Will Gadd @wmgadd

"𝐈𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞." 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫 - 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥. In the next edition of @TriangleBIZJrnl breakdown of the MLB expansion landscape, they looked at Raleigh’s standing within the State. It’s all in a similar vein to what has been discovered and reported by The Athletic and Forbes; Charlotte just doesn’t seem interested and Raleigh’s numbers and future are surprisingly bullish. The Knights’ ballpark is unexpandable and new ownership views the team as their “crown jewel.” Furthermore, $15M was just asked for from the City for Truist Field improvements. Just down the road, Tepper bought a MLS franchise without the needed soccer-specific terms that the League has always promoted. Tack on $650M for a “gap coverage” remodel before new stadium talks start and it’s more hurdles. Raleigh has checked more boxes than just about all cities. Amplified by community voice and recent sports success, sure seems like #RaleighOnDeck

keyboard_arrow_left Previous keyboard_arrow_right Next

𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗿, 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻, 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗥𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗠𝗟𝗕 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺. Taking a quick shot at Nashville (yes, Raleigh has a larger TV market and more populous at every mile marker), Stein reiterated the hope for @MLB in the 919. Both sides of NC government have stated their interest in this, just not right timing with the heavily delayed budget. MLB is still VERY top of mind with current, ongoing conversations. As Stein said, “We are a hockey town and we can also be a baseball town.” Without a doubt, North Carolina is primed for MLB and Raleigh will support a team to the fullest. #RaleighOnDeck #MLB2NC Interview from @BryanRAnderson

𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍: WRAL's @murphsturph has been at the forefront of the reporting on the #MLB2NC stadium funding bill that nearly was included in the budget this past week. He joined the @MacandBoneShow to talk about it... ⚾️ What exactly was in the proposal? ⚾️ What would it have meant if it had been included? ⚾️ What happens next? Here's a part of that segment. Give it a listen👇

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 @DestinHall 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐋𝐁 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐂. The funding bill for the stadium in Raleigh didn't make the budget on this go-round, but when @BryanRAnderson of the @TheAssemblyNC asked if it was dead... The answer was a clear 'No.' 𝗜𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁, 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹... "The proposal, it goes pretty far. If you look at what other cities have done across this country, over the last decade or so (that have gotten a new team in a professional league or a new stadium), a lot of them, the tools they've used are sort of in this bill. Sort of a mix of all of those." 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗖 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲... "I think our feeling on it was that maybe it was 'too much, too soon.'" "I think it's the case that no other East Coast city...has passed any legislation yet as to the baseball expansion...so we're still early in this." 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁. “If you do everything at once right now, in many ways you set the floor for what the next city may do. It sort of ups the bidding war.” While getting the proposal into this budget would have been ideal for those wanting to push Raleigh to the front-runner position for MLB expansion, it seems that despite different strategies, one thing is clear... Lawmakers are still aligned on the idea of putting #RaleighOnDeck and bringing #MLB2NC.

𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡... But admitted that the Rays' stadium funding situation is at an impasse. “𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫,” With NC's stadium funding plan making national news, @GovRonDeSantis was in Hillsborough County to announce $50M in the budget for a community college that would need to be relocated if the Rays were to finalize their stadium deal. But that doesn't solve the Rays' real issues, which are: 1⃣The Tampa CRA voted two weeks ago to delay consideration of a non-binding memorandum of understanding tied to the proposed Tampa Bay Rays stadium project until at least August. 🔗wtsp.com/article/sports… 2⃣Tampa Sports Authority drawing a letter urging county leaders to prioritize the Buccaneers stadium renovation plans over the potential Rays Stadium. 🔗tampabay.com/sports/bucs/20… 3⃣Florida potentially doing away with property taxes, which Tampa’s Chief Financial Officer Dennis Rogero Jr said would be “catastrophic” to the Rays stadium deal. leadersgroup-sbj-prod.web.arc-cdn.net/Articles/2026/… But here is why Desantis says a decision is coming to a head in Tampa... 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟖, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. North Carolina's discussion of a stadium funding plan is turning heads, and while it did not make it into this budget, 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭... ...𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐟 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬. This is something to keep a close eye on if you want to put #RaleighonDeck and bring #MLB2NC.

@ForwardCarolina @equusjf @murphsturph “But that is not happening in this proposed stadium project. In this proposal, no private investor has any skin in the project at all.” The proposal is contingent on Raleigh being awarded an MLB franchise, which would trigger a $2B (at least) private investment.

We've got a lot of new followers, so in case you didn't know, when you buy merch from us, we use the profits to fix local baseball fields. We're not just saying we want baseball here in Raleigh, we're SHOWING you. We've renovated the Boys Club's field, rebuilt the dugouts for the Girls Club's field, and outfitted them in new uniforms thanks to your support. And thanks to the huge turnout at our last event, we were able to donate a nice chunk to a community field (The Farm) being revitalized a little north of Raleigh by the Carolina Sandlot Collective and Carolina Kudzu. Huge shoutout to all the work those guys have been putting in! Our community wants baseball and we've been busy proving that over the past 8 years.

@BBGreatMoments #RaleighOnDeck #AllOtherCityNameOnDeckHashtagsAreRaleighWannabes @MLBRaleigh

𝐌𝐀𝐉𝐎𝐑 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐆𝐔𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐍 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍. No other economic development project NC has ever taken on has ever had the ability to drive 750,000+ PEOPLE PER YEAR FROM OUT OF STATE, into our state. Take 30 seconds, stop your scroll, and try to wrap your head around the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity we've been handed. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 🧵 👇 This MLB movement is not just about bringing America's Pastime to our great state; it's about capitalizing on an opportunity that can reshape and protect North Carolina in a number of ways. Baseball's 81 home games, and 28k average attendance per game, bring 2.4M fans to the stadium per season. That's great for uniting the community, but it's also great for creating tax revenue for our state and local governments. The opponents of the opportunity can't argue that number, but they will argue that the economic impact it creates isn't new. Their talking point will be that it's just taken from other areas and redistributed. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞... According to @MLB, an average of 33% of ticketed fans come from OUTSIDE teams' 150-mile designated market area. For context, the Braves (the only MLB team publicly traded - allowing their financials to be public) had 32% of their ticketed fans come from OUT OF STATE. Assuming those averages hold in NC (and with no MLB team in VA, TN or SC, that'd be a strong bet) that would mean over 750K fans would come from outside North Carolina. That is ALL new revenue to the state/city that did not exist before and would not exist without MLB. Want some context for that 750k number? We got you (Next post in thread⬇️)

𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐌𝐋𝐁 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 ? With 3.8M people within a 60-mile radius of Raleigh, we'd have a larger drivable population than: Milwaukee (Brewers) - 3.6M Cincinnati (Reds) - 3.5M Pittsburgh (Pirates) - 3.5M | St. Louis (Cardinals) - 3.1M KC (Royals) - 2.7M Note: The Brewers are 13th of 30 teams in overall attendance, and the Cardinals are 18th. PS. There are also 1.2M MORE people within 60 miles of Raleigh than within 60 miles of the other East Coast expansion hopeful, Nashville. #MLB2NC #RaleighOnDeck

keyboard_arrow_left Previous keyboard_arrow_right Next

𝐌𝐋𝐁 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧. Did you know that thanks to 81 home games per season, with an average of 28k+ fans per game, MLB brings almost as many fans to a home city as NBA, NHL, NFL, and MLS do combined? MLB = 2.3M NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS = 2.4M If you're looking to boost tourism, there is no better investment than MLB. And tourism = tax revenue. Last year, 21% of those who visited the Atlanta Braves' stadium district were from out of state. Those visitors combined to generate over $29M in tax revenue that previously did not exist. We have one shot at MLB, and it's right now. The stars are aligned, the work has been put in, and the economic impact is massive. Let's bring #MLB2NC and put #RaleighOnDeck!

BASEBALL IS EVERYWHERE IN RALEIGH! Dan Winger of @ArcadeUnplugged gave up his dream job as a @lego master builder to chase his passion for baseball. Check out the now viral barroom game designed right here in Raleigh, THIS SATURDAY @TransferCoFood for a big tournament (and free play!). 10am-7pm Get a friend or two (or 7) and sign up. Only a few spots left in the tournament (and no, you don't need to know how to play!)👇 unpluggedarcade.com/sandlotclassic

That sound…wow

Bill King @billkingDTR

2 months ago

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: HOME OF THE STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS! @Canes @DowntownRaleigh

74 1K 11K 466K 586

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: HOME OF THE STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS! @Canes @DowntownRaleigh

The church bells chimed "Let's Go Canes" during the parade

❤️

The Canes Stats Brand™ @CanesStats

2 months ago

2 28 442 14K 9

This one’s for North Carolina! Come on and raise up... Everyone is watching Raleigh show out again. Get ready folks. #RaleighOnDeck #SoundTheSiren #MLB2NC

@MLBRaleigh

𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿, has brought together all levels of NC government, from both sides of the aisle, in support of MLB in Raleigh. With a public/private partnership (mandatory if you're going to land an MLB expansion franchise) closing in, North Carolina's bid will check EVERY box needed. ✅ Billionaire investor ✅ Government support ✅ Land for a stadium ✅ A viable, growing market ✅ Community Support No other market has what we do. Here are some quotes from the past two days from NC’s governor, the President Pro Tempore of the NC Senate, Raleigh’s mayor, and the NC state treasurer. #RaleighOnDeck #MLB2NC

keyboard_arrow_left Previous keyboard_arrow_right Next

Everything boils down to this; Our opportunity has never been greater to complete North Carolina’s sports family. The @Canes and Caniacs have put the Country on notice, winning the Cup in the loudest way possible. They’ve now matched @TheNCCourage with two titles. @Panthers, @hornets and @CharlotteFC are coming alive and building squads that are going to be playoff contenders for years to come. We have NASCAR and Pinehurst. Minor league basketball, hockey and of course, our historically rich baseball pastime. We have the best of the best universities winning championships every single year. We host Little League Softball World Series in Greenville and @USABaseball in Cary. Only one team remains. MLB hasn’t expanded in nearly 30 years. Once these next two teams are added, that might be it forever. We have all the pieces to make this a reality. The time is now. #RaleighOnDeck #MLB2NC