One piece of advice: don’t lose your sleep dreaming of the Montreal Expos happening again anytime soon, even as Major League Baseball is open about a possible expansion to 32 teams.
Commissioner Rob Manfred reiterated Tuesday that an expansion is planned once the situation surrounding the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays is resolved. This speech, delivered in Seattle as part of the All Star Game press conference, is very similar to those of recent years.
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“Hopefully we’ll set up an expansion committee soon,” Manfred said. We will first discuss the issues related to the expansion internally. Obviously there are economic issues as total earnings for each team have dropped from 30 to 32.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred Getty Images via AFP
Do you recognize the long process that Major League Baseball must go through? First, the Athletics must officially move to Las Vegas, then the groundbreaking for the construction of a new stadium for the Rays in the Tampa Bay area has not yet taken place. The talks went well, they say. Worse still, we haven’t started investigating the impact of adding two clubs, particularly on revenue share.
More dark years
Be that as it may, in Montreal, hopes of a team’s return were dashed in January 2022 when the project to twin cities with Tampa was rejected by major baseball officials.
“This project would have meant so much to our community and province’s recovery and gave hope to all after these past dark years,” businessman Stephen Bronfman concluded at the end of a statement delivered by the Montreal Baseball Group.
As for a possible expansion into Major League Baseball, there’s talk of a possible $2 billion cost for each of the two new teams… All while reminding that Montreal desperately needs a new stadium should build. The baseball lover has the right to dream, but without being pessimistic one must be realistic.
The Montreal Baseball Group, which rebooted Wednesday on the possibility of an expansion, had “no comment” to make. score bar. Neutral.
Hope in Nashville
The city of Nashville, Tennessee appears to be probably the best location for housing an expansion club in Major League Baseball. Besides, we’ll see… It’s not tomorrow the day before yesterday.
While Manfred says he wants to grow Major League Baseball “pretty quickly,” there are still many steps to be taken to get there.
Another reality is that the commissioner in this case is merely playing his part, showing a few cards to keep hope alive, gauge interest and up the ante. At the same time, we have to deal with the competition.
The NBA in Montreal?
Because let’s not forget during this time that the NBA has the wind in its sails and is also talking about a possible expansion. In this case, Commissioner Adam Silver has been saying for some time that the aim is first to reach an agreement on broadcasting rights. A huge order in sight!
We also advise basketball fans not to lose sleep if they dream of expanding to Montreal on a short-term basis. Seattle and Las Vegas are in the NBA’s plans. It is for your own good to avoid disappointment.