Fansided

Baseball: 7 potential MLB expansion cities and team ideas

By Ryan Morik

VERO BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 1981: Gary Carter #8 of the Montreal Expos during a spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
VERO BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 1981: Gary Carter #8 of the Montreal Expos during a spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 29: Texas Governor Greg Abbott (C) announced at the State Capitol the US Army Corps of Engineers and the state are putting up a 250-bed field hospital at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas, Sunday, March 29, 2020. For the COVID-19 update and announcement, the Governor was joined by (from left) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Brigadier General Paul Owen, Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, former State Representative Dr. John Zerwas, Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt, MD and Texas Military Department General Tracy Norris. (Photo by Tom Fox-Pool/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 29: Texas Governor Greg Abbott (C) announced at the State Capitol the US Army Corps of Engineers and the state are putting up a 250-bed field hospital at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas, Sunday, March 29, 2020. For the COVID-19 update and announcement, the Governor was joined by (from left) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Brigadier General Paul Owen, Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, former State Representative Dr. John Zerwas, Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt, MD and Texas Military Department General Tracy Norris. (Photo by Tom Fox-Pool/Getty Images) /

Austin

Nickname: 3:16’s

Closest team, Houston Astros (165 miles)

Like Nashville, Austin has been a hot spot for millennial vacationers. Austin, of course, is the home of the University of Texas. But the football program hasn’t won the Big 12 in over a decade. Their basketball program is a perennial March Madness squad, but they haven’t made the Elite Eight since 2008, and they haven’t made the Final Four since 2003.

However, despite the struggles, Longhorn football averaged 97,713 fans per game, the seventh-most in the nation. Its record attendance of 103,507 was set less than two years ago, in a 2005 national championship rematch against USC.

The Round Rock Express is the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate located just outside of town, and they won last year’s conference title. Their average attendance of 8,542 was the seventh-most in the minors.

It’s clear that Austin natives are loyal to their sports programs. With the closest big league team a three-hour drive, this idea can’t hurt.

Oh, and the name needs no explanation. It would, by far, be the coolest team name in the world. Hell, put the entire team in jorts. Shotgun a beer after every double. Every batter walks up to Stone Cold Steve Austin’s music. The mascot can literally be Steve Austin. You’re welcome, @MLB.

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