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OTHER CONTENDERS
BUFFALO
Home to the triple-a Bisons, Buffalo was a serious contender in the expansion rounds of the '90s, fresh from hosting record-setting minor league crowds in its then-new downtown ballpark. While the passion of the Buffalo Bills' fanbase is a reminder of the city's love of sports, its weak demographics and lack of an obvious owner mean an expansion ballclub is a very long shot.
MARKET RANKS
AMONG EXPANSION CONTENDERS
TV Market Size | Metro Area Size | Median Household Income | Fortune 1000-equivalent Businesses | Median Age | Minor League Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12/12 | 14/14 | 11/14 | t=10/14 | 13/14 | 7/10 |
AMONG EXISTING MLB CITIES
Market size in MLB (Nielson) | Metro Area Size Rank | Median Household Income | Fortune 1000 Rank | Median Age Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
26/26 | 27/27 | 26/27 | 26/27 | 23/27 |
Related content:
Expansion city deep dives
Expansion city data comparison
CHARLOTTE
Constantly namechecked as a potential expansion contender, including by Rob Manfred himself, the data shows Charlotte has a strong market, good minor league attendance, and a metro area that has experienced rapid population growth. Its problem is that as of yet, no potential ownership group has put itself forward to lead the charge to bring the major leagues to the city - with Raleigh the standard bearer for North Carolina. MLB awards teams to ownership groups, not cities, and unless Charlotte finds an ownership group, it will not be a factor in expansion.
MARKET RANKS
AMONG EXPANSION CONTENDERS
TV Market Size | Metro Area Size | Median Household Income | Fortune 1000-equivalent Businesses | Median Age | Minor League Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4/12 | 4/14 | 7/14 | 2/14 | t=6/14 | 2/10 |
AMONG EXISTING MLB CITIES
TV Market Size | Metro Area Size | Median Household Income | Fortune 1000-equivalent Businesses | Median Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
19/26 | 22/27 | 18/27 | 8/27 | 12/27 |
INDIANAPOLIS
Ranking solidly mid-table amongst potential expansion cities on most metrics, and with impressive minor league attendance numbers, the data suggests that Indianapolis might be an underpriced bet to make a serious run at an expansion team. But there has been no meaningful noise emerging from the city suggesting that there is an ownership group who wants to be a serious player in the process, while the NFL's Colts have sucked up a lot of the market's disposable income. That could change as expansion gets closer - but for now, it looks unlikely that Indianapolis will seriously enter the race.
MARKET RANKS
AMONG EXPANSION CONTENDERS
TV Market Size | Metro Area Size | Median Household Income | Fortune 1000-equivalent Businesses | Median Age | Minor League Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
7/12 | 8/14 | 8/14 | 4/14 | 3/14 | 5/10 |
AMONG EXISTING MLB CITIES
TV Market Size | Metro Area Size | Median Household Income | Fortune 1000-equivalent Businesses | Median Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
20/26 | 25/27 | 20/27 | t=17/27 | 4/27 |
MEMPHIS
A city without any publicly announced expansion ambitions, Memphis nonetheless tends to be namechecked as a candidate because of the success of the NBA's Grizzlies and the fact it is located in Tennessee, a state without Major League Baseball. Given its mediocre demographics and Nashville's status as a front-runner, however, it looks unlikely at this stage to receive a team.
MARKET RANKS
AMONG EXPANSION CONTENDERS
TV Market Size | Metro Area Size | Median Household Income | Fortune 1000-equivalent Businesses | Median Age | Minor League Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11/12 | 11/14 | 14/14 | 7/14 | 2/14 | 10/10 |
AMONG EXISTING MLB CITIES
TV Market Size | Metro Area Size | Median Household Income | Fortune 1000-equivalent Businesses | Median Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
26/26 | 27/27 | 27/27 | t=22/27 | 3/27 |
Related content:
Expansion city deep dives
Expansion city data comparison
NEW ORLEANS
Home to NFL and NBA franchises, New Orleans is currently without professional baseball after the relocation of its triple-a team to Wichita, Kansas after the 2019 season. Both of its existing major league teams draw well, but it seems unlikely that the city could sustain a third.
MARKET RANKS
AMONG EXPANSION CONTENDERS
TV Market Size | Metro Area Size | Median Household Income | Fortune 1000-equivalent Businesses | Median Age | Minor League Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10/12 | 13/14 | 13/14 | t=10/14 | 10/14 | n/a |
AMONG EXISTING MLB CITIES
SACRAMENTO
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg has said that he wants the city to attract more major league teams, and the city's baseball boosters would argue that the NBA's Sacramento Kings have proved that it is capable of hosting them. But, while Sacramento has its merits - it is affluent and has a large TV market - assuming the Athletics relocate, if baseball returns to northern California it may be Oakland which gets first dibs. Perhaps even more importantly, the lack of an obvious ownership group also means that it is unlikely the area will receive an expansion franchise.
MARKET RANKS
AMONG EXPANSION CONTENDERS
TV Market Size | Metro Area Size | Median Household Income | Fortune 1000-equivalent Businesses | Median Age | Minor League Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3/12 | 7/14 | 3/14 | 14/14 | 7/14 | 9/10 |
AMONG EXISTING MLB CITIES
TV Market Size | Metro Area Size | Median Household Income | Fortune 1000-equivalent Businesses | Median Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
19/26 | 22/27 | 9/27 | 26/27 | 13/27 |
VANCOUVER
Canada's third most populous city, and the second largest of the 14 main expansion contenders, Vancouver also has the advantage of being based on the west coast and having a strong business community. It also has baseball supporting potential, with decent levels of support for the single-A Vancouver Canadians and a recent poll showing 60% of British Columbians believe it is a 'very good' or 'good' idea for Vancouver to host an MLB team.
However, Vancouver is behind Montreal in the pecking order for Canadian cities. Montreal is bigger and hosts more businesses than its west coast cousin, and also has the baseball pedigree and active potential ownership group that Vancouver does not. As such, unless anything changes it would be a surprise if the city won a team.
MARKET RANKS
AMONG EXPANSION CONTENDERS
TV Market Size | Metro Area Size | Median Household Income | Fortune 1000-equivalent Businesses | Median Age | Minor League Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n/a | 3/14 | 9/14 | 3/14 | 13/14 | 4/10 |
AMONG EXISTING MLB CITIES
TV Market Size | Metro Area Size | Median Household Income | Fortune 1000-equivalent Businesses | Median Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
n/a | 22/27 | 21/27 | t=15/27 | 23/27 |
TV Market Size | Metro Area Size | Median Household Income | Fortune 1000-equivalent Businesses | Median Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
26/26 | 27/27 | 27/27 | 26/27 | 18/27 |
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