Per rumor, Orlando Magic co-founder Pat Williams may be looking to bring in a Major League Baseball expansion team. Williams was involved in the 1990’s to try to lure an expansion team to Orlando, but it did not happen.
It is an interesting choice, as baseball in Florida has not done well over the past couple of seasons. The two teams in Florida, the Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins, rank at the bottom of the MLB in attendance. Tampa Bay finished second-to-last in attendance last season, averaging 14,552 fans per game. As for Miami, they finished last in attendance with 10,016 fans per game.
The Rays had a solid team this year, and yet they still struggled to draw fans. As a result, it is being rumored that the Rays may split games between Tampa Bay and Montreal in the future.
There are other cities pushing for an expansion baseball team. For example, Las Vegas may be in the hunt for a new team. With a growing market in the NHL and the Las Vegas Golden Knights, it may be a more realistic option.
It is hard to imagine the MLB approving a third team in Florida with the struggling attendance numbers. However, if Williams has the backing from the DeVos family, who owns the Orlando Magic and Disney, it could be possible.
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