Charlotte MLB Team Speculation

[ah59396]

This is exactly what I have been talking about. ESPN had an article about it months ago. I just could not find the link when I posted it here.

Many think Tampa will be leaving...

I love the knights, but MLB would be much better. I also strongly believe Charlotte can support a team. Can they support MLB and the minors? This opens the door for Raleigh IMO. Don't forget the Triad fought hard to win the Twins franchise a few years back. If Minnesota had not built a new ballpark (thankfully they did)...we might already have a team.

 

I love the old school teams like the Twins, but Tampa I am rooting for to leave!

 

If you are from Canada, don't be offended. Baseball is Americas sport! Ha HA. (USA's sport)

I am Canadian, and I die hard Jays fan to boot.  You may also take some interest in reading about likely the earliest recorded description of a baseball game that took place in Beachville, Ontario, in 1838!  Canada and Ontario in particular have a long history of baseball and great support for the Jays, despite the fact that we haven't been to the playoffs in 22 straight years.  3 Canadian born players have also won the MLB most valuable player in the past 20 years, quite a feat for a country with a population less than California.

 

 

Wend28, thanks for pushing that up the chain.  I'm very curious as well as to whether this is just hot air, or something legit.

[lewy2000]

Dream scenario: Rays move to Raleigh which eventually forces the Carolina Hurricanes to relocate to Charlotte (is Raleigh big enough to support both NHL and MLB?). The Checkers are owned by Charlotte-based Michael Kahn, who is also a minority owner of the Hurricanes. Also, Peter Karmanos spent the last few months complaining about attendance in Raleigh. Win/win for everyone.

[dylansukkert]

Dream scenario: Rays move to Raleigh which eventually forces the Carolina Hurricanes to relocate to Charlotte (is Raleigh big enough to support both NHL and MLB?). The Checkers are owned by Charlotte-based Michael Kahn, who is also a minority owner of the Hurricanes. Also, Peter Karmanos spent the last few months complaining about attendance in Raleigh. Win/win for everyone.

Where would the Hurricanes play? No way TWCA can house a NHL team. It will be interesting how the Checkers do back in Bojangles. Also Hurricanes competing with the Hornets for attendance is very bad for the city. MLB wouldn't have much attendance competition. 

[lewy2000]

Where would the Hurricanes play? No way TWCA can house a NHL team. It will be interesting how the Checkers do back in Bojangles. Also Hurricanes competing with the Hornets for attendance is very bad for the city. MLB wouldn't have much attendance competition. 

Charlotte will have 2.7 million residents by 2030 (if projections are correct), which would easily allow us to support either an NHL or MLB team. If we're talking 10-15 years from now then I'd guess either the Memorial Stadium site or Brookhill Village for the NHL team.

 

[kermit]

^ The Sugar Creek / Asian Corners Thunderdome?

[dylansukkert]

Where would the Hurricanes play? No way TWCA can house a NHL team. It will be interesting how the Checkers do back in Bojangles. Also Hurricanes competing with the Hornets for attendance is very bad for the city. MLB wouldn't have much attendance competition. 

Charlotte will have 2.7 million residents by 2030 (if projections are correct), which would easily allow us to support either an NHL or MLB team. If we're talking 10-15 years from now then I'd guess either the Memorial Stadium site or Brookhill Village for the NHL team.

 

So two different arenas for NBA and NHL? If you're going to build a new arena it would have to house NBA and NHL plus concerts, etc. 

[kermit]

NM

Edited July 14, 2015 by kermit

[lewy2000]

Why's that? At least three other cities have teams in separate arenas.

[dylansukkert]

I don't think that would ever fly in Charlotte. I think the discussion should be more focused on MLB or MLS. Hockey in the south doesn't usually work well. 

[Spartan]

This is exactly what I have been talking about. ESPN had an article about it months ago. I just could not find the link when I posted it here.

Many think Tampa will be leaving...

I love the knights, but MLB would be much better. I also strongly believe Charlotte can support a team. Can they support MLB and the minors? This opens the door for Raleigh IMO. Don't forget the Triad fought hard to win the Twins franchise a few years back. If Minnesota had not built a new ballpark (thankfully they did)...we might already have a team.

 

I love the old school teams like the Twins, but Tampa I am rooting for to leave!

 

If you are from Canada, don't be offended. Baseball is Americas sport! Ha HA. (USA's sport)

If a baseball team moves to the Triad or Raleigh, I can say for sure that I will have virtually no interest in said team. IMO it should be Charlotte or bust for MLB. I recognize that a lot of people are NHL fans, but Raleigh can keep that one as far as I'm concerned. My reasoning is that part of the interest in baseball in the Carolinas is South Carolina. Baseball is huge in SC. South Carolina cities can't support a pro-team, but the fans will be more likely to go to a game and be fans if it's in Charlotte (ie: nobody cares about the Hurricanes in SC) in part because its more accessible to the populations centers in the Upstate and Columbia, and in part because SC tends to view Charlotte in a positive light since it's right across the border.

[Third Strike]

Dream scenario: Rays move to Raleigh which eventually forces the Carolina Hurricanes to relocate to Charlotte (is Raleigh big enough to support both NHL and MLB?). The Checkers are owned by Charlotte-based Michael Kahn, who is also a minority owner of the Hurricanes. Also, Peter Karmanos spent the last few months complaining about attendance in Raleigh. Win/win for everyone.

My understanding is that there are rumors of the Hurricanes leaving Raleigh because of low attendance, but they may end up going to Las Vegas. I have no idea what the future holds for the Hurricanes, but as stated above by the other posters, Charlotte is the best fit metro in the Carolinas to support a MLB team, if we even get it at all. Plus, the Triangle will always be known for their top notch collegiate sports teams, something Charlotte will never be able to compete against. Having most of the major league sports teams in Charlotte will yield the best results, from attendance to revenue. MLS should be our main focus at this time, however.

[cltbwimob]

This is exactly what I have been talking about. ESPN had an article about it months ago. I just could not find the link when I posted it here.

Many think Tampa will be leaving...

I love the knights, but MLB would be much better. I also strongly believe Charlotte can support a team. Can they support MLB and the minors? This opens the door for Raleigh IMO. Don't forget the Triad fought hard to win the Twins franchise a few years back. If Minnesota had not built a new ballpark (thankfully they did)...we might already have a team.

 

I love the old school teams like the Twins, but Tampa I am rooting for to leave!

 

If you are from Canada, don't be offended. Baseball is Americas sport! Ha HA. (USA's sport)

If a baseball team moves to the Triad or Raleigh, I can say for sure that I will have virtually no interest in said team. IMO it should be Charlotte or bust for MLB. I recognize that a lot of people are NHL fans, but Raleigh can keep that one as far as I'm concerned. My reasoning is that part of the interest in baseball in the Carolinas is South Carolina. Baseball is huge in SC. South Carolina cities can't support a pro-team, but the fans will be more likely to go to a game and be fans if it's in Charlotte (ie: nobody cares about the Hurricanes in SC) in part because its more accessible to the populations centers in the Upstate and Columbia, and in part because SC tends to view Charlotte in a positive light since it's right across the border.

Absolutely.  I would also have little interest in a team elsewhere in North Carolina, kind of like I have little interest in the Canes. 

MLB in the Carolina's only makes sense in Charlotte.  Charlotte is the center of the Carolinas and the only metro area to have a significant portion of its metro area population in both states.  It is by far the largest metro region in both states and the largest metro economy in both states by far.  It is bound by four other major metro regions- Upstate, Columbia, Triad, and the Unifour.  If hypothetically, a team were to go to Raleigh, it would be Raleigh's team.  Conversely, if the same team were to go to Charlotte, it would be Carolina's team.

I still think from a business standpoint, moving the Rays to Charlotte makes the most sense because almost a quarter of all home games every year would be played against the Red Sox or Yankees (19 guaranteed big attendance games)  and the Triple A affiliate is the Durham Bulls which would likely broaden the appeal of the entire organization statewide.  However I will take any MLB team, any time...even if it were to mean no MLS team.  Only major league cities get to have Major League Baseball teams and a team for Charlotte should be at the top of the city's collective wishlist.

[ah59396]

Looks like the buzz and momentum continue to pick up on this story....

 

 

[CLTProductions]

Ugh we don't need one. Stoppppp. It makes no financial sense. 

[ES Charlotte]

Ugh we don't need one. Stoppppp. It makes no financial sense. 

I think the most viable/reasonable option is having a team in the AL Easy (Tampa). As was mentioned above a quarter of the games would be Boston and NY. With the level of transplants we have, I believe those games alone would likely sell out. Now for the rest... Who knows. I can't see more than an avg of 20k a game outside of those games.

So imagine a capacity of say 36k (similar to Marlins Park/Fenway). We sell out 20 games and avg 20k/game for the other 62... That's an avg attendance of roughly 24k/game which still puts us towards the bottom of the league.

Can anyone see more than 20k/game for the other 62?

 

[15895]

Ugh we don't need one. Stoppppp. It makes no financial sense. 

I don't know if it wouldn't work if someone who has the numbers believe we could. Charlotte is becoming a dominant #2 hub of the Southeast. 

[HopHead]

^^I'm really curious about who is driving this... I suspect MLB has decided that it wants to expand in the near term (say 5 years). They've compiled a list of cities based on factors such as population, growth, geography, spending power and local corporate support (they spend the $ on sponsorships, suites) and trying to see if they can drum up interest from those cities. Charlotte is almost always going to be in these conversations based on those factors. Though, I don't think they've looked at how much of our dollars are already taken up by the NFL, NBA, two AAA minor league teams and other events like Nascar, PGA, etc. I just haven't heard a peep from a potential local ownership group(s) about this. So I don't know how much of it is coming from the city itself. People were already pissing and moaning about public money for upgrades to the Panthers stadium and lesser degree TWCA. Can't imagine the chaos that would ensue if the area was asked to cough up a $300M+ for a new MLB stadium -- just don't think BB&T can be converted to hold 30-35k seats.. I think Montreal is a leading candidate for one team if they get a stadium plan, but the second is open.

[SouthEndCLT811]

^^I'm really curious about who is driving this... I suspect MLB has decided that it wants to expand in the near term (say 5 years). They've compiled a list of cities based on factors such as population, growth, geography, spending power and local corporate support (they spend the $ on sponsorships, suites) and trying to see if they can drum up interest from those cities. Charlotte is almost always going to be in these conversations based on those factors. Though, I don't think they've looked at how much of our dollars are already taken up by the NFL, NBA, two AAA minor league teams and other events like Nascar, PGA, etc. I just haven't heard a peep from a potential local ownership group(s) about this. So I don't know how much of it is coming from the city itself. People were already pissing and moaning about public money for upgrades to the Panthers stadium and lesser degree TWCA. Can't imagine the chaos that would ensue if the area was asked to cough up a $300M+ for a new MLB stadium -- just don't think BB&T can be converted to hold 30-35k seats.. I think Montreal is a leading candidate for one team if they get a stadium plan, but the second is open.

Yeah I remember when BB&T opened I think they said it was tough enough to get a 10K stadium at it's location let alone doing an MLB sized stadium.  A new site would definitely be needed.  But us soccer nuts are already calling dibs on BB&T Ballpark for an MLS stadium renovation when MLB comes.  Both have about an equally good shot of happening.

Edited July 15, 2015 by SouthEndCLT811

[ah59396]

From what I'm seeing the MLB wants expansion, not just relocation.  Which likely means 32 teams.  Assuming the Rays are destined to leave Tampa, which I think they are, I really see that as the likely candidate for Montreal.  It would make sense for the "AL East" and also create a natural rival for the Blue Jays.

 

The 2 new teams would be in the NL and AL respectively.  Now, Charlotte getting an NL team would be optimal from the standpoint that we are surrounded by them (Cincinnati, Washington, Atlanta) and Charlotte would become a geographic rival of the Braves.  The team would also benefit from hosting the Braves quite a bit and reaping the "reward" of having a lot of Braves fans in Charlotte.  I'm sure the Braves would not like this though and would probably advocate heavily for us to to land in the AL as an expansion team, maybe still in the AL East and be a geographic rival of Baltimore.  But I dunno.  It's certainly fun to imagine all the possibilities.  

[navigator319]

Ugh now local media has this non-story.  Unless there is a public local billionaire that wants a pet project all this needs to stop.

[jednc]

I think it would be fantastic if Charlotte were to get an MLB team. That's what is such a shame about BB&T Ballpark. From the get-go it was a non-starter on expanding that site for a major league team. It's hard to fault what the Knights have done, it's just a shame we couldn't have our cake and eat it too. With that said, Charlotte is big enough for MLB. There are cities that are smaller than we are with teams. I get that the argument is that those markets don't have the NBA and NFL to compete with, but Charlotte is a can-do city and we're a pretty good sports town. It's funny reading the posts that say we're not ready and it won't work. For those of us who grew up in this area, those are the same kinds of things said before we got the Hornets and to some extent, the Panthers. A sports writer for a newspaper once said about Charlotte's NBA chances, that the only franchise we'd get (Charlotte), is a golden arches. The Hornets went on to set NBA attendance records for years. The Panthers are up to something like 110 straight sell-outs (and I realize that's in tickets sold, not attendance, just like it is with any other team and their sell-out records). Tickets sold IS the number that matters, not butts in seats anyway.

Back in the 1990's (yeah, I realize some of you weren't yet born, let alone living here), the "pundits" all were saying that Charlotte was about 10 years away from being ready for MLB. Every 10 years or so, someone else throughs that out. Yet, in the past 30 years, our population growth has OUTPACED anyone's wildest dreams. We are there NOW, although I would agree at the lower end. If the ball started rolling today toward us getting an MLB team, it would still probably be 5 years or more before they started playing here. There would be a honeymoon period of a couple years where people would support the team at greater levels than they eventually would (proportionate to the population I mean). Does anyone here seriously think that the Charlotte of 2023 couldn't support MLB?

I'd love to see an MLS team in Charlotte, but that's mostly because it would just be another feather in our cap. Not at the expense of MLB though. No other sport that we are missing could touch what an MLB team would do for our city's reputation and recognition. There are people who still don't even know there is such a thing as MLS for Pete's sake.

I'm ready to start the campaign today... #MLBnCLT

[tozmervo]

#MLB2CLT seems to be the chosen hashtag. just fyi

[ah59396]

MLB attendance is at an all time high.  As are its local TV ratings.  Kroger said it best on WFNZ this afternoon; MLB wants to continue growing.  But it's essentially hit critical mass in its local markets.  If it wants to attract the Charlotte or Portland fan, it's going to require a team there.  I agree with Jednc, Charlotte is as ready as it's ever been to have a team and that'll only get better as we continue to add to the metro.  NC and SC are big time baseball states.  And I don't see a city on that list that the commissioner mentioned that I think could do a better job than us.  MLBtoCLT

[kermit]

If MLB is a real possibility for CLT (and it might be) its going to create some very interesting dynamics between Panthers ownership and the city. Its certainly possible that the city could tell Panthers ownership that the city is not willing to be exploited by the Panthers for stadium $$$ because taxpayer $$$ are better spent on a team that will have 80+ home games a year (and thus better for the city). In essescence they city can (for once) not be held hostage by a pro team.

The BBT stadium to MLS conversion is inspired and exactly what they did spectacularly in Portland.

[MilZ]

I'd honestly fear for an MLB team's life here.  Not that I think keeping a team here would be impossible, but between keeping a team with the expenses of MLB competitive, creating a new larger stadium with half the atmosphere of our current one, finding funding ($300+ m at least) for that stadium, maintaining larger average crowds than the Hornets with twice as many games, and all that for a league who's average fan age is in its Mid-50s. I would certainly prefer to not have a team get here, to end up in a position a decade from now like the Marlins, with a beautiful new stadium but a joke for attendance, having cities *like Charlotte* dangled over your head by Manfred and the Owner for constant fear of loosing your team.

I may also be in the minority here as well, but I actually like having a minor league ballpark uptown. It allows us to compete for events like college championships and concerts and beer festivals that an MLB stadium is not appropriately sized for.  I can also get a pretty good ticket for a price that would put me next to a floodlight at an MLB game. I know I'm a big proponent for MLS in uptown, but that's a league that targets the same demographic that is filling these apartment projects, and doesn't need to reach a crazy attendance figure to keep up with the established National franchises that have no salary cap to keep smaller markets competitive year-in-year-out.

Edited July 16, 2015 by MilZ