The MLB isn't coming to Charlotte. Minor league baseball should.

   I hope the Charlotte City Council helps build a downtown baseball stadium for the Charlotte Knights.

    The Knights are trustworthy and have always been willing to kick in their share.

     The investment will be good for the city. I think, but can't prove, a Third Ward stadium will spark development.

       A downtown stadium also offers a great option for fans who aren't willing to leave the state to watch a minor league baseball game.

     Alas, there are valid arguments not to build the stadium. What should government's role in assisting private enterprise be? Could the money be better spent on other tourism related projects?

     But there's one argument that's not valid. It is the fantasy that by assisting minor league baseball we're rejecting Major League Baseball.

      If there is a super secret team that wants to move to Charlotte, I wish proponents would tell me who it is.

      If Major League Baseball plans to expand, why is Charlotte a candidate? And why would baseball expand?

    Once the newness wears off, a Charlotte team would attract huge crowds on weekends, crowds supplemented by visitors from Greensboro and the Greenvilles.

      But during the week, when a mediocre team comes to town?

      Again, I want this stadium. Detractors will say this is a bad time to invest. When was there a good time?

      And if you want me to believe that the MLB is coming, come with facts. Who? And when? And how do you know?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[John]

The stadium is in the perfect place now. Drive 10 extra minutes down I77 and you don't have to deal with the mess downtown. Don't the Bobcats need a new arena by now anyway? Those Hornets crowds in the (no longer there) Charlotte coliseum were very troubling.

[English Professor CMS]

Bring it back to Charlotte!!!

[Hank Aaron]

John, I don't want to travel to another State to watch the Charlotte Knights. It's in the middle of Bee F E! We want to go to the game, and party around the city, afterwards.

Charlotte Coliseum? That place sucked! You must live out by Carowinds and the airport. Sorry, but BB&T Ballpark is getting built in Uptown Charlotte.

[WashuOtaku]

Why would people from Greensboro and the Greenvilles visit Charlotte to watch Minor League Baseball? They all have their own teams. Selling it as a tourist attraction is a fail; it will only attract locals and the occasional fan from the opposing team.

[PantherDave]

I can't wait to sip on a cold beer, watching baseball with uptown Charlotte as a backdrop. It's been a long time coming. Glad to see it will finally come to fruition.

[RJG]

@washuOtake, go back and read the blog. Tom is saying that people from those areas would come for a MAJOR league team not a minor. If the Knights come to uptown, I'm there.

[Carolinadawg]

John 2:23...

If the stadium is in such a perfect place now, then why does no one go to the games?

[Me]

I live in Fort Mill and I want the stadium uptown. The Knights currently force me to pay for parking. I attend a dozen Checkers games uptown a year and take the light rail and I am home in less time than it takes me to get out of the "you have no choice but tp park here and you must pay" lot in York County. On the times I have had to park uptown, parking is free after 6 and on weekends.

In the 1st year the Checkers moved uptown they increased attendance by 20%. That was from a mile away. They have since come close to doubling their attendance compared to the old building, part of which is due to higher level team moving to Charlotte two years ago (see what can happen if you go where the people are?).

As it stands now, no one wants to drive from north of Charlotte to Fort Mill to watch a game (even though the stadium can now be accessed from the Carowinds exit) just like I don't want to drive to UNCC to see a basketball game. Putting the team in a central location will bring more people, just like it did for the Checkers, along with attracting the people who work downtown and the sponsors there.

[John]

NO ONE goes to Bobcats games (arena is downtown right? build with my tax $) but I somewhat remember a few sell-outs at the "sucky" old Charlotte Coliseum...THAT WASN'T DOWNTOWN.

[Me]

That's because the Hornets were halfway decent and had no major league competition at the time.

[Rand-McNally]

Come on Me... it does not take less time to ride the train from Uptown to Pineville and THEN get home in SC than it does to simply leave the parking lot where the Knights play now. That makes no sense at all.

[Sorensen's Clone]

I've thought about writing a Tom Sorensen column for a while now. It's probably not that hard.

You don't need news, an interesting tidbit or rumor. Just a general topic. And then you commence with an imaginary conversation and litter it with questions.

Baseball will be good Uptown. The Knights want it. The City wants it. Will people go there? I would.

Some people say Major League Baseball won't move here if that happens. I won't mention a specific comment or report. I'll just throw it out there.

Now I'll argue against that point. It's not true. People are saying otherwise yet I don't know who or what their sources are. Do you know?

I still have to fill out the rest of this column. So I will. Could I restate something I said earlier here?

It's always good to restate the obvious or provide backgrond to a story. I remember the Charlotte O's had a great little neighborhood stadium.

Have we come full circle? I thought so. Or maybe I didn't.

[Me]

Actually, Rand, I live 10 minutes from the stadium and 10 minutes from the light rail station. On a Saturday night, it takes about 30-60 minutes to get out of the parking lot in Fort Mill. On the 4th of July, I have not gotten out in less than 2 hours. If I am able to get on the light rail right as a hockey game (or concert) ends this is the time:

20-25 minutes on the train
10 minutes home.

Less than 45 minutes. Even if I wait the maximum 20 minutes for a train, it's still less than an hour. Granted, the uptown stadium (officially approved) is a good 5 minute walk from the nearest light rail station, but I'd rather walk a couple of blocks than sit in a car and not move. Granted, on a Monday night in Fort Mill, I may be home in 20-30 minutes, but it's not much of a difference.

[Rick]

Maybe an Observer sports columnist and photographer will actually attend and report on a Knights game when they move uptown. Better yet, maybe a game would get televised! Most likely, since the Stadium funds have been approved, Tom Sorenson and the rest will have no reason to report on the Knights.

[Ben]

MLB belongs in the Triangle. Teams in Raleigh (Mudcats) and Durham (Bulls) average about 11,000 fans per game when added together.

[URAReject]

didn't realize we had so many conspiracy experts at our disposal here in Charlotte.

you all sound like a bunch of retarded NCSU fans with this garbage about the CO "running off" people.

[j]

Charlotte has not grown up yet

[Gary Jordan]

Why not just peel of the top of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and put it there. Same shape as a baseball outfield and no one is really going anyway. They could just put the race cars around the concession area for those interested.

[Me]

You're an idiot Lake Wylie. That list is in ALPHABETICAL order. The only team behind the Knights is WBS.

[Me]

The list below is sorted by lowest to highest average attendance for those who do not know how to count nor know their alphabet. 4000 is about what the ECHL Checkers averaged at their old building before moving uptown. Even before the AHL team moved to Charlotte, their average increased to 6500. They have actually exceeded capacity of the old building at least a dozen times.

Team Yesterday Total Openings Average
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 1,330 119,311 37 3,225
Charlotte Knights 0 109,982 28 3,928
Syracuse Chiefs 0 138,017 32 4,313
Gwinnett Braves 0 141,264 30 4,709
Norfolk Tides 0 148,298 30 4,943
Rochester Red Wings 0 136,139 27 5,042
Buffalo Bisons 4,501 196,687 32 6,146
Pawtucket Red Sox 5,656 214,913 34 6,321
Toledo Mud Hens 0 228,087 35 6,517
Durham Bulls 4,306 232,222 35 6,635
Indianapolis Indians 11,006 242,183 32 7,568
Columbus Clippers 10,441 263,148 33 7,974
Louisville Bats 0 215,436 27 7,979
Lehigh Valley IronPigs 0 260,767 30 8,692

[Thank goodness for the interwebs]

Lake Wylie, you want the truth? You can't handle the truth.

www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp&t=l_att&lid=117&sid=l117

Charlotte Knights 2nd to last in International League attendance in 2012, averaging 3,928 per contest.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?y=2011&t=l_att&lid=117&sid=l117

last place in 2011 with average of 4,105.

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