GBL Expansion

[JPotter]

Since this is a discussion board... here's a discussion topic.

According to the GBL's Wikipedia page, there are 12 cities listed as possible expansion locations. Assuming the GBL wants to return to an eight-team league in 2008, which of the following cities would best embrace a new team?

• Apple Valley, California
• Dublin, California (HQ of GBL)
• Fairfield, California
• Inglewood, California
• Merced, California
• Palm Springs, California
• Riverside, California
• Salinas, California
• Sonoma County, California
• Ventura County, California
• Grand Junction, Colorado
• Medford, Oregon

Let the comments begin!

[Shootmaster_44]

I have a feeling all expansion will be tied to what happens with Calgary and Edmonton. If both Alberta clubs join the GBL, I think we will see 4 or 5 clubs pop up in close proximity to Edmonton/Calgary. I'm not sure about facilities, but I would gather that possible candidates would be in:

Kelowna, BC
Kamloops, BC
Red Deer, AB
Lethbridge, AB
somewhere in either Idaho or Montana

If the GBL wants to expand further East, a few cities that have been bandied about for Northern League expansion cities are:

Saskatoon, SK
Regina, SK
Moose Jaw, SK

If Calgary and Edmonton don't join the GBL, I think you will see a team placed in the Greater Los Angeles area. I would also think based on the Commish's comments in the Alberta thread, you'd likely see a team in Northern California or Oregon. It seems his designs were to go North, so the Sacramento area and Oregon/Washington seem the natural route. Granted, I am not very familiar with the area and how it stacks up for ballparks and teams already so I may be out to lunch in thinking Sacramento area. But I'd think the idea is to go North and not so much East just yet for the GBL.

[nlfan]

There's been a lot of talk in the NoL about expansion in Saskatchewan and western Canada for years (and years). Unless you find people willing to pay to upgrade some broken down stadiums, there are none available. If there were, the NoL would have snapped them up some time ago (and the AB clubs would be all the happier). Even during the past year, with high hopes to expand into Wichita, the NoL commish prepared league owners for an traveling club to fill the gap.

I don't know the GBL's expansion plans but I agree it sounds like it would be moving north filling in the gaps with locations in NoCal, OR, WA, ID and/or Montana. But Canada is very unlikely. It's more likely you can find an American city to raise interest in a new stadium or upgrading one. Right now Canada is losing another clubs (Ottawa Lynx) and can't get its act together to allow the C-AL to put a club into it. Given that loss (along with the others --including the Trappers out of Edmonton) it's a very, very hard sell north of the border.

[Shootmaster_44]

Originally Posted by nlfan

There's been a lot of talk in the NoL about expansion in Saskatchewan and western Canada for years (and years). Unless you find people willing to pay to upgrade some broken down stadiums, there are none available. If there were, the NoL would have snapped them up some time ago (and the AB clubs would be all the happier). Even during the past year, with high hopes to expand into Wichita, the NoL commish prepared league owners for an traveling club to fill the gap.

I don't know the GBL's expansion plans but I agree it sounds like it would be moving north filling in the gaps with locations in NoCal, OR, WA, ID and/or Montana. But Canada is very unlikely. It's more likely you can find an American city to raise interest in a new stadium or upgrading one. Right now Canada is losing another clubs (Ottawa Lynx) and can't get its act together to allow the C-AL to put a club into it. Given that loss (along with the others --including the Trappers out of Edmonton) it's a very, very hard sell north of the border.

The problem with allowing the C-AL to place a team in Ottawa, is the problem of leasing of the stadium. The Ottawa Citizen was reporting the other day, that the Lynx have not informed Ottawa City Council of their intentions for next season. I realize that is simply a formality, but the City Council is trying to get an injunction in court barring their move to Allentown for next year, unless the Lynx are willing to pay to get out of their lease. Conversely, the Lynx countersued the City stating they failed to live up to the conditions in the lease. As far as the City of Ottawa is concerned, the stadium is leased to the Ottawa Lynx through 2009. As a result, there is technically no available ballpark for a C-AL team to play in.

But to replace the Lynx in the grand scheme of things the Blue Jays are moving their NY-Penn (I think it was) team back to St. Catharines for next season. So numbers-wise there will still be the same number of teams in Canada.

As far as the broken down facilities in Western Canada, I am unsure of other cities for the most part. But Al Coates was quoted as saying Cairns Field only needed roughly $1,000,000 work to bring it up to Northern League standards. Perhaps if the Alberta clubs jumped to the GBL, desperate times could call for desperate measures.

As far as Lethbridge goes, they have the Prairie Baseball Academy there tied to Lethbridge Community College/U of Lethbridge. Their teams play in the NJCAA and play in a new ballpark (I forget how recently it was build but it was in the last decade) so that would be a very good place to put a team providing the school would lease the ballpark to them. I believe that's where the WMBL team plays during the summer.

Plus with the Canadian Dollar rising, you might see the opposite of the late-90s abandonment of Canada. The leagues could make a decent dollar in Canada, especially if it keeps rising. Economists I've read in the newspapers predict that the Canadian dollar could be worth as much as $1.20 (US) by next summer. So that would seem attractive to league ownership groups. Especially considering any sponsorship deals for the league with Canadian companies would be coupled with Canadian dollars. I'm not sure it would make that big of a difference, but it is definitely something that is worth considering.