SALT LAKE CITY — The cry of "Play Ball!" in Salt Lake City could soon be a reality at the major league level, according to a couple of well-known baseball insiders.
Watch LIVE below as SLC Mayor Mendenhall makes announcement on MLB's future in SLC:
WATCH: Utah leaders travel to Atlanta to explore MLB possibilities
On separate podcasts this week, ESPN baseball reporter Buster Olney and former Cy Young Award winner David Cone both named Salt Lake City as favorites to land one of two expected Major League Baseball expansion teams.
While there is no timetable for MLB to grow, Nashville has long been considered to be guaranteed one of the expansion sites, with Salt Lake City jostling with cities like Portland, Charlotte and Montreal to get the second franchise.
"That second team, it's an open question and there's opportunity there for some billionaire to step up and to do big things," said Olney on the Baseball Tonight podcast. "If I'm just sitting here guessing today, and that's all it is is a guess, I think it's going to be Salt Lake City."
Olney added that he's heard baseball executives want a new franchise in western states to even out team geography in the U.S.
Speaking on his Toeing the Slab podcast, Cone, who also works for ESPN and won five World Series titles in his baseball career, joined others in saying Salt Lake City would be the second team to pair with Nashville.
"That's my handicap right now, that expansion will be on the horizon, we will get two new teams, and Nashville will be one and Salt Lake City will be the other," he said, agreeing with Olney that there needs to be another team out west, saying, "Seattle needs a friend!"
Salt Lake City began its push to bring baseball to the Beehive State back in April with a group headed by the Miller family, the longtime owners of the Utah Jazz. Big League Utah is looking to build a stadium in the Rocky Mountain Power District situated just west of downtown.
Speaking at his monthly news conference Thursday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox seemed bolstered by Olney and Cone's statements that Salt Lake City could be the home of a Major League Baseball team.
"We really like our chances. We've got the right location. We've got a potential ownership group that's working on this," said Cox. "There's a tremendous amount of work being done with that group and we're really proud of what they're doing.
"Of course, they have the full support of the state behind them and the governor as well."
Gov. Cox says they have the full support of the state behind them, as well as his support.
Former Salt Lake County Mayor and former congressman Ben McAdams was one of 26 guests to travel to Atlanta, Georgia last month.
"As a community advocate, somebody who is interested in seeing Salt Lake County and the state of Utah move forward, this really is the next step in the evolution of our state is to attract another major league sports franchise right here to Salt Lake," said McAdams.
The delegation attendees included the Larry H. Miller Company and state, county and city officials.
The trip, McAdams says, involved touring 'The Battery', which opened in 2017 and sits adjacent to Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves.
"What they've done is do more than just build a ballpark, they've built an entertainment district that has corporate offices, it has jobs, it has housing," said McAdams. "It's more than just a ballpark, that's something that I would like to see replicated here in Utah."
FOX 13 News also reached out to city and county leaders on Thursday.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said:
"There's no doubt momentum is building for expanded professional sports in Salt Lake City. We have great partners at the table, broad community support and an unmatched local economy. I think a lot of people around the country are quickly coming to the same conclusion I have. Salt Lake City is ready for Major League Baseball."
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said:
“With our fans (residents) front of mind, rest assured, we're swinging for the fences in this bid. We’re ready to hit it out of the park for the people of Salt Lake County! In all seriousness, we are excited, but doing our due diligence to assure that this exciting venture would benefit our residents and our community.”
FOX 13 News also reached out to Big League Utah, the coalition led by the Miller family, that is vying to bring Major League Baseball here to the Beehive State.
They said while they were excited about the recent national news, they had nothing more to share at this time.
