Predict where the A's end up

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ejd_5277

EOG Dedicated
Rather than clutter the daily discussion thread, post your predictions here.

My top 10:

1.) Nashville. Far and away the most logical choice IMO. This was a city with zero pro sports teams 30 years ago and both the Titans and the Preds have proven successful. 29th largest TV market, but they would bring at a minimum the Memphis (#51) and Knoxville (#62) markets with them.

The stumbling block as I see it is that the Braves and Cardinals (and to a lesser extent the Reds) would have something to say about it as a team there would cut into huge swaths of both fan bases and TV markets.

2.) Charlotte. I would say that overall the pro teams there maybe aren't quite the draw they are in Nashville, but other than being squarely in current Braves territory it checks all the boxes. #22 TV market and would bring Raleigh-Durham, (#24) Greenville-Spartanburg, (#35; includes Asheville, NC) and Greensboro/Winston Salem (#47) along for the ride as well as maybe Columbia, SC (#76) and Charleston (#89) too. That's a LOT of homes reached. Definitely makes the most sense from a TV contract perspectiv, but as with Nashville, the Braves will have something to say.

3.) Salt Lake City. This keeps the franchise in the West and avoids a potential realignment headache for the league. It also gives the Rockies a natural geographic rival. More baseball at altitude but not quite as high as Denver (about 4,400 feet I think) Also MUCH better weather than Denver. (and Denver isn't bad to begin with.) #30 TV market and the entire state of Utah, as well as Boise, (#101) the rest of S/SE Idaho, NE Nevada, SW Wyoming and Centall and Western Montana come along too.

4.) Portland. Keeps them in the West, and it's the largest TV market in the west without a team, but for some reason I just don't think there's a lot of interest in a team there. Besides, would they be able to go more than a month at the new stadium site without it getting burned down by rioters? (I'm only half-kidding.) Contrary to what most think, the weather there for baseball season is actually very good. (It's the winters that are awful.) I just think the city and its residents have other things on their minds right now.

5.) Monterrey, MX. Don't laugh... I think this is a real possibility. It gets MLB into a Latin American market of over 5.3 million people, yet it's just as easy to get to by air as most of the Texas cities. As with most big Latin American/Caribbean cities, the sport is immensely popular there. Fantastic weather year round and despite the fact that it's surrounded by mountains,the city itself is only 1,770 feet above sea level, or just 700 feet higher than Atlanta. It would immediately become 'Central America's team," and TV viewership would be through the roof. It's far preferable to Mexico City in terms of geography and elevation (baseball at 7.400 feet would be an even bigger shit show than in Denver.) and the metro area is more than large enough to support 81 home games a year.

Dark horses:

1.) Indianapolis. #25 TV market, but too many other teams close by so likely wouldn't bring any other big markets with it.
2.) San Antonio. Same situation as Indy; market already saturated
3.) Orlando. Largest TV market (#17) without a team but baseball in Florida has pretty much shown to be a failure in terms of fan support
4.) Albuquerque. Fantastic weather and would make a great natural rival for the Rockies and D-Backs, just not big enough a market to support 81 home games.
5.) Buffalo. The big draws here are a tremendous natural rival in Toronto and a stadium that because of the modifications they had to make last year is the closest to being big-league ready. The Jays would vehemently oppose this though, as would the Mets and Yankees. Shitty weather too.

In my heart of hearts I think MLB wants to keep them out west so SLC and Monterrey are my favorites, followed by Charlotte, Nashville and Portland in that order.
 
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WildBill

WildBill

2
ejd_5277 said:
Rather than clutter the daily discussion thread, post your predictions here.

My top 10:

1.) Nashville. Far and away the most logical choice IMO. This was a city with zero pro sports teams 30 years ago and both the Titans and the Preds have proven successful. 29th largest TV market, but they would bring at a minimum the Memphis (#51) and Knoxville (#62) markets with them.

The stumbling block as I see it is that the Braves and Cardinals (and to a lesser extent the Reds) would have something to say about it as a team there would cut into huge swaths of both fan bases and TV markets.

2.) Charlotte. I would say that overall the pro teams there maybe aren't quite the draw they are in Nashville, but other than being squarely in current Braves territory it checks all the boxes. #22 TV market and would bring Raleigh-Durham, (#24) Greenville-Spartanburg, (#35; includes Asheville, NC) and Greensboro/Winston Salem (#47) along for the ride as well as maybe Columbia, SC (#76) and Charleston (#89) too. That's a LOT of homes reached. Definitely makes the most sense from a TV contract perspectiv, but as with Nashville, the Braves will have something to say.

3.) Salt Lake City. This keeps the franchise in the West and avoids a potential realignment headache for the league. It also gives the Rockies a natural geographic rival. More baseball at altitude but not quite as high as Denver (about 4,400 feet I think) Also MUCH better weather than Denver. (and Denver isn't bad to begin with.) #30 TV market and the entire state of Utah, as well as Boise, (#101) the rest of S/SE Idaho, NE Nevada, SW Wyoming and Centall and Western Montana come along too.

4.) Portland. Keeps them in the West, and it's the largest TV market in the west without a team, but for some reason I just don't think there's a lot of interest in a team there. Besides, would they be able to go more than a month at the new stadium site without it getting burned down by rioters? (I'm only half-kidding.) Contrary to what most think, the weather there for baseball season is actually very good. (It's the winters that are awful.) I just think the city and its residents have other things on their minds right now.

5.) Monterrey, MX. Don't laugh... I think this is a real possibility. It gets MLB into a Latin American market of over 5.3 million people, yet it's just as easy to get to by air as most of the Texas cities. As with most big Latin American/Caribbean cities, the sport is immensely popular there. Fantastic weather year round and despite the fact that it's surrounded by mountains,the city itself is only 1,770 feet above sea level, or just 700 feet higher than Atlanta. It would immediately become 'Central America's team," and TV viewership would be through the roof. It's far preferable to Mexico City in terms of geography and elevation (baseball at 7.400 feet would be an even bigger shit show than in Denver.) and the metro area is more than large enough to support 81 home games a year.

Dark horses:

1.) Indianapolis. #25 TV market, but too many other teams close by so likely wouldn't bring any other big markets with it.
2.) San Antonio. Same situation as Indy; market already saturated
3.) Orlando. Largest TV market (#17) without a team but baseball in Florida has pretty much shown to be a failure in terms of fan support
4.) Albuquerque. Fantastic weather and would make a great natural rival for the Rockies and D-Backs, just not big enough a market to support 81 home games.
5.) Buffalo. The big draws here are a tremendous natural rival in Toronto and a stadium that because of the modifications they had to make last year is the closest to being big-league ready. The Jays would vehemently oppose this though, as would the Mets and Yankees. Shitty weather too.

In my heart of hearts I think MLB wants to keep them out west so SLC and Monterrey are my favorites, followed by Charlotte, Nashville and Portland in that order.
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I think Portland is a little higher on the list for geographic balance and less competition from the other sports, but otherwise think all make sense. Charlotte is well positioned for an expansion team I believe and probably wins on the future growth scale. San Antonio figures to be highly ranked too as I don't think saturation is a problem in that fast growing region and you get Austin to support it as well.

In the end though this all is crazy as leaving the Bay Area makes zero sense. At some point MLB needs to step in and call out the Giants on their nonsense. The Giants acting like they will be hurt because a team that is already there gets fans is ridiculous. No one in San Jose or Sacramento is going to change allegiances because the A's play there.
 
E

ejd_5277

EOG Dedicated
Vegas didn't even make my top 10.

A stadium is my biggest concern there. Despite little rain it would 100% have to have a retractable roof due to the heat and that would be a second massive stadium undertaking in 5 years. I very much doubt there's an appetite for that there at the moment.
 
B

boston massacre

EOG Master
ejd_5277 said:
Vegas didn't even make my top 10.

A stadium is my biggest concern there. Despite little rain it would 100% have to have a retractable roof due to the heat and that would be a second massive stadium undertaking in 5 years. I very much doubt there's an appetite for that there at the moment.
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Fan Base in Vegas with New Hockey and Football Teams are a Huge Success.

5 Professional Baseball Teams in State of California.

Move 1 To Vegas.
 
O

ouch

EOG Dedicated
How about a move back to their original home......Philadelphia?

The Philadelphia A's won 5 World Series championships during their stay at Shibe Park, and were, by far, the more popular team in town when compared with the Phillies.

If Connie Mack, their longtime owner and manager hadn't been such a cheap son of a bitch, they would have won several more, and never moved to Kansas City in the first place.

I say bring 'em back.
 
M

MrTop

EOG Master
I would love to see Oakland move to nevada.. beane's bigger bankroll would be a better shot bringing in hitters.
 
B

bomzee

EOG Dedicated
As I understand it The SF Giants have some sort of (BS) territorial "rights" and can squash and have squashed every attempt at moving the A's to San Jose which would be a great fit.
Living in Las Vegas I'd love to see the A's in Las Vegas, Nevada and if it happens I will easily be located in the cheap seats upstairs .
 
V

Valuist

EOG Master
bomzee said:
As I understand it The SF Giants have some sort of (BS) territorial "rights" and can squash and have squashed every attempt at moving the A's to San Jose which would be a great fit.
Living in Las Vegas I'd love to see the A's in Las Vegas, Nevada and if it happens I will easily be located in the cheap seats upstairs .
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That is correct re: San Jose. San Jose actually has a bigger poipulation now than either SF or Oakland so it is the biggest of the Bay area cities.
 
WildBill

WildBill

2
bomzee said:
As I understand it The SF Giants have some sort of (BS) territorial "rights" and can squash and have squashed every attempt at moving the A's to San Jose which would be a great fit.
Living in Las Vegas I'd love to see the A's in Las Vegas, Nevada and if it happens I will easily be located in the cheap seats upstairs .
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Define "cheap". Family member just sold a pair of his third level Raiders seats to the Broncos game. Face value is $185, which is insane to begin with, but he sold them for $1060!!! People are officially insane over the Las Vegas sports vacation.
 
B

bomzee

EOG Dedicated
WildBill said:
Define "cheap". Family member just sold a pair of his third level Raiders seats to the Broncos game. Face value is $185, which is insane to begin with, but he sold them for $1060!!! People are officially insane over the Las Vegas sports vacation.
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a better choice of word(s) is "cheapest" seats .
FWIW in the 1970's General Admission at Yankee Stadium -first come first serve seating - in the upper deck was under 3 dollars.
Bleacher seating was less than two dollars. Box Seats were inexpensive I can't remember the price.
At some point Yankee owner George Steinbrenner clearly figured out Yankee Tickets were extremely underpriced and as he raised the prices the demand went straight up.
a few years ago I saw a regular season pair of prime location box seats for an important Yankees Red Sox game advertised for 5,000 Dollars on Stub Hub.
I'd like to think that one could purchase a MLB ticket in the upper deck for 20 or less in todays world.
 
winkyduck

winkyduck

TYVM Morgan William!!!
Can't see it being Vegas for many reasons

Portland - I could see it especially since it gives them a rivalry with the city they hate the most: Seattle......Mariners are the only Seattle team that Portland doesn't loathe and actually roots for them. Tell me I can attend any MLS game and it is the Seattle AT Portland game. Watching those on TV and having family members in the Portland area they tell me those games are bananas. 19ish games between these 2 would be insane
 
M

MrTop

EOG Master
Las Vegas glitter a favorite over portland. Northern NJ has the market and the room next to giant stadium but the yankees and mets would never let them in. I can't blame them.
 
E

ejd_5277

EOG Dedicated
So you all think there's an appetite in Vegas for ANOTHER monster stadium project so quickly on the heels of the last one?
 
WildBill

WildBill

2
ejd_5277 said:
So you all think there's an appetite in Vegas for ANOTHER monster stadium project so quickly on the heels of the last one?
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I don't think there was an appetite before but the Raiders stadium got approved through legislature without a single public vote as it was passed onto tourists. If they had one it would have lost, Nevadans are not fond of that kind of spending. Getting them to pay for roads and schools is hard enough, stadiums would be a hard no.

I don't think stadiums of any kind really pencil out I. Las Vegas. There isn't the money to be made from adjacent development you can get in most other cities. The Oakland project is way over a billion because it relies on selling homes and renting office space. A Las Vegas stadium would have to be over a billion because of the need for a roof, but there's just no return on that from a team owner so no way they pay for it all themselves.
 
M

MrTop

EOG Master
WildBill said:
I don't think there was an appetite before but the Raiders stadium got approved through legislature without a single public vote as it was passed onto tourists. If they had one it would have lost, Nevadans are not fond of that kind of spending. Getting them to pay for roads and schools is hard enough, stadiums would be a hard no.

I don't think stadiums of any kind really pencil out I. Las Vegas. There isn't the money to be made from adjacent development you can get in most other cities. The Oakland project is way over a billion because it relies on selling homes and renting office space. A Las Vegas stadium would have to be over a billion because of the need for a roof, but there's just no return on that from a team owner so no way they pay for it all themselves.
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giant stadium was built by the owners... it can be done. It won't get done with the owner the A's have now unless someone else joins in
 
Heim

Heim

EOG Master
There was serious talk of converting the Rio property into a baseball venue before Caesars unloaded it.

Build it and they will come logic.

Lastly, with sports wagering now mainstream, it can only spike Vegas' appeal.
 
V

Valuist

EOG Master
MrTop said:
Las Vegas glitter a favorite over portland. Northern NJ has the market and the room next to giant stadium but the yankees and mets would never let them in. I can't blame them.
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Portland has no chance. Fremont has already been talked about. I don't doubt Vegas is a strong candidate although would they build another domed stadium? Can't play in that heat all summer.
 
WildBill

WildBill

2
Heim said:
There was serious talk of converting the Rio property into a baseball venue before Caesars unloaded it.

Build it and they will come logic.

Lastly, with sports wagering now mainstream, it can only spike Vegas' appeal.
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That deal was made up nonsense to begin with. The Rio land out and maybe the convention center part is big enough to hold a stadium, but the new Rio owners as well as the prior owners Caesars were not going to do anything but sell them a piece of their land. There would be no re-development or alternative revenue streams from a stadium there. And even if its not making a lot of money, the Rio is paid for and generating cash flow. To tear it down and basically throw away that cash flow made little sense. Now that the Palms went out and proved you can't spend gazillions on trying to create the next Strip resort over there across I-15 that idea is gone too.

I have heard the stadium sites most likely to be considered in Vegas are across from the outlets about 4 miles south of the Strip and a couple plots of land near the South Point. Neither makes any logical sense in my mind. They could generate some small amount of development revenue, but they aren't near businesses, tourists, or many residents of the Valley. Its not quite as bad as the Coyotes in Glendale, but its kind of going down that path and makes no sense. Baseball thrives in dense populated areas like downtowns where they get business ticket buyers and people wanting to come for a few hours before the game and hit the bars and restaurants around. They also get a lot of ticket buying from walking distance residents who come by 15-20 times a year when they are free. Building in the suburbs isn't going to draw any of those crowds, not to mention its going to lower the appeal to tourists.
 
M

MrTop

EOG Master
Valuist said:
Portland has no chance. Fremont has already been talked about. I don't doubt Vegas is a strong candidate although would they build another domed stadium? Can't play in that heat all summer.
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it takes 1 person to build it. They have to put their money somewhere. Sports teams are a great investment.
 
WildBill

WildBill

2
Heim said:
A's want a 1B (publicly funded) stadium in Vegas. Clark County says FU....
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No doubt. Will be entertaining watching them tour the country looking for public money.

In the end it just doesn't make sense. Clearly the NBA is lining things up to move to LV. That probably will work much better. But 81 games worth of seats to fill in a relatively small population market and one of the smaller TV markets is just not ideal. Can't blame the A's for asking, but they should expect a better reception elsewhere.
 
B

boston massacre

EOG Master
WildBill said:
No doubt. Will be entertaining watching them tour the country looking for public money.

In the end it just doesn't make sense. Clearly the NBA is lining things up to move to LV. That probably will work much better. But 81 games worth of seats to fill in a relatively small population market and one of the smaller TV markets is just not ideal. Can't blame the A's for asking, but they should expect a better reception elsewhere.
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Clearly the NBA is lining things up to move to LV

The Clippers Should Get The Fuck Out of L.A.

Fuck The Lakers.

Clippers Owner/ Ballmer Has The Cash To Build Facility.
 
WildBill

WildBill

2
boston massacre said:
Clearly the NBA is lining things up to move to LV

The Clippers Should Get The Fuck Out of L.A.

Fuck The Lakers.

Clippers Owner/ Ballmer Has The Cash To Build Facility.
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He's building an arena with his money in Inglewood near the Rams/Chargers stadium. Just takes forever to get shit approved in California. Was being held up by the Forum of all places so he just solved that problem by buying the place.
 
Almost Allright

Almost Allright

GO Bucks!!!
Kinda bullshit the A’s ownership parading around the country looking for money. They haven’t put anything into this team for years.They Develop talent for other teams. They seldom resign anyone. Roster turns over before the jersey you just bought of your favorite player hits the laundry. Ownership pisses and moans about attendance, but maybe it would be different if they’d invest in some of these teams that just needed a piece or three to win it all. And they lap it up when it comes to luxury tax.
 
railbird

railbird

EOG Master
WildBill said:
No doubt. Will be entertaining watching them tour the country looking for public money.

In the end it just doesn't make sense. Clearly the NBA is lining things up to move to LV. That probably will work much better. But 81 games worth of seats to fill in a relatively small population market and one of the smaller TV markets is just not ideal. Can't blame the A's for asking, but they should expect a better reception elsewhere.
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vegas is a dennys town, anyone with more than 20 bucks in their pocket voted for trump, vegas residents hate the nba with a passion.
 
WildBill

WildBill

2
FairWarning said:
And a very attractive spot for FA’s. Maybe the T-Wolves move there.
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I think the NBA is saving Vegas and Seattle for expansion which probably nets them between $1-1.5bn per franchise. I expect Silver to fight to keep the Wolves in Minnesota as its too large a market to abandon especially with that area's large geographic reach. Alternatives would be in places like KC or St Louis, not really strong markets relative to Minny. That franchise's problem is that they have just sucked for so long but if they build a winner they can easily fill seats and get good TV ratings where they are now.
 
FairWarning

FairWarning

Bells Beer Connoisseur
WildBill said:
I think the NBA is saving Vegas and Seattle for expansion which probably nets them between $1-1.5bn per franchise. I expect Silver to fight to keep the Wolves in Minnesota as its too large a market to abandon especially with that area's large geographic reach. Alternatives would be in places like KC or St Louis, not really strong markets relative to Minny. That franchise's problem is that they have just sucked for so long but if they build a winner they can easily fill seats and get good TV ratings where they are now.
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Minn’s other big problem is the ownership rift. How that shakes out will go a long way into their next home.
 
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