CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Could Major League Baseball be a reality for Charlotte? The Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred alluded that Charlotte is on a short list of possible expansion cities.
The commissioner said he was optimistic about baseball's future and thought of expanding the league with several new teams.
Manfred named Charlotte, Oklahoma City, Mexico City, Portland, Las Vegas, Montreal and San Antonio as possible sites for future baseball expansion.
In Charlotte, reaction was joy tempered with a dose of reality.
“It takes deep pockets and it takes the right site," said Charlotte Knights General Manager Scotty Brown. The Knights have seen a big attendance spike now in their second season playing uptown. However, Brown said the major league is literally a different ball game.”
The process takes years, Brown said.
"It's great to be in the conversation but these things take years and years and years. I mean, it took 10 years to get BB&T Ballpark built," he said.
Michael Smith heads Center City Partners and was blunt about Charlotte's chances of getting a major league team any time soon.
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"We're not ready for Major League Baseball. We're decades away,” Smith said. “The idea of us having 82 home games with 35,000 to 50,000 seats and somewhere between 60 and 90 suites to sell, it's just not where we are.”
It's simple math at this point, Smith said. “Not only population, but overall entertainment revenue and consumption.
Most major league stadiums are three to five times the size of BB&T Ballpark, Brown said. The thought of building another stadium was a concern for some fans like Kelly Eudy.
"That would be the issue probably, paying for the stadium," she said.
Others thought a major league team would add to the economy.
"I'm all about building the city up and bringing more and more here. More business," Dana Finley said.
The commissioner told reporters he wants to expand the sport but did not give a specific timetable. It would be the league's first expansion since 1998.
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