Utah Governor Spencer Cox sat down with ESPN's Jeff Passan to discuss bringing Major League Baseball to Salt Lake City. The conversation marks the first time a sitting governor in a prospective expansion market has publicly engaged a national baseball reporter on franchise economics since MLB signaled it would entertain expansion applications after the 2028 season. Cox framed Utah's pitch around population growth, corporate tax incentives, and $2 billion in private stadium financing already assembled by the Larry H. Miller Company.
MLB has not expanded since adding Tampa Bay and Arizona in 1998 for $130 million per team. Commissioner Rob Manfred has stated publicly that the league will not discuss expansion until the Tampa Bay Rays resolve their stadium situation and the Oakland Athletics complete their relocation to Las Vegas. Both are expected to finalize by late 2025. Manfred has also said expansion fees will exceed $2 billion per team, making this the most expensive entry price in North American sports history. The NHL charged Seattle $650 million in 2021. The NFL has not expanded since 2002.
Utah's advantage isSpeed. The Miller family already controls a 135-acre parcel in West Salt Lake City zoned for mixed-use development. The land sits adjacent to the Rio Grande commuter rail station and requires no public subsidy for infrastructure. The family has committed to fully funding a 40,000-seat ballpark with a retractable roof, contingent on securing a franchise. This eliminates the political risk that has stalled Nashville's stadium discussions for 18 months. Nashville's ownership group, led by music executive John Ingram and private equity firm Ripken Baseball, has proposed a $2.1 billion stadium complex but remains deadlocked with the Davidson County Metro Council over a $700 million public funding ask.
Charlotte enters the race with different leverage. The city already has a AAA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, a 10,000-seat ballpark downtown, and corporate sponsorship density comparable to Atlanta. Hedge fund manager David Tepper, who owns the NFL's Carolina Panthers, has signaled interest in anchoring a Charlotte expansion bid. Tepper's net worth exceeds $20 billion, giving the city the deepest single ownership pocket in the race. He has not yet formalized a bid.
The expansion timeline is tighter than it appears. MLB's current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2026 season. Expansion fees are not shared with the players' union, making this the league's last opportunity to extract $4 billion+ in pure ownership proceeds before renegotiating revenue splits. Owners will vote on expansion cities by mid-2026 to begin the 30-month stadium construction and operational buildout required for a 2029 opening day. Cox's public engagement with Passan suggests Utah is already in active communication with MLB's expansion committee, chaired by Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg.
Watch for three near-term events. First, Nashville resolves its Metro Council impasse by March 2025, when the Tennessee legislature reconvenes. Failure to secure public funding will eliminate Nashville from serious consideration. Second, Charlotte formalizes its ownership group and releases stadium renderings, expected before the 2025 All-Star break in July. Third, Montreal resurfaces. The city lost the Expos to Washington in 2004 but has quietly assembled a $1.8 billion financing package led by Stephen Bronfman, whose family previously owned the team. Bronfman met with Manfred in November 2024.
The league will not expand by more than two teams. Thirty-two franchises is the stated maximum, preserving the current playoff structure and avoiding further schedule dilution. Every additional team reduces each existing club's share of national media revenue by roughly $50 million annually once the Apple TV+ and ESPN deals renew in 2028. The $2 billion entry fee compensates for that. The winning cities will be the ones that eliminate political risk, deliver shovel-ready sites, and present ownership with liquidity exceeding $3 billion to cover fees, construction, and three years of operational losses before local media deals mature.
Cox did not name a lead investor in his conversation with Passan. That silence is the signal. Utah's bid is advanced enough that naming the ownership group now would trigger competitive bidding from rival cities. The governor controls timing. Charlotte and Nashville do not.
The takeaway
Utah's governor-level pitch, backed by **$2B+** stadium financing, positions Salt Lake City ahead of Nashville and Charlotte in MLB's first expansion since 1998.
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