As recently noted in this space, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred seems increasingly to have expansion on his mind. While the general sense of things is that Manfred and MLB will look to expand their international footprint in the next round of expansion, you should also consider Las Vegas to be in the mix of potential locations.
In fact, Manfred himself said as much to Michael Kay on Tuesday. Give a listen ...
Las Vegas is a viable option for an MLB team.https://t.co/VRuQSoFUEX
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) June 21, 2016
Vegas is, of course, a hub of gambling, which some have long speculated would give MLB pause, thanks to the game's history of gambling scandals. Manfred, though, dismisses those concerns.
As well, the NHL has recently set their eyes on Vegas, so there's maybe an "expansion land rush" dynamic beginning to take place. Las Vegas is also a minor-league city of longstanding (they currently are home to the Mets' Triple-A affiliate), so it's not completely foreign territory for pro baseball.
As for other considerations, Las Vegas is the 42nd-largest media market in the country. It ranks a bit higher than that in terms of metro population, and it's also showing strong positive population growth trends. However, it ranks just 80th among metro areas in median household income.
