Major League Baseball has no shortage of cities that would love the opportunity to have a team of their own. But if MLB ever decided to expand again—or if a franchise needed a new home—which cities would actually make sense?
I’m taking a look at four different cities across America that I think could make an interesting case for Major League Baseball.
Florida: Orlando and Jacksonville
Florida already has two MLB teams, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the state couldn’t support another baseball market—or that the current teams are necessarily in the best possible locations.
The Tampa Bay Rays (located in St.Pete) have consistently struggled with attendance compared with the rest of Major League Baseball. In both 2024 and 2025, the Rays ranked near the bottom of the league in attendance.
That has led to plenty of conversations over the years about whether the Rays would be better suited somewhere else in Florida. Orlando has even been publicly mentioned as a potential destination for the franchise. Personally, I think this could be a great move for the franchise. Although I grew up 45 minutes from the Trop and love having a stadium in driving distance, I also know that St.Pete has never been a baseball city. I think Orlando stands out immediately because of its tourism industry. With attractions like Disney and Universal, along with an NBA team already located in the city, Orlando makes one of the strongest cases among Florida cities for an MLB team. Even besides the tourism, it stands as the fourth most populated city in Florida at around 319,758. Orlando is also simply a fun city. Adding Major League Baseball to everything else the city offers could create a pretty unique sports-and-tourism experience.
Even though this city doesn’t get talked about as much, I believe Jacksonville could make a strong case to bring a baseball team to their home. Jacksonville is currently the most populous city in Florida, with more than 1 million residents according to the latest U.S. Census estimates. The city also already has the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Triple A team for the Marlins), giving the area an established connection to professional baseball. Jacksonville’s location makes things even more interesting. Being in Northeast Florida and relatively close to the Georgia border could potentially give an MLB team an opportunity to attract fans from both Florida and southern Georgia. This would also give the city its second professional sports team. With the NFL being the most profitable professional sport in the United States, having an established football market could also create additional opportunities for MLB to generate revenue and attract more sports fans.
If I had to pick between the two, I’m still going with Orlando. Maybe that’s partly a personal preference since I travel there pretty often for concerts, to see friends, and for different events. But I also think that’s the case for a lot of Florida residents. Orlando is already a popular destination for people across the state, and I know I’d definitely make the drive to see an MLB game there.
New Orleans, Louisiana
I think New Orleans is a really interesting city to consider for an MLB team. It’s not a city that I hear talked about a lot when it comes to baseball expansion, but the more I looked into it, the more interesting it became.
New Orleans ranks in the top 15 U.S. cities for producing major-league athletes across the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. What really caught my attention is that, among the top 15 cities, New Orleans is one of just two that currently does not have an MLB team.
New Orleans already has the Saints and Pelicans, so there is definitely a professional sports culture there. But I think baseball could still be a really interesting addition. The city has so much personality and already attracts people for its food, music, nightlife and tourism. I’ve always wanted to visit New Orleans myself, and it seems like the kind of city where a baseball team could fit naturally into the overall experience.
I also think the city’s history of producing professional athletes is worth paying attention to. If New Orleans consistently produces that level of athletic talent, I think there’s an argument that the city could support another professional sports franchise.
New Mexico
For my last pick, I wanted to go somewhere a little more unexpected: New Mexico.
This one is definitely more of a wild card, but that’s part of why I find it so interesting. New Mexico currently doesn’t have an MLB, NFL, NBA or NHL team. Albuquerque does have the Isotopes (Triple-A team for the Rockies), which gives the state an established baseball fan base and some existing baseball infrastructure.
So why not bring a major-league team to a state that doesn’t have one?
I think there’s something really interesting about being the only major professional sports team in an entire state. Toronto is a good example of this on a much larger scale. The Blue Jays are Canada’s only MLB team, and they have fans from all over the country. Obviously, New Mexico is nowhere near the size of Canada, but I think the same idea could apply on a smaller scale. If you’re the only MLB team in the state, there’s a much bigger opportunity to build a statewide fan base.
I also think this could be a huge opportunity for tourism. New Mexico doesn’t always get talked about as a major sports destination, but it already attracts visitors for its culture, food, scenery and outdoor activities. Santa Fe alone gets more than two million overnight visitors a year, so there is already a strong tourism industry to build around.
Would New Mexico be one of my most realistic choices for MLB expansion? Probably not. But I think that’s what makes it fun to think about. Instead of putting another team in a city that already has multiple professional sports franchises, what if MLB gave an entire state its first major-league team?
As always, I love to hear any opinions and thoughts after every article.
Where would you put MLB’s next team? The options are endless!
Thank you for being here!
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