Quote:
Originally Posted by Prometheus
That's incredible. A person with the power to see limitlessly into Vancouver's future. 30 years; 50 years; 200 years. It doesn't matter; he just knows. That's incredible.
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I'll make more predictions, the XFL and Slamball will never locate a franchise in Vancouver. Baseball is an artifact. It probably has more of a future overseas where the fanbase is still younger. If it's to grow in Canada and the USA, they'll need to take prices back a few decades where the tickets were almost free and they made money selling cheap food. The MLB is on the verge of contracting a dozen teams with its biggest TV contract ever. The stadiums are practically empty every time I see it on TV. They're on course for a lockout where they need to slash salaries to keep those franchises afloat. It's a long way until it is a gate driven league, and it's doubtful that the MLB survives that transition without which its fanbase continues to shrink due to age. If you search for some sports marketing demographics, baseball just hasn't attracted young fans for decades. Hockey, Basketball, Football, Soccer do.
Soccer, Basketball, Golf, Tennis, ...: they weren't around as viewership options when the bulk of MLB's fanbase grew up. They'll need a big restructuring to make the games more attractive.
Provided the MLB is around, Vancouver probably isn't going to leapfrog a dozen existing or potential cities to attract a franchise. Besides, we're a resort-only city and Las Vegas doesn't have any big sports franchises either.