MLB in Vancouver?

[Migrant_Coconut]

None. It's hype. Any kind of committee or study or any kind of half-assed exploration that goes nowhere will happen after the election.

[Tysonbrown]

Build it in Surrey. They want a stadium. How bout sending crowds "out of downtown" for a change?

[logan5]

Originally Posted by Tysonbrown

Build it in Surrey. They want a stadium. How bout sending crowds "out of downtown" for a change?

Sporting events aren't just about the game itself, it's about the game day experience. Surrey would be terrible for that.

The chance of Vancouver getting a MLB team are somewhere between slim and none, but it's worth exploring, because Vancouver would be a good baseball market. The Vancouver crowds at Blue Jay games in Seattle demonstrate that.

And the Vancouver TV market (4 418 000) ranks 19th largest in the US and Canada, right in the same ballpark as Denver, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, and Minneapolis-St. Paul, where each of those cities supports all 5 of the major sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, MLS). On top of that, a Vancouver team would have the potential to draw viewership from all of Canada, similar to how the Blue Jays do. The Blue Jays draw an average of 900 000 viewers per game. The Yankees draw 493 000 viewers per game in the Yankees wider regional footprint.

A pretty good business case could be made.

[mcj]

Originally Posted by logan5

Sporting events aren't just about the game itself, it's about the game day experience. Surrey would be terrible for that.

The chance of Vancouver getting a MLB team are somewhere between slim and none, but it's worth exploring, because Vancouver would be a good baseball market. The Vancouver crowds at Blue Jay games in Seattle demonstrate that.

And the Vancouver TV market (4 418 000) ranks 19th largest in the US and Canada, right in the same ballpark as Denver, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, and Minneapolis-St. Paul, where each of those cities supports all 5 of the major sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, MLS). On top of that, a Vancouver team would have the potential to draw viewership from all of Canada, similar to how the Blue Jays do.

A pretty good business case could be made.

In this scenario, which is a fantasy since there's zero indication that the MLB is even interested in this, Surrey could reverse their anti-nightlife policy and actually develop their downtown into a livable place that includes regular downtown things like nightlife/game day experience.

Montreal makes even more sense in terms of TV market size, can't imagine they wouldn't get a team before Vancouver does. Really the only way this happens is if the Canadian economy outperforms the US and there's interest from US entities, like the MLB, to expand here.

[Migrant_Coconut]

There's an even better case for an NBA team (which we've already had), and we're not getting that one soon either.

[Tysonbrown]

Originally Posted by logan5

Sporting events aren't just about the game itself, it's about the game day experience. Surrey would be terrible for that.

The chance of Vancouver getting a MLB team are somewhere between slim and none, but it's worth exploring, because Vancouver would be a good baseball market. The Vancouver crowds at Blue Jay games in Seattle demonstrate that.

And the Vancouver TV market (4 418 000) ranks 19th largest in the US and Canada, right in the same ballpark as Denver, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, and Minneapolis-St. Paul, where each of those cities supports all 5 of the major sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, MLS). On top of that, a Vancouver team would have the potential to draw viewership from all of Canada, similar to how the Blue Jays do. The Blue Jays draw an average of 900 000 viewers per game. The Yankees draw 493 000 viewers per game in the Yankees wider regional footprint.

A pretty good business case could be made.

"If you build it...they will come". Seems to me, that statement was from a baseball movie...

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by Tysonbrown

"If you build it...they will come". Seems to me, that statement was from a baseball movie...

Tell it to the Marlins - their stadium's 2/3rds empty every game.

[Tysonbrown]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Tell it to the Marlins - their stadium's 2/3rds empty every game.

Good point. I really was talking about the development of restaurants and bars, etc.

[jollyburger]

After The Globe and Mail talked to three sources with direct knowledge not only of who is leading this project, but what it might involve, a clearer picture has emerged of just how far along plans are in terms of making this MLB fantasy a reality. That said, this goal is far from a sure thing.
The Globe is not naming the three sources because they were not authorized to discuss the plan’s details.

The person leading the project is Zack Ross, president of the Cape Group, a Vancouver-based residential and commercial real estate company, according to the three sources. Ross is a relatively low-key figure in the city’s establishment firmament. He did not respond to e-mail and phone messages sent and left by The Globe requesting an interview.

Mr. Sim’s office also declined an invitation to talk about the project.
It’s understood that Mr. Ross’s interest in pursuing an MLB franchise began several years ago when he was asked by the then-owners of the Vancouver Canadians minor-league baseball team to find a site for a potential new stadium for the team to play in. That process apparently sparked the idea in Mr. Ross of pursuing an MLB franchise, according to one of the sources. (The Canadians never did move from their existing stadium.)

Here are some of the things we now know about the bid and some of the people involved in it.

Two of the sources said that Mr. Ross has employed the services of Jac Sperling to help recruit potential investors and put together a credible MLB pitch.

There may not be a better-connected sports executive in the U.S. than Mr. Sperling, founder of Grit Rock Ventures. He’s been involved at the highest levels in all the major professional sports leagues in the U.S. He was instrumental in helping Seattle land its NHL team. Especially key is the fact that he knows the people who have the kind of money in America that might be interested in investing in an MLB franchise in Vancouver.

Among the groups that have apparently expressed an interest are the owners of the San Francisco 49ers, said one of the sources. An investment arm of the team called 49ers Enterprises already owns English soccer team Leeds United and has a controlling stake in the Scottish soccer giant Rangers FC.

The owners of the Seattle Kraken is another group linked to the bid, the source said. The NHL club is owned by One Roof Sports, and led by majority owner and chair, Samantha Holloway.

Others who have apparently expressed enthusiasm in becoming part of the endeavour include Vancouver-born movie star Ryan Reynolds, according to the source. His publicist did not respond to a request from The Globe for comment.

There is at least one rendering of what a new stadium would look like that was conceived by the same architecture firm – Populous – behind the Las Vegas Sphere, two of the sources who saw the rendering said. Populous is also a world leader in baseball-stadium design and has either created, helped create or overseen the renovation of at least 20 MLB ballparks.

The bid group has come up with a design for an open-air stadium. The rationale? The minor-league Canadians had only a handful of rainouts in 2025. The rain-day counts in Vancouver over the months MLB plays compare favourably to other cities that currently have major-league teams that play in stadiums with no roof, including San Francisco. The Seattle Mariners, however, do have a retractable roof on their stadium that they closed for 10 games in 2025.

And where would the stadium go? One of the sources said the site that the bid group has zeroed in on is an almost nine-hectare (20 acres) plot of city-owned land on the south shore of False Creek, just east of the Cambie Bridge. By MLB standards, it is certainly sufficient space.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/b...lb-bid-is-credible-and-connected-enough/

[WarrenC12]

Sure why not. The kids from the new Olympic Village school can catch home runs that get hit out of the park.

[GenWhy?]

Sorry is the bid group's intent on buying the City lands for their proposed building? Almost would like to keep the Parks Board on for this to blow over so we don't sell park land to a few billionaires

[Migrant_Coconut]

Didn't they already reject the Waterfront stadium because it was too hard to get people or freight in and out? I can't imagine 1st and Columbia will be any easier.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Didn't they already reject the Waterfront stadium because it was too hard to get people or freight in and out? I can't imagine 1st and Columbia will be any easier.

The site is currently a public works yard and parking lot and is directly beside a Skytrain station. Access shouldn’t be an issue.

[logan5]

No to MLS!! No to MLB!! No to FIFA!! No to fireworks!! No to any culture!! Lame people for a lame city.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by logan5

No to MLS!! No to MLB!! No to FIFA!! No to fireworks!! No to any culture!! Lame people for a lame city.

It's okay you don't have to watch just using your tax money.

[Glow Fun City]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Didn't they already reject the Waterfront stadium because it was too hard to get people or freight in and out? I can't imagine 1st and Columbia will be any easier.

I thought the main issue was dangerous goods being stored in the railyard…

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by logan5

No to MLS!! No to MLB!! No to FIFA!! No to fireworks!! No to any culture!! Lame people for a lame city.

How about Yes to a rational, planned approach to these things rather than spur of the moment promises made in the lead up to an election?

[Migrant_Coconut]

Yes to a Granville Elevator and proper pedway, yes to fireworks, yes to a new Lost Lagoon, yes to the blueway, yes to more SkyTrains, yes to NEFC... yes to a lot of things which'll be put on hold even longer if we blow $4 billion on a stadium whose attendance numbers are dubious.

We can't even sell out Nat Bailey. We have no reason to believe an MLB team won't end up like the Marlins.

Originally Posted by Glow Fun City

I thought the main issue was dangerous goods being stored in the railyard…

I believe it was both. OV doesn't have hazmats, but it does have a lack of egress points.