Pros and cons of MLB expansion in Salt Lake City
By Drew Koch
The subject of MLB expansion has come up a lot lately, but Salt Lake City hadn’t been mentioned as a possible destination for baseball’s franchise. Until now, that it is.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, Salt Lake City has emerged as a contender for the next round of MLB expansion. A consortium led by the former owner of the Utah Jazz, Gail Miller, is interested in bringing Major League Baseball to Salt Lake City.
While cities like Charlotte, North Carolina, Portland, Oregon, and Nashville, Tennessee have already been mentioned for possible MLB expansion, this is the first we’ve heard of Salt Lake City entering the chat.
What are the pros and cons of MLB expansion in Salt Lake City?
As is the case with any decision, Major League Baseball will have to weigh the pros and cons of where to relocate any new team. Commissioner Rob Manfred has already stated that MLB expansion will not be explored until after both the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics settle their current stadium issues.
If both franchises relocate, that will only increase the chances of Salt Lake City landing an expansion team. At the moment, it appears as though the A’s may be ticketed for Las Vegas. There’s a chance that the Rays could remain in Florida.
It’s most likely that two major league teams would be added. How expansion would affect the American League and National League isn’t known. The last two teams to be part of MLB expansion were the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays back in 1998. Before that, it was the Colorado Rockies and Florida, later renamed, Marlins.
If Salt Lake City, Utah is serious about their bid to bring Major League Baseball to the Beehive State, what are the pros and cons? Let’s dive in, shall we?