{"id":2725,"date":"2026-06-18T19:41:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T19:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725"},"modified":"2026-06-18T19:41:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T19:41:10","slug":"now-two-powerful-nc-politicians-say-raleigh-would-be-a-good-mlb-expansion-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725","title":{"rendered":"Now two powerful NC politicians say Raleigh would be a good MLB expansion city"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

A top Republican lawmaker has joined the group of state officials ready for a Major League Baseball team in North Carolina, and potentially Raleigh.<\/p>\n

Read more A steakhouse experience is joining Raleigh\u2019s Crabtree Valley Mall<\/a><\/p>\n

Senate leader Phil Berger, a longtime Yankees fan, told reporters on Thursday that he\u2019d love to see it happen, and lawmakers could play a role in ushering it along.<\/p>\n

Democratic Gov. Josh Stein would also like Raleigh, or at least the Triangle, to be the home of the next major league team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, Charlotte has two, three major professional sports: the MLS, NBA and NFL. Of course, Raleigh and the Triangle has now the NHL and World Champions, Stanley Cup champions, Carolina Hurricanes,\u201d Stein told reporters on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

He went on to say that the Triangle \u201cis a lucrative and potential market for the MLB \u2014 baseball \u2014 and we\u2019re going to be working to do all we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that the region really showed out, the viewership on this NHL playoffs were the highest in like seven or eight years. People care about what happens here. One of the fastest growing metro areas in the country, 22nd largest media market, which places them bigger than any other potential expansion site in the country. So we\u2019re eager for this opportunity to be considered, and we\u2019ll do all we can to support it,\u201d Stein told reporters in Charlotte.<\/p>\n

Berger agrees with Stein, for similar reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll projections are we\u2019re going to be the seventh most populous state when the next census comes out. We\u2019re the largest state that does not have a major league baseball team. … If someone had told you 20 years ago that a professional hockey team drew the kind of response that we\u2019ve seen \u2014 not just in Raleigh and not just in Wake County, but across the state of North Carolina \u2014 you wouldn\u2019t have believed it,\u201d Berger said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I just think sports has a way of doing that, and if there\u2019s an opportunity for North Carolina to get an expansion baseball team, I\u2019d love to see that. I am hopeful that we\u2019ll have an ability to put forward something sooner rather than later that will give us that opportunity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Asked if there could be money for an MLB project in the state budget, which is now in final negotiations between Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall, Berger said, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Is tenure antiquated? Why some trustees at UNC-Chapel Hill think so<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cTo the question of money, (it) is not necessarily the thing. Maybe. But I\u2019d be interested in seeing what steps we would need to take in order to facilitate putting North Carolina in the best position to be successful in having an owner\u2019s group, because obviously we need that, be awarded a franchise,\u201d Berger said.<\/p>\n

He said he is \u201cagnostic\u201d about specifically where the team would be located.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think that the growth in this market, and the success that this market has had as far as support for the Hurricanes argues that this market is one that I think would stand in pretty good stead as a candidate,\u201d Berger added.<\/p>\n

Berger said if it\u2019s not money, the role of the General Assembly could be in authorizing local taxation to finance sports venues, like other states do.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are conversations that have taken place, but nothing has been decided as of yet,\u201d he said, beyond the interest in putting North Carolina in the best position for it.<\/p>\n

He gave the example of the Centennial Authority, which includes the state, the city of Raleigh and N.C. State University, as \u201ca starting point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has talked about his support<\/a> for bringing major league baseball to North Carolina, The News & Observer previously reported. \u201cI think we\u2019re gonna put ourselves in a really good place, and if they decide to expand, we\u2019ll have a compelling offer,\u201d Dundon said in Las Vegas, after the Canes won the 2026 Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n

Hurricanes CEO Brian Fork is the former chief of staff to Berger, and was seen at the Legislative Building within the past month.<\/p>\n

This is Berger\u2019s final year in the Senate, as he lost his primary election. His term ends in December. Asked if he would be interested in being part of MLB coming to the state, Berger said he has made no plans or decisions about what he\u2019ll do when he leaves office, \u201cbut if they\u2019d allow me to manage a major league baseball team, I\u2019ll apply.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more NC Senate leader Berger, Speaker Hall now in final talks about overdue state budget<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

State leaders Phil Berger and Gov. Josh Stein say Raleigh and the Triangle are strong contenders for an MLB expansion team based on growth and fan support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nNow two powerful NC politicians say Raleigh would be a good MLB expansion city - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Now two powerful NC politicians say Raleigh would be a good MLB expansion city - Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"State leaders Phil Berger and Gov. Josh Stein say Raleigh and the Triangle are strong contenders for an MLB expansion team based on growth and fan support.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-18T19:41:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2725#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2725\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"headline\":\"Now two powerful NC politicians say Raleigh would be a good MLB expansion city\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T19:41:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2725\"},\"wordCount\":813,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2725#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9837ddd17b8ead624c9de40e46795aa2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2725#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2725\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2725\",\"name\":\"Now two powerful NC politicians say Raleigh would be a good MLB expansion city - Durham Moving Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2725#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2725#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9837ddd17b8ead624c9de40e46795aa2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T19:41:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2725#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2725\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2725#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9837ddd17b8ead624c9de40e46795aa2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9837ddd17b8ead624c9de40e46795aa2.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"The drive to bring Major League Baseball team to North Carolina, and possibly Raleigh, is gathering momentum.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2725#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Now two powerful NC politicians say Raleigh would be a good MLB expansion city\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Durham Moving Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Now two powerful NC politicians say Raleigh would be a good MLB expansion city - Durham Moving Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Now two powerful NC politicians say Raleigh would be a good MLB expansion city - Durham Moving Hub","og_description":"State leaders Phil Berger and Gov. Josh Stein say Raleigh and the Triangle are strong contenders for an MLB expansion team based on growth and fan support.","og_url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725","og_site_name":"Durham Moving Hub","article_published_time":"2026-06-18T19:41:10+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"headline":"Now two powerful NC politicians say Raleigh would be a good MLB expansion city","datePublished":"2026-06-18T19:41:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725"},"wordCount":813,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9837ddd17b8ead624c9de40e46795aa2.jpg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725","name":"Now two powerful NC politicians say Raleigh would be a good MLB expansion city - Durham Moving Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9837ddd17b8ead624c9de40e46795aa2.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-18T19:41:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9837ddd17b8ead624c9de40e46795aa2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9837ddd17b8ead624c9de40e46795aa2.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"The drive to bring Major League Baseball team to North Carolina, and possibly Raleigh, is gathering momentum."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2725#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Now two powerful NC politicians say Raleigh would be a good MLB expansion city"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/","name":"Durham Moving Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/durhammovinghub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}