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A group of MLB players were recently surveyed anonymously about the best city for the next expansion franchise as Las Vegas gets set to welcome the Athletics in the coming years.
The overwhelming first-place selection was the city of Nashville, with 69% of the vote. Over 100 players were surveyed about the expansion and other topics, and this was the clearest consensus from all of the answers, according to The Athletic.
With the major chatter about the Athletics heading down to Vegas, this was not an option for the poll because it is essentially a foregone conclusion at this poitn. Nashville certainly makes sense as the next place for an MLB team, as it has become a massive tourist attraction in recent years, earning the moniker “Nash Vegas” due to its party-centric atmosphere.
The city already has the Tennessee Titans as well as the Nashville Predators, and it would make a seamless edition to the sporting atmosphere of the region. The Tennessee Volunteers and Vanderbilt Commodores have top-notch college baseball programs, and those fans would easily translate to the MLB scene.
The second choice came in with Montreal at 10%, but significantly less than the consensus leader. Montreal would make hypothetical sense, as the Expos called it home from 1969-2004.
Ultimately, the Expos shipped it down to Washington, D.C. and became the Nationals in 2005. This left only the Toronto Blue Jays in Canada, and fans and players may want a second team back up there.
Last place was the Salt Lake City, Utah with just two votes. The city was in the news recently, as former Jazz owner Gail Miller proclaimed she was interested in bringing an MLB franchise to Utah.
No MLB team has relocated since the Nationals move, and now the Oakland Athletics are poised to be the next one almost two decades later. Based on recent developments, the move to Las Vegas seems to be all but a done deal.
