's success.  The Yankees are typically a good team, but they pay an exorbitant amount relative to their actual skill level.  The Cardinals, for example, have won two World Series since 2005 compared to the Yankees single title, and the cardinals have done so on approximately half the pay roll.  This is not the only story of large payroll teams falling prey to smaller ones, but for brevity's sake, it will be the only one I provide. Now for your other question regarding the profitability of teams at lower attendance levels.  If I told you that the only teams to lose money in the past 3 years were all major market teams with a population base of 5+ million, would you believe it?  If not, here are all the teams that lost money during at least one season from 2009-2011 (2012 data is not yet available):  Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, NY Mets, LA Angels, and the real shockers...Philadelphia Phillies, and Boston Red Sox.  Noticeably absent from that list are Charlotte's peer MLB cities of Cincinatti, KC, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Milwaukee.  I would say these numbers speak pretty well of the viability and sustainability of small market teams.

 

AH59396 [and Nowensone],

You may be willing to go to more MiLB games because they are cheaper, but you are a statistical outlier.  If you were the statistical norm, then MLB would be the farm league for AAA baseball.  On average, over 2 million per year will go to MLB games for any given team.  The Knights are hoping to break 600K year over year.  That means, as a purely rough statistical measure, for every one person like you, there are 3-4 like me who prefer MLB.  And we are the types who will spend $50-$100 per ticket to watch a game versus spending $10-$20 for the MiLB experience.  This is why MLB teams are exponentially more valuable than MiLB teams.  As a side note PPP just did a poll and a majority of NC residents want MLB to come to the state. 

 

DMann,

I already pointed out that MLS moved into a renovated MiLB stadium in Portland, I will also point out that the Raiders moved to a renovated Oakland Collisseum, and I will point out that Buffalo, NY was a finalist for the 1993 National League expansion team.  If they would have been awarded that team, they were going to place the team in a renovated AAA stadium.  The reason that a renovated MiLB stadium can be used is that the lower bowl is nearly all that will be salvaged in such an upgrade.  Since there are usually very few luxury amenities incorporated into the lower level seating of any stadium, as it is nothing but concrete and stadium seating, it can be easily incorporated into the design of a mostly new stadium if the seating area is large enough and the underlying support structure is in place.  This is not the case for the Knights and why I believe BB&T Park was an opportunity lost.  With a little more forethought this stadium could have been a win for both the Knights and a future MLB team if we did end up acquiring a team.

I do not consider soccer a frontline sport in America at the Major league level. Oakland returned home, funny how LA lost both teams? Buffalo was never a serious consideration.

With many cities willing to build a to spec stadium for MLB, no team will willingly do a renovated stadium.

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I do not consider soccer a frontline sport in America at the Major league level. Oakland returned home, funny how LA lost both teams? Buffalo was never a serious consideration.

With many cities willing to build a to spec stadium for MLB, no team will willingly do a renovated stadium.

Buffalo was one of the five finalists for two teams. I would say that's fairly serious. Oakland did move home...to a renovated and expanded MLB stadium. Who are all these cities waiting to build spec stadiums? Once again, unequivocal statements with no real attempt at analysis.

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Buffalo was one of the five finalists for two teams. I would say that's fairly serious. Oakland did move home...to a renovated and expanded MLB stadium. Who are all these cities waiting to build spec stadiums? Once again, unequivocal statements with no real attempt at analysis.

Wake me up when a major league team moves into a renovated stadium.

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Wake me up when a major league team moves into a renovated stadium.

 

 

I agree, A major league stadium needs to be built from the ground up. Remember Knights Stadium in SC was designed for major league expansion/renovation. But its too obsolete. Even if it were in uptown Charlotte, it's just too old to meet modern day requirements for major league baseball. You cant put lipstick on a pig. Who knows what new major league baseball stadiums will require in another 20 or 30 years. We live in a time where stadiums and arenas are obsolete after 15 years.

Edited by cityboi
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Of the Charlotte peer cities you cite, I would only agree that CLT is peer to Milwaukee, the others have historically much larger metros, and are perhaps only now about the same "size", but in past decades, whose data we'd have to go back to for proper comparisons, they are not.  Not to mention that they've been building a fan base for a long time, I simply do not see why we could expect similar numbers on Day 1, or even Year 5.  To return to Milwaukee, it is supporting MLB and NBA, one could possibly argue nominal support of the Packers, but the entire fanatical state of Wisconsin does that, relieving it's largest city of that burden.  Point being, it would have one less Pro team than CLT for this comparison.  While we’re at it, it has also been building fan loyalty for over 40 years.

 

So not sure why we’d expect to see anywhere near the average of 2,000,000 a year at an MLB stadium in Charlotte any time soon.  I’d also argue the Knights 600K could expect to see their numbers rise due to the new venue and proximity to the population center they serve.  The question really is, what attendance numbers could we expect?  And what are the average overheads of an MLB team versus the Knights overhead?

 

I see your perspective on this, the numbers dictate the viability, but I think you need to look at it the other way around – the fans must be willing and able to handle the differences in costs.  You’d need 25,000 people on average willing to attend each home game and shell out $50-$100 per ticket to meet average MLB numbers now.  Knights capacity is around 10K, currently and at BB&T, so $10 to $15 there allows them to have far lower attendance numbers and survive.  If MLB only averaged, say, 17K per game for the first few years, would that be sustainable?  What about 15K?

This is perhaps the most well articulated post against the idea of MLB and perhaps the only one where there are some points I do not have my usual 2-4 counterpoints. 

 

First I will answer the points to which there is a counterpoint.  As far as the profitability numbers are concerned, my first post elucidated the markets teams that have suffered operating losses in the recent past.  My point was, and I think it may have been somewhat lost because I did not fully amplify the information, that all the teams on that list were mid to high attendance level teams, especially the Phillies and Red Sox which are consistently sold out and sometimes report numbers higher than the actual capacity of their respective stadiums.  What I didn't mention were the bottom feeders, those that average 17k-19k fans, are actually profitable and by extension sustainable. I do not know about 15k numbers because there is usually not a team with attendance that low.  It seems that it is a forgone conclusion on this forum that Charlotte would be a low attendance team.  There is no data on which to make that assumption but it continually gets repeated.  It is possible that would be true, but it is equally possible that is also not true.  I think there are some auxillary arguments that provide some support to the idea that Charlotte would be able to maintain at least average attendance.  The most obvious are that the Hornets when they were in town were able to attract 23k-24k people night after night and led the league in attendance for several years (NBA has about 40 games per season at home which is half the number of games as an MLB teams).  These numbers also take into account the Panthers presence because the team was peaking while the Panthers were present.  The Panthers have also sold out all but 2 of there home games since they have been playing in BofA stadium.  When taken together, the total yearly attendance of the two winter sports comes to approximately 80% average yearly attendance for baseball assuming 2,000,000 is the average attendance (25k per game).  The key is here is that they are both winter sports and theoretically compete with each other directly for fans, money, and corporate sponsorship.  Baseball would have no such competition, and these numbers come from the time c.1997 when Charlotte was much smaller.  Both the aforementioned points are key.  Furthermore, our most direct peer according to your post,  Milwaukee, averages around tenth most attended baseball team.

 

Other than that, you must consider that the Carolina Panthers are also very much a regional team by design.  They are supported by all metro areas in North and South Carolina.  In fact, the reason for the Carolina Moniker, according to an article,[i recently read] was an appeal directly to the 10 million or so that live within a 150 mile radius of Charlotte, in order to not limit the teams appeal to a single metro market.  That PPP poll I quoted in my first post also sheds some light on the issue of the regional appeal of the Panthers.  One of the questions was "What is your favorite professional NC sports team?"  The Panthers took that title by a 40% margin over the second place Hurricanes.  I will also remind you that the two Carolinas have over twice the population of Wisconsin.  If you are to argue the Packers are only of marginal detriment to Milwaukee's resources due to their large regional appeal over the whole of Wisconsin, then, in order to be logically consistent, you must also argue that the Panthers are only of minor detriment to the Charlotte sports market in terms of resources consumed within the market. They also are largely a regional team.

 

As far as your other point, you are absolutely right in saying those markets I consider peers to Charlotte were at one point larger than Charlotte, but have currently stagnated, or are losing population while Charlotte is still on the ascent.  But the MLB teams do have history and tradition within their respective cities and have certainly had time to gain a sizable following.  Is this the reason those small markets can be successful and Charlotte may not be?  I do not know, and I certainly do not have a counterpoint.  That could be true, but I do not think it provides enough basis to make a claim in support of or against Charlotte's viability as a baseball market. 

Edited by cltbwimob
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@cltbwimob, I won't lie, while computing numbers it did seem we might have a chance, a long one but possible, though I can't help wonder if a low performing team would even come here, I'm thinking Tampa, why would they do so?  Seems like while even at the bottom they were averaging 16K (i may be misremembering), they would have to have an expectation that long-term the numbers would be better than the Tampa metro.  That is what I am stuck on, do we have a history here that is attractive, or a baseball tradition?  Durham Bulls and other such reasons aside, what about Charlotte?  I am almost 37, and grew up here more or less, but don't personally have any such connection, and I used to be a huge baseball fan in my youth, I was a Braves fan but that faded once I "conceptualized" they were from Georgia.  Anyway, maybe you're right, from an optimism standpoint, we could make it, now even, I just hope baseball doesn't in the meantime become more a sport of the past.

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@cltbwimob, I won't lie, while computing numbers it did seem we might have a chance, a long one but possible, though I can't help wonder if a low performing team would even come here, I'm thinking Tampa, why would they do so?  Seems like while even at the bottom they were averaging 16K (i may be misremembering), they would have to have an expectation that long-term the numbers would be better than the Tampa metro.  That is what I am stuck on, do we have a history here that is attractive, or a baseball tradition?  Durham Bulls and other such reasons aside, what about Charlotte?  I am almost 37, and grew up here more or less, but don't personally have any such connection, and I used to be a huge baseball fan in my youth, I was a Braves fan but that faded once I "conceptualized" they were from Georgia.  Anyway, maybe you're right, from an optimism standpoint, we could make it, now even, I just hope baseball doesn't in the meantime become more a sport of the past.

Here is what I think would be the recipe for a  purely hypothetical, but successful relocation in the near term.  The Rays relocate.  They are the team that needs a new home more than any other.  One could argue Oakland, but they seem to be much farther along in the stadium building process than Tampa.  Furthermore, the Durham Bulls are the AAA affiliate of the Rays, creating the potential for statewide baseball marketing much as having the Checkers and the Canes in the same state has created a mutual benefit for both teams.  Place the team in Charlotte and call them the Carolina Knights.  I believe that having Carolina in the name and placing it in the center of the Carolinas (Charlotte) will create a large regional appeal much in line with the Panthers, and I believe retaining the Knights name pays homage to the QC and her baseball tradition.  Additionally, adding the Rays ensures many games with the Yankees and Red Sox (not to mention a regional division rivalry in Baltimore, and interleague rivals in Atlanta and Washington).  While I hate the Yanks and the Sox with a passion, from a business standpoint, having them in the lineup as many times as possible makes perfect sense due to their overabundance of fans.  As a side bonus ah56936 can watch his Jays without driving to Atlanta, and I could watch the O's, although I would be inclined to drop my allegiance to them as I have always been more of a fan of my home city than I have any single sports team.  Build a stadium similar in size and scope to the proposed Cisco field in the far SW corner of uptown near the Charlotte Pipe tracts.  A stadium of Cisco's size, 32k-35k seats, reduces costs, creates a more intimate setting in which there is no bad seat, and has the dual benefit of not looking empty when the attendance is lower for the weeknight games, but can really drive pricing upward due to scarcity of seats on the crowded games.  While this may not be seen as a benefit to the average consumer, it is certainly advantageous from a business standpoint.  Finally, start an aggressive marketing campaign by teaming up with other local sports in the few instances of season overlap, i.e weekend sports packages.  I think if a team were relocated in such manner it would be a wild success.

 

Here is a sight with renderings of the proposed Cisco field so you can have a better understanding of the scope of the stadium to which I am referring: http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/future/AthleticsBallpark.htm

 

I was also a Braves fan as a child but lost interest in them partially for the same reason you did.  I realigned myself with the Orioles because I lived in Maryland for about 4 years and spent a lot of Sundays going to games  However I will never forget going to game 6 of the World Series in ATL in 1995 and watching the Braves win the series.  Tom Glavine pitched a shutout, and David Justice hit a solo shot homer to win the game.  I can still vividly remember watching his HR ball as it traveled through the air.  Fulton County stadium was on fire.

Edited by cltbwimob
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Guess that reveals our ages, for me it was Dale Murphy.  :)

 

It would be fun to do some site "shopping" for a potential location, I'd argue just outside of the loop, pick your favorite blighted/in-need-of-some-love/redirect-the-direction-of-development area.

 

What happens to the Charlotte Knights if there is a Carolina Knights?  I suppose the Carolina Queens would just make us a laughing stock...

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Interesting article on Ballpark Digest about recent comments my by the owner of the Tampa Bay Rays http://ballparkdigest.com/201301256032/major-league-baseball/news/sternberg-mlb-doesnt-believe-in-tampa-bay

 

One of the parts that really stands out:

 

There are plenty of problems with Tropicana Field: it is not the most appealing facility, and only 600,000 people live within 30 miles of the ballpark. That puts Tampa Bay dead last in terms of potential audience and behind eight MiLB teams.

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Interesting article on Ballpark Digest about recent comments my by the owner of the Tampa Bay Rays http://ballparkdigest.com/201301256032/major-league-baseball/news/sternberg-mlb-doesnt-believe-in-tampa-bay

 

One of the parts that really stands out:

Interestingly enough, Charlotte's 40 mile radius population was 2 million...in 2000.  It's probably close to 2.5 million in 2013.  At any rate Charlotte is one of those MiLB markets that has a higher 30 mile population.

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^^^ I think you're mistaking people living within the ball park area to the general MSA, but even then the math doesn't add up.

 

Tampa's MSA is over 4 million as of 2010 and the fourth largest in the Southeast while Charlotte was at 1,795,472 as of 2011.

 

if the MLB  Ballpark was to be built downtown (which was the general argument for Charlotte) I believe  we would fair even worse in comparison of people living within the radius area.   

Edited by Urbanity
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