Will Vancouver ever land an MLB team?

Melrose Munch

Registered User
Mar 18, 2007
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So by your definition wouldn't that make the majority of sport teams "fairweather" or "bandwagon" ?

The small decline in attendance is completely on management/ownership. Aqua and the sales team got lazy because the team sold out for a million years in a row without breaking a sweat. Combine that with management being a total gong show and quite frankly it's impressive that attendance hasn't gone in the toilet.
In the late 90's there was also a decline. I support Vancouver getting a team, but I worry about how hardcore the fans are.
 

TheMoreYouKnow

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May 3, 2007
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I think the biggest problem is that they'd need to build a ballpark that's also going to need a retractable roof. Those are pretty expensive to build and would be a lot to commit to without knowing if it's going to work out.
 

No Fun Shogun

34-38-61-10-13-15
May 1, 2011
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All but a handful of teams in every league suffer at the gate when the team's bad or ownership has become toxic, so I'd hardly think it'd be fair to judge the MLB potential of Vancouver over some rough water that the market had in the NHL two decades ago.

But, again, it's all about a stadium. That's the barrier to entry for every hopeful market.
 

Neutrinos

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Sep 23, 2016
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Where would they build a stadium?

Maybe where the viaducts are beside Rogers Arena?
 

GIN ANTONIC

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Aug 19, 2007
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Where would they build a stadium?

Maybe where the viaducts are beside Rogers Arena?

I know it makes no sense since there is no public transportation to get there but it would be beautiful to have a park down in White Rock. I can't think of anywhere in Vancouver proper that makes sense.
 

BKIslandersFan

F*** off
Sep 29, 2017
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I think this thread should become MLB Expansion speculation thread.

I see Omaha is the only city with MLB ready stadium without a team.

And then I see its population number and yikes.
 

CHRDANHUTCH

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Mar 4, 2002
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I think this thread should become MLB Expansion speculation thread.

I see Omaha is the only city with MLB ready stadium without a team.

And then I see its population number and yikes.
Rosenblatt is no longer an option.... the Storm Chasers (AAA-Royals) left there a while ago and the stadium hasn't been there since 2010....BK
 

garnetpalmetto

Jerkministrator
Jul 12, 2004
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Yeah, it hasn't been there because they opened a new 24,000 seat stadium that's expandable to 35,000.

The problem you have there is TD Ameritrade isn't open for business for pro ball during the College World Series at all. It's one of the reasons the (then) Omaha Royals (now the Storm Chasers) decided to go their own way when succession planning for Rosenblatt started and they went with Werner Park in Papillion, NE. I similarly doubt an MLB team would also want to go on a 2-week road trip in the middle of the season.
 
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AdmiralsFan24

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Mar 22, 2011
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The problem you have there is TD Ameritrade isn't open for business for pro ball during the College World Series at all. It's one of the reasons the (then) Omaha Royals (now the Storm Chasers) decided to go their own way when succession planning for Rosenblatt started and they went with Werner Park in Papillion, NE. I similarly doubt an MLB team would also want to go on a 2-week road trip in the middle of the season.

Teams go on long road trips all the time. It's not that big of a deal.
 

garnetpalmetto

Jerkministrator
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Teams go on long road trips all the time. It's not that big of a deal.

To the tune of 16-18 day (not games, but days on the road) road trips? I'm just saying, it was clearly a big deal in the negotiations to build Rosenblatt's successor. If an MiLB team balked at the notion of going on the road that long each year, I doubt an MLB team would either. Looking at MLB schedules about the longest road swings I see are in the 10-11 day neighborhood.
 
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AdmiralsFan24

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Mar 22, 2011
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To the tune of 16-18 day (not games, but days on the road) road trips? I'm just saying, it was clearly a big deal in the negotiations to build Rosenblatt's successor. If an MiLB team balked at the notion of going on the road that long each year, I doubt an MLB team would either. Looking at MLB schedules about the longest road swings I see are in the 10-11 day neighborhood.

You wouldn't need 16-18 day trips. The longest college World Series I've seen lasted 13 days. You could also have a third game on Saturday and Sunday to speed it up. Don't really think it's relevant anyways since Omaha doesn't seem interested in MLB and I doubt MLB would be thrilled with the idea too.
 

garnetpalmetto

Jerkministrator
Jul 12, 2004
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Durham, NC
You wouldn't need 16-18 day trips. The longest college World Series I've seen lasted 13 days. You could also have a third game on Saturday and Sunday to speed it up. Don't really think it's relevant anyways since Omaha doesn't seem interested in MLB and I doubt MLB would be thrilled with the idea too.

You need time to redo the field, decorate the stadium, train staff, do walk throughs prior to the tournament and time after the tournament as well. Those add days on the front and back end. Again, look at the Omaha Royals schedules during the years they played in Rosenblatt and you'll see 16-18 day away trips while the CWS was going on.
 
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SkalbaniasGhost

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Jan 11, 2018
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Vancouver will be in the expansion mix in the next go around in the 2027-28 time frame.MLB is definitely expanding to 32 in 2022-23 time frame.Montreal is a given for the east with Portland/San Antonio as the favorite for the western slot. Portland alleviates the Seattle travel problem.I am curious to see who the financial whale is for Portland Diamond Project . They appear to have the gift of time on their side to get the stadium resolved.
Oakland has to have a solution to their stadium situation by next All-Star break.If not they announce a move to San Antonio by August for the 2020 season .They can play temporarily in the AlamoDome for 2-3 years until they get a baseball specific stadium.They have a group assembled and have hosted exhibition games since 2013.I believe MLB will mothball the Athletics name/logo/uniform until MLB expands again in 2027-28 time frame.They will attempt to go to San Jose/Sacramento in that time period.
MLB will be sued by the MLBPA(just like in 1990) for collusion over the free agent salary freeze, we saw this past off season.They will lose/settle with the use of expansion to regain money just like they did in the 1990's when they added 4 teams. Bosa,Concord,Aquillini,Coleman,foreign capital will build a stadium complex similar to Atlanta's Battery complex.It will be a retractable-roof enclosed facility(no picturesque views). I would have liked that site the WhiteCaps were looking at over the railyard.
 
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Quid Pro Clowe

Registered User
Dec 28, 2008
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Vancouver will be in the expansion mix in the next go around in the 2027-28 time frame.MLB is definitely expanding to 32 in 2022-23 time frame.Montreal is a given for the east with Portland/San Antonio as the favorite for the western slot. Portland alleviates the Seattle travel problem.I am curious to see who the financial whale is for Portland Diamond Project . They appear to have the gift of time on their side to get the stadium resolved.
Oakland has to have a solution to their stadium situation by next All-Star break.If not they announce a move to San Antonio by August for the 2020 season .They can play temporarily in the AlamoDome for 2-3 years until they get a baseball specific stadium.They have a group assembled and have hosted exhibition games since 2013.I believe MLB will mothball the Athletics name/logo/uniform until MLB expands again in 2027-28 time frame.They will attempt to go to San Jose/Sacramento in that time period.
MLB will be sued by the MLBPA(just like in 1990) for collusion over the free agent salary freeze, we saw this past off season.They will lose/settle with the use of expansion to regain money just like they did in the 1990's when they added 4 teams. Bosa,Concord,Aquillini,Coleman,foreign capital will build a stadium complex similar to Atlanta's Battery complex.It will be a retractable-roof enclosed facility(no picturesque views). I would have liked that site the WhiteCaps were looking at over the railyard.
Oakland ain't moving to San Antonio.
 

DoyleG

Reality sucks, Princesses!
Dec 29, 2008
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Baseball stadium is unrealistic in Vancouver.

When the Canadians were at the AAA level, the team needed a new stadium that would meet the requirements of the PCL (AAA leagues were increasing stadium standards, including capacity). Nat Bailey was too small of a stadium to meet those standards and a new one was needed. The problem was that the NIMBY attitude about both a new stadium and a revamping of the Nat (as happened in Edmonton with Telus Field) became options that led to nowhere.

Meanwhile, Sacramento could offer the kind of stadium that the PCL and the C's owners wanted, and they got that once the new stadium was built. The current C's can work at Nat Bailey as Short-A ball has lower requirements. This was all in the late 90s.

For those who think times have changed, just look at what happened when the Whitecaps tried to build their own stadium on the Waterfront. The NIMBY crowd was too much for even popular opinion (who backed the stadium).
 

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