Tales From the Road 2010: Buffalo and the Big Leagues
BUFFALO, NY–We have had some exciting baseball in New York as the Braves and Mets Triple-A team square off at vast Coca-Cola Field.
I mentioned this during my broadcast on Saturday, but it is worth putting in print: I think Buffalo should get a Major League team. Cleveland and Florida are drawing barely over 16 thousand fans a night. Yes the Indians and the Marlins. Hey, we had a legit 13 thousand in Buffalo on Friday night for a Triple A game.
So I say, why not Buffalo? The Sabres and the Bills do well. And if you are my age, you might remember the Buffalo Braves of the NBA. It is a major league sports city.
The Bisons, or as they like to say, the “Bizons,” do well at the gate. Coca-Cola Field, when it opened in 1988, was built to be able to expand to a major league stadium. I am sure now, if the opportunity ever came their way, they would have to totally rebuild, but the city certainly could support the big leagues.
There has been a lot of noise coming from the Tampa Bay area about either getting a new ballpark or leaving for another city. I say leave. Major League Baseball does not work in Florida. Never has, never will. Florida is for Spring Training, and drawing 500 fans a night to minor league Florida State League games.
Let’s see the Rays move to Buffalo where real sports fans are. Not San Antonio, not Las Vegas, but Buffalo. And if not the Rays, let’s finally put to rest the miserable Marlins franchise and move THEM north.
Let’s check with the Commissioner of Baseball, Fox Sports and see if it agrees.
Tony Schiavone Blog 