san antonio marlins ?

[bigboydan]

just heard this rumor right now. John, give us the scoop on this one.

[onlooker]

Are you sure its not the SBR Marlins?

Then again, that wouldnt be a smart investment.

[SBR_John]

SBR Marlins Ahahaha!!!

I dont think there is a shot in hell they will come here.

[Illusion]

Last time I heard something they were looking into Charlotte or Las Vegas.

[Willie Bee]

I've posted a letter to FLA owner Jeffrey Loria, cc Osama bud Selig, and stated why I do NOT think San Antonio will support a major league team any better than Miami. Among the reasons was the fact this area is solidly Football Country. I do think SA could handle an NFL team. But drawing 28,000+ to 81 games per season over a 10-year period is a nothing short of a pipe dream.

San Antonians have their fandom entrenched in:
a) Texas Longhorns
b1) Dallas Cowboys
b2) San Antonio Spurs
c) Whoever is playing a Houston team

In my letter to Loria, I challenged him that if 2,000,000 fans or more passed through the turnstiles in the first 10 years, I would come work for him for free for a year doing any and every task the team so commanded, from parking cars to cleaning restrooms to selling programs, etc.

To date, my challenge has not been accepted.


EDIT: I also find it a bit amusing that officials from the team and SA are meeting in Houston to learn more about San Antonio

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2394322

Associated Press

HOUSTON -- Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria said Sunday that discussions with San Antonio officials about the possibility of relocating the team there are serious.

San Antonio has been trying to lure the team and county officials have offered to put up $200 million toward an estimated $300 million ballpark if voters approve extending a tax on hotel and car rentals.

The Marlins slashed their payroll to about $15 million in the offseason because of poor attendance and no progress in Loria's bid for a baseball-specific stadium. Florida plays at Dolphins Stadium, home of Miami's NFL team.

"We're still looking at all our options, but our talks in San Antonio are serious," Loria said on Sunday at Minute Maid Park before addressing his team.

Loria said several officials from San Antonio would join him on Monday when the Marlins open the season against the Houston Astros.

"I've invited them to join us to learn more about San Antonio," he said.

He remained evasive when asked whether he has any hope the Marlins can remain in South Florida, but said no negotiations are ongoing there.

"I really don't know how to answer that," he said. "I can only tell you at this moment that there's nothing going on in South Florida."

Loria doesn't think the relocation issue will be a distraction to his team this season.

"That will get settled one way or another," he said.

Loria has repeatedly said that the Marlins' would prefer to remain in South Florida, but he was less adamant about the issue on Sunday. He has said they will not remain in Dolphins Stadium past 2010.

"We're going to look at all options there and we're also going to look at some other cities," he said.

The tax proposal that Bexar County, where San Antonio is located, has offered would ask voters to extend a hotel and car rental tax approved in 1999 by 20 to 30 years to fund the stadium.

The vote could come as early as the November elections.

[SBR_John]

But there is no stadium, and doesn't it take like 3 years to build one of those?

[bigboydan]

they'ed probly play in the alamo dome, til the stadium was built.

[Illusion]

they'ed probly play in the alamo dome, til the stadium was built.

That would be my guess if they moved there.

[bigboydan]

That would be my guess if they moved there.

where else would they play though ILL, John's back yard

[Illusion]

I don't even think they are going there anyway, so it doesn't matter. I still think they end up in Carolina.

[Willie Bee]

But there is no stadium, and doesn't it take like 3 years to build one of those?

It took a little less than three years to build Arthur Andersen Memorial (nee Enron) in Houston, John. The voters' approval on financing came in Nov '96, it was almost exactly a year later before they broke ground, and the first game was late March 2000.

If the Marlins can get a deal in place with some city by this time next year, they could easily start playing in a new stadium by the start of the 2010 season. That would mean by the end of the 2011 season, the honeymoon would be over in whatever city the team lands and they'll begin struggling to draw 14,000 per game on average.