To balance the two major leagues in Baseball, next season the Houston Astros will move to the American League. The two major leagues will be balanced with 3 divisions of 5 teams each. The problem is that there will be an inter-league series every day. Baseball may like this, but if it does not work out, the simple solution is to expand and give both leagues four divisions of four teams each. This is similar to the current structure of the National Football League and similar to a format now being considered by the National Hockey League.
Salt Lake is the 12th largest metro area in the United States or Canada that does not have a Major League Baseball franchise, but the Wasatch Front may be closer to getting another major sports franchise than many people realize.
First of all, Salt Lake is the only major city for hundreds of miles in any direction. The closest large city to Salt Lake is Las Vegas, which is about 420 miles of I-15 rock to the south. The metro is one of the fastest growing in the United States, and seems to have weathered the current recession very well.
Salt Lake has a nice minor league stadium with a very nice view of the Wasatch Mountains to the east. The team is well supported. The stadium could be easily expanded in a manner that would not interfere with the mountain vista. Unlike Coors Field, the highest stadium in the bigs, Spring Mobile Ballpark neither favors the pitcher nor the hitter. There would be no need to keep game balls in a humididor to keep them in the park.
There are some drawbacks, of course, mostly being the small market size and the lack of support that the current minor league team receives for Sunday games. In the majors, Salt Lake would be the smallest market, but could be ahead of Milwaukee by opening day 2015. The weather in April and September is very unpredictable.
Let's however, take a look at cities that might be ahead of Salt Lake in the quest for the next major league expansion. These cities have a larger population that the Salt Lake Metro.
Orlando, FL
Orlando is now the largest city in America that has only one sports franchise, the Magic. There are some drawbacks, and the main one being the Tampa Bay Rays who are looking for a new stadium. If one can not be built on the Gulf Coast, the Rays may move inland.
Sacramento, CA
California's capital almost lost their only professional sports team last season, but an 11th hour agreement kept the Kings in town. Baseball would not have the same problem. Like SLC, their minor league stadium can easily be expanded, accommodating a big-league team. Their main drawback is the proximity to the Bay Area, where the Giants and Athletics call home, and a move to expand to Sacto may be blocked by either the Giants or the A's to protect their market. If it wasn't for that, I would say that this city is a no-brainer for baseball.
Charlotte, NC
This is the city that is a no-brainer for MLB. It's not all that close to anyone, and seems to be accommodating to the NBA and the NFL. The only drawback in that their favorite sports son, who owns and has led the Bobcats to the worst record in NBA history, played two sports professionally, the other was baseball. However, I consider Charlotte the leading candidate for baseball's next home town.
Portland, OR
There are two big problems that might keep this river city off of baseball's map, even if they deserve it. First, their proximity to Seattle. Second is that they recently lost a AAA franchise because they could not find a suitable location for a stadium. Major league stadia are larger and harder to get built.
San Antonio, TX
The Pacific Coast League has their HQ not far from San Antonio. The Alamo City, home to the NBA's spurs, is ready for another big league team, and it's not hockey. Texas is a big state, and the Alamo city is not that close to either Arlington's Rangers nor Houston's Astros.
Indianapolis, IN
This is the first city on the list that is the home of a now-defunct baseball team. But I do not know anyone old enough to remember the Blues. Baseball, however, has returned to other former baseball cities like Washington DC, Baltimore and Kansas City.
Columbus, OH
This is the largest city in the US that does not have either the MLB, NFL nor NBA. They have the NHL's blue jackets, but this town belongs to the Buckeyes of the Big 10. Any professional team has to play second fiddle to those guys.
Las Vegas, NV
The largest city in America without a sports franchise at all. But this is the gambling mecca in North America and the other sports leagues have stayed away from Vegas because of it. The other problem is that in LV, there are plenty of non-gambling attractions competing for attention.
Raleigh, NC
See Charlotte, above. Baseball would be in either Charlotte or Raleigh, not both.
Here is how I would rank these cities.
1. Charlotte, NC.
2. San Antonio, TX
3. Salt Lake City, UT
4. Orlando, FL
5. Portland, OR
6. Las Vegas, NV
7. Indianapolis, IN
8. Sacramento, CA--higher if neither the Giants nor A's object.
9. Raleigh, NC--higher if Charlotte is not chosen.
2 comments:
You aren't very well informed. Portland allowed the AAA team to leave because they were led by the MLB to believe that they were going to get the Expos, now Washington Nationals.
Also minor league stadiums cannot just be expanded. It has never happened, and in order to get a MLB franchise the MLB will require a brand spanking new stadia.
Why Portland lost the Beavers needs a deeper look, but the Portland MLS team and their fans definitely came out ahead in this one.
There has not been a major league franchise yet awarded to a city that had a minor league team with an expandable stadium. Sacto has been the closest, and would have landed the A's if Cisco Park did not get off the ground. Many newer minor league stadia, such as SLC and Sacto, were built to be easily and cheaply expanded. That is also the case in Charlotte, and another reason why I think they are the top choice to get an expansion franchise.
See this wiki entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Stadium
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