Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has hinted at exploring expansion opportunities in the coming years to bring the game to new cities.
Now, one can throw Orlando’s hat into the ring.
Pat Williams — the owner of the NBA’s Orlando Magic — announced that he will lead an effort to bring a third Major League Baseball franchise to Florida.
He’s already picked out a name for the hypothetical franchise, calling them the Dreamers after the likes of Walt Disney — whose theme park is in Orlando.
“Orlando has proven in the years since the Magic began playing in 1989 that it is every bit a big-league sports town,” Williams said. “Soccer fans have embraced the Orlando City Lions, and now it’s time to step up to the plate and make baseball happen, too.”
Pat Williams announcing plans for push to bring a MLB team to Orlando. Says team would be called the Orlando Dreamers. #WFTV #OrlandoDreamers #MLB #MLBExpansion pic.twitter.com/EzXe6XGk9l
— Jeff Deal (@JDealWFTV) November 20, 2019
Florida already houses a pair of MLB teams in the Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays.
Neither franchise has experienced much success since their respective inceptions in 1993 and 1998. The Marlins have a pair of World Series titles, while the Rays have an AL pennant to their name.
They have also been the worst-drawing teams in each of the past two years. Tampa Bay averages 14,000 per game while the Marlins — considered one of the most dysfunctional franchises in baseball — have averaged just 10,000.
In Orlando, the Magic currently ranks 20th in attendance in the NBA. But their mark of filling 88.6-percent of their home arena ranks 25th.
But that isn’t stopping Williams’ vision.
“We can add one more major league team here,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday (h/t Darren Stoltzfus, WESH). “We’ve got the NBA. We’ve got soccer. The NFL has three teams in Florida and, in my wildest dreams, I can’t imagine a fourth. We have hockey down the road in Tampa. They are fine. They can have hockey.”
Other destinations discussed as possible expansion targets for Major League Baseball over the past few years has been Nashville, Las Vegas, Portland, and Montreal, amongst others.
