Major League Baseball Should Expand To These Four Cities
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred recently said that he hopes Major League Baseball will have the pieces in place to expand from 30 to 32 teams before he retires in 2029. MLB expansion is coming. It's just a matter of time, and where these new teams will play. There are plenty of cities that make worthy candidates to have their own baseball team. Perhaps Major League Baseball is coming close to your city! Let’s look into four possibilities!
Nashville, Tennessee
Just recently, Nashville leadership just committed over two billion dollars for a new stadium for the Titans. This more than exceeds the cost of a Major League Baseball expansion franchise. With the Titans, and Predators in town carrying a huge fanbase, it would be a no-brainer to add a major league team into Nashville. The city currently has a Triple-A Club, the Sounds, but if plans move forward, we could see a major league team called the Sounds, or perhaps the Stars because it’s Music City.
Mexico City, Mexico
Alfredo Harp Stadium hosted the first Major League Baseball game last year in Mexico City. We saw the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants play, with tickets for the game selling out in an hour. This year, the Rockies and Astros will face off against each other at Alfredo Harp Stadium in late April. The stadium currently holds 20,000 seats and would have to be upgraded to Major League Baseball standards in order to host major league teams on a day-to-day basis. Last season more than 30 percent of the majors consisted of Hispanic players. An interest in Latin America should definitely be there and would attract a huge buzz all across the Latino community.
Montreal, Canada
The city of Montreal has done its research, they’ve pinpointed where they would want their team to play, and created a core of potential ownership. It’s just in the hands of Major League Baseball to formalize the expansion process. Montreal has been begging for the Expos to come back, and with them having the biggest market size, they’ll certainly be a frontrunner for expansion. The Expos relocated in 2004 to Washington D.C. and became the Nationals. Major League Baseball knows they deserve to give the city of Montreal another shot at expansion.
Salt Lake City, Utah
This great city has already hosted the Olympics and is a strong candidate to do so again. The city, state, and community in Salt Lake City have an extensive track record of getting large-scale community-enhancing projects done. Steve Starks, CEO of the Larry H. Miller Company, who is heading up the expansion charge in Salt Lake City said, "We have the fastest-growing state, the youngest state, we have a shovel-ready ballpark site with community support, and we have a proven ownership group that has experience and is passionate about the sport of baseball. All of those factors make Utah the ideal expansion market."
