Former NBA Utah Jazz owner Gail Miller is heading a Salt Lake City consortium to pursue a potential MLB franchise in the coming years, according to reports.
ESPN says that Big League Utah, headed by Miller, will join Nashville's Music City Baseball and the Portland Diamond Project in lobbying to join the current 30 MLB organisations. The area’s growing population, strong economy and baseball history have been listed as reasons for being handed an expansion slot.
Las Vegas is also considered another area with a strong candidacy for MLB expansion should the Oaklands Athletics relocate from California to Sin City.
However, sources have poured cool water on expansion, at least until the futures of Oakland and the Tampa Bay Rays are certain. Both teams have considered moving due to their struggles to secure new stadiums in their areas. “I would love to get to 32 teams,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in July.
Miller’s Salt Lake consortium includes Larry H. Miller Company, founded by her late husband Larry. Local business leaders, as well as former MLB players Dale Murphy and Jeremy Guthrie, both Utah residents, are involved.
The report goes on to state that the consortium is planning on building a stadium in the Rocky Mountain Power District. The district is a 100-acre mixed-use zone located between Salt Lake City's new airport and its downtown core. However, such investment would add to the $2billion (£1.6bn) expansion fee.
Steve Starks, CEO of the Miller Company, said: “Salt Lake City is a major league city. We believe that as a top-30 media market in the fastest-growing state in the country with the youngest population, that's where our attention should be - and that we could accomplish bringing a team to the Wasatch Front."
Starks also revealed that local surveying of sports fans saw expansion to the MLB ranked higher than the NFL. The Miller Company are already the owners of minor league baseball team, the Salt Lake Bees, who have an average attendance close to 6,000. The Miller Company is building a new stadium for the team set to open in 2025.
Conversations with the MLB over expansion started well over a year ago. Vegas, Nashville, Tennessee, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte, North Carolina and Montreal are among the other potential candidates.
