It’s been over 22 years since Major League Baseball last expanded. Since that time, the NFL, NBA, and NHL have expanded once during the 21st century. Although the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics stadium situations are holding things up, MLB will eventually add an expansion team. I believe the perfect city to have a new Major League Baseball team is Nashville.
Previous Unsuccessful Attempts
This isn’t the first time that Nashville has tried to lure an expansion team to Music City. The city had tried to get in on Major League Baseball expansion in 1993 and 1998. MLB has always had some interest in the Music City being a viable option to have a team. Prior to MLB expansion in 1993, Sounds owner Larry Schmittou launched an initiative to pre-sell 10,000 season tickets, which was met and exceeded. Despite the high interest, MLB awarded teams to Denver (Rockies) and Miami (Marlins).
While Schmittou aspired to try again in 1998, he realized that he needed to build a stadium. Despite requesting an application, Schmittou did not apply as the deadline came and went. Franchises were eventually awarded to Phoenix (Diamondbacks) and Tamp Bay (Rays). Major League Baseball hasn’t expanded since that time.
New Life to Attract MLB to the Music City
Currently, former All-Star and World Series champion Dave Stewart is leading the initiative to bring Major League Baseball to Nashville. If MLB comes to the Music City, Stewart would be the first minority owner in baseball history. The group’s goal is to raise $2 billion to purchase an expansion team. To show that he’s serious, Stewart’s group has partnered with the Kansas City-based Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
Popularity of the Nashville Sounds
The first test on whether Major League Baseball will work in a city is the minor leagues. Nashville is currently home to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. People in and around Nashville embrace the Sounds. After a year with no Minor League Baseball (thanks COVID), the Sounds fans came back in droves. The Sounds led all of Minor League Baseball in attendance attracting 436,868 fans to First Horizon Park. They also led all Minor League Baseball teams in average attendance drawing 6,721 fans per game. Their average attendance last year isn’t far off from the Miami Marlins who drew 7,993 fans per game. This is the same city of Miami that was picked over Nashville for a team back in 1993.
A Deep History and Success Within the Game
The second question involves examining baseball’s history in that city. Nashville has a deep history with the sport. Nashville’s history with professional baseball traces back to 1884 having a variety of teams play in the Music City beside the Sounds. The Sounds history in the music city goes back to 1978. There were several Negro League teams playing in the city between 1920 and 1951. If MLB grants Nashville an expansion franchise, that team name would pay homage to Nashville’s history with the Negro Leagues. Dave Stewart’s group would like to call the expansion franchise the Stars. The Stars were a Negro League team from the late 1930’s to the early 1950’s.
While not professional, Nashville’s Vanderbilt University is always a major contender for the College World Series. Every season, the Commodores always come out with great teams and are consistently ranked highly nationally. They also produce players who get drafted to play by MLB teams and become stars. Bryan Reynolds, Walker Buehler, and Dansby Swanson are just a few stars to come out of that program.
Popularity of Their Other Professional Teams
The third question is looking at the popularity of the other professional teams in that city. Nashville is home to the NHL’s Predators, MLS’s Nashville SC, and the NFL’s Titans. Despite not being in a traditional hockey state; the Predators averaged 18,495 fans per game and only the Lightning, Capitals, and Wild drew more. Nashville SC was inside the top ten in attendance in the entire MLS averaging 19,172 fans per game. The Titans averaged 68,566 fans per game. The people of Nashville are clearly passionate about their professional teams.
Media Market Viability
The fourth question would involve the size of the media market. The music city is ranked 29th in the entire country when it comes to the size of its media market. While that may seem small, keep in mind that MLB has teams in Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati. All three of those markets are smaller than Nashville. Even the Athletics who will most likely leave Oakland for Las Vegas are moving to a much smaller market. Unlike those markets, Nashville has successfully been able to operate professional teams in three out of the four major spots. All three of those other markets only have two other professional teams (the Packers play in Green Bay).
Perfect Location In An Untapped Market
The fifth question to consider is the location of the city. As it turns out, Nashville is in a great location geographically. The Music City’s closest MLB markets are Atlanta, Washington D.C., Cincinnati, and St. Louis. The Nashville market would be a prime spot for a team as the area is completely untapped. Just like any other city, there would still be plenty of other fans, but they would finally have a local option to root for as well.
A Growing Area
The Music City and its surrounding areas have also experienced steady population growth. This past census showed that Nashville had a 2.04 percent increase in population in 2020. One thing that would also work in MLB’s favor is the number of young people in the music city. 31 percent of Nashville’s population is under the age of 35. If Nashville were to get a team, it would be one of the youngest fan bases in all of Major League Baseball. One of Rob Manfred’s goals is to grow the game with a younger audience; MLB putting a team in Nashville would help accomplish that goal.
A Potential Boon for Sports Betting
Sports betting is also legal in the state of Tennessee. Researchers have found that 45 percent of people who participate in sports betting are young than 35. After years of resistance, MLB has started to get involved in the sports betting world. States that have both retail and online betting collect 90 percent of their revenue from the digital option. While Tennessee only has online and mobile gaming, MLB would still have a prime market to capitalize on for sports gambling. Perhaps an expansion team could also make the state of Tennessee allow for the construction of casinos. Not only would MLB and people benefit from having a team, but the state could make more revenue as well.
Need to Get a Stadium but This Has Lots of Potential
The only thing that is perhaps standing in the way of Nashville getting a team is having a stadium. In April, Music City Baseball was still finding a location to put the stadium. They recently scrapped an idea to build it next to Nissan Stadium due to not making any progress. Right now, they are considering a site near Tennessee State University.
Nashville won’t be able to make any real progress to get a team due to the Athletics and Rays stadium issues. However, baseball fans in Nashville should be more optimistic than ever that an MLB team will call Nashville home. Between serious moves by the city to get MLB’s attention, the popularity of the sport in the city, and a younger population. This should be a match made in heaven for Major League Baseball.
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