Can Raleigh support a MLB team? Hurricanes Owner wants to bring a team to The Triangle

Major League Baseball seems likely to expand by two teams in the relatively near future. The owner of the Carolina Hurricanes wants Raleigh to be in that conversation. Earlier this summer, Dundon signed a long-term lease with the Centennial Authority to keep the Hurricanes at Raleigh’s PNC Arena for another 20 years. A $300-million renovation is planned for the arena. As part of the agreement, Dundon got the rights to develop the land around PNC Arena. Under Dundon, who took control of the Hurricanes in early 2018, Carolina has reached the playoffs in five consecutive season, including two trips to the Eastern Conference Final. The Hurricanes averaged 19,526 fans per game last year, near 100 percent of capacity and second-best in the NHL. MLB Raleigh, a group trying to bring MLB to the city, has been in existence for several years. It says its mission is to “bring together the community around baseball, while showing viability and support for putting Raleigh in the conversation for a Major League team.”

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said earlier this year that he hoped to have an expansion committee created by the end of the year. With the Oakland A’s likely moving to Las Vegas and the Tampa Bay Rays reaching an agreement for a new ballpark, the two most volatile franchise/city situations have been addressed, one of the key prerequisites for beginning expansion discussions.

“I hope shortly thereafter, we will put together an expansion committee and start talking internally first, about the issues associated with expansion,” Manfred told reporters in at the All-Star Game in July. “Obviously, there are economic issues, you’re talking about diminishing the central revenue available to each and the 30 clubs making it 32.”

A new MLB franchise is likely to cost $2 billion in expansion fees, making a deep-pocketed owner one of the keys to landing a team.

Charlotte, Portland, Nashville, Montreal and Salt Lake City are considered potential candidates for expansion. The Athletic included those cities in a series of stories on MLB expansion earlier this year.

A stadium, or stadium plans, is another key for MLB expansion. Raleigh and the Triangle does not have baseball stadium large enough to house an MLB team. Durham Bulls Athletic Park, home of the Rays’ Class AAA affiliate, has a seating capacity of 10,000.

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