Well yes and no.
The plan to bring MLB to downtown predated the decision to move the Bees.
But obviously that information wasn’t known.
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Been talking about MLB an all the way back to the early 1980’s. Back then we had less than the population of Salt Lake County in 2010…for the entire state.
There are still a ton of barriers to getting an MLB franchise here.
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I would have agreed with you prior to the LHM group stepping up in the last year.
It’s as simple as this:
I think we’ll get an expansion team as long as Las Vegas gets the A’s.
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The optimistic outlook is shared in SLC as it is in Nashville. My only question is would both get one? I have paid very little attention to MLB Expansion. Both towns seem like perfect fits.
I was listening to Dan Patrick yesterday, and if any part of what he was talking about is true, Utah will not only never get an NFL or MLB franchise, it will likely lose its NBA franchise, too.
I get some will throw out interest from Utah’s billionaire class as something for the discussion; but if the NBA, MLB, and the NFL legalize on site gambling at their stadiums (pending state legislation allowing it), how cities get picked will fundamentally change. As Utah has a State Constitutional clause that prohibits gambling, and it is unlikely the Legislature will ever allow an amendment to change it to ever go to the ballot, there is no way any of the leagues will see the loss of revenues as a positive because “The House Always Wins.”
Honestly not allowing gambling is probably a good thing. That said, billionaires giving up a taste at money that could make them even wealthier just to have their team in Utah is highly unlikely.
The more we see a path, the more stuff appears to block the path.
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I would think that Salt Lake would be an excellent spot for an NHL team.
Oh wow. I didn’t know there was a shot at the NBA taking the franchise. Is this where Seattle comes in and takes it?
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That’s the sense that I get, too. Nashville all but has it wrapped up in the east. Charlotte, Orlando, and Montreal are kinda back there trying, but Nashville is WAY ahead.
Out west, Las Vegas is by far the leader. That’s why SL’s chances hinge HEAVILY on the A’s thing going through. After that, it really comes down to Portland and SLC.
I will claim a lot of ignorance about the group putting things together in Portland, but while they’ve been pushing longer it seems like the SLC group is more organized, aligned with the local gov and community, let alone with the experience of running the Jazz for 45 years and our AAA baseball club for the last 20 years or so.
Trying to be objective, I think both cities would be great places and both could make it succeed. Heck, I wish both markets would get clubs. More MLB in the Pacific NW and the Rocky Mountains would be great for baseball.
Both markets have some negative stuff to overcome. Both markets have perceptions of “weird” for different, nearly opposite, reasons.
I may be painting with a broad brush, but I think the people and organizations of Utah will row in the same direction more easily to help make it happen. Oregon strikes me as a place that likes to push against anything and everything establishment/capitalistic.
I’m curious what Greginslc knows that we don’t know about why SLC is a non-starter. Because everything I’m hearing is the exact opposite. I think MLB is going to give SLC a VERY serious look. Also, the idea of losing the Jazz??? Again, I’m not plugged into online gambling or what Dan Patrick said. But I don’t think the NBA gets in the middle of plucking clubs out of cities. Not themselves, anyway. Today, the Jazz franchise is too well run, too well loved, and too successful to take away. Obviously any future owner could do whatever they please, but there’s no indication from Smith or the Millers of moving it from this market. Again, quite the opposite is communicated. But I’d be interested in what Greg heard.
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I would think one hurdle to SLC is the altitude. Living in CO, the Rockies are a good draw but rarely competitive. Maybe that’s just ownership, but it’s hard to get good pitching because the stats are going to suffer. I guess you could design the right park, but you also want it to be a hitter’s park. Of course with the Rockies, if someone gets good, ownership trades them away (Monfort, Utah grad).
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Listening to DP, the discussion was something that triggered with him and the crew during their remote week in Las Vegas. Their discussion revolved around how fantasy sports book (and the sports gambling industry) was heavily penetrated into the NFL, NBA, and MLB. The advertising, and gambling marketing shows on ESPN, FOX Sports and others has the leagues considering allowing the gambling folks to operate a sports book portal at the stadium for fans to place bets on games. The team would get a cut from the “house” take for the stadium space. In a number of “league cities” it would require state legislation to allow this to happen, but given the sports books generate trillions of dollars annually, the states would certainly receive a benefit from the move.
As Utah will never legalize gambling simply because the process to legalize it is too steep (requires a state constitutional amendment), states where they are able to clear this hurdle will have a leg up for consideration of new or relocating franchises. It will be hard for ownership groups to turn down the money.
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Even it didn’t require a constitutional amendment, I don’t think that legalized gambling would ever see the light of day in Utah. That said, I think one of the supreme ironies in the world is that Utah and Nevada are next door to each other.
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Most Oregonians are centrist capitalists. The image you have is of the fringe groups. Those groups make the news.
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I am like a lot of Utah residents, I can take a day or 2 of Vegas or Wendover…then its time to go home and take a shower (or sober up). I am fine with them being on the other side of the state line.
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Ignoring those party locales, Nevada rural folks are quite similar to Utah, Oregon, and Idaho rural folks, or any western rural folks, for that matter.
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It amazes me how many people actually go to Rockies games. Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story took off as soon as they could, the body language of players like Ryan McMahon is horrific. They’re embarrassed to play there.
The fact that Bud Black hasn’t been fired seems to confirm the ownership just wants to milk ticket sales and TV revenue and have Drew Goodman and a couple of ex players spin yarns during the game, because the game itself is horrible.
(My favorite moment watching a Rockies games was the camera found some 50-something Wyoming fan who had presumably driven down from the Cowboy State. Had the hat and the jacket, he was repping WYO with pride. He’d figured out the camera was on him, so he hoisted his tall Coors as a “cheers” to the camera. Well done, sir. Or… “good on ya!”)
Maybe that’s the model the Utah group is trying to follow? Try to get people to spend less money on Vegas or driving to Disneyland and have get-togethers and family reunions that include watching a stray MLB game or two, throughout the year.
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The Rockies’ issues are 110% ownership. Utah grad be damned, Monfort blows as a baseball guy, but makes tons of money off rooftop bars, condo developments and other real estate deals.
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more evidence of what GreginSLC mentioned Mark Cuban recently sold most of his franchise ownership for the Dallas Mavericks to a Las Vegas casino billionaire.
I remember the PAC12 sold its past and future data/stats for this same reason.
SIGH, I’ve always found it frustrating to see all the local $$$ being handed to bordering states because Utah refuses to change.
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And the excuses that our elected officials use are, interesting, to say the least.
“If we have a lottery, it won’t give us any more money because organized crime will get it all”
“People will spend money on lottery tickets instead of milk for their children”
So, instead, we have caravans travelling to Malad.
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Sheesh. Everyone knows the smart play on lotto tickets is Evanston, so if you win you can quickly setup plausible residency in W-Y-O to avoid state taxes.
(You hafta admit, from mountain men to the Jamaican bobsled team, Evanston - aka “Evingston” - has come a long way!)
Zurich… Grand Cayman… Evanston. Just rolls off the tongue… amirite?
(Also, the correct pronunciation of Malad rhymes with “salad”. You heard it here first.)
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More like malad-y.
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