As he prepared to exit stage left in the Summit Ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on April 22, Nashville Predators soon-to-be majority owner Bill Haslam had some advice for Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred on the possibility of bringing the sport to the city.
“We should just poll the audience and say, ‘Where do you want to hang out?'” said Haslam, who told The Tennessean in February that he believes the city will eventually have an MLB team. “Nashville.”
Yes, Nashville, the city that has remained in the conversation about MLB expansion in recent years, hosted Manfred and a lineup of heavy hitters from around the sports world at the CAA World Congress of Sports conference.
Haslam was nearing the end of a panel discussion with his brother, Jimmy Haslam, who owns the Cleveland Browns and Columbus Crew and has a minority stake in the Milwaukee Bucks.
Manfred’s response was mostly measured, as it has been in the past when asked about Nashville as a potential home for an MLB franchise.
However, he did little to dampen the hopes of those who supported such a move.
“It almost goes without saying at this point that Nashville’s a candidate, and a good candidate,” Manfred told reporters after his panel. “I’ve learned that saying too much about any potential expansion candidate triggers a chain of phone calls from everyone. So I’ll just leave it there.”
Expansion or relocation?
Manfred has repeatedly stated that he hopes to have a two-team expansion plan in place by the end of his term in January 2029.
He has also stated that the league must first address stadium issues with the Oakland Athletics, who will eventually relocate to Las Vegas, and the Tampa Bay Rays, who are without a new stadium deal and play in a minor-league park after Hurricane Milton destroyed Tropicana Field’s roof.
The Chicago White Sox, who have reportedly expressed interest in Nashville, as well as the Kansas City Royals, are looking for new stadium deals.
But, if Manfred has his way, none of those franchises will relocate, with the exception of the A’s, who are already moving. That means if Nashville does get a team, it will most likely be through expansion.
“We don’t take relocation lightly,” Manfred explained. “My strong preference is to make sure everybody else (but the A’s) stays put and we pick cities as expansion sites, as opposed to relocation alternatives.”
Bill Haslam: ‘I’m a strong believer in Nashville’
Despite his belief that MLB will eventually come to Nashville, Haslam has not publicly stated that he would be interested in joining an ownership group.
However, there are other options.
Dave Stewart, a 16-year MLB veteran with three World Series rings, has long expressed interest in establishing a team in Nashville. The same is true for the Music City Baseball group.
“I think Nashville is doing just fine in terms of making the case they should be a great candidate for expansion,” Manfred told the crowd.
Other cities considered serious contenders for an expansion team include Charlotte, North Carolina, Montreal, Portland, Oregon, and Salt Lake City.
Major League Baseball has not expanded since 1998, when the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays began play.
“I’m a strong believer in Nashville,” Bill Haslam stated. “We submitted an offer for a WNBA team. We’ll see how that turns out. “MLB will expand at some point.”
Which appears to be a matter of when rather than if.
