(12-05-2019 02:34 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(12-05-2019 01:34 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(12-04-2019 10:04 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(12-04-2019 06:42 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(12-04-2019 02:52 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Not expanding, but now that St. Petersburg and the Rays have told each other to pound sand, they have 8 more seasons in St. Petersburg and can then relocate to anywhere.

Is anyone going to build a MLB ballpark for the Rays? Orlando? Charlotte? Montreal? Portland? Las Vegas?

I always felt Montreal and Nashville were the frontrunners for relocation. Vegas is just a non-starter IMO. Too many games, too little corporate money and the team would need a dome.

Agree that Nashville is a possibility. The snag at this point is the mayor publicly saying: No public funding for a ballpark. But that could easily change with a new mayor and/or if it looked like public money was the only thing standing in the way of the Rays moving there.

From the Rays' owner's point of view, why not basically have an open auction with all of these cities. He's not going to pay for a new ballpark himself.

Nashville is way too small.

There aren't many acceptable markets. Besides Montreal, maybe Portland and Charlotte. There are only 5 teams in MSAs smaller than 2.8 million and they are considered small market teams that have mostly struggled in the free agent era-Milwaukee, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Cleveland. And the latter two are over 3 million when you include close by Dayton and Akron.

Orlando is 2.6 and is too close to Tampa. Sacramento is 2.3 and is too close to Oakland. San Antonio is 2.5 but doesn't have a lot of corporate money.

MSA populations:
21. Baltimore 2.802 million
22. Orlando 2.573
23. Charlotte 2.569
24. San Antonio 2.518
25. Portland 2.478
26. Sacramento 2.345
27. Pittsburgh 2.324
28. Las Vegas 2.232
29. Cincinnati 2.190
30. Austin 2.168
31. Kansas City 2.144
32. Columbus 2.107
33. Cleveland 2.057
34. Indianapolis 2.049
35. San Jose 1.999
36. Nashville 1.931
37. Virginia Beach-Norfolk 1.729
38. Providence 1.621
39 Milwaukee 1.576

I don't know how Nashville is way too small if it is still above MIL. Plus I'm sure they would count all of TN and southern KY as some of their potential viewers as well.

I do lean towards Wedge's statement that the Braves would block a Nashville move which is why I think MTL is the ultimate home for the Rays. But if that is the case, MLB has to find a way to buy out the Rays stadium deal.

The problem for Nashville is that it only has enough money for 2 major pro sports and MLS. Disposable income levels vary, probably meaning the median (not average necessarily) is low.

No current outstanding market, even if it can support a team, could routinely compete. The Rays could move to Orlando and be fine. The A's could move to Sacramento and be fine.

Give me a billion dollars and I buy one and move to either LA (LA proper or a beach city) or outer NYC/NJ.