The White Sox main problem is not their ballpark (which is only 33 years old and in decent shape); it's definitely NOT their location (in Bridgeport, one Chicago's safest neighborhoods); it's not even their historically bad team (on pace to break all modern records for futility). It's aging owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who might be the oldest owner in baseball at age 88. While his other team, the NBA Bulls appear to have a succession plan in place with his son Michael seemingly in charge, there is no indication of who will run the Sox when Jerry passes from the scene. When the White Sox get their ownership situation straightened out, all the other issues with the team will fall into place - hopefully.
I mean they play in the city, but I think their location has kept them from consistent attendance issues, nobody wants to go to the south side to watch a game. I think the South Loop is the perfect location for them right off the edge of downtown like Chicago Sky/DePaul and Bears at Soldier Field. Most teams have bad ownership and still have great attendance, look at the Bulls since Jordan they still are amongst the best in the NBA even with Jerry as owner. It's all about location, where the Blackhawks changed it around with Rocky was putting all of the game on TV and putting out a better product. They've struggled the last few seasons and still have very good attendance because the United Center is in a great area for fans to get to.
@@agvga5510 Yes, it certainly does. That new YS just looks like a modern multi-purpose stadium - the only thing that they added was the Friese on the top which doesn't even look like original on the house that Ruth Built.
Couple of things....The White Sox, Blackhawks and Bulls are starting their own network in October so that's something to consider AND the Sox and Cubs have both existed in the same city for 125 years so to say the city can't support two teams is preposterous. It boils down to one thing and one thing only JERRY'S GOTTA GO!
Yep, people are forgetting that new network will also help keep the Sox in town. The city can support two teams and has for more than a century like you mentioned. The Sox honestly have bad ownership and the stadium is in a sucky part of town. I think that South Loop project will help a lot with attendance because it'd be right on the edge of downtown and next to hotels similar to the Bears on the lakefront who are also located on the edge of downtown. Bad idea for the Bears to even consider moving to the suburbs as well. The Sox has had periods where attendance has been great, what keeps the Cubs selling out games or having huge attendance numbers is that Harry Carry who was on the southside bought up the mystique of the franchise back in the 80s with the Superstation deal making the Cubs a national team and Wrigley Field is like a museum, so it's an attraction more than the Cubs themselves. People really need to realize this stuff.
The era of markets having more than 1 team in a league (besides much more bigger NY and LA metros) IS OVER. Especially with Illinois population loss and the fact Boston Philadelphia St Louis and now the California Bay Area all used to have 2 teams and sports league can't just endlessly create expansion team after expansion team.
@@HoshizakiYoshimasa You couldn't be more wrong, Chicago can easily support two teams, it wouldn't me too if the Bears really decide to leave town which I don't see happening, they would attract another team to play within city limits which is why the Bears have to be careful moving to the suburbs. We're going to have 40 teams in every league eventually, it's just a matter of time.
@@HoshizakiYoshimasa The second teams in Boston, Philly, STL etc left like 70+ years ago. They were not as storied of franchises as the Sox are now (will be 125 year in Chicago next year). Expand the MLB. The last expansion was 26 years ago. If expansion cannot happen, then move the "newer" expansion teams that don't show up to support their team, even in playoff years (Rays and Marlins most notably).
The Angels aren't moving. If you are new to baseball I recommend checking attendance the last 20 years. The Angels problem is a meddling owner that keeps sabotaging the team.
I don’t know what this guy has against the Angels and Anaheim Stadium. It’s a great venue to watch a game. Not much more is needed. I shouldn’t take him too seriously. He keeps saying the Dodgers need a dome. So his points of view are more than a little off.
You guys are right, the Angels aren't leaving the #2 market in the league and the Angels attendance has been so great over the past 2 decades. There's nothing even wrong with Angel Stadium either, they can probably use another big renovation, but it's a much prettier ballpark to me and more modern than the overrated garbage looking Dodger Stadium that looks like Shea Stadium of the west coast.
When the Sox are good, they get better attendance than the rest of the Al central when those teams are good. It’s not the fans that are the problem, it’s Reinsdorf
What I don't understand is why the Sox ownership can't do for Sox Park what the Bulls and Blackhawks have proposed for the United Center where they are using their own money, especially since Reinsdorf owns the Bulls as well.
Same reason as to why the Bulls are content with being a .500 (or lower) team rather than a championship contender: Jerry is cheap and senile - while also more concerned over a new stadium rather than the team that will be playing in it. It’s a terrible thing to say about anyone, but most if not all Bulls and Sox fans are waiting for Jerry to die. As a fan of both teams, I’m personally watching to see how much irreversible damage he can do before he goes. As of this comment on this day, the Bulls are projected to do nothing (again), and the Sox are so bad that analysts are drawing comparisons to not only the 62’ Mets, but the fucking 1899 Cleveland Spiders (20-134).
@@ogKoral Yes, my friend, Jerry Reinsdorf has wrecked this historic baseball club - I suspect that he's made it much worse than it was when he and Eddie Einhorn bought the team from Bill Veeck. Even though the Pale Hose have won one World Series title in our lifetimes - 2005 - no matter what happens, the South Siders will be the perpetual second fiddle to the Cubs; to this, I say that Reinsdorf sell the team to someone who knows the reality of baseball fandom in Chicago, and that person can try to get a deal for, and build - with their own money - a new ballpark elsewhere.
@@MegaJustGeorge Here’s the thing though and what kills me to my core: He was actually doing something right in 2021 - then he reversed all of his progress and then some when he hired Tony LaRussa. Since LaRussa got that DUI immediately after signing as manager, we have never recovered since.
First, don’t get how Guaranteed Rate is among the “five or six” worst parks. Really? The neighborhood isn’t great, granted, but there is nothing wrong with the stadium. Second, Nashville wants an expansion team. Third, Reinsdorf won’t move the team and he won’t sell it for capital gains reasons. Fourth, Reinsdorf isn’t even majority owner, just the chairman. Fifth,all this guy is is speculation.
Chicago White Sox are currently on a 20-game losing streak and are on pace to finish with a worse record than the 1962 Mets. The White Sox of 2024 are so bad that they are worse than any expansion team.
A good way to get the community interested in the Angles, don't call them Los Angles. People in OC don't like to think of themselves as LA. Also, I'd be sad to see the White Sox move since they've been in Chicago for well over 120 years.
Don't call him LA and yet everybody who passes Santa Ana from the south already calls Anaheim and everything north to it to Buena Park Los Angeles anyway Orange County does not really have its own identity other than Santa Ana Huntington Beach and everything south of that for the most part everything north of it is LA Junior anyway The freeways the maintenance the style the look it's all LA Jr and with good reason it was LA County anyway until 100 years ago
The problem is the same for the Chicago White Sox as it was for the Oakland A's. One major factor (one of the top-3 reasons) for the A's leaving Oakland are the dangerous, dysfunctional and dilapidated neighborhoods surrounding the Coliseum. Fans were being robbed at the adjacent BART station. in 2018, a mob of "teens" initiated a mass attack on fans. The A's are leaving Oakland because the city is full of mean gang bangers. The White Sox wish to leave the South Side for the exact same reason.
If WSox Leave we would not support Jerry Reinsdorf at the United Center as A Bulls Fan or support their upcoming United Center district renovation of the 1901 Project.He would be Hated enemy #1 in Chicago
@@HoshizakiYoshimasa Chicago has a metro population of 9 million. Illinois has a population of 12 million. Compare just the metro to neighboring Iowa or Missouri.
The White Sox have the 3rd best farm System in MLB, they have also are going to celebrate 125 years next year. I can see jerry sell the team before he would move it.
The main thing wrong with the White Sox stadium is that it's in the middle of a parking lot between a freeway and a rail yard. If they built on some of that parking and made it a place people wanted to hang out near, like Wrigley, it would make all the difference. The stadium is right near two metro stops and it's easy to get to.
I'm a Stadium conasure. Since I was a little kid was always intrigued and could name every stadium every pro team played in before corporate sponsorship took over and you had a carousel of name changes. I just wanted to say we are kinderd spirits and I really enjoy your channel
I cannot believe the Rays are actually going to build in the same place the current stadium is. That development better be very big and very nice. If they fill that development with "affordable housing" the people who live there won't be able to afford to go to a bunch of games and spend a lot of money. They need to surround that stadium with a bunch of people who have disposable income. It needs to be filled with people who move there specifically because they want to go to a bunch of Rays games every summer. If they can do that it might work out. This is a place that couldn't even halfway sell out their playoff games last season.
Trashy dome or not, the Rays have fielded competitive teams for two decades and still rank in the bottom 3 every year. The first season in a new place will be filled with curious fans. But within 3 years, it'll end up half full whether the stadium is surrounded by luxury condos or Section 8 projects. They apparently learned nothing from the Marlins fiasco.
@TheOldTapeArchive My guess is that the Rays' era of being competitive has already ended and is not coming back. They have been bleeding talent badly these last five years. Last year they were swept in the Wild Card round, and this year it is highly unlikely that they will secure a WC. They just can't keep being competitive without significantly increasing payroll, and I can't imagine Sternberg ever doing so.
This is just a bad idea period. Who's going to move from Tampa to St. Pete just to see more Rays games? Maybe retired people who like baseball, but seriously, how much better will it be than in Miami which has a beautiful new ballpark and still can't draw....? Perhaps Orlando would work out better, but I guess no one will find out.
I don’t know whether it’s just me, but I’ve been to all 30 current ballparks, I don’t understand the hate for Guaranteed Rate Field, the concourses are wide, the food is great, I’ve been there a couple of times and really enjoyed the atmosphere too
I don't really get it either. But what I will say it is: it's bland. There's really nothing very interesting about it. Plus the location is bad, in terms of being in a good neighborhood.
Depressed Ginger will say any stadium is bad if there's the faintest whiff of relocation possibility. Angel Stadium is nowhere near as bad as he makes it out to be either.
@@kjhuangAnd nowhere near the amount of relocation talks for the Angels as ginger makes out to be. With how much he talks about the Angels moving I’m surprised he has said nothing about the Ducks, because Honda Center was built before the Rams left town.
He’s constantly bashing Anaheim Stadium too. No Halo fan is disappointed with the stadium or its amenities. Seems like he has the same myopic view of the WS home too.
@@JoePCool14 The neighborhood isn't "bad", it's just not integrated into the neighborhood the way Wrigley is, but Wrigley is basically the exception. So there just aren't interesting things around the ballpark. All the new ones (like the proposed one) are part of some larger development
Tampa and St Pete are rivals, the Tampa people think they have to drive 3 hours to st pete and for some reason when you say you must drive over a bridge the Tampa people act like you have to drive over Mt Everest to get there
Narrator's take on Chicago W Sox and Rays are both almost completely wrong. Biggest issue is exactly what @Weeki370 mentioned here....which the narrator did not mention. Majority of people in the Tampa Bay metro area lives on the other side of the bay and does not want to go to St Pete. Lot of Rays fans in the large Metro TB area...but they are happy selling out more easily geographically accessible stadiums in Tampa to watch the Lightning and Buccaneers.
I'm 67 years old and have been a White Sox fan my whole life. This is an absolute train wreck. The worst I have ever seen. A new ball park is the least of their problems. PLEASE SELL THE TEAM
What is wrong with Bridgeport? It's a very safe area, almost all cops, firefighters and various city workers. The problem is there aren't many bars or restaurants within walking distance of the park. And the new proposed stadium is what, 2 miles away? Not much change in the neighborhood. And people are very forgetful, stupid or both. When I was growing up in the 70s, Wrigley Field was NOT in a good neighborhood. Neither was the United Center.
Love the rendering of the new ChiSox stadium on St. Patrick's Day (Chicago River dyed green, etc.). Do you think anyone bothered telling the development firm that the MLB season doesn't start on or before March 17th???
White Sox's are not giving up Chicago period. Angles are not leaving LA. I am starting to think the A's might end up in Sacramento unless fisher sells. When talking about relocation please keep in mind the local TV deals these teams get. Teams don't move to a lower tier market unless you have something unique like the A's who were sharing a market. Bay Area is not a two team TV market. Chicago is.
Exactly, White Sox are not giving up the #3 market in the country and the Angels are not giving up the #2 market in the country. A's at this rate will end up staying in Northern California, probably Sacramento if attendance is good up there. Vegas will have to get an expansion team in the future. Chicago is a two team market and has been for 125 years. The White Sox need a better location, I believe the South Loop location because it's off the edge of downtown will change their mystique and attendance problems. People forget too the White Sox are apart of that new sports network coming out in a couple of months, that'll help them with the revenue issues as well.
If they would have placed the new 1991 White Sox Park in the same footprint as the old one I would have been good with it. But across the street and facing the other direction just never worked for me.
I think taking a charter AL franchise from a 2 team town in the third largest market and move them to a smaller market, would be a non starter for MLB.
Houston and Dallas are going to leapfrog Chicago metro in population soon. And Illinois in general is losing population. No Midwest city deserves two teams in a league. In fact NO metro should have more than 1 team. Especially Shitcago.
I doubt Depressed Ginger has ever set foot in Angel Stadium. He just likes trashing stadiums if he hears about (or makes up) any possibility of relocation.
Angel Stadium is crap it's boring it's lame it's in the middle of a boring suburb I hate dodger Stadium too but at least it overlooks downtown and our stadium is right in the heart of downtown and the heart of the harbor in San Diego so I don't see you why Angel Stadium is there it's just a boring place if only the deal didn't fall through would be sick to see a bayfront stadium in Long Beach out in Los Angeles County matter of fact seal Beach and Westminster need to go back into Los Angeles County and have that part of its identity because Orange is just useless
Ik, I see way, way more Angel fans than I do Padres fans. I feel like they will stay in Anaheim, and that they have a large enough parking lot to build another stadium for the Angels. The only way I see them moving would be to Irvine or Long Beach and if the Ducks move to Irvine or San Diego because they’re in the same parking lot (similar to the Oakland Coliseum and Oracle Arena) and that both Honda Center and Angel Stadium gets demolished at the same time.
I don't know where your eyesight's been I hardly even see any red in Orange County I see a lot more dodger blue there and lately I've been seeing Padre Brown it's like the Angels aren't even existent in the county that separates the two major cities with their two unique metropolitan areas oh by the way LA consumes Orange County and its Metro
@@aicofrena505Remember it’s the big three here in SoCal and then everyone else is a distant 4th and so on. No matter where you go in SoCal The Dodgers, trOJans, and Lakers dominate the scene I doubt if you combine all the other teams including UCLA that you will equal the amount of gear one of those teams sell. So yes. There is definitely more Dodger fans in the OC just like UCLA and the Clippers take a back seat to the Lakers and trOJans. Maybe if the Rams did not ruin their look with the most ridiculous rebrand and logos we would see more Ram gear. But that’s an entirely different story. A story of shooting one’s self in the foot for no reason.
I sat outside in Las Vegas last Thursday for the triple A team Avators… it was 105 degrees at first pitch… and nobody died!! Game was sold out… should show that Las Vegas is a great pro baseball market.
Not going to be popular at all for the countrymen that live outside of Las Vegas. New Orleans, or Nashville would be popular across multiple states, while Indianapolis or Richmond would be the only competition in one state area as well as being highly popular among neighboring states without mlb teams themselves.
Lifetime White Sox fan until last off-season. Firing of announcer Benetti was the last straw. Obsolete ballpark surrounded by asphalt. Fans are in the suburbs. Move.
My family and I went to her first MLB game on June 29th and we liked the park and enjoyed the game. I was surprised to hear him say it's potentially the 4th or 5th worst stadium.
I am happy the Rays aren’t moving, but attendance will always be an issue as long as they play in St. Pete. That side of the bay is not as populated as the Tampa side. I am not sure of the current numbers, but four years ago there were about 600k people within thirty minutes of the Trop. If the stadium was on the Tampa side there would be 1.5 million people within a 30 minute drive.
Anaheim Stadium is in great shape for its age compared to Oakland which has been a rat-infested dump for 2 decades. That being said, a new stadium is something to consider. However, how can you rely on or trust the worst owner in baseball? It's depressing for the fans who have finally had enough. Moreno has counted on a loyal fan base who continued to attend games but the drop is due to a soft boycott now. Moreno has got to go before anything is done.
Jerry Reinsdorf leaves the legacy of being a cheap, selfish bastard who only ever acted in his own self interests, murdered every great thing he was ever given, and alienated fans and players in the process.
@@JohnSmith-zw8vp Old Comiskey Park wasn't well maintained and the cost of rehabbing it wasn't much less than a new ballpark. Also, since it was so old, there was only so much that could be done to modernize it.
@@juelzkellz But wasn't that also true for Wrigley and Fenway, at least at some point in time? Remember in the late 90s/early 00s Fenway was in danger of being replaced. Even Wrigley could've been lost due to the whole stubbornness over lights thing in the 80s...
The A’s and Angels need new owners, the Rays need to move to Tampa Bay, the White Sox need to leave town entirely, or a new owner who doesn’t micromanage every damn thing there is
I can't see any scenario in which the White Sox leave Chicago. It's the 3rd largest market in the United States! Is Guaranteed Rate Field out of date? Perhaps. Could it be go through a serious renovation? I think so. Hell if the Cubs could renovation the century old Wrigley Field, I'm sure the Sox can sort out a ballpark situation in the Windy City. I think the Sox relocation threat is more of a bluff, than not.
DG, what do you call the Angels parking lot? Same with Royals/Chiefs? I thought I was funny in a past video you called it like a parking lot desert or something. Keep up the great work
The pelicans have some of the worst attendance numbers in the nba and same with the saints and the nfl, they don’t show up the same way as a Nashville or Charlotte does for their teams. Plus New Orleans is decreasing in population which is something that should be avoided when trying to expand somewhere.
@arandomdudeontheinternet5792 I hate to say but I think your wrong both accounts! Saints average over 70,000 each home game and Pelicans maybe around 14,000 a game with some sellouts with a good team showing up! And New Orleans is a sports town! They also have triple A. Baseball with major league MLB exhibition games back in the day! Yes it's population not the size of Houston Dallas Miami Atlanta but people love coming here the tourists! So one day maybe who knows!
@@johnalello9233 so the pelicans average 14,000 a game when the average nba team draws 18,000 fans for 20,000 seat arenas, totally not bad attendance, am I right. And btw, the New Orleans Baby Cakes aren’t a team anymore, they were demoted and became the Wichita Wind Surge, get your facts right.
The Sox are not going anywhere outside of the Chicago TV market. They’ve even created a new TV network to broadcast the Sox, Bulls & Blackhawks which launches in October 2024.
Illinois is LOSING population though. And no Midwest city deserves two baseball teams. Especially when a sports league can't just endlessly create expansion team after expansion team. There are many fast growing metro areas who want teams. Chicago can't be taking up two spots. Metropolitan areas having more than 1 team in a league is lame anyway. White Sox should relocate.
Since when is it a good idea to put any sports team in a gaming city like Las Vegas where betting on sports is illegal for ANY player? Thats like putting a thief in charge of a bank.
I believe that the White Sox should consider relocating to Portland since the Portland Diamond Project is in the process of negotiating a deal to acquire the former land that the redtail golf course was at.
Enjoy your videos but do a little research --- It's the Chicago River --- and saying one thing about Chicago's two teams and then saying Oakland is stand alone when the Giants are right across the bay (about 10 miles from Wrigley to Sox park, about 20 miles from Coliseum to Oracle)? Sometimes you just don't make sense, it's like you are just talking to hear yourself talk
@@theblackhood4812 Well maybe not Tampa Bay since that's body of water but Tampa yes. But that ship has sailed so it's either this or nothing. Now supposedly they are expanding the bridges getting into ST Pete. not sure have been there is many many years so maybe that will help. But teh notion that fans don;t care is BS. Their TV ratings are not in the bottom
@@ronniesouthern7829 It is BS. As has bene stated the stadium is in a terrible location. No one except someone from Pinellas County is going to go to games. Tell me you've never driven form Tampa to St Pete without telling me you've never driven from Tampa to St Pete. And you're definitely no going to draw from Orlando and other areas either. You know the areas that areas growing in population unlike St Pete. Not wanting to put up with traffic and a shitty stadium does not make you "not a fan" when onw can watch at home and save the hassle
I’m sick and tired of people making videos and saying “Guaranteed Rate Field is one of the worst in the league” like really? Stadium is not bad at all. Born and raised in the SouthSide, yes the area is not the most glamorous but it’s also not that bad. Game experience is always great. Team sucks but ownership/ front office are to blame at this point. Under new ownership this ship can definitely be turned around, I mean the fan base is there.
I truly appreciate your hard work for this channel. {Current 2024 White Sox home attendance: 16,000, GRF holds 40,000} IL credit rating = Worst in USA + Top 3 (total debt states). City of Chicago and Bears are talking public $$ too; Bears are probably the most popular team in Illinois. White Sox are probably at the bottom of Chicago pro sports teams fan total and interest.
Didn't used to always be that way. They've been around for 125 years and for easily half that time they were a bigger draw than the Cubs. It's really the last ~15 years when things have been bad, and even then they did win 93 games 3 years ago
Both of those metro areas *combined* do not add up to 50% of the Chicago metro area. They barely make it to 40%. Any of these other cities would be a step backwards for MLB
Sternberg doesn't care about attendance, he only cares about having a state-of-the-art stadium. St. Pete gave him what he wanted, so he'll stay and spend the least possible money on payroll. Expect an average of 10,000 per game and annual finishes outside the wild card.
If the A's move to Vegas, the Angels would be the only American League team in California. I don't think MLB would be too keen with the Angels fleeing that state. Maybe move the team to Long Beach or the Inland Empire?
A new arena for the Spurs feels unnecessary. I know they're trying to build everything around Wemby and he's a big part of their future, but the Spurs current arena is fine. They just moved into it 21, 22 years ago. Also, what happens if Wemby leaves the Spurs the moment he can get a max deal? Yeah, I'm sure the Spurs would try to keep him, but if he was to leave, the Spurs would have an egg on their face moving to a new arena and Wemby not being a part of that. They should stay at the AT&T Center, or whatever it's called now. LOL
This was all a part of Manfred's plan by making every team play each other every year and in each others' home stadium every other year. It reduces the need to have these second teams in most cities. You no longer need the White Sox to see Mike Trout play in Chicago. You no longer need the Angels to see the Yankees play in the LA area. Hence why we are sitting here talking about all these secondary teams in premier markets (Angels in LA, Oakland in the Bay Area, White Sox in Chicago) relocating. There is no benefit to having two teams play in a market, might as well have one team in 29 different markets. It benefits the bottom business line for MLB as a whole.
A team should move to Vancouver. Gives an East vs West Canadian teams. Early game time zone then late game time zone. Plus Vancouver has way, way, way more money than most US cites in the running. Makes perfect sense.
I agree, I wouldn't mind it if they skipped Montreal for the Expos return and just situate a team in Vancouver in stead that way there's better balance on the west coast like you mentioned. Gives Seattle a much needed close geographical rival too.
You make Sacramento sound like Dubai. It's not. There are typically a few weeks during the summer when the temp gets to 100 or more. But even on those days, once the sun goes down and the delta breeze kicks in from the river, those night are amazing.
The biggest problem with the Rays attendance is because most of the fans live in the TAMPA region and trying to make a game across the bay over to St Pete is a nightmare during the week and rush time traffic times...Doing this new plan instead of building a stadium in the actual Tampa area is big mistake again...smh
I feel like the Rays could get a 25% to 50% increase in attendance in attendance if they just move to Tampa itself. Specifically in the Ybor neighborhood.
Next year, the Sox will have spent 125 years in Chicago. The Sox's location, fanbase, and stadium is not the problem. They are still one of the most profitable franchises in the league. They simply have a s****y owner who stopped caring decades ago at this point. With a new owner who even cares a little bit about the team, the Sox are immediately a respectable team again. You can't compare the Sox woes to Oakland. The A's genuinely played in a aging dump, had fairly poor attendance even in competing years, and do not have the same historical connection to their city to the extent the Sox have to Chicago. The A's were first in Philly, then KC, then finally Oakland.
Skyline of St. Pete is looking good. I live in Pok County. Yes, I would rather have the stadium at the Tampa Fairgrounds. But I give St. Pete credit for getting a deal done while Tampa basically punted. Also, I do find I-375 and I-175 as convenient an in and out as any stadium I've been too.
It would be dumb for moving the White Sox out of Chicago, the team original establishment for MLB and AL. Yea, it's in a rough neighborhood of Chicago, plus the current renderings of the city in the background are off the charts
I'm a longtime fan of Detroit teams....one thing I can say is, no Detroit major league team in the "big 4" has ever relocated. You can't say that about NYC, LA, Philly, Chicago....
Don't worry about the Tampa Bay Rays, Depressed Ginger. They're be fine. They're not relocating to Orlando or Nashville like you want them to. They're staying in the Tampa Bay area forever!
I have been all through the Knights stadium doing fire alarm work. All over the roof and service areas. It could easily upgraded for sure. I agree. Whole lot easier than that A’s deal Im Sacremento. I live in Greenville SC very close to Charlotte and I can tell you, this area WOULD support an MLB team.
The Charlotte Knights are the current AAA affiliate of the White Sox, so it would be ideal to move to the Charlotte area. Charlotte is on the NC-SC border and the combined population of the two Carolinas is over 16 million. It is the most populous region in the USA without an MLB team. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Knights
I lived in Charlotte 2016-2021. The downtown (which they call "Uptown") has very little residential housing. The people most likely to fill up a MLB stadium hardly ever go downtown and don't look forward to it. Many people never set foot "Uptown." It's a car culture, and the people most likely to attend MLB games all live on the outskirts of Charlotte, or in places like Matthews, Weddington and Balantyne. The explosive growth going on in the region is all south of the ring road, between Matthews and the South Carolina border. If the Charlotte region should ever get a MLB franchise, this is where the stadium needs to go. Northerners think of downtowns as gentrified areas populated by Yuppies, so they are always thinking of downtown stadiums in the South whenever the subject comes up. Our downtowns aren't Yuppie paradises. The health of our cities are in the suburbs, and the right place for sports stadiums are in the exurbs. Same story for Raleigh as for Charlotte.
I cannot decipher between the MLB owners and commissioners having prejudice against the South or some curious, understood collusion with the Braves. Basically, if the league wanted to move the White Sox/A’s ( or just an entirely new expansion franchise) to the South, it could have very easily been arranged decades ago. Somehow, in an economically booming region, Atlanta has remained the only city with MLB team. There’s quite a few candidates that would thrive as well or better than Baltimore, Detroit, CHW, Cleveland and Cincinnati
The White Sox play in the 3rd largest market in the country, but continually struggle to put people in the seats. They consistently rank near the bottom in attendance, only being above the middle in a handful of years in the past several decades. Added to this is the distaste Illinoisians have for having paid for the current stadium for mostly bad teams to play in, (while ownership reaped massive earnings), their reluctance to make that mistake again, and, even if public funding were a consideration, the Bears are wanting that money as well! Don't let the door hit ya!
No matter how we slice it, baseball is dying a slow death in America. For a few decades, many more Americans have grown up playing little league Soccer than baseball. This is starting to manifest in lower quantities of American born players, and lower spectator interest. The fact that these new proposed stadiums have around 1/2 of the seating capacity of older stadiums is a clear indicator that team owners and municipalities can see the writing on the wall. Pretty soon, the only team selling out “baseball games” will be the Savannah Bananas. 🍌⚾️🍌⚾️🍌⚾️🍌
I used to live in LA for 38 years, it would suck to see the Angels moved, if it happened, but i have to be honest. The three most popular teams in LA are the Lakers, Dodgers, and the Raiders, yes i know the Raiders are no longer there, but they still are SO CAl' S favorite football team. At the most, i probably could slot the Raiders out and put the Trojans instead, thats coming from a UCLA Bruins fan.
The A's had two incredible runs in the 70's and 90's and couldn't draw flies. No professional sports city deserves to lose their team more than Oakland with the A's. I doubt they even care. The White Sox are the forgotten team in a city that is well known for its devotion to their teams. It's Cubs, it's Bears, it's Blackhawks and Bulls, and oh yeah...The Chisox. If they need $1 billion from the city, which is in chaos, to stay the future in Chicago for the Sox is bleak.
It just amazes me how the A’s can somehow maintain any kind of fan base considering how long they’ve been a lousy organization. I’m not even sure that moving them will fix things 😮
While the A’s are indeed leaving, I don’t see the Chicago White Sox and LA Angels leaving at all. However, both may nevertheless need new stadiums. LA in particular may need to leave Anaheim for LA itself without, I mean without, coming into close contact with the NL’s LA Dodgers. The only other MLB team I expect to leave, possibly for Montreal, would be the Miami Marlins. Charlotte and Nashville would be better off as expansion teams.
Top 10 Media Market, with a shovel ready site, with excellent weather.... Y'all are gonna laugh now, but in a year, The Oakland White Sox won't sound like a crazy idea
