How to weigh in on Utah’s effort to land a Major League Baseball team

Dennis Romboy
·2 min read
Former Major League Baseball superstar Dale Murphy talks with a group of young baseball players from the Rose Park area as they join Gov. Spencer Cox and other dignitaries at the groundbreaking of the Rocky Mountain Power District property in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Big League Utah, the group working to bring a major league team to the state, launched a public survey to gather feedback on a potential team and a new ballpark.

Have thoughts on bringing a Major League Baseball team to Utah? Or building a stadium in Salt Lake City?

Big League Utah wants to hear from you.

The group working to bring a major league team to the state launched a public survey Tuesday to gather insights, preferences and feedback on a potential team and a new ballpark.

The group says community input is part of an economic feasibility study it’s doing on the proposal. It’s looking for opinions on a variety of topics including design, seating and ticket packages, amenities and offerings within a potential stadium.

The survey can be accessed at https://slc2023.sawtoothsoftware.com/SL/cgi-bin/ciwweb.pl?studyname=SLC&id=OL. The deadline to complete it is Sept. 4.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has expressed interest in expanding baseball from 30 to 32 teams. Portland, Nashville, Charlotte and Montreal are possible expansion sites.

Related

In April, the Larry H. Miller Company announced it has assembled a group of influential Utahns to pursue an MLB team for Salt Lake City. Calling itself Big League Utah, it includes business and community leaders, elected officials and former professional athletes.

Big League Utah has identified a site just west of downtown Salt Lake City in what’s known as the Power District for a stadium. Construction of a ballpark could cost $500 million to $1.5 billion. Most newer major league fields were financed through a public-private partnership.

Related

A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute poll in May found 81% of Utahns support bringing a major league franchise to the Beehive State. More than half said they would attend at least five games a season, while 3% said they would buy season tickets.

Earlier this year, The Athletic surveyed 100 active players on 22 teams about where they would prefer to see baseball expand.

Nashville at 69% was the overwhelming favorite, with Montreal at distant second with 10%. Charlotte and Austin came in at 5%, followed by Portland with 4% and Salt Lake City and Vancouver with 2%. Orlando, Raleigh-Durham and San Juan, Puerto Rico, also received votes in the poll.

Related