Vancouver city hall has thrown the first pitch to potentially bring a Major League Baseball team to the city.
The motion passed by council looks to identify potential owners for an MLB franchise in Vancouver, and according to Mayor Ken Sim there’s already interested candidates.
“We’ve also have significant parties that are incredibly credible that want to bring a team to Vancouver,” said Vancouver mayor, Ken Sim, during the council meeting.
Sim remained tight lipped regarding who these interested parties are but promised no taxpayer funds are being used in the process.
Most Vancouverites CityNews spoke with are open to prospect of an MLB team. In fact, according to a recent Research CO poll — over 70 per cent of British Columbians say they think it’s a good or very good idea, but how likely is it to actually happen?
Moshe Lander, a sports economist with Concordia University says the idea is a pipe dream. Lander says the lack of a suitable stadium or known local ownership prospects are just some of the issues that would prevent a Vancouver expansion.
“There is zero chance of this happening, so I don’t understand what the point of even looking into this would be,” said Lander.
“You don’t want down the line some owners saying I can’t afford this team and absorb losses and need to find a buyer and no one within the local community steps forward.”
According to Lander, this expression of interest from the city will act as a phantom bid that will only benefit Major League Baseball. Lander says it will drive up the price for what he calls real expansion contenders like Portland or Nashville.
“The reason why MLB is smiling at the thought of Vancouver wanting to put in a bid…they go back to Portland, Nashville and say hey if you want to get your franchise you better up your bid here to make sure, we don’t give it to Vancouver,” said Lander.
While Vancouverites, baseball fans, and the mayor see the potential, it’s unclear whether bringing the Major Leagues to Vancouver is a real possibility. Or just a swing and a miss.