hey @John I know you use mapfrappe. Do you know how to actually cut and paste an image from the source map and “place” it on the second map? I’d like to see what stadia would fit into Raleigh…and not just the outline, but to actually see the stadium projected there.
The discussion about construction of a soccer stadium has been moved to another thread, but discussion about Major League Baseball coming to Raleigh appears to have been orphaned here, probably because there’s not really much happening on that front at the moment.
Anyway, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred gave an interview yesterday in which he discussed potential domestic expansion locations. Charlotte, Portland, Nashville and Las Vegas all came up. Raleigh was notably not mentioned, however, and I personally continue to be skeptical about our chances of ever landing a team.
Neither the NBA nor NFL are ever likely to come to Raleigh, and if MLB ever did put a team in Charlotte, it would seem to ensure that they’d never come to Raleigh either. Given the continued growth of the region, one could easily envision a situation in 10-15 years where Raleigh + Durham is a quite large metro area that nevertheless has an unusually light presence of major professional sports given its size.
Whether that would in any way be a problem or anything would, I suppose, be open to interpretation.
Thanks @daviddonovan. Let’s put all sports and stadium discussions here until something actually is confirmed and we can follow it more closely.
This is an interesting tidbit that I found. If you look under the top 10 stadium and arenas construction projects, the NCFC MLS stadium complex is listed at $750 million and Kane as the developer. It also says that the project is in design development, so somebody is working on it.
Also, I didn’t see where the soccer stadium was moved to, so I placed this here.
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Sounds like an excellent idea. Thanks, Leo!
Eh, I don’t know if this is exactly true. Sacramento, Inland Empire. Austin, San Antonio, they’d all be about the same size or bigger and I think they all have one top level team?
I can’t imagine MLB, the NBA, or the NFL coming here within the next 25 years. Be happy with the NHL and possibly MLS. Charlotte might have a chance at MLB if Charlotte-Meck shows strong population growth over the next 10 years. But with the banking business no longer propelling Charlotte, it’s unclear how rapidly Charlotte will continue to grow.
As for replacing PNC Arena with something downtown, the first question is whether NCSU has changed their minds. 30 years ago they were absolutely opposed to a downtown arena. They put up the land and their alumni put up much of the money… and that settled that.
Charlotte’s population is not much larger than Raleigh…despite the insecure delusions of the ‘charlotte usa’ contingent. They are one of the smallest markets in America with 2 sports teams. The NFL is there because Hugh McColl, who basically made all the calls for NationsBank at the time, told the NFL that they would ‘guarantee’ ticket purchases. Thinking they could handle a 3rd ultimately means one of them will fail shortly after. There simply isn’t enough disposable income and people there so people ultimately have to choose. Raleigh’s average income is considerably higher than charlotte.
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Do you think company HQ’s and Fortune 500 companies play a role in this as well? These owners and teams are looking to sellout luxury seating and boxes in these stadiums. Charlotte seems to have Raleigh when it comes to that stat. I’m not convinced that Raleigh wouldn’t have enough corporate sponsors for it, but wonder if the perception exists.
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The big difference between Charlotte and Raleigh is when you look at population within 100 miles. For Charlotte it’s 8 million, for Raleigh it’s 6 million. Per capita income of the two MSAs is not much different ($24.7K for Raleigh, $23.4K for Charlotte).
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@ctillnc
Question. I assume that this specific 100 mile radius would probably include “some” numbers of persons also probably included in the Atlanta CMSA? And of course for Raleigh you’re taking in a lot of the rural Eastern N.C.? Sorry, I am always very fascinated with population numbers and exactly where they may possibly overlap. 
Downtown Charlotte to the nearest point on the Georgia-SC border is 125 miles. So no, there are no Georgians in that number.
You’re correct that the Raleigh 100-mile number is disadvantaged by low population density north and east of Raleigh. Actually, aside from Fayetteville, population density south of Raleigh is not that high either.
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As a pretty avid baseball fan, I can’t imagine they’re even thinking about expansion in the near future. They have a lot of issues, particularly pace of play, that they’re working on. I’m happy that the commissioner at least acknowledges baseball’s falling relevance and viewership and is trying to turn it around. And some of the teams, notably in Florida, still can’t draw any fans no matter how well they play.
@UncleJesse is right, CLT is one of the smallest markets with 2 teams. Pittsburgh is probably the most overburdened (three teams) but the Pens, Steelers and Pirates are all embedded in Pittsburgh culture in a way newer franchises just can’t match.
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I feel like a football declines, MLB, NBA, and MLS are going to pick up steam. This Allstar game was huge for MLB.
Well, I think the NBA and MLS have both been on an upward trajectory for a while anyway.
If you’re not interested in baseball, skip the rest of this post.
Like, I don’t know how much we want to get into this but baseball has a lot of structural problems they need to address. The average fan is much older and much whiter than the country as a whole, games have gotten 20 minutes longer in the past decade, and there wasn’t a single baseball player on ESPN’s “100 world famous athletes” list, just to name a few examples. A lot of this just reinforces the image of a stodgy, bland product that’s resistant to change. I love things like stolen bases and what used to be called “National League-style” baseball with manufactured runs, etc. And my absolute favorite play is when an outfielder throws out a baserunner trying to go first to third, or stretch a single into a double, but with everything about home runs these days, that kind of thing doesn’t happen as much.
Now, keep in mind, I love baseball. It’s the only sport I follow with regularity and I get to as many games as I can afford.
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Pro sports in the Triangle, like Austin & Columbus, is hampered by the same thing: big time college sports. For the Triangle in particular, there are 160,000 division 1 FBS seats and nearly 51,000 division 1 basketball seats. We will NEVER see the NFL or NBA in the Triangle for that reason. There’s just too much competition. The dollars spent by the three universities’ local fans is also a deterrent to a future pro franchise. Simply put, pro sports has to compete for the same dollars spent by college fans in the Triangle.
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Hello fellow DTR’s
Check out this link:
Thanks @RobertSanderlin, that’s an interesting tool!
Here’s another one that I use that allow you to manually customize the size and shape of the area you are trying to estimate.
It’s a bit trickier and less intuitive to use and there are annoying adds in it that make you think that it’s part of the process. Nonetheless, when you get used to those quirks, it’s easy and fun to use because you can zoom in really close and be more specific.
https://www.freemaptools.com/find-population.htm
I think that very few people & possibility no one will agree with me on this ! In fact , I might make someone mad about my thoughts ! I still would like to see The Atlantic League Independent Baseball come to Raleigh ! Hey , it is AA Level of play , 21 years of playing , 40 % of the players have had playing time in MLB , last season their 8 teams for the season averaged 3,900 fans per game per team . Last season The Mudcats averaged 2,800 fans & The Durham Bulls averaged 7,800 fans per game . I know that I have already stated this information before & actually this project is still not dead at this time ! I hope to drive to High Point next season to watch a Atlantic League game . This year The Chicago Dogs of The American Independent League is playing their first season . Next year this same league will have a team in Milwaukee & The Southwest Independent League will have a team in downtown Dallas . Hey , a $8 to $15 ticket price can bring a lot of family baseball fun ! Anyway , feel very strong in supporting minor league baseball ! Always Will !