No mention of Raleigh (except in the comments)
1 Like
We almost landed the Minnesota Twins give me that article.
We have no stadium or clear plan. Thatâs why Raleigh is not in the mix.
1 Like
Technically âweâ didnât almost land the Twins; it was the Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point) that was trying to get them. But some feel that this proposal was a non-starter and only a political pawn.
1 Like
With 3 ACC teams in the immediate market, I donât think itâs likely that the Triangle will ever be a NBA expansion metro: at least not in our lifetimes.
2 Likes
Interesting! I never heard about this before but sounds similar to Robert Kraft threatening to move the Patriots to Hartford which basically got him a new stadium in MA.
1 Like
It did happen, but Massachusetts put a last minute stadium plan for him!
And this is very sad to me as I am not a âpayingâ fan of the ACC, but I would pay to see the NBA in personâŚoh well! 
COVID paused a lot of the MLB expansion momentum that was building, but that is one thing Manfred (the commish) wants to leave as part of his legacy. So I expect that to heat back up in about a year.
As for relocation, COVID may have been the straw that broke the camelâs back for Tampa. They have to have something figured out (stadium-wise) for 2028. If that doesnât happen then you bet the Rays will move. Oakland has some stuff to figure out as well (but it seems they are on the right track) and the Diamondbacks have been open to moving for some time now (maybe itâs just a political bluff).
So yeah, for Raleigh it would be a lot cheaper to get a relocation team (no expansion fee). Youâd just need a stadium. But if you have the right investment group expansion team is an option too.
9 Likes
Also the NBA would compete directly with the Hurricanes for support with similar schedules. I donât think we could do both. MLB or MLS makes more sense with the current sports mix in the Triangle.
4 Likes
Well letâs gets some investors and a billionaire and weâre set. But Raleigh has to take risks and not be stupid and time-wasting we also canât be controlling the MLS stadium we were too problematic and controlling.
We have all 4 billionaires in the state, maybe at some point one of the Epic guys will want to own a team.
3 Likes
I could pop the question, the SAS guy is a Nimby doesnât see success for this area. MJ is living in Florida, so is Tepper. I donât know about the Quintiles guy.
One would hope that a local billionaire might do for Raleigh what some other billionaires have done for their cities. Iâve made similar comments to that end on other topics here in the past, but have gotten pushback.
nice gesture when billionaires do stuff like champion a local pro sports team, but theyâre largely vanity exercises rather than âdoing for Raleighâ (or whatever city) type of purpose. If the ego is as big as the bank account, they might just do it. If theyâre smart, theyâll keep the $ for their family and in their company for investing in expanded opportunities for employees. #Iâ¤capitalism
2 Likes
Ego or not, these âinvestmentsâ help a cityâs brand.
2 Likes
I think they are already doing those âinvestmentsâ locally or even broader than locally. Itâs just not the particular things that you and others want them to do. Goodnight for example is well known for his philanthropic endeavors for education but I guess that is not showy enough to get noticed locally.
10 Likes
Donât forget the outstanding projects that son, James Goodnight, is doing here and in Wilmington. Raleigh: Death and Taxes, Sam Jones Barbecue, the RC Building on W. Hillsborough St, a redevelopment on S. Blount/Person Street, a redevelopment of a former Raleigh Fire Station in Glenwood. Quality, deliberate work to save what little history we have left. Doesnât seem like James or his parents are interested in MLB Domed Stadium. We are fortunate to have James in Raleigh.
13 Likes
Actually, building a 5 star hotel, owning a country club, sponsoring golf tournaments, building an expensive private school, and funding the arts scene are plenty showy, they just arenât the sort of things that are impactful to a broad spectrum of society. Annâs commitment to the arts is likely the most available and visible contribution, and we should all be grateful for that.
I know that there are other things like scholarships and board work at NC State, etc., and those are important too. I am just saying that there are few contributions that are broad in nature.
7 Likes
Look at Jeff Vinik, owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL team. Heâs hands down the biggest reason for Tampaâs huge downtown revitalization. Heâs pumping billions into downtown Tampa. He was a Duke Grad. Would dream about a guy like him going into DTR and making impactful development changes.
4 Likes