Baseball fans have waited for new teams to join the party since the Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays entered the league back in 1998. Now the race is officially heating up. Commissioner Rob Manfred wants to get this 32-team plan locked down before he retires in 2029. Smart move, considering the circus that’s about to unfold. Salt Lake City and Nashville are sitting pretty as the frontrunners according to MLB officials, but don’t sleep on the dark horses. Montreal, Austin, Charlotte, and Raleigh are all throwing their hats in the ring with some serious proposals.
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room – the money. These expansion fees are going to be absolutely ridiculous. Austin’s group is already estimating $2.25 billion just to get a seat at the table. That doesn’t even include building a stadium, which will run you another $1-2 billion easy. We’re breaking down who’s got the strongest case, what MLB is really looking for, and how adding two more teams could completely reshape baseball as we know it.
How MLB Will Choose Its Next Expansion Cities
Baseball’s expansion playbook isn’t exactly a mystery, but the stakes make every decision critical. Commissioner Rob Manfred has a clear timeline – lock down two new cities for MLB expansion teams before his 2029 retirement. The pressure is real. The process kicks off with paperwork, lots of it. MLB will fire off questionnaires to interested ownership groups as the opening move. Last time something like this occurred, selection committees actually visited each candidate city to get a feel for what they were working with.
Manfred hasn’t been shy about his preferences. Nashville and Salt Lake City top his list as the strongest markets for potential mlb expansion. Portland, Montreal, Charlotte, and Raleigh round out the serious contenders. The geography matters here – MLB wants one team in the East, one in the West to keep scheduling balanced. Here’s where the stakes get high: you need 75% owner approval to get a new team approved. Only the most compelling candidates clear that bar.
The role of stadium readiness and ownership
Stadium situations separate the dreamers from the doers. Cities need to show up with either existing facilities or rock-solid construction plans. No handwaving allowed. Ownership groups better have deep pockets because the expansion fee will likely reach approximately $2.2 billion per team. That number matches Sportico’s estimated average MLB franchise value from 2021. Public funding sweetens the deal significantly. Cities willing to chip in taxpayer dollars get MLB’s attention. Bonus points for mixed-use development proposals around stadium sites. The winning formula looks like this:
- Extremely wealthy ownership groups
- Ready or planned stadium facilities
- Strong community support
- Dedicated leadership
Why expansion is tied to realignment
Manfred connects expansion directly to geographic realignment opportunities. Two new teams would create perfect balance – 16 teams in each league. Think about the travel nightmare players face now. Geographic realignment cuts down on those brutal cross-country flights. More sensible divisions mean more sleep for the athletes.
The broadcasting headaches get solved too. Those 10 p.m. starts that kill East Coast viewership? Gone. Regional games fill that time slot instead. MLB sees expansion as hitting two birds with one stone – better travel schedules and smarter television programming. That double benefit makes expansion worth pursuing despite the current stadium mess some teams are dealing with.
Eastern Region: Nashville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Montreal
Nashville is absolutely crushing it with player support. 69% of MLB players picked Music City as their top choice for expansion. When you’ve got Justin Timberlake backing your ownership group and Don Mattingly as your baseball advisor, they’re already building their case.
Charlotte brings the corporate firepower with 13 Fortune 500 companies. Their 2.8 million metro population gives them serious market muscle, and the Triple-A Knights prove this city knows how to show up for baseball. Charlotte’s attendance numbers consistently rank among the best in minor league baseball.
Raleigh is quietly building momentum as the dark horse. Governor Roy Cooper is throwing his weight behind them over Charlotte, which creates an awkward intrastate rivalry. Billionaire Tom Dundon provides the kind of serious money most cities can only dream about. The Raleigh metro area grew 9% in just four years, and that growth trajectory is exactly what MLB wants to see.
Montreal feels different from the rest. They’re not starting from scratch – they had the Expos from 1969 to 2004. Stephen Bronfman has a privately financed 29,072-seat ballpark ready to go. With 4.3 million metro residents, Montreal offers the largest population among candidates. The question isn’t whether Montreal can support baseball – it’s whether MLB is ready to go international again.
Western Region: Salt Lake City, Portland, Austin
Salt Lake City owns the pole position out west according to MLB officials. The Larry H. Miller Group backing plus $1 billion in public funding makes this a done deal on paper. They’ve already got stadium site approval in the Power District. Sometimes the obvious choice is obvious for good reasons.
Portland presents a fascinating case study. They’re the largest U.S. market with only one major sports franchise. The Portland Diamond Project locked up 33 acres on the Willamette River, and potential legislation could deliver $800 million for ballpark funding. Portland fans are loyal – just ask the Trail Blazers. The question is whether that loyalty extends to a 162-game season.
Austin keeps growing, and fast. It’s one of the largest U.S. markets without MLB. Add San Antonio to the mix, and you’re looking at nearly 5 million residents. The Austin energy is real, but so is the competition from other Texas markets.
Wildcard: Orlando’s Tourism-Driven Case
Orlando throws conventional wisdom out the window. The Orlando Dreamers secured $1.5 billion in equity commitments, and their 35.5-acre site near SeaWorld screams tourist destination rather than hometown team. Their projections are wild – 25,000 permanent jobs and $40 billion in economic impact over 30 years. They’re forecasting $26 billion in tourist development taxes. Those numbers sound great on paper, but building a fanbase around tourists is a completely different challenge than what every other candidate faces.
Major League Baseball doesn't even have a defined process for expansion yet — but that hasn't stopped hopeful cities from lining up.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) October 3, 2023
Cities angling to be part of MLB’s future:
• Montreal
• Nashville
• Orlando
• Charlotte
• Raleigh
• Portland
• Salt Lake City
A’s to Vegas
— Tyler S (@tsaundry13) August 18, 2025
Rays to NC or Nashville
Expansion in Portland and Salt Lake City (I’ll hear out OKC and Omaha I suppose)
32 teams separate east and west
8 divisions of 4, go back to playing your division far more, can be 16-20 times idc
National TV deal
Cap and Floor https://t.co/N588tqeTyT
TV Market Size and Media Partnerships
Television markets matter more than most fans realize. Charlotte sits at 21st in TV market rankings, with Raleigh close behind at 22nd and Nashville at 26th. MLB’s recent partnerships with Boardroom and Jomboy show how serious the league is about digital expansion. The days of just counting butts in seats are over. Streaming numbers, social media engagement, and digital content creation all factor into these decisions now.
Public Funding vs. Private Investment
Here’s where things get interesting. Portland legislators approved $800 million in bonds for stadium construction, while Austin’s group promises completely private financing without tax increases. Both approaches have merit, but MLB loves seeing public commitment. It shows local government buy-in and reduces financial risk for ownership groups. Austin’s private approach is admirable, but it might not carry the same weight in the boardroom.
Job Creation and Local Economic Impact
Austin’s projecting 45,000 new jobs compared to 32,000 in similar markets. That’s the kind of economic impact that gets politicians excited. MLB teams typically generate $250-600 million annually in economic activity. Look at New York – Yankees and Mets home games alone create $909 million in economic impact each year. These numbers matter because they justify the massive public investments cities are making. When you can show that kind of economic return, suddenly those stadium subsidies make a lot more sense to taxpayers.
What MLB Could Look Like After Expansion
Picture this: 32 teams, the biggest shake-up baseball has seen in decades. Commissioner Rob Manfred specifically mentioned geographical realignment as a primary benefit of expansion. We’re talking about a complete overhaul of how the game operates.
MLB would likely create eight four-team divisions. Finally, some logic to the madness. One proposed structure includes divisions like Northeast (Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies) and Southeast (Braves, Marlins, Rays, Nashville). These matchups would create some seriously intense new rivalries between teams that barely see each other now. Some of baseball’s most storied rivalries might get broken up. The Cardinals-Cubs and Dodgers-Giants matchups could potentially end as division rivalries. That stings a little, not going to lie.
The postseason broadcasts would improve through regional scheduling. That problematic 10 p.m. time slot would feature two West Coast teams instead of coast-to-coast matchups. East Coast fans wouldn’t have to choose between sleep and October baseball anymore. That’s a win for everyone’s sanity and MLB’s ratings.
Wrapping Up the Expansion Race
Here’s the thing about MLB expansion – nobody really knows how this will play out, and anyone telling you otherwise is probably selling something. Nashville and Salt Lake City look strong right now, sure, but we’ve seen stranger things happen in baseball. What I can tell you is that the money involved is absolutely staggering. We’re talking approaching $2.2 billion just for the expansion fee, and that’s before you even think about building a stadium. Add another $1-2 billion for that, and you’re looking at an investment that would make most billionaires think twice.
The realignment piece is what fans are really stirred up about though. Their beloved rivalries will have to be recreated with regional rivalries. A lot of baseball fans have asked for a major shake up across the league to maintain the games growth, and this could be it. The selection process keeps moving forward, city by city, proposal by proposal. Whatever happens, it’s going to be fascinating to watch unfold, and the sport will never quite be the same afterward.
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