Charlotte MLB Team Speculation

[carolinaboy]

Slow day at work. I've been Google Earthing/Street Viewing MLB parks across the country. I love most ballparks. They are very nostalgic for me and create a bit of magic tucked into their environments (most of them). It has me dreaming of a MLB park in South End. I would seriously move to Charlotte if a MLB team was there and I would buy a house as close to the ballpark as I could. My perfect day would be a warm late summer evening strolling to the ballpark passing by busy restaurants, bars full of the people going to a game. Entering the ballpark, getting a hotdog and beer, finding my seats, looking at the green outfield grass and enjoying a few hours of baseball. Then strolling home afterwards (hopefully with a good buzz and a team victory) to go to sleep and do it all over again in a few days. Sorry for the weird post but I'm just daydreaming.

[kermit]

12 minutes ago, carolinaboy said:

Slow day at work. I've been Google Earthing/Street Viewing MLB parks across the country. I love most ballparks. They are very nostalgic for me and create a bit of magic tucked into their environments (most of them). It has me dreaming of a MLB park in South End. I would seriously move to Charlotte if a MLB team was there and I would buy a house as close to the ballpark as I could. My perfect day would be a warm late summer evening strolling to the ballpark passing by busy restaurants, bars full of the people going to a game. Entering the ballpark, getting a hotdog and beer, finding my seats, looking at the green outfield grass and enjoying a few hours of baseball. Then strolling home afterwards (hopefully with a good buzz and a team victory) to go to sleep and do it all over again in a few days. Sorry for the weird post but I'm just daydreaming.

I want that too.

FWIW: nice houses within walking distance of Wrigly Field (where you will find everything you describe) are significantly cheaper per square foot than anything you can find in intown Charlotte at the moment.

 

[elrodvt]

Your post makes me nostalgic. I really miss walking to Coors field every home game. Especially since as soon as the sun set the weather was perfect most nights. The district around the park is one of the best for before game eating and after game drinks! Many of you know my opinion on us replicating that in Charlotte but one can hope! 

[elrodvt]

FWIW, Brewers are unhappy

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/08/brewers-reportedly-willing-to-consider-relocation.html

[Hushpuppy321]

On 8/12/2023 at 10:09 PM, elrodvt said:

FWIW, Brewers are unhappy

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/08/brewers-reportedly-willing-to-consider-relocation.html

So right now - The Brewers and Devil Rays are open to Relocation.  If only we had an interested Billionaire…..

[Hornets]

On 8/14/2023 at 11:32 PM, Hushpuppy321 said:

So right now - The Brewers and Devil Rays are open to Relocation.  If only we had an interested Billionaire…..

I know.. Also the Charlotte Brewers, would be a perfect name with all the Breweries we have have in CLT.

[KJHburg]

On 8/14/2023 at 11:32 PM, Hushpuppy321 said:

So right now - The Brewers and Devil Rays are open to Relocation.  If only we had an interested Billionaire…..

can you imagine a site uptown like in First Ward like right where the Hal Marshall center is and the county owns 2 entire blocks there?  But the key is an owner but we get all these billionaires from NY and PA and elsewhere buying teams here so a local one may not be needed.  Just someone interested in owning a team in a fast growing region like this.  

Levine might have to open his garage or repair it or whatever needs to be done and imagine the value of his land going up.  

[Hushpuppy321]

4 hours ago, KJHburg said:

can you imagine a site uptown like in First Ward like right where the Hal Marshall center is and the county owns 2 entire blocks there?  But the key is an owner but we get all these billionaires from NY and PA and elsewhere buying teams here so a local one may not be needed.  Just someone interested in owning a team in a fast growing region like this.  

Levine might have to open his garage or repair it or whatever needs to be done and imagine the value of his land going up.  

So a 1st Ward Ballpark, hmmm….

[DMann]

I believe a more likely location for a downtown baseball stadium would be on a cap over by 277 between Caldwell and McDowell. Baseball stadiums have to face the right direction so as not to have sun get into the batters eyes. The other thing that a cap over a 277 would do would be allow a Cityview, which would not happen in the first word.

[J-Rob]

On 8/14/2023 at 11:32 PM, Hushpuppy321 said:

 If only we had an interested Billionaire…..

Here lies the rub. I have trouble with the idea of an out-of-state billionaire, because cities like Nashville/others already have ownership groups in place. Seems like a weird thing to put a team in a peer city without an interested ownership group.

 

I would also be hesitant on Brewers, because their situation is FAR less dire than Rays or Athletics, so I wouldn't want them to pull same thing here.  On the other hand, back to the billionaire thing, if the same ownership group plans to stay in place, maybe that is actually the opening Charlotte needs since we don't have a known ownership group. So basically now I am all in on the Charlotte Brewers, lol.

 

Edited August 17, 2023 by J-Rob

[Norm2]

15 hours ago, KJHburg said:

can you imagine a site uptown like in First Ward like right where the Hal Marshall center is and the county owns 2 entire blocks there?  But the key is an owner but we get all these billionaires from NY and PA and elsewhere buying teams here so a local one may not be needed.  Just someone interested in owning a team in a fast growing region like this.  

Levine might have to open his garage or repair it or whatever needs to be done and imagine the value of his land going up.  

I'm not really a fan of even thinking about adding a 4th stadium in Uptown. I think putting a stadium along the blue line or along the future silver line would be a better idea

[KJHburg]

1 minute ago, norm21499 said:

I'm not really a fan of even thinking about adding a 4th stadium in Uptown. I think putting a stadium along the blue line or along the future silver line would be a better idea

I dont think a MLB team will land here but the reason I say uptown is that we have the best infrastructure and lets face it the most vacant land and area in need of a boost.  Southend needs no boost,  Neither does NoDa and points north.  A site in north end of uptown would be near the Silver Line and the county already owns and controls it.  

[go_vertical]

Michael Jordan is a baseball fan, aaaannnnddddd he no longer owns a sports team.  Just sayin'.

[kermit]

35 minutes ago, go_vertical said:

Michael Jordan is a baseball fan, aaaannnnddddd he no longer owns a sports team.  Just sayin'.

kinda think he would be a better baseball owner than basketball. Maybe????

[go_vertical]

I'm not necessarily saying he would be a "good" owner, but he is someone who (1) has local ties, (2) has the wealth necessary to make ownership happen, (3) has organization ownership experience (the effectiveness displayed is up for discussion but he didn't completely run the Hornets into the ground), and (4) he obviously loves baseball.

Now, to the best of my knowledge he has never expressed any desire to purchase a MLB team but he could very well be a very effective public facing portion of a potential ownership group.  I'm imagining a couple of non-local billionaires who see the untapped potential here approaching him and saying, "you take 30 or 40 percent, be the "face" of the group and let's make this happen".  Unlikely, sure, but I see that scenario as probably one of the only potential possibilities in the near future.

[eastsider]

6 hours ago, go_vertical said:

Michael Jordan is a baseball fan, aaaannnnddddd he no longer owns a sports team.  Just sayin'.

He owns a nascar team and a golf course in Florida, I'd think he's content. 

[Crucial_Infra]

Nashville boosters seem pretty gung-ho about MLB too. Is there enough room for both cities to get a team? Doubtful. If either get it, the other will be on the outside looking in for a long time imo. Look no further than the Triangle and MLS. 

[smeagolsfree]

7 hours ago, Crucial_Infra said:

Nashville boosters seem pretty gung-ho about MLB too. Is there enough room for both cities to get a team? Doubtful. If either get it, the other will be on the outside looking in for a long time imo. Look no further than the Triangle and MLS. 

This is the group that is behind the effort to bring MLB to Nashville. They have some big names associated with them. Seems to me they have been around for at least two ro three years now working behind the scenes and releasing news about every other week trying to stay in the news.

Music City Baseball | Nashville TN | MLBMusicCity.com

[Crucial_Infra]

23 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

This is the group that is behind the effort to bring MLB to Nashville. They have some big names associated with them. Seems to me they have been around for at least two ro three years now working behind the scenes and releasing news about every other week trying to stay in the news.

Music City Baseball | Nashville TN | MLBMusicCity.com

Also, don’t sleep on Raleigh for MLB. Yes, it’s a longer shot for a number of reasons but the market is just as big.

https://mlbraleigh.com

Edited August 19, 2023 by Crucial_Infra

[go_vertical]

4 hours ago, Crucial_Infra said:

Also, don’t sleep on Raleigh for MLB. Yes, it’s a longer shot for a number of reasons but the market is just as big.

https://mlbraleigh.com

I'm pretty sure this will be a little bit of an unpopular opinion here, but here we go.

I wouldn't mind at all if Raleigh does for, and wins, a MLB team.  We already have NFL, NBA, and MLS with the potential of getting WNBA and MLL teams in the near future.  I don't see why the second largest city in the state can't have NHL and MLB.  Plus, I am concerned that a major league baseball team relocating here would result in diminished support for the Knights.  The ticket prices that come with having only major league teams are out of reach for so many people, especially families.  Sure, people don't get nearly as passionate for a team like the Knights over something that would be on ESPN or the MLB network, but they are a solid lower-cost option that draws people out for a casual afternoon in center city and I think Charlotte needs as much of that sort of stuff as possible.

[KJHburg]

Several local billionaires in the Raleigh Durham metro namely Tim Sweeney CEO of Epic Games and Jim Goodnight CEO of SAS both in Cary.  

Everyone in the sports media counted Charlotte as not likely with MLS until Mr. Tepper stepped in and then we moved up the list and now have a team.  

and then there is this https://www.usabaseball.com/about/national-training-complex   also in Cary. 

Raleigh Durham Fayetteville tv market is #23 in the nation behind Charlotte at #21 and is larger than the Nashville TV market at #27  Austin #35 and Las Vegas yes I know of the millions of tourists but I also know of the million of acres of desert in their tv market comes in at #40. 

I hope a MLB teams comes to NC and if not Charlotte I would be fully supportive of Raleigh. 

 

[eastsider]

20 hours ago, go_vertical said:

I'm pretty sure this will be a little bit of an unpopular opinion here, but here we go.

I wouldn't mind at all if Raleigh does for, and wins, a MLB team.  We already have NFL, NBA, and MLS with the potential of getting WNBA and MLL teams in the near future.  I don't see why the second largest city in the state can't have NHL and MLB.  Plus, I am concerned that a major league baseball team relocating here would result in diminished support for the Knights.  The ticket prices that come with having only major league teams are out of reach for so many people, especially families.  Sure, people don't get nearly as passionate for a team like the Knights over something that would be on ESPN or the MLB network, but they are a solid lower-cost option that draws people out for a casual afternoon in center city and I think Charlotte needs as much of that sort of stuff as possible.

IF Charlotte were to get a MLB franchise the Knights go away.

[Crucial_Infra]

I actually think Raleigh might be the best market of the three. It’s farther from the Braves sphere of influence than Charlotte and Nashville and its got serious baseball pedigree and connection to baseball crazy — and totally untapped — eastern North Carolina. TV market comparable and metro growing faster than Nashville and Charlotte. Also Nationals don’t have nearly the interest in Raleigh as the Braves do in Charlotte and Nashville. Nashville’s biggest issue imo is its relatively close proximity to three other MLB markets: Atlanta, Cincinnati, and St Louis (all within about 4 hrs).  Raleigh is closer to DC and Baltimore but only DC is within ~ 4 hrs.  And Charlotte is only close to Atlanta (~4 hrs). But as has been pointed out, market is only so important when billionaires are willing to step up. 

Edited August 20, 2023 by Crucial_Infra

[kayman]

On 8/19/2023 at 1:25 PM, go_vertical said:

I'm pretty sure this will be a little bit of an unpopular opinion here, but here we go.

I wouldn't mind at all if Raleigh does for, and wins, a MLB team.  We already have NFL, NBA, and MLS with the potential of getting WNBA and MLL teams in the near future.  I don't see why the second largest city in the state can't have NHL and MLB.  Plus, I am concerned that a major league baseball team relocating here would result in diminished support for the Knights.  The ticket prices that come with having only major league teams are out of reach for so many people, especially families.  Sure, people don't get nearly as passionate for a team like the Knights over something that would be on ESPN or the MLB network, but they are a solid lower-cost option that draws people out for a casual afternoon in center city and I think Charlotte needs as much of that sort of stuff as possible.

The AAA franchise license could be relocated to the Canon Ballers, Honeybadgers, Crawdads, or start up a new AAA MiLB franchise in Rock Hill. 

 

The current MLB Commissioner said Charlotte not Raleigh. He named market size, location being on the NC/SC stateline, already a recognized major pro sports market home to other pro sports as his reasons.  So unless he is fired or replaced, I can bet money he (the current MLB Commissioner) would deny or block it happening in Raleigh.  I just don't see it going to Raleigh happening...

Edited August 21, 2023 by kayman

[elrodvt]

Those would be very small markets for a AAA team. That said, if CLT were to get a MLB team the current trend is to place your higher level minor teams close by.