Looking at a map of MLB teams...it's only a matter of time...

[panthersphan]

....until the Carolinas (or just Charlotte) will be represented.

There is a blank area in such a populated region...

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/teams

By 2025, Charlotte's metro population will be near, if not more than, 3 million people...don't tell me that's not big enough to support 81 home games a year. Have you ever been to a Panthers game??? Best baseball crowd around

I'd be surprised if I live to never see a team in North Carolina.

Just call them the Charlotte Knights...I love the name

or simply move the lowly KC Royals to Charlotte and keep the name...the Charlotte Royals. We are the "Queen City", it'd be perfect...

[Masemob]

Well, living in Tampa and being a Ray's fan there were talks of moving the team to either Vegas or Charlotte (they're AAA team is in Durham) because of the crappy attendance. Even when the Ray's were getting hot the attendance was not going up (averaging less than 18 thousand a game) and as you know Tampa is not a small city (small market maybe).

I'm not sure how Charlotte is within the baseball market but sometimes it takes a special city to home a MLB team.

[Zaximus]

I don't know, this is football/basketball country, those who show up to Panthers games may not like baseball. I'd love it though, and I'd try to go a lot, but I don't know if they could sell out.

[JakeFlake]

Not sure if this area is ready for a fourth (I am including NASCAR) major professional franchise right now. Maybe in about ten years or so.

[Kurb]

Charlotte won't support poo.

Worst Sports town in the USA

[Freeze]

If a team ever did move to Charlotte, I hope it would be an American League team or I would have a conflict of interest.

[panthersphan]

Charlotte won't support sh*t.

Worst Sports town in the USA

Where you not at that Monday Night game? Miami, Atlanta are much worse.

SI doesn't even have Charlotte on the list of 10 worst sports cities...surprise, Atlanta is #1

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/extramustard/10_spot/2007/08/and-worst-sports-city-is.html

Did you EVER go to Hornets games? The team who seat attendance records year after year? Man that Heat/Hornets playoff sweep still holds a special spot in my heart...game 3 was sooo fun!!

"basketball country"

tell that to Bob Johnson...no one cares because it just doesn't feel "right" cheering for the Charlotte Bobcats (even though I do)

People in the Carolinas love baseball, thousands migrate to Atlanta yearly to see Professional Baseball. With a city over 3 million, Charlotte would definitely be able to support pro baseball. Downtown team, people would go nuts.

[CatScratchFever]

Where you not at that Monday Night game? Miami, Atlanta are much worse.

SI doesn't even have Charlotte on the list of 10 worst sports cities...surprise, Atlanta is #1

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/extramustard/10_spot/2007/08/and-worst-sports-city-is.html

Did you EVER go to Hornets games? The team who seat attendance records year after year? Man that Heat/Hornets playoff sweep still holds a special spot in my heart...game 3 was sooo fun!!

"basketball country"

tell that to Bob Johnson...no one cares because it just doesn't feel "right" cheering for the Charlotte Bobcats (even though I do)

People in the Carolinas love baseball, thousands migrate to Atlanta yearly to see Professional Baseball. With a city over 3 million, Charlotte would definitely be able to support pro baseball. Downtown team, people would go nuts.

I love baseball and would love to see an MLB team here, but it's going to be a while. It's easy to sell out 8 home NFL games most of which are on the weekends. It's alot harder to get people out to 81 home games that would include games on Tuesday nights vs team like the Royals.

If we didn't have the Bobcats, I would think that we would have a better chance. But having the NFL, NBA, NASCAR, and all the college teams here, the corporate sponsorships are already spread thin.

[Panthro]

NASCAR isn't a sport and it only annoys Charlotte a couple times a year

[lethalshine]

Before Charlotte would be able to have a MLB team they would have to grow the entertainment area of downtown bigger. They would have to do something to create a bigger draw for the fans to come in and spend a whole weekend or a week, to make it more than just attending a MLB game. Charlotte is not to much bigger than Pittsburgh, we would be a small market team and most likely have to be built like a Tampa Bay or Marlins team, where we get young players and trade them before free agentcy and hope to catch lightning in a bottle like the Rays did. With the Panthers there are only 8 home games to sale out and every team has the same max. amount of money to spend. We would be competing with the Red Sox, Yankees, etc....

Plus we are in the TV market of the Braves, Nats, Reds, and Orioles. It would be really hard to make them lose this area.

I would love it if it ever happend. I watch games almost every night during the season but I can 't picture myself going to no more than 20 games at most a year.

[panthersphan]

15 years

[kman72]

ugh. i like baseball alot, an i watch all the time! (but i couldnt imagine goin to more than 10 games, an that would be to see red sox, cubs, orioles, yanks.) i cheer for the orioles, but anyway everyone around here loves the braves and i think that a baseball team here would suffer from little support since they wouldnt win. just like the bobcats who i do cheer for an have season tickets. i got tickets at the bobcats for $4 a game! (cheaper than high school games!) i just move down an sit 10 rows from floor courtside! i dont mind the small crowds

[Squirrel]

We almost had one in 1998 but the taxpayers voted no on the stadium. It was for the Twins.

http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/20076

[Tweeder]

I think if a city cannot support a AAA club all year long how will they support an MLB club??

It will be interesting to see how the attendance is now that the Knights are downtown, but it will be very hard to support both.