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Originally Posted by moorhosj1
The White Sox have hit 2 million ONCE in the past decade. There are only going to be 2 expansion opportunities, in order to bring MLB to 32 total teams. That means that a few cities will be left out.
If we look at the four cities below, none of them are over-saturated with pro sports teams. They each have fewer than 3 of the 4 majors (NHL, MLB, NBA, NFL).
As far as fan interest, the White Sox averaged 20,500 fans in 2023. Here is average 2023 attendance for MLS teams in the possible cities.
Nashville - 28,250
Charlotte - 35,500
Salt Lake - 19,500
Portland - 23,000
Montreal - 16,000
Austin - 20,750
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While there are no hard and fast rules for the pro-sports market saturation, I'd argue very generally that metros under 3 million having three, or all four, of the pro-sports leagues is really pushing residents' allocated sports entertainment dollars to their limits.
Nashville (Preds and Titans) and Charlotte (Panthers and Bobcats) are home to two pro franchises already. Granted, both metros project to have continued strong population growth in the next few decades.
I think Austin, the largest metro without a pro team, is due a team of some sort. MLB will not really encroach on the UofT programs like a pro-NFL team would, and it has gained a strong corporate tech presence that should bolster sponsorship advertising, etc.
Quote:
OrdoSeclorum
Exactly. Anyone who says "The city should spend exactly $0.00..." Simply isn't a serious person.
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I am absolutely in agreement. No sports team should get a dollar for these stadiums. We should already have laws prohibiting as much.
That said, I am also a realist, and I know that nearly all MLB teams have received either infrastructure subsidies at the minimum (SF Giants) or, in many more cases in MLB, upwards of half or more of the stadium cost. I hope this ends up with more of a Giants model where most of the stadium itself was privately funded, given that is probably the best-case scenario while making the 78 ballparks happen and retaining the Sox. I have no issue with letting the Sox walk, though, if the residents and politicians finally decide enough is enough. In fact, nothing would make me prouder.
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