A group of Utah leaders announced Wednesday that they’re on a mission to bring Major League Baseball to Salt Lake City’s west side.
The coalition, which includes representatives of the Larry H. Miller Company, said they’ve identified a “shovel-ready site,” as well as potential investors, as the Deseret News reported.
The main obstacle that stands in the way of this ambitious plan is that the Salt Lake City group is joining a somewhat long line. Cities such as Las Vegas and Nashville have already expressed interest in hosting an MLB team.
Here’s a look at how the league responded to those previous expressions of interest and at the current MLB teams that may need a new home soon.
Will the Oakland A’s move to Las Vegas?
In the near future, the Oakland A’s will need to make a decision about their future in Oakland. The team’s current stadium lease ends at the end of the 2024 season, and, so far, it’s been unable to move forward on plans to build a new ballpark elsewhere in the city.
“After withdrawing plans for ballparks in Fremont and San Jose, the team announced in November 2018 it had found a waterfront location for a new ballpark at Howard Terminal, close to the Jack London Square neighborhood. But the proposal has been stalled by money and concerns about affordable housing in the area,” CBS News recently reported.
With its future in Oakland in flux, the team has reportedly been considering invitations to move to Las Vegas. The MLB may even be willing to waive the relocation fee if the A’s agree to bring baseball to Sin City, Front Office Sports reported last year.
More recent articles make it sound as if the team would prefer to stay in Oakland, although time is running out for construction of a new stadium there to get underway.
“We’re past any reasonable timeline for the situation in Oakland to be resolved,” said MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred in December, according to CBS News.
Will the Rays stay in Tampa Bay?
Another team that has recently debated relocation is the Tampa Bay Rays. The team’s current stadium lease runs through 2027, and, for much of the past year, it was unclear if the city of St. Petersburg was willing to continue playing host to the Rays after that.
But in January, the city extended an olive branch and chose “the Rays over other suitors to redevelop Tropicana Field and the surrounding area,” CBS Sports reported.
The MLB, the team and the city still need to work out the details of a plan to build a new stadium in that area, the article said.
Which cities could get an MLB expansion team?
Even if the A’s and Rays stay put, the MLB will likely move into at least two new cities within the next few years, according to Front Office Sports.
“MLB has signaled that it will add two new teams once the A’s and Rays’ stadium situations are settled. The guess here is that the league is headed for Las Vegas and Nashville, where a group including retired MLB pitcher Dave Stewart is working toward an expansion team,” Front Office Sports recently reported.
But if the A’s take advantage of the opportunity to move to Las Vegas, another city could be paired with Nashville in a league expansion plan. Cities that are rumored to be interested include Charlotte, Portland, San Antonio and Mexico City, per Front Office Sports.
On Wednesday, Salt Lake City added its name to that list, when a coalition of Utah leaders announced their interest in bringing an MLB franchise to the Beehive State.