(03-02-2020 01:37 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(03-02-2020 12:18 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(03-01-2020 11:26 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Braves rule the South, man. Works best for all. Nashv and western Tenn belongs to the Cards. Rays need to move out and leave one team only down in Miami to have a go at it--bring back the FLA marlins.

But why should they?

When the south had a smaller population, it made sense. But why should Tennessee, North Carolina, etc be forced to support a far away Georgia team just because they were there first?

The taxpayers in those areas shouldn't be forced to pay anything for a MLB ballpark, that's for sure.

The Braves' new ballpark cost about $672 million. Other recent new ballparks cost about that much, or even more.

Team owners should bear the cost. For an expansion franchise, that means paying the ballpark construction cost plus an expansion fee that could be around a billion dollars.

That's probably why you don't hear about MLB teams threatening to relocate, either. An existing team owner might only have to find a way to pay for a new ballpark (but might get charged a relocation fee like the NFL did for the last three team moves). Someone buying a team to relocate it is in the same boat as a potential expansion team owner, in that they have to pay for both the team and the new ballpark.

Agreed that taxpayers, unless they specifically vote to tax themselves, shouldn't pay for sports stadiums.