MLB Rumors: Salt Lake City Expansion Team Pursued; Group Led by Former Jazz Governor

Major League Baseball has felt the rumblings of expansion, and Salt Lake City is emerging as a top candidate for a potential new team.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, a consortium led by former Utah Jazz governor Gail Miller "plans to pursue a Major League Baseball franchise in the coming years."

Passan noted that expansion likely will not happen until MLB "figures out the futures" of the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays, as both franchises have considered relocating "amid struggles to secure new stadiums in their current metropolitan areas." Las Vegas is reportedly a "strong candidate" for the A's if they move, as the city is "considered a prime destination for a franchise."

While expansion isn't on the immediate horizon, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told ESPN last July, "I would love to get to 32 teams."

In addition to Miller's Big League Utah consortium, Nashville's Music City Baseball and the Portland Diamond Project are chasing the chance to secure an MLB franchise. Charlotte, North Carolina, and Montreal are also under consideration to be expansion cities.

The Salt Lake City group consists of the Larry H. Miller Company, which is a conglomerate founded by Miller's late husband, and local business leaders as well as former major league players Dale Murphy and Jeremy Guthrie. The group has committed to building a new stadium on top of the expected $2 billion expansion fee.

"Salt Lake City is a major league city," Miller Company CEO Steve Starks said. "We believe that as a top-30 media market in the fastest-growing state in the country with the youngest population, that's where our attention should be—and that we could accomplish bringing a team to the Wasatch Front."