$2.2bn mogul plotting to bring MLB expansion team to city and could join forces with NBA and NHL owner

The bid to bring an MLB franchise to Raleigh, North Carolina has received a big boost.

Major League Baseball is likely to begin the process of expanding the league from 30 teams to 32, by the end of this year.

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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has recently said expansion is something he would like to see in place before he steps away from his role in 2029.

A huge part of the expansion will be the agreement with the MLB Players Association, and with the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expiring on December, 1 – the first step could be taken towards this vision.

Salt Lake City, Portland, Nashville and Sacramento have all been discussed as possibilities, and one other city has joined the field.

North Carolina expresses interest in becoming MLB expansion team

Raleigh, North Carolina is the latest city to express its interest in hosting an expansion franchise, and their quest received a huge boost from Avenue Capital co-founder & CEO Marc Lasry.

The 66-year-old, worth a reported $2.2bn, founded the company in 1995 and it now manages around $13 billion in assets.

He sold a 25 percent stake in the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks in 2023, when the franchise was valued at $3.5 billion.

Lesry expressed strong interest in investing in Raleigh, eyeing the leagues expansion as an opportunity for the region’s growth.

He also recently invested in the NWSL’s North Carolina Courage, evidently seeing immense potential in the market.

“I want to be an investor in Raleigh, and I think what we’re doing with the Courage and, hopefully, what we can do with Major League Baseball, those opportunities are pretty big,” Lasry said, via Wunderfan.

Lasry is not alone in his vision to bring baseball to the state.

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Tom Dundon, owner of the NHL‘s Carolina Hurricanes and NBA‘s Portland Trail Blazers, has also expressed his desire to bring baseball to North Carolina.

Dundon has pumped up the value of the Hurricanes since buying a majority stake in the NHL franchise in 2018, and he hopes to do the same with his latest acquisition of the Blazers.

Dundon has been under intense criticizm since taking over the Trail Blazers for his ‘penny-pinching’ ways – but he has urged fans that all he cares about is winning.

MLB will prioritize cities with strong financial backing and the capability to construct new stadiums.

While Larsy would prefer a majority or controlling ownership stake in a potential expansion team, he would be open to joining forces with Dundon.

“If, ultimately, at the end of the day, Tom and I need to team up, that’s what will happen,” Lasry added.

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North Carolina State Treasurer Brad Briner is also seemingly keen on the idea.

“As a citizen, as a fan of baseball, I’m really excited about the potential for MLB in Raleigh,” he said. “I’d love to see that happen. I think our city is growing, our state is growing, and it’s time MLB came to North Carolina.

“We’re going to get into the weeds on the finances of this,” he continued. “If we can make it work for the pension system to invest in something like that, we’d love to, but it’s going stick by the numbers and nothing else.”

With the baseline for acquiring a franchise and building a stadium at $4bn, an unlikely collaboration between the pair could be the only viable option.

However, whether two powerhouse businesspeople with a history in sports management works remains to be seen.

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