Could we soon see baseball in Salt Lake City?
Led by the ex-owner of the Utah Jazz, a Salt Lake City consortium has plans to pursue a MLB team in the next few years, with their agenda highlighting the city’s increasing population, robust economy and history in the game of baseball to strengthen leverage for an expansion spot, according to a report from ESPN.
Currently, there are 30 franchises in Major League Baseball, with Nashville’s Music City Baseball and the Portland Diamond Project already lobbying to expand that number. And let’s also not forget Las Vegas, which Oakland Athletics ownership have visited on multiple occasions as a potential stadium site. The three cities are now joined by Big League Utah, a group owned by former Jazz owner Gail Miller.
Sources told ESPN that MLB doesn’t plan on making any moves until they figure out what exactly the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays are going to do. Both teams are considering moving due to difficulties securing new stadiums in their current cities. However, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred did tell ESPN in July 2022 that he “would love to get to 32 teams.”
Salt Lake City’s coalition includes the Larry H. Miller Company (founded by Gail’s late husband Larry), business leaders from the area and former MLB players Dale Murphy and Jeremy Guthrie. Both Murphy and Guthrie are residents of Utah.
The group is eyeing a potential stadium in the Rocky Mountain Power District, which is a mixed-use zone sized around 100 acres located between Salt Lake City’s new airport and its downtown core. If approved, Salt Lake City and the group would have to cover the costs of the stadium, as well as a $2 billion expansion fee.
BREAKING: A Salt Lake City consortium led by the former owner of the Utah Jazz plans to pursue a Major League Baseball expansion franchise in the coming years, people involved with the project tell ESPN.
News on SLC’s pitch, free and unlocked at ESPN: https://t.co/lWzmmVhLUx
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 12, 2023
Hmm… Salt Lake City. What would they call the team? The Mormons? Probably not. Maybe the Pioneers, though. That has a nice ring to it.
I definitely want Las Vegas as one of the two expansion cities that Rob Manfred eventually wants, but what about other cities like Salt Lake City, Nashville and Portland? (RELATED: REPORT: Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane Punches His Teammate Leroy Sane After Champions League Loss)
Out of the three, I’d ride with Nashville, with Salt Lake City being a close second behind them.
I wouldn’t even consider Portland. Ew.