Criteria for MLB Expansion Cities

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Criteria for MLB Expansion Cities

Ultimately, there are three exceptionally important criteria for deciding on good candidate for an expansion team. The first criterion is that the stadium must be controlled or owned by the baseball team. The stadium is a crucial aspect because most of the team’s revenue is generated in relation to the stadium. This stadium revenue comprises of ticket sales, parking, merchandise and concessions. Thus, without a stadium, the team will not be able to generate a stable source of revenue. The second criterion is that local ownership must have strong roots within the community. Without ties to the community, fan attendance could decrease. This is because fans could eventually perceive that the owner(s)’s only goal for the MLB franchise was to be profitable. The third criterion is the city must have long-term political support in the community. It is vital to have political support in order to gain financial support throughout the team’s years of existence, especially in tax payer monies. Particularly, this is significant when the team experiences issues or fights that involve the stadium and the land around the stadium. If there is a lack of political support, the expansion teams will not be able to obtain enough for money for stadium renovations, repairs, or to build new stadiums for the same team within the same city. This circumstance was apparent when the New York Yankees used tax revenue generated by New York City to fund the building of their brand new stadium for the 2009 season. Therefore, expansion committees believe it is necessary to confirm that the prospective cities will have enough political support because this political factor will help stabilize and financially support the prosp...

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...t pool is not adequate to call up enough players to fill two new expansion teams, while maintaining the same level of play in all facets of the game. “The influx of inferior talent filling those new roster spots fundamentally altered the competitive environment: it allowed elite players, especially hitters, to excel” (Bradbury). Up to this point in time, the major league of baseball continued to populate the league with better-quality baseball players through the exploitation of rapid population growth, and racial integration. However, this growth trend was reversed through the implementation of expansion in 1990s. By filling the expansion teams with subpar talent in juxtaposition to the major leagues’ talent level, the dilution of player quality was felt throughout the entire league and throughout all phases of the game including, pitching, hitting, and defense.

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