Major League Baseball Is Not Singing “Viva Las Vegas”

Nothing is imminent.

In the, it is time for New Year predictions, here are two statements that will be true. Major League Baseball will not have a team in Montreal in 2019. Major League Baseball will not have a team in Las Vegas in 2019. But there is some noise coming out of both cities that they are Major League Baseball ready. A study of the Montreal market concluded that Montreal area residents want Major League Baseball back in town. Meanwhile Lou Weisbach is trying to get everything in order to build a baseball park in Las Vegas and then go after a franchise. Las Vegas is a viable market. Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says so. But it is going to take a while. Las Vegas has no baseball stadium and then there is the question of population and TV market size. Sure there are about two million people in the area but Las Vegas is still a small market and there are many entertainment options in addition to the National Hockey League’s Vegas Golden Knights and the soon to be situated in the city, Mark Davis Raiders NFL franchise.

Manfred has been going around for more than a year touting cities as good places for Major League Baseball expansion. Montreal is generally thought to be highest on that list, but there are others and there are flawed cities out there. Charlotte has a limited TV market and it is unlikely Baltimore and Washington baseball owners want to give up their Charlotte and North Carolina TV market. Nashville just put up a quarter of a billion for a Major League Soccer stadium. Getting public funding for Nashville and baseball park may be difficult and Nashville is part of the Atlanta Braves TV market. Portland is a small market and part of the Seattle Mariners TV territory. Major League Baseball owners also like Monterrey, Mexico. But expansion for any of those cities is not yet on the horizon.