BB&T Park is opening on Apr.11/2014 this year for the AAA Charlotte Knights. The state of the art new stadium only holds 10,000 fans capacity, but can easily be expanded to meet MLB specifications if that were an option.
By Jordan Gluck (Prospects/Baseball Operations Correspondent) Follow @JGluck777
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Possible MLB destination: Charlotte
In the upcoming weeks I will be doing a series on some cities that should be considered for an MLB team.
The cities are in no particular order but I will give a prediction whether or not they will receive a team in the next 15 years.
Having a major league franchise in your city is a big responsibility but comes with some major rewards which in my view heavily outweigh the negatives of not having a team even if you have to provide funding for the stadium in which they play.
So without further musings – here we go.
Charlotte has the 23rd largest metro are in the country ahead of MLB markets such as Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Kansas City.
Charlotte houses two other professional sports teams with the Carolina Panthers and the Charlotte Hornets.
Charlotte already has 2 Pro Sports franchises in the Carolina Panthers = and the Charlotte Bobcats (about to be the Hornets Again). This fast growing population could be on a list of cities up for expansion by the MLB. Hailing between Atlanta and Washington/Baltimore, could see them be a natural geographic fit.
The city of Raleigh North Carolina houses the Carolina Hurricanes which will explain why Charlotte doesn’t have an NHL team. So if Charlotte got a MLB team they would complete a sweep of the professional sports leagues.
Charlotte currently houses the Charolotte Knights which is a AAA franchise for the Chicago White Sox of the Independent League.
Lets go over some reasons why i believe that Charlotte deserves a franchise. I believe that franchises should be put in cities which are growing and can in the future turn into larger markets.
Charlotte is a growing metro region with about 2.3 million people in the area. Charlotte is the second biggest finance and banking hub in the country behind New York City.
The city also has the 11th busiest airport in the country. Charlotte would be an attractive place to play as the weather in the area is good for most of the year.
I also have recently met a few people who bought a house in the area citing the whether and surrounding area.
There is also the close proximity to other cities such as Atlanta, Baltimore, and Washington DC which should make scheduling a lot easier as far as travel times go.
Carolina is also a very popular place for summer camps which could fill stadiums on “camp days”.
Charlotte also has a thriving financial system and is home to major corporations such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Time Warner Cable.
With suite sales and corporate groups being a major part of a teams ticket sales the amount of high wealth people in a metro region makes personal income an important part of whether a city should get a team.
There are big name owners in Charlotte with Jerry Richardson who is the only current majority NFL owner to have played for a team – and Michael Jordan who is a owner of the Bobcats/Hornets and whose legacy should speak for himself.
They are also spending billions on highway construction mainly the Monroe connector and Monroe bypass.
Prediction: I think that Charlotte will get a franchise in the next decade and put the odds of that happening at 75%.
As far as who would own the team i don’t really know. As far as the team name goes i will leave that up to the new owners and the people in Carolina.
Newly renovated BC Place Stadium, with $600 Million Dollars in upgrades, re-opened on Sept.30/2011 with and features a 100 by 85 retractable roof. The lights also illuminates different colors both inside and outside of the building. The stadium could be converted to meet MLB specifications. Between this park, and the modifications that could be done to the BB&T Stadium, you are looking at the two neatest parks that could be made for the MLB clubs. Not saying the Vancouver would even receive a franchise, but they do have a facility that would not require building with public money. It is likely one team from the East – and one from the West would work.
*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners.***
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A big thank-you goes out to our ‘Prospects/Baseball Operations Correspondent’ Jordan Gluck for preparing today’s featured article.
Jordan wants to be a MLB President of baseball operations one day. He has grown up in south Florida all of his life after moving there when he was two months old.
Jordan grew up a FLORIDA Marlins fan but lost his devoting allegiance when they moved to Miami. He is now a student at the University of Denver .
He will have a heavy focus on roster evaluations, prospects, and the business of baseball!
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Tagged: AAA baseball league, BB&T Stadium, bc place stadium, charlotte bobcats, charlotte hornets, charlotte knights, jerry richardson, kansas city royals, michael jordan, mlb expansion, new york yankees
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