Portland, Salt Lake City, Nashville? 5 MLB Expansion Sites That Would Be Great For Baseball

The owners of the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds shot down this proposal, but the 1977 Triple-A New Orleans Pelicans (sound familiar?) still came to the Superdome, where they played for just that year, in a Mardi-Gras style parade.

“The [Pelicans] liked playing there because they said most of the time the city beats up the visiting players before they even got to the park, so they were a lot easier to play against," recalled Clint Hurdle, who played for the Omaha Royals before becoming a longtime manager and hitting coach for the Rockies, Rangers and Pirates.

LSU's baseball team and its raging popularity has already proven baseball has a home in the Big Easy, it's just a question of funding and logistics.

Would Be Cool: Montreal, QC

The Expos' lengthy history is one for the books, having seen massive popularity around players like Gary "The Kid" Carter, Tim Raines, Andre Dawson and Vladimir Guerrero Sr.

The reason for the Expos' failure was largely poor management, whose decision to fire sale after the 1994 strike, despite a promising roster, spiraled into a massive decrease in attendance and interest, culminating in a failed attempt at raising funding for a new ballpark.

The new Montreal Baseball Project has funding from major corporations and is led by Warren Cromartie, who played for the Expos from 1974-1983.

The Expos would surely have beef with the Blue Jays as the two teams of Canada, and one would imagine that with a metro size rivaling San Francisco and Seattle, the Expos could be the next big ticket with better ownership.

Should Be A Front-Runner: Portland, OR

The Seattle Mariners are so isolated up in the PNW that the addition of a team in Portland would instantly give them territorial rivals and make for great television.

Portland almost became the destination for the dissolved Expos in 2003, while the Florida Marlins mulled a move to PDX in 2007.

In addition to its strong success with the Portland Beavers, there are plenty of MLB cities with a lower populace than the City of Roses. Portland trumps Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Cleveland and Milwaukee in populace, and when the Trail Blazers have been good in the past, the fans come out.

The Portland Diamond Project has proposed an enticing ballpark on Portland's south waterfront, reminiscent of PNC and Oracle Park, two of the best in the game. The location, and the solid local market, make this a really incredible destination for baseball.

Sure Bet #1: Raleigh, NC

Raleigh, in addition to being a booming metropolis, has certainly been underserved by MLB for many years, and has proven major sports success. The Carolina Hurricanes have been high on the NHL's average attendance rankings, while interest in NC State University's collegiate teams shows that baseball clearly has a home in The Triangle.

A recent study by NC State professor Michael L. Walden found that Raleigh - whose metro population surpasses Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Cincinnati and Kansas City - is an economically feasible destination for a new MLB team.

Nearby Charlotte has been touted, by Manfred specifically, as a strong bet for a big league team. Nashville, another front-runner, may be met with resistance from Reds, Cardinals and Braves brass who could feel that a team in Music City would compete with their interest.

MLB's Speedway Classic, between the Braves and Reds, being held in Bristol, Tennessee, shows that the Nashville market might be considered firmly in competition with the Cincinnati and Atlanta markets.

The problem with Charlotte, however, is there is no special interest group actually lobbying MLB to expand to The Queen City. All of the above cities, including Raleigh, have groups actively positioning themselves as viable and economically feasible relocation spots.

If Manfred wants to seize the baseball opportunity in the Carolinas, it would seem more likely to be up in Raleigh, where there is an active push for an expansion.

Sure Bet #2: Salt Lake City, UT

Rounding off the list is the suddenly booming Salt Lake City, which received an NHL expansion team in addition to its very successful Utah Jazz NBA squad.

The new Salt Lake City squad would posit as rivals with the Rockies and Diamondbacks, and 'Big League Utah' has a strong proposal for a new downtown ballpark district.

The Salt Lake metro area is very promising, and its potential location would promise a television-friendly backdrop of downtown SLC and the distant mountains.

Big League Utah sells itself as a 'five-tool player,' with SLC's enticing growth, strong economic output, status as a Delta airlines hub and a natural crossroads for travel across the Western U.S.

If there's a sure bet for big league expansion, it would be Raleigh and/or Salt Lake City, but Rob Manfred and baseball shouldn't sleep on Portland, Montreal and the Big Easy.