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Here's an issue with playing at Steinbrener Field I haven't seen anyone bring up yet........let's say hypothetically, TB makes it all the to The World Series this coming season......how is Major League Baseball going to handle THAT one? Can you imagine that, hosting 3 to 4 World Series games at a spring training facility??! That holds 11,000 people?????!! Broadcasted all over the world??!! People will laugh about it for decades......"oh yeah, that terrible World Series at the spring training field, yeah I remember THAT one" I would assume they would be forced to do something similar to 2020 when, coincidentally a World Series involving Tampa Bay was played at a neutral site at The Rangers field. I wouldn't see that working this time around......I mean, if The Cubs won the NL pennant and had to play TB at a neutral site I believe the entire city of Chicago would be fuming if they couldn't go to a World Series Game at Wrigley Field. So the only other option would be to play their home games in the Series in Miami. Eh, forget it......pack up and move to Nashville lol
Miss the days when the biggest concern with the Rays during the winter was who they were going add or subtract from the roster. This off-season has been a nightmare.😨
@brodiebrazil at first I didn't know who you were and didn't realize that you worked for an NBC affiliate. I was like "how does this TH-camr have such a professional quality intro?" 😂
I think either they Ybor City Tampa Ballpark will be revived or they will move to Orlando. Just my humble opinion. As someone who lives in-between Orlando and Tampa I would prefer either option. A lot of people around here don't go to games because the drive to the stadium is too long.
Tampa Fairgrounds seems to be the best. Maybe SW Orlando. The fair should not be there on valuable real estate anyway...move it to Wauchula or Bushnell.
@@jefferyoswald State Fairgrounds is a horrible location. Not a ton of infrastructure. I-4 cannot handle that traffic. Not sure why you'd move the state fairgrounds north, away from most of the population of the state or south away from interstates. You could argue for finding a place around Lakeland, but that compounds the I-4 problem. You think attendance is bad in St Pete? It would be far worse there. St Pete is the best location in the Bay Area. There is more population within a 10 miles radius of Tropicana Field than there is for Raymond James or Amalie. There are two problems with the Rays current home: 1. It feels like a Costco - and few are going to drive or spend money on a Costco. 2. People in Hillsborough are whiners about going over the bridges, though that is changing since St Pete is clearly so much better than Tampa at this point, so people are beginning to realize it is worthwhile to go to Pinellas. Remember that St Pete, Clearwater, Largo, Pinellas Park, and the beaches all take up less space than Tampa and have more people - over 200,000 more people. Pinellas County has about 3500 per square mile. Tampa is just under 2900 per square mile. Hillsborough County has just under 1400 per square mile. Pinellas County has over 2000 more people per square mile than Hillsborough. Tampa is a sprawl. Orlando has its own issues of transit and location. Nashville is not getting a team. They have a AAA team that has a 25 year lease on the ballpark there - that is relatively new - and they helped PAY for the park. It would cost well over $1 Billion to build a stadium AND they would have to pay out over $100 Million for voiding the contract with the Nashville Sounds. Many county and city councilors all lost their jobs over the Titans stadium. Nashville is not going to pay for a stadium. Raleigh is the most likely major city to vie for an expansion or relocation. Charlotte has the same problem as Nashville - and Raleigh has the highest per capita income of any city that does not have MLB.
In the Bay Area, the most densely populated area is on the St Pete side. There are over 2000 more people per square mile in Pinellas than there are in Hillsborough. We won't drive to Orlando or the Fairgrounds. That is nearly a million people left out. Add in the people from Manatee and Sarasota Counties just over the Skyway. Over 800,000 there. Between Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties, you have about 1.7 million people. Granted, Hillsborough and Polk are about 2.2 million. But most of Hillsborough's population is closer to Pinellas County. The population center of the Tampa Bay region is actually just a bit north of Tropicana Field where the Gandy comes in from Tampa. Tropicana Field is less than an hour's drive away from over 2 million people.
Also Orlando Rays with a ☀️ logo in the shape of a baseball with rays extending from all sides is fitting for a place like Orlando. keep the name but logo, team colors change Silver,Orange,White, and a hue of Blue or black would be dope.
When Ueberroth was Commissioner, he preferred that MLB be located in Orlando vs. St Pete/Tampa. Much like the A's staying permanently to Sacto, a major portion of their existing fan base could still see them play in Orlando.
Not likely because people will not drive I-4 for a game. It is a mess and always has a 30 minute backup around US-27. Then there's malfunction junction in Tampa while it has been getting worse driving through Lakeland.
Seminole and Orange counties have added an express toll lanes on I-4, and traffic is much better. The next phase of the project is doing the same in Osceola County. Polk and Hillsboro will hopefully follow afterward. The Orlando area roads will be ready for the traffic.
Orlando is the #1 option to stay in FL...get away from the coasts. Other than that, Utah is #2. That's pretty much a guarantee of a stadium and market. From there, MLB still has a handful of markets in the west for expansion and leaves either Nashville or Charlotte for expansion in the east.
Nashville is a no-go. The mayor is on record as saying an ownership group is going to have to privately fund a stadium, because the city isn't going to fund anything. If the Rays aren't going to pay for their own facility in Florida, they're not going to pay for their own facility in Nashville.
Thank you for the breakdown of the Tampa Bay Rays situation. I wish you had gone into more detail about the possibility of repairing Tropicana Field and staying there longer, since that's the option that makes the most sense and the one I support the most. I'm against building new stadiums in general (especially when it involves taxpayer money, as it does in the case of St. Petersburg) and I always thought the complaints about Tropicana Field and the Oakland Coliseum were overblown. If it were up to me, I would spend money to repair and renovate the Tropicana, and scrap the plan to build a new stadium altogether. We can use our stadiums for longer than 30 years for chrissakes.
Raleigh would be the next most likely place for a Ray relocation besides Orlando. If I was the MLB, I would avoid NFL cities since if one wants public money for a venue the baseball team would be second in line. That would make me hesitant about teams in Nashville or Charlotte. Between Tampa and Orlando there should be all five major sports league teams. This is also true between Charlotte and Raleigh.
I have to think the most likely outcome is that the Rays stay in Florida, whether it be in St. Pete or Tampa. Orlando could happen but i think that's less likely. Everything else is a longshot at this point.
Hope you are right. To me Tampa or St. Pete are the most viable options with Orlando next in line. The state of Florida can definitely accommodate two MLB franchises. The NFL has three: Tampa Bay, Miami, and Jacksonville.
Jacksonville and Tampa both share Orlando as a Secondary Market. Jacksonville to be viable also has to market to Orlando very unsuccessfully. My point being the NHL and NBA are better examples.
Would Disney consider even buying a share of the team to put them in Orlando, maybe eventually to own most of it? Didn't they own the Anaheim NHL team and I think the Angels for a while? I don't know if they sold just because it was a good time to sell because they made a lot of money or they weren't as interested.
@@dougfowler1368 They sold it because it was a financial bust for Disney. Likewise, there are conflicts of interest when Disney is both a media partner (for MLB) and owner at the same time.
One thing I don’t see brought up in this analysis is the problem of having expensive structures right by a coast that gets hit by hurricanes. There’s a reason Disney is in the center of the state. Part of the reason the Trop roof repair is an issue is because they had to skimp on insurance. What if this happens again?
It doesn't happen to other stadiums because other stadiums didn't have a balloon for a roof Storms aren't a concern for a real facility. The Trop is a joke
Orlando just gave its tourist tax monies to a football stadium with no home team and a NBa Stadium with a lazy owner and a minor league hockey team. Also Orlando is only 4 media market spots behind Tampa but it’s so interchangeable because Polk County is in the middle off all of that as well as Space Coast not being included but people come to Orlando from all over every day so I don’t know. What I’m saying is Orlando can be successful if the location is right .
I'd think the most likely would be the Rays playing at Steinbrenner for a few years and then moving to a new stadium in Tampa. I think St. P and Penellas County have pretty much reached an impasse with the Rays, and I don't think they'll get a new stadium there. A move to Orlando seems next most likely. The others all fall somewhere below that. I think that Tampa is going to be ready to make a move and get the Rays to their side of the bridge. If they can't pull it off, then it's likely Orlando, and I'd have to imagine that they'd play at the Disney ESPN complex for a few seasons.
If the Rays come to Orlando the Tampa Bay area doesn't necessarily lose the Rays. Orlando and Tampa are really close and the proposed site for a Ballpark wouldn't even require fans from Tampa to come through Downtown Orlando. You also have to think some type of high speed rail between Tampa and Orlando is cooking now that we have it going down to Miami. Moving the Rays to Orlando is still very much like "keeping" the Rays in the Tampa Bay area.
Being in Orlando makes it appealing for those of us on the east coas. I live in Palm Coast and will go to games in Orlando. I haven't gone to a Rays game in 15 years.
The difference between Tampa and St.Pete is that St.Pete (Pinellas County) has a tourist tax or "bed tax" that is specifically for marketing, capital projects, beach restoration, and stadium projects. The tax money for the development would come from that tax. Tampa does not have this and it's one of the main reasons (among others) the multiple proposals from Tampa were shot down. The Tampa (Hillsborough County) residents do not want their own tax dollars going towards a stadium so if the rays build in Tampa it will be completely on their dime, so my guess is that's not going to happen. Their best and most affordable bet is to stay in St.Pete, all those other options are going to be way more expensive for Stu, the penny pinching Rays owner.
*Thank you.* Everyone here talking about any option besides St. Pete and SLC doesn't seem to understand how hooked MLB owners are on the government teat.
@@kjhuang Agreed, the Rays are not a wealthy (relatively) organization like some MLB teams and cannot afford to build a stadium on their own, even if Stu could I don't think he would when there is a bed tax he can take advantage of. Orlando is a giant IF because the residents there would have to approve tax money towards a stadium there as well, the best option for the Rays is just to stick it out with St.Pete.
Thanks for this video Brodie! I'm watching all your Rays video's you've made lately and I appreciate the updates on it! I feel like option 2, where the Rays Move to Tampa or stay in St. Pete and demolish the Trop is the first most likely to me, followed by a possible move to Orlando, as the second option. I didn't know that Disney had a baseball sports complex?? I'll have to look into that! Do you know when Pinellas County is supposed to take their vote on bonds for the Rays?
Still would rather see the A’s in Salt Lake City or back in the east coast this coming from a A’s fan of 40 years that lives in Alabama. So Fisher sell to the miller group already
Montreal is not a viable option in the short term (probably not the long term either, but I'm focusing on the short). Olympic stadium is closed for a long term repair project and isn't scheduled to reopen until 2028.
Thanks, Brodie! Yeah, those are maybe to good possibilities. Five of the top six possible situations. I’d say before Utah, or even Nashville, they might explore North Carolina, just because it’s an Eastern city they wouldn’t need to realign for. As you say, Nashville and Utah seem to be preferred expansion candidates. 1-St. Pete 2-Tampa 3-Orlando 4-North Carolina (Rays have some minor league territorial rights, like the way the Giants and Dodgers did in 1958.) 5-Nashville 6-Utah I’d also think Montreal as a possibility ahead of Nashville and Utah, should the Montreal Stadium situation be resolved: no need for the Rays to build, plus it’s an Eastern city. The Western cities I rank thus: 1-Utah 2-Las Vegas 3-San Antonio (sone interest, plus a big combined market with Austin) 4-Portland (interest, a group working on it, $150 million from the state to help with a stadium) 5-Vancouver (some interest) 6-Oakland (tremendous interest, legit stadium sites) 7-Inland Empire (I’m certain they could support a team, much shorter than a trip to Dodgers or Angels, no local competition in any major league sport)
Best to move them to a city that has only one other major sports franchise…of those choices, Orlando makes the most sense. If Sacramento doesn’t keep the A’s, or San Antonio builds a new complex for Basketball-Baseball. Austin, Raleigh-Durham, Hampton Roads, and Portland would be other good choices.
I suggest Fix the roof play out the contract. Extend it 5 years which will make both the county happy and ownership that extra 5 seasons to work on a solid plan on relocation or new stadium in saint Pete
I'm going Montreal right now It's the only logical choice right now Montreal actually needs a baseball team I'm into 80s baseball and it would be an awesome throwback Book it
Orlando would be a great solution for the Rays. I signed up and waiting to purchase my season tickets. Tampa could easily support baseball but is financially strapped at the time. Orlando can bell the Rays out and keep them in the region.
Thank you for your thoughtful analysis of a situation that very few national media types have any grasp of. I was in the audience as a young reporter when St. Petersburg city councilors made the decision to build what became Tropicana Field. The Tampa Bay and Orlando markets are much more distinct than I think anyone outside of Central Florida can appreciate. For one thing, Interstate 4 between the two is a deathtrap along the lines of the connection between San Francisco/Oakland and Sacramento. Also access to the Disney complex is not all that easy in itself. when the Rays played some regular season games back in the early 2000's they weren't sold out. What's really going to happen I don't know, but I think Manfred doesn't want to lose the Tampa Bay tv market with the big contract negotiations coming up in 2028. I don't think the Yankees and Dodgers will be part of those negotiations so MLB will need every big market they can get. Keep us posted!
...and St Pete feels a very different from Tampa even though it's closer than Orlando. Market wise, Orlando and Tampa are becoming like South FL. Which will be the chief city in 20 years, likely Orlando.
As someone living in Utah, I think Salt Lake is the most turnkey option. We have an empty minor league stadium that seats 14k. We have a multi-billionaire ownership group that is salivating for a team, and we have 900 million dollars of public money ready to spend on a stadium. Would realignment really be that huge of a barrier?
If I lived in SLC I would be pissed,the government has $900,000,000 and SHOULD return it to the population not by appealing the baseball crowd with a baseball team,believe me that $900 million is just the first payment.That city govt will give away the farm to get a team and future money is at risk
Potential divisions in a Salt Lake City scenario: EAST: NYY, Boston, Baltimore, Toronto, CLE or Detroit; CENTRAL: Minnesota, KC, ChiSox, Det or Cle, Houston or Texas; WEST: LAA, Seattle, Vegas, SLC and Houston or Texas
As a Chicago resident and Sox fan, I can tell you it's stalled. The IL mayor is very set on not using taxpayer dollars on a new stadium, and the Sox owner doesn't seem to have any intentions of paying for it himself.
@kjhuang the owner is 90 and the team will be sold soon. The lease is up in 2029. The new owner will want a new stadium in a different neighborhood. The sox stadium is the worst in baseball now that the trop was destroyed
@@blacksportsguru I always roll my eyes at "this ballpark is the worst". As long as it can host players and fans safely, it's fine by me. And yes, that includes the Coliseum and pre-Milton Tropicana. Well, the Sox are gonna pay for their new ballpark themselves. Right? ...right?
Orlando would be a destination for visiting fans just like Vegas is going to be. Lots of hotels. Build it near I Drive and connect it to the Brightline that connects to the airport and will eventually connect to Tampa. It would take Tampa fans the same amount of time to take the Brightline to Orlando as it would to drive to St Petersburg in rush hour traffic. The would basically be in the same media market. Best case scenario imo.
"need" lol. The rest of us take out loans for housing and cars and education. This guy can't even bear to spend his own money on the thing that's supposed to make him money.
As a Ray's fan who's grown up in Florida my whole life I would much rather them stay down here. Although as someone who's moving to The New River valley it would be a whole lot closer if it was in Nashville
Salt lake native; Shovels are in the ground (under wraps) in the power district right outside of the Utah state fair park. Ryan Smith and the Larry H Miller group have already spoken on investing $3.8 billion towards a new, MLB ready ballpark in the 93 acres next to the Rocky Mountain Power plant. That’s aside the over $900 million the city of salt lake is ready to provide to bring the MLB to Utah. Yes, division realignment will be a cumbersome headache to address, but the SEG AND LHM groups are aggressive and ready for the show in SLC.
Orlando clears as an option. SLC has the Jazz, NHL team and MLS team. Not a 4 sport city or tourist destination for non LDS folk. Orlando has much higher population, is growing faster, gets more tourists in one month than SLC does in one year, and is close to St Pete.
@@S_Over_StreetMsybr but MLB granted “a relocation” free as part of the settlement with the San Jose deal. They might say they used that on Vegas and might try and stick them with a relocation fee if they try Utah. Just a thought.
Orlando is the best option. The name can stay the same too. Orlando Rays. They have a great location they can build the stadium. Also a lot of their fans now can still make the trip to games as well when they like. It's also a tourist location. People will come to games around a vacation they have with their family
Exactly. And when they finish the Brightline from Tampa to Orlando, fans can just take that. Imagine if they moved the Rays to Montreal. The only realistic chance they’d get to see the Rays would be if they played in Miami or Atlanta, but then again, they wouldn’t drive 35 minutes over the bridge to watch them, why would they take a flight? Lol
Disney should buy the Rays, and move the team to Orlando, that would be sweet. Their 5th park could be all about sports, with a new baseball stadium as a center point! would be epic, never will happen tho sadly, Disney is very anti-smart decisions these days.
Nashville does have a 10,000 seat minor league park that's only 10 years old that has some room to add seats. Moving there for interim years wouldn't be ridiculous. That said, the Titans just got like a billion dollars and are actively building a new stadium. It was a very contentious project as well. I don't know that Nashville is the slam dunk MLB might think.
@@CitizenKiryu any stadium in Nashville would need to be 90% or more privately funded. Maybe the city gives them a deal on land or taxes, but they won't open the chest.
Problem with Nashville is it is not a very big TV market, I doubt a team can generate enough money to really be stable in Nashville same goes for Utah. Just not large TV revenue for those teams.
8:57 Nashville is Central Time Zone. Not Leastern like Detroit and Cleveland. With that said, politics says that Nashville stays in the East since Detroit and Cleveland are not going to want to separate from each other, Minnesota and the White Sox.
I agree that the chances of the Rays staying in St Pete are getting slimmer by the day. I'm surprised that they even bothered signing a lease for Steinbrenner Field instead of Disney .at least at Disney they wouldn't have scheduling conflicts with a minor league team. My best guess is that they spend no more than 1 season at Steinbrenner, especially if the deal in St Pete officially falls through and they cant make an immediate deal in Tampa. Im guessing that plenty of government officials from locations wanting an MLB team are scrambling to get their finances together for a ballpark to lure the Rays away. It will be much cheaper to get the Rays to move than it will be to get an expansion team (by an order of billions of dollars). If you really want a team, nows your opportunity! And the Rays actually have decent ownership that is capable of fielding a competitive team (unlike the A's or White Sox lately).
Nashville might have trouble drawing people to weeknight games, but some people might be willing to drive 2-3 hours on hold/wknds from Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, in Tennessee Huntsville or Birmingham in Alabama. (Chattanooga is slightly closer to Atlanta.) But those four Tennessee cities are part of 7 million people in the state, so they might have a good tv audience if Nashville hit a team.
There are 2 1/2 million people in the Combined Statistical Area of Nashville, which basically includes everybody within an hour of downtown. You can add 54,000 tourists per day and bump that up a little. By comparison, Raleigh-Durham-Cary has about 100K less than Nashville. Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Kansas City have less. Orlando, Charlotte, and San Antonio have more. FWIW, Sacramento has a larger market than Las Vegas, and Indianapolis is 100K larger than Nashville. Concerning ballparks already in use, Nashville's First Horizon Park seats just 10K, and it was not built to be expanded into a Major League Ballpark. At most, 7,500 bleacher seats could be added around the outfield, but it might force the city to temporarily close a busy street used for entrance and exit for state employee parking.
The issue with Utah is there is an Utah ownership group that wants mlb and they are the ones developing that new Fairpark district (with or without MLB). They would want a major stake in the team and I don’t think the Tampa owner wants to sell. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Other that that complication, Brodie is right, it ls a great option.
How about Vancouver getting a mlb team either expansion or relocation got to believe their better entries our runners than a good block of current mlb markets now especially with the right ownership
@@Hogtownboy1Seattle doesn't have territorial rights in Vancouver. Vancouver is considered Toronto's territory. If anyone would block it, it would be Toronto
Here's what I think might be going on folks; Sternberg wants a new stadium, he's in cahoots with MLB/Manfred. They know filling up a stadium, wherever they put it, isn't going to happen because baseball is really only for mega teams like L.A. N.Y. Boston, St. Louis and a few select others. So, I'm thinkin Sternberg and Manfred agree to keep the Rays in either St. Pete or Tampa, mostly because there's a huge population, large media market, established fan base(although not "optimal). All Sternberg really wants is a new stadium because it's about the only thing that makes his Rays franchise go up in value. Salt Lake isn't getting a team because no way will the MLB allow another high altitude franchise after the Colorado debacle. A team in Nashville is also unlikely as they're a much smaller media market than Tampa(Tampa is 11th, Nashville is 30th). My best guess is the Rays stay in St. Pete but I agree they'd be better off in Tampa.
I would say Nashville and SLC are less than likely options for one big reason right now: Funding for stadium. Nashville is spending $2.2B on a new NFL stadium, while SLC recently approved $900M that could be used for renovations to Delta Center or a new arena all together. Not to mention, some olympic venues will need upgrades before 2034. Wouldn't be surprised if Raleigh/Durham was a possibility. Their minor league affiliate plays in Durham and the Carolina Hurricanes now have somebody in the corporate office where part of his job is quite literally MLB in Raleigh.
Not true about SLC. The $900 million for Delta Center renovations is totally separate from the $900 million for Major League Baseball. Both bills of public money are approved Also, very few upgrades need to be made to Olympic venues. That MLB public money will happen if Utah scores a team before the 2032 deadline.
I'm not saying that it would be the best idea, but I thought that the Rays might play up to 15 home games on weekends in Miami, when the Marlins are away. That's because the Marlins have a retractable roof. They would be assured of getting those games in. I can see how playing a ton of games in Miami would be a problem with the scheduling conflicts with the Marlins. Weekday Rays games in Miami wouldn’t draw 10000 per game.
Montreal should've been included as one of the possible cities, but either way the Rays need to move out of St. Pete. I would use this stadium situation to not return to that area.
Its wild that all of this is because of a storm and someone decided to change an insurance policy. Idk the answer to all this but the Rays didn't cause the storm, don't penalize them for not being able to play in an unusable stadium. Tear it down, let them play in Tampa, build the new stadium and let them move back.
Despite their recent votes I don’t see the Rays staying in St.Petersburg for me either go to Tampa when you should’ve been all along or quench my thirst for a team in Nashville and put them there!!!
Hey Brody, love your videos. You know one of the things that grinds my gear so much as these billionaire sports owners begging us little people for our tax money and then they price the tickets so high that we can't even go to the games that our taxpayer money paid for. Where's the Injustice in that?
Nashville wants a team they can name Nashville star and first black owner. They don't want the rays name. Our other owner. Hope they don't get one. Unless it's Tennessee name
Or since we are moving the Smokies from Kodak to Knoxville they could move to Knoxville for a couple of seasons then while they play in Knoxville build a stadium or just make the Titans stadium to be used for both Rays and Titans
I'm hoping that the Bronfman family is in contact with MLB and the Rays to see about bringing them up to Montreal and to build a new stadium in west Downtown. I know, a pipe dream.
You mean, the 3 - year lease the city owes the Rays a functioning stadium for MLB play. The city has an obligation to provide a MLB stadium for another 3 years. If not, they will owe the Rays quite a bit.
Here’s an option. MLB doesn’t want 3 teams playing in minor league ballparks for 3-4 years while this all get sorted out. The A are already bad, the rays might get bad. MLB says enough and contracts by two teams. Then 1-2 years later expansion to Nashville/Utah/Montreal/Orlando and owners make out like bandits on expansion fees.
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Here's an issue with playing at Steinbrener Field I haven't seen anyone bring up yet........let's say hypothetically, TB makes it all the to The World Series this coming season......how is Major League Baseball going to handle THAT one? Can you imagine that, hosting 3 to 4 World Series games at a spring training facility??! That holds 11,000 people?????!!
Broadcasted all over the world??!! People will laugh about it for decades......"oh yeah, that terrible World Series at the spring training field, yeah I remember THAT one"
I would assume they would be forced to do something similar to 2020 when, coincidentally a World Series involving Tampa Bay was played at a neutral site at The Rangers field. I wouldn't see that working this time around......I mean, if The Cubs won the NL pennant and had to play TB at a neutral site I believe the entire city of Chicago would be fuming if they couldn't go to a World Series Game at Wrigley Field. So the only other option would be to play their home games in the Series in Miami. Eh, forget it......pack up and move to Nashville lol
Miss the days when the biggest concern with the Rays during the winter was who they were going add or subtract from the roster. This off-season has been a nightmare.😨
Here's Brodie Brazil...........
I want that voiceover for me when I enter a room.
@@smokey_gator_239 “Here’s smokey_gator_239”
🤣🤣 hilarious how many times times this exact comment still happens
@brodiebrazil at first I didn't know who you were and didn't realize that you worked for an NBC affiliate. I was like "how does this TH-camr have such a professional quality intro?" 😂
@@RogerBates7 Me too, I am new here since he started covering the Rays situation.
Rays in SLC as an AL East team isn’t any stupider than a bunch of west coast college football teams in the ACC.
I think either they Ybor City Tampa Ballpark will be revived or they will move to Orlando. Just my humble opinion. As someone who lives in-between Orlando and Tampa I would prefer either option. A lot of people around here don't go to games because the drive to the stadium is too long.
Tampa Fairgrounds seems to be the best. Maybe SW Orlando. The fair should not be there on valuable real estate anyway...move it to Wauchula or Bushnell.
I prefer a move to Orlando. We will see what happens.
@@jefferyoswald State Fairgrounds is a horrible location. Not a ton of infrastructure. I-4 cannot handle that traffic. Not sure why you'd move the state fairgrounds north, away from most of the population of the state or south away from interstates. You could argue for finding a place around Lakeland, but that compounds the I-4 problem.
You think attendance is bad in St Pete? It would be far worse there.
St Pete is the best location in the Bay Area. There is more population within a 10 miles radius of Tropicana Field than there is for Raymond James or Amalie. There are two problems with the Rays current home: 1. It feels like a Costco - and few are going to drive or spend money on a Costco. 2. People in Hillsborough are whiners about going over the bridges, though that is changing since St Pete is clearly so much better than Tampa at this point, so people are beginning to realize it is worthwhile to go to Pinellas.
Remember that St Pete, Clearwater, Largo, Pinellas Park, and the beaches all take up less space than Tampa and have more people - over 200,000 more people. Pinellas County has about 3500 per square mile. Tampa is just under 2900 per square mile. Hillsborough County has just under 1400 per square mile. Pinellas County has over 2000 more people per square mile than Hillsborough. Tampa is a sprawl.
Orlando has its own issues of transit and location.
Nashville is not getting a team. They have a AAA team that has a 25 year lease on the ballpark there - that is relatively new - and they helped PAY for the park. It would cost well over $1 Billion to build a stadium AND they would have to pay out over $100 Million for voiding the contract with the Nashville Sounds. Many county and city councilors all lost their jobs over the Titans stadium. Nashville is not going to pay for a stadium.
Raleigh is the most likely major city to vie for an expansion or relocation. Charlotte has the same problem as Nashville - and Raleigh has the highest per capita income of any city that does not have MLB.
In the Bay Area, the most densely populated area is on the St Pete side. There are over 2000 more people per square mile in Pinellas than there are in Hillsborough. We won't drive to Orlando or the Fairgrounds. That is nearly a million people left out. Add in the people from Manatee and Sarasota Counties just over the Skyway. Over 800,000 there. Between Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties, you have about 1.7 million people. Granted, Hillsborough and Polk are about 2.2 million. But most of Hillsborough's population is closer to Pinellas County. The population center of the Tampa Bay region is actually just a bit north of Tropicana Field where the Gandy comes in from Tampa.
Tropicana Field is less than an hour's drive away from over 2 million people.
Also Orlando Rays with a ☀️ logo in the shape of a baseball with rays extending from all sides is fitting for a place like Orlando.
keep the name but logo, team colors change
Silver,Orange,White, and a hue of Blue or black would be dope.
I don’t even know anymore , I’m tired. It’s killing any motivation I have to care about this upcoming season.
I mean yeah this season is basically already a wash
@@McShibby10was that a hurricane joke?
Great content!
When Ueberroth was Commissioner, he preferred that MLB be located in Orlando vs. St Pete/Tampa. Much like the A's staying permanently to Sacto, a major portion of their existing fan base could still see them play in Orlando.
Not likely because people will not drive I-4 for a game. It is a mess and always has a 30 minute backup around US-27. Then there's malfunction junction in Tampa while it has been getting worse driving through Lakeland.
Seminole and Orange counties have added an express toll lanes on I-4, and traffic is much better. The next phase of the project is doing the same in Osceola County. Polk and Hillsboro will hopefully follow afterward. The Orlando area roads will be ready for the traffic.
Orlando is the #1 option to stay in FL...get away from the coasts. Other than that, Utah is #2. That's pretty much a guarantee of a stadium and market. From there, MLB still has a handful of markets in the west for expansion and leaves either Nashville or Charlotte for expansion in the east.
Tampa is the #1 Florida option. MLB doesn't want to trade Tampa for Orlando.
Nashville is a no-go. The mayor is on record as saying an ownership group is going to have to privately fund a stadium, because the city isn't going to fund anything. If the Rays aren't going to pay for their own facility in Florida, they're not going to pay for their own facility in Nashville.
This shirt is a real success! It goes very well with the colorful accents of your graphics/backdrop
Thank you for the breakdown of the Tampa Bay Rays situation. I wish you had gone into more detail about the possibility of repairing Tropicana Field and staying there longer, since that's the option that makes the most sense and the one I support the most. I'm against building new stadiums in general (especially when it involves taxpayer money, as it does in the case of St. Petersburg) and I always thought the complaints about Tropicana Field and the Oakland Coliseum were overblown. If it were up to me, I would spend money to repair and renovate the Tropicana, and scrap the plan to build a new stadium altogether. We can use our stadiums for longer than 30 years for chrissakes.
They can come to Raleigh, NC
Raleigh would be the next most likely place for a Ray relocation besides Orlando. If I was the MLB, I would avoid NFL cities since if one wants public money for a venue the baseball team would be second in line. That would make me hesitant about teams in Nashville or Charlotte.
Between Tampa and Orlando there should be all five major sports league teams. This is also true between Charlotte and Raleigh.
I have to think the most likely outcome is that the Rays stay in Florida, whether it be in St. Pete or Tampa. Orlando could happen but i think that's less likely. Everything else is a longshot at this point.
Hope you are right. To me Tampa or St. Pete are the most viable options with Orlando next in line. The state of Florida can definitely accommodate two MLB franchises. The NFL has three: Tampa Bay, Miami, and Jacksonville.
Jacksonville and Tampa both share Orlando as a Secondary Market. Jacksonville to be viable also has to market to Orlando very unsuccessfully. My point being the NHL and NBA are better examples.
As a Rays fan who lives in Orlando, I have wanted them in Orlando. We have the money and the fans.
Best option
1000 percent correct
Would Disney consider even buying a share of the team to put them in Orlando, maybe eventually to own most of it? Didn't they own the Anaheim NHL team and I think the Angels for a while? I don't know if they sold just because it was a good time to sell because they made a lot of money or they weren't as interested.
well thought out response; however this time disney adds baseball theme park . although could be a reach
@@dougfowler1368 They sold it because it was a financial bust for Disney. Likewise, there are conflicts of interest when Disney is both a media partner (for MLB) and owner at the same time.
I love your videos, Brodie! Keep up the great work!
Brodie Brazil needs to do an episode in Pittsburgh sometime.
th-cam.com/video/U-Ymn-eT6iE/w-d-xo.html
@@brodiebrazil I said in Pittsburgh not about it (P.S. Thank you for covering this but there are a lot of stuff you left out.)
Bring them to Orlando!
One thing I don’t see brought up in this analysis is the problem of having expensive structures right by a coast that gets hit by hurricanes. There’s a reason Disney is in the center of the state. Part of the reason the Trop roof repair is an issue is because they had to skimp on insurance. What if this happens again?
Exactly, that’s why Orlando makes the most sense in Florida
It doesn't happen to other stadiums because other stadiums didn't have a balloon for a roof
Storms aren't a concern for a real facility. The Trop is a joke
I see your point but wasn't Milton the first hurricane to hit the Tampa Bay Area in like 100 years?
Orlando just gave its tourist tax monies to a football stadium with no home team and a NBa Stadium with a lazy owner and a minor league hockey team.
Also Orlando is only 4 media market spots behind Tampa but it’s so interchangeable because Polk County is in the middle off all of that as well as Space Coast not being included but people come to Orlando from all over every day so I don’t know.
What I’m saying is Orlando can be successful if the location is right .
I'd think the most likely would be the Rays playing at Steinbrenner for a few years and then moving to a new stadium in Tampa. I think St. P and Penellas County have pretty much reached an impasse with the Rays, and I don't think they'll get a new stadium there. A move to Orlando seems next most likely. The others all fall somewhere below that. I think that Tampa is going to be ready to make a move and get the Rays to their side of the bridge. If they can't pull it off, then it's likely Orlando, and I'd have to imagine that they'd play at the Disney ESPN complex for a few seasons.
Will Tampa cough up $700 million of public money? That's the key question. MLB owners are whores for their government welfare checks.
If the Rays come to Orlando the Tampa Bay area doesn't necessarily lose the Rays. Orlando and Tampa are really close and the proposed site for a Ballpark wouldn't even require fans from Tampa to come through Downtown Orlando. You also have to think some type of high speed rail between Tampa and Orlando is cooking now that we have it going down to Miami. Moving the Rays to Orlando is still very much like "keeping" the Rays in the Tampa Bay area.
Yeah, but do you really think that many fans would travel from St. Pete and Tampa to Orlando for midweek games?
Being in Orlando makes it appealing for those of us on the east coas. I live in Palm Coast and will go to games in Orlando. I haven't gone to a Rays game in 15 years.
So the Tampa fans who complain about crossing a bridge won’t complain about an afternoon I-4 drive?
@@DallasJack1 I don't know. I just know that whenever I drive to the Tampa area, it's a pain. I don't remember complaining about the drive back.
@ oh don’t worry. You don’t but plenty would. Regardless it’ll be interesting to see what happens
You beat me to it! I was going to do a video similar to yours. Trying to finish the edits, let me know what you think.
The difference between Tampa and St.Pete is that St.Pete (Pinellas County) has a tourist tax or "bed tax" that is specifically for marketing, capital projects, beach restoration, and stadium projects. The tax money for the development would come from that tax. Tampa does not have this and it's one of the main reasons (among others) the multiple proposals from Tampa were shot down. The Tampa (Hillsborough County) residents do not want their own tax dollars going towards a stadium so if the rays build in Tampa it will be completely on their dime, so my guess is that's not going to happen. Their best and most affordable bet is to stay in St.Pete, all those other options are going to be way more expensive for Stu, the penny pinching Rays owner.
*Thank you.* Everyone here talking about any option besides St. Pete and SLC doesn't seem to understand how hooked MLB owners are on the government teat.
@@kjhuang Agreed, the Rays are not a wealthy (relatively) organization like some MLB teams and cannot afford to build a stadium on their own, even if Stu could I don't think he would when there is a bed tax he can take advantage of. Orlando is a giant IF because the residents there would have to approve tax money towards a stadium there as well, the best option for the Rays is just to stick it out with St.Pete.
I4 and I75 intersection? It gives access to a whole lot of fans!
Orlando is the best option.
Thanks for this video Brodie! I'm watching all your Rays video's you've made lately and I appreciate the updates on it! I feel like option 2, where the Rays Move to Tampa or stay in St. Pete and demolish the Trop is the first most likely to me, followed by a possible move to Orlando, as the second option. I didn't know that Disney had a baseball sports complex?? I'll have to look into that! Do you know when Pinellas County is supposed to take their vote on bonds for the Rays?
As a baseball fan who has visited every current stadium, (not yet visited Sacremento). I am hoping they move to another city permanently.
Omaha is available. All they need to do is add 20,000 more seats.
Rays will play in Tampa Steinbrenner Stadium and Athletics will play in Sacramento for the 2025 baseball season.
Still would rather see the A’s in Salt Lake City or back in the east coast this coming from a A’s fan of 40 years that lives in Alabama. So Fisher sell to the miller group already
If they go to Orlando, they should rename the team the Tourists
Montreal is not a viable option in the short term (probably not the long term either, but I'm focusing on the short). Olympic stadium is closed for a long term repair project and isn't scheduled to reopen until 2028.
The Orlando Rays or The Orlando Dreamers!
Orlando is the perfect solution!!!
Orlando Rays would work perfectly. There was an old Southern League team with the same name.
Stade Olympique in Montreal is being renovated to replace the roof and it could take 4 years to complete
Thanks, Brodie! Yeah, those are maybe to good possibilities. Five of the top six possible situations. I’d say before Utah, or even Nashville, they might explore North Carolina, just because it’s an Eastern city they wouldn’t need to realign for. As you say, Nashville and Utah seem to be preferred expansion candidates.
1-St. Pete
2-Tampa
3-Orlando
4-North Carolina (Rays have some minor league territorial rights, like the way the Giants and Dodgers did in 1958.)
5-Nashville
6-Utah
I’d also think Montreal as a possibility ahead of Nashville and Utah, should the Montreal Stadium situation be resolved: no need for the Rays to build, plus it’s an Eastern city.
The Western cities I rank thus:
1-Utah
2-Las Vegas
3-San Antonio (sone interest, plus a big combined market with Austin)
4-Portland (interest, a group working on it, $150 million from the state to help with a stadium)
5-Vancouver (some interest)
6-Oakland (tremendous interest, legit stadium sites)
7-Inland Empire (I’m certain they could support a team, much shorter than a trip to Dodgers or Angels, no local competition in any major league sport)
Montreal doesn’t have a stadium available. It’s being renovated.
Orlando is smart chose for relocation….if they Ray is smart enough…
Won't matter if they have the same cheap ownership
Best to move them to a city that has only one other major sports franchise…of those choices, Orlando makes the most sense. If Sacramento doesn’t keep the A’s, or San Antonio builds a new complex for Basketball-Baseball. Austin, Raleigh-Durham, Hampton Roads, and Portland would be other good choices.
Most of all, i hope the cost overruns make Sternberg sell his 48%
I suggest Fix the roof play out the contract. Extend it 5 years which will make both the county happy and ownership that extra 5 seasons to work on a solid plan on relocation or new stadium in saint Pete
I'm going Montreal right now
It's the only logical choice right now
Montreal actually needs a baseball team
I'm into 80s baseball and it would be an awesome throwback
Book it
Orlando would be a great solution for the Rays. I signed up and waiting to purchase my season tickets. Tampa could easily support baseball but is financially strapped at the time. Orlando can bell the Rays out and keep them in the region.
Thank you for your thoughtful analysis of a situation that very few national media types have any grasp of. I was in the audience as a young reporter when St. Petersburg city councilors made the decision to build what became Tropicana Field. The Tampa Bay and Orlando markets are much more distinct than I think anyone outside of Central Florida can appreciate. For one thing, Interstate 4 between the two is a deathtrap along the lines of the connection between San Francisco/Oakland and Sacramento. Also access to the Disney complex is not all that easy in itself. when the Rays played some regular season games back in the early 2000's they weren't sold out. What's really going to happen I don't know, but I think Manfred doesn't want to lose the Tampa Bay tv market with the big contract negotiations coming up in 2028. I don't think the Yankees and Dodgers will be part of those negotiations so MLB will need every big market they can get. Keep us posted!
...and St Pete feels a very different from Tampa even though it's closer than Orlando. Market wise, Orlando and Tampa are becoming like South FL. Which will be the chief city in 20 years, likely Orlando.
As someone living in Utah, I think Salt Lake is the most turnkey option. We have an empty minor league stadium that seats 14k. We have a multi-billionaire ownership group that is salivating for a team, and we have 900 million dollars of public money ready to spend on a stadium. Would realignment really be that huge of a barrier?
The A's would be a better suitor for Utah
Yes. Orlando is a better option. Bigger population and gets 20 times more visitors. Also growing faster than SLC.
@@stinkincooldesigns8469agree, if Vegas falters ⚾️
If I lived in SLC I would be pissed,the government has $900,000,000 and SHOULD return it to the population not by appealing the baseball crowd with a baseball team,believe me that $900 million is just the first payment.That city govt will give away the farm to get a team and future money is at risk
@@BlackSaiyan24 Forget all that. Does Orlando have $900 million of public money they're ready to piss away on an MLB stadium?
I feel like Utah is the escape hatch for the A's when the Vegas ballpark falls through.
Potential divisions in a Salt Lake City scenario: EAST: NYY, Boston, Baltimore, Toronto, CLE or Detroit; CENTRAL: Minnesota, KC, ChiSox, Det or Cle, Houston or Texas; WEST: LAA, Seattle, Vegas, SLC and Houston or Texas
That Disney ballpark is pretty nice, from what I hear.
Small though. Approx. 7500 or so.
@@ArizonaHotSaucecan easily add more seats, it’s 2024.
Wrong, Brevard County seat Viera,. Though the Kissimee Devil Ray's sounds wild. If they move to Rhode Island change the name to the MUD HENS.
Montreal getting a new stadium already makes them an interest future destination too
Can you do a update on white sox stadium situation
As a Chicago resident and Sox fan, I can tell you it's stalled. The IL mayor is very set on not using taxpayer dollars on a new stadium, and the Sox owner doesn't seem to have any intentions of paying for it himself.
Why can't the White Sox keep playing at Guaranteed Rate Field? Too old?
@@kjhuang They Absolutely can keep playing there. It's honestly a nice place to see a game. It's just not a destination ballpark.
@kjhuang the owner is 90 and the team will be sold soon. The lease is up in 2029. The new owner will want a new stadium in a different neighborhood. The sox stadium is the worst in baseball now that the trop was destroyed
@@blacksportsguru I always roll my eyes at "this ballpark is the worst". As long as it can host players and fans safely, it's fine by me. And yes, that includes the Coliseum and pre-Milton Tropicana.
Well, the Sox are gonna pay for their new ballpark themselves. Right?
...right?
Orlando would be a destination for visiting fans just like Vegas is going to be. Lots of hotels. Build it near I Drive and connect it to the Brightline that connects to the airport and will eventually connect to Tampa. It would take Tampa fans the same amount of time to take the Brightline to Orlando as it would to drive to St Petersburg in rush hour traffic. The would basically be in the same media market. Best case scenario imo.
Imagine how bad I-4 traffic would be with Disney, Universal, the new Epic Universe park and a Yankees/ Rays game in June. Ouch.
I’m sooo pulling for them to move to Orlando. It’s only 1 1/2 to 2 hours away from Tampa. I would be a season ticket holder if they do
The owner needs to finance the stadium himself. He can take out a dang loan like we all do when we can't afford what we need.
"need" lol. The rest of us take out loans for housing and cars and education. This guy can't even bear to spend his own money on the thing that's supposed to make him money.
As a Ray's fan who's grown up in Florida my whole life I would much rather them stay down here. Although as someone who's moving to The New River valley it would be a whole lot closer if it was in Nashville
Salt lake native;
Shovels are in the ground (under wraps) in the power district right outside of the Utah state fair park. Ryan Smith and the Larry H Miller group have already spoken on investing $3.8 billion towards a new, MLB ready ballpark in the 93 acres next to the Rocky Mountain Power plant. That’s aside the over $900 million the city of salt lake is ready to provide to bring the MLB to Utah. Yes, division realignment will be a cumbersome headache to address, but the SEG AND LHM groups are aggressive and ready for the show in SLC.
The As would be the option then if Vegas doesn't work out
Except that $900 mil is from the state, not the city.
If Las Vegas fails for the A’s, they’re moving to Utah.
Orlando clears as an option. SLC has the Jazz, NHL team and MLS team. Not a 4 sport city or tourist destination for non LDS folk. Orlando has much higher population, is growing faster, gets more tourists in one month than SLC does in one year, and is close to St Pete.
@@S_Over_StreetMsybr but MLB granted “a relocation” free as part of the settlement with the San Jose deal. They might say they used that on Vegas and might try and stick them with a relocation fee if they try Utah. Just a thought.
Hey, Amazing!
If MLB is giving up on expansion for now then Nashville and Utah are definitely in the running for the rays.
Utah would be a stretch it would mean a realignment teams wouldn't want to travel to SLC ,the As would be a better pick for SLC
charlotte,san antonio,,orlando,Austin ,Memphis,new orleans,birmingham,kentucky,indianapolis,omaha, oklahoma,columbus
Orlando is the best option. The name can stay the same too. Orlando Rays. They have a great location they can build the stadium. Also a lot of their fans now can still make the trip to games as well when they like. It's also a tourist location. People will come to games around a vacation they have with their family
Exactly. And when they finish the Brightline from Tampa to Orlando, fans can just take that. Imagine if they moved the Rays to Montreal. The only realistic chance they’d get to see the Rays would be if they played in Miami or Atlanta, but then again, they wouldn’t drive 35 minutes over the bridge to watch them, why would they take a flight? Lol
Will Orlando cough up $700 million in public money to help pay for the stadium? That's where the conversation begins and ends.
@@kjhuang it wouldn’t be public money. It’ll be the TDT tax. Tourists will pay for it
Rays' future is uncertain
Disney should buy the Rays, and move the team to Orlando, that would be sweet. Their 5th park could be all about sports, with a new baseball stadium as a center point! would be epic, never will happen tho sadly, Disney is very anti-smart decisions these days.
Nashville does have a 10,000 seat minor league park that's only 10 years old that has some room to add seats. Moving there for interim years wouldn't be ridiculous.
That said, the Titans just got like a billion dollars and are actively building a new stadium. It was a very contentious project as well. I don't know that Nashville is the slam dunk MLB might think.
@@CitizenKiryu any stadium in Nashville would need to be 90% or more privately funded. Maybe the city gives them a deal on land or taxes, but they won't open the chest.
Come to Durham, the bulls seats 11k from what I remember. Also we have a much better history with baseball
Problem with Nashville is it is not a very big TV market, I doubt a team can generate enough money to really be stable in Nashville same goes for Utah. Just not large TV revenue for those teams.
@@scotttild True. That's also a key point of why the Tampa/St. Pete thing is what it is. That market for west central Florida is actually huge for TV.
False equivalence. Nashville TV market is already bigger than Cincinnati.
How about San Antonio/Austin?
Would love the Rays in Orlando . I know the Orlando Dreamers group were thinking of a stadium by Sea World .
They hate Montreal like they hate Oakland.
Nashville…the South Loves baseball…give them to a city that will show up
8:57 Nashville is Central Time Zone. Not Leastern like Detroit and Cleveland. With that said, politics says that Nashville stays in the East since Detroit and Cleveland are not going to want to separate from each other, Minnesota and the White Sox.
Orlando to get the rays
I agree that the chances of the Rays staying in St Pete are getting slimmer by the day.
I'm surprised that they even bothered signing a lease for Steinbrenner Field instead of Disney .at least at Disney they wouldn't have scheduling conflicts with a minor league team.
My best guess is that they spend no more than 1 season at Steinbrenner, especially if the deal in St Pete officially falls through and they cant make an immediate deal in Tampa.
Im guessing that plenty of government officials from locations wanting an MLB team are scrambling to get their finances together for a ballpark to lure the Rays away. It will be much cheaper to get the Rays to move than it will be to get an expansion team (by an order of billions of dollars). If you really want a team, nows your opportunity! And the Rays actually have decent ownership that is capable of fielding a competitive team (unlike the A's or White Sox lately).
Could they play at Al Lang Stadium?
They could set up a joint plan with Disney World like the Angels once had (in the 70s) with Disneyland.
Nashville might have trouble drawing people to weeknight games, but some people might be willing to drive 2-3 hours on hold/wknds from Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, in Tennessee Huntsville or Birmingham in Alabama. (Chattanooga is slightly closer to Atlanta.)
But those four Tennessee cities are part of 7 million people in the state, so they might have a good tv audience if Nashville hit a team.
Tennessee is in two time zones. Who is going to a game on any given Saturday night when there is the Grand Old Opry.
There are 2 1/2 million people in the Combined Statistical Area of Nashville, which basically includes everybody within an hour of downtown. You can add 54,000 tourists per day and bump that up a little. By comparison, Raleigh-Durham-Cary has about 100K less than Nashville. Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Kansas City have less. Orlando, Charlotte, and San Antonio have more. FWIW, Sacramento has a larger market than Las Vegas, and Indianapolis is 100K larger than Nashville.
Concerning ballparks already in use, Nashville's First Horizon Park seats just 10K, and it was not built to be expanded into a Major League Ballpark. At most, 7,500 bleacher seats could be added around the outfield, but it might force the city to temporarily close a busy street used for entrance and exit for state employee parking.
We have a ballpark down in Rhode Island that can be expanded and or rebuilt
Orlando Mickey Mice sounds about right
Why not somewhere in NC? Their AAA team is in Durham
The issue with Utah is there is an Utah ownership group that wants mlb and they are the ones developing that new Fairpark district (with or without MLB). They would want a major stake in the team and I don’t think the Tampa owner wants to sell. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Other that that complication, Brodie is right, it ls a great option.
The Tampa owner would sell before having to spend more of his own precious money, which he would have to do for any location besides SLC and St. Pete.
How about the A’s play thier 7 games against Blue Jays in Vancouver.
That's more realistic than Montreal, where the stadium won't be re opening until 2028 after renovations..
How about Vancouver getting a mlb team either expansion or relocation got to believe their better entries our runners than a good block of current mlb markets now especially with the right ownership
@@paunuttree 💯
@ the problem is Seattle would work to block it and weak Canadian dollar.
@@Hogtownboy1Seattle doesn't have territorial rights in Vancouver. Vancouver is considered Toronto's territory. If anyone would block it, it would be Toronto
What about a situation like the arizona coyotes where they have to relocate because they are stuck in a temporary facility with no in market option
Here's what I think might be going on folks; Sternberg wants a new stadium, he's in cahoots with MLB/Manfred. They know filling up a stadium, wherever they put it, isn't going to happen because baseball is really only for mega teams like L.A. N.Y. Boston, St. Louis and a few select others.
So, I'm thinkin Sternberg and Manfred agree to keep the Rays in either St. Pete or Tampa, mostly because there's a huge population, large media market, established fan base(although not "optimal). All Sternberg really wants is a new stadium because it's about the only thing that makes his Rays franchise go up in value.
Salt Lake isn't getting a team because no way will the MLB allow another high altitude franchise after the Colorado debacle. A team in Nashville is also unlikely as they're a much smaller media market than Tampa(Tampa is 11th, Nashville is 30th).
My best guess is the Rays stay in St. Pete but I agree they'd be better off in Tampa.
Good points on all. The TV market is the golden goose here. That matters far more than any attendance issues.
Could montreal be an option? The owner wanted to split their seasons there.
I would say Nashville and SLC are less than likely options for one big reason right now: Funding for stadium. Nashville is spending $2.2B on a new NFL stadium, while SLC recently approved $900M that could be used for renovations to Delta Center or a new arena all together. Not to mention, some olympic venues will need upgrades before 2034. Wouldn't be surprised if Raleigh/Durham was a possibility. Their minor league affiliate plays in Durham and the Carolina Hurricanes now have somebody in the corporate office where part of his job is quite literally MLB in Raleigh.
Not true about SLC. The $900 million for Delta Center renovations is totally separate from the $900 million for Major League Baseball. Both bills of public money are approved Also, very few upgrades need to be made to Olympic venues. That MLB public money will happen if Utah scores a team before the 2032 deadline.
@ even then, the MLB doesn’t want to move a team across the country and ruin the conference alignments
@@GoalHornGeekWould it kill MLB to move three teams to different divisions?
Will they sell out at Steinbrenner field
Montreal Olympic Stadium is being renovated. No chance there
Would it be cheaper for the Rays to bulldoze Tropicana and build the new stadium there
No. The map of the new stadium is already decided.
I'm not saying that it would be the best idea, but I thought that the Rays might play up to 15 home games on weekends in Miami, when the Marlins are away. That's because the Marlins have a retractable roof. They would be assured of getting those games in. I can see how playing a ton of games in Miami would be a problem with the scheduling conflicts with the Marlins. Weekday Rays games in Miami wouldn’t draw 10000 per game.
Montreal should've been included as one of the possible cities, but either way the Rays need to move out of St. Pete. I would use this stadium situation to not return to that area.
Its wild that all of this is because of a storm and someone decided to change an insurance policy. Idk the answer to all this but the Rays didn't cause the storm, don't penalize them for not being able to play in an unusable stadium. Tear it down, let them play in Tampa, build the new stadium and let them move back.
Despite their recent votes I don’t see the Rays staying in St.Petersburg for me either go to Tampa when you should’ve been all along or quench my thirst for a team in Nashville and put them there!!!
I dont see Rays playing multiple seasons at Steinbrenner. Yankess dont want to give up their digs and its a bad look for Mlb.
They Yankees are not giving up anything. The Rays are paying a small fortune to play there. $15M per year for a MiLB ball park is a lot.
@@ArizonaHotSauce $15 million is not a pimple on their ass dude. Whatever.
The Utah Utes will play one more season at Smith's Ballpark before getting an on-campus stadium.
Lacob should buy the Rays and move them to Oakland.
Hey Brody, love your videos. You know one of the things that grinds my gear so much as these billionaire sports owners begging us little people for our tax money and then they price the tickets so high that we can't even go to the games that our taxpayer money paid for. Where's the Injustice in that?
FYSA, Stu Sternberg (owns only 48% of the Rays) is not a billionaire.
If Nashville does indeed get an MLB team, PLEZ keep the clever Sounds name!
Nashville wants a team they can name Nashville star and first black owner. They don't want the rays name. Our other owner. Hope they don't get one. Unless it's Tennessee name
Or since we are moving the Smokies from Kodak to Knoxville they could move to Knoxville for a couple of seasons then while they play in Knoxville build a stadium or just make the Titans stadium to be used for both Rays and Titans
I'm hoping that the Bronfman family is in contact with MLB and the Rays to see about bringing them up to Montreal and to build a new stadium in west Downtown. I know, a pipe dream.
@@billdapp2491 with The Canadian dollar so weak and the Bromfman not owning Seagrams anymore. I dont see it happening
If the Rays relocate anywhere, what about the 3 year lease they still have to fulfill in St. Pete?
You mean, the 3 - year lease the city owes the Rays a functioning stadium for MLB play. The city has an obligation to provide a MLB stadium for another 3 years. If not, they will owe the Rays quite a bit.
St Pete isn't holding up to their end of the lease
Here’s an option. MLB doesn’t want 3 teams playing in minor league ballparks for 3-4 years while this all get sorted out. The A are already bad, the rays might get bad. MLB says enough and contracts by two teams. Then 1-2 years later expansion to Nashville/Utah/Montreal/Orlando and owners make out like bandits on expansion fees.
Montreal!!! Be cool to see a team there again.