Charles Schwab Field Omaha (TDAPO)

[Garrett]

I imagine if Omaha hosted you’d get a fair number of people who would go out to support the temporary home team.

[CBJason]

Wow. This would be a great get. While they had a slightly down year this year, they will still be good and I would go to as many of their games as possible if I were there. Their fan base doesn’t deserve a team this well run. It would sure test the age old argument that Omaha only supports major league sports/teams.

[Busguy2010]

Well, that'd be pretty sweet if they'd FAAFO. Maybe they'd never leave. The ballpark is built to be expanded

[nativeomahan]

It will probably all get sorted out for the 2025 baseball season by the end of this year. Of course any switch to Schwab Field would have to accommodate the CWS for about 2 weeks in June.
The powers that be in Tampa will have to decide how much they want to spend to repair a stadium that will soon sit empty as the Rays are going to move to a new stadium in a few years.

[almighty_tuna]

I see a better chance of Warren Buffet financing a POC passenger light rail line right down Dodge than the Rays playing at The Chuck.

[Padre]

I see a better chance of Warren Buffet financing a POC passenger light rail line right down Dodge than the Rays playing at The Chuck.

Possibly, but I’d say it has better odds than the NHL playing in Gretna!

[Garrett]

I see a better chance of Warren Buffet financing a POC passenger light rail line right down Dodge than the Rays playing at The Chuck.

Possibly, but I’d say it has better odds than the NHL playing in Gretna!

Now I’m counting the days until an announcement that the Rays will be playing at Nebraska Big 10 Crossing Village Resort and Spa

[djc311]

I see a better chance of Warren Buffet financing a POC passenger light rail line right down Dodge than the Rays playing at The Chuck.

Possibly, but I’d say it has better odds than the NHL playing in Gretna!

Now I’m counting the days until an announcement that the Rays will be playing at Nebraska Big 10 Crossing Village Resort and Spa

...and Amusement Park

[Doctor Fate]

I see a better chance of Warren Buffet financing a POC passenger light rail line right down Dodge than the Rays playing at The Chuck.

Possibly, but I’d say it has better odds than the NHL playing in Gretna!

Now I’m counting the days until an announcement that the Rays will be playing at Nebraska Big 10 Crossing Village Resort and Spa

...and Amusement Park

Nebraska Big 10 Crossing Village Resort and Spa Amusement Park Tower. Ground level is a baseball park with 3 stories of parking above it and 15 floors of residential on top of that.

[Nosebot]

Nebraska Big 10 Crossing Village Resort and Spa Amusement Park Tower. Ground level is a baseball park with 3 stories of parking above it and 15 floors of residential on top of that.

If you reversed that and put the baseball park on top that would actually be pretty sweet!

[Padre]

Nebraska Big 10 Crossing Village Resort and Spa Amusement Park Tower. Ground level is a baseball park with 3 stories of parking above it and 15 floors of residential on top of that.

If you reversed that and put the baseball park on top that would actually be pretty sweet!

It would certainly make out of the park home runs more interesting!

[Garrett]

Nebraska Big 10 Crossing Village Resort and Spa Amusement Park Tower. Ground level is a baseball park with 3 stories of parking above it and 15 floors of residential on top of that.

If you reversed that and put the baseball park on top that would actually be pretty sweet!

It would certainly make out of the park home runs more interesting!

Who doesn't love baseball with a slight chance of death?

[djc311]

Nebraska Big 10 Crossing Village Resort and Spa Amusement Park Tower. Ground level is a baseball park with 3 stories of parking above it and 15 floors of residential on top of that.

If you reversed that and put the baseball park on top that would actually be pretty sweet!

I wonder how many elevators and how much time it would take to lift 24,000 ppl to a roof-top baseball stadium? But I do like the concept. Has anyone run this by Rod Yates yet?

[Nosebot]

I wonder how many elevators and how much time it would take to lift 24,000 ppl to a roof-top baseball stadium? But I do like the concept. Has anyone run this by Rod Yates yet?

Got a meeting with him tomorrow

[CBJason]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/419 ... p-unusable

This report did not mention Omaha at all.

[Brad]

Omaha always gets mentioned for these, but none of them ever seems to be close to happening. First it was Toronto during Covid, then the A's during their issues with Oakland, now the TB Rays.

[HskrFanMike]

They appear to be replacing all of the field level padding at the ballpark ... at least on the left field walls. The bullpen is down to concrete.

[nebugeater]

The Rays will not be playing in Omaha

They will be playing in Tampa at the spring training facility for the NY Yankee's Seats about 11,000


https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/592267 ... -UOHQkhaWg

[omaha79]

I've learned a while ago, while a fun idea to kick around, Omaha, even as a temporary home to a wayward team, simply isn't something MLB is interested in. Too far from most teams to make sense. Cold springs. CWS to deal with in June. KC Royals territorial concerns and disputes should MLB try to put anything here. AAA baseball not supported at an extremely high level.

I think all of those things are factors against Omaha. Outside of a one off game, like in 2019, I can't see Schwab ever being utilized by MLB for anything meaningful.

[WBR_Tom]

I agree that it seems far fetched, pie in the sky, etc...and yet, in this morning's Wall Street Journal, there's this note:

"Complicating matters further is that the Rays don’t currently have a stadium. The best-case scenario, Silverman said, is that Tropicana Field is fixed in 2027.

As a result, the Rays might have to look outside the Tampa Bay area altogether, at least temporarily. Shacking up with the Yankees likely won’t be a viable option after 2025. One possibility, according to people familiar with the matter, could be playing at the site of the College World Series in Omaha, Neb."

So maybe there's something to it; there wouldn't seem to be any reason for a national pub like the WSJ to just randomly throw Omaha's hat in the ring unless they'd heard it from people at MLB or with the Rays. And Omaha is the only alternative site for 2026/2027 mentioned by name.

https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/tam ... _permalink

[Louie]

I thought that option was shot down and they'd be playing at one of the spring training grounds?

[WBR_Tom]

It was shot down for next season (2025), but the repairs to the Trop (their home park) are more extensive that they thought and it will not be ready by 2026 either.

Apparently they can't play at the Yankees' spring training complex beyond '25. So whether it's here or somewhere else, the Rays will have to look elsewhere for at least one season and maybe more; their new ballpark, previously approved, is also now in limbo, and even if it still gets built the opening will be pushed back to at least 2029 or 2030.

From the beginning I was skeptical on this...but if you're looking at needing a temporary home for 2-3 years, instead of just one, Omaha starts to make a lot more sense. The A's and MLB are spending millions to get Sacramento's ballpark up to MLB standards so they can use it as a temporary home for a few years while their new park in Vegas is built. Schwab would basically be turnkey, and save MLB from having to dump money into a second minor league park to get it ready for another franchise.

[Padre]

It was shot down for next season (2025), but the repairs to the Trop (their home park) are more extensive that they thought and it will not be ready by 2026 either.

Apparently they can't play at the Yankees' spring training complex beyond '25. So whether it's here or somewhere else, the Rays will have to look elsewhere for at least one season and maybe more; their new ballpark, previously approved, is also now in limbo, and even if it still gets built the opening will be pushed back to at least 2029 or 2030.

From the beginning I was skeptical on this...but if you're looking at needing a temporary home for 2-3 years, instead of just one, Omaha starts to make a lot more sense. The A's and MLB are spending millions to get Sacramento's ballpark up to MLB standards so they can use it as a temporary home for a few years while their new park in Vegas is built. Schwab would basically be turnkey, and save MLB from having to dump money into a second minor league park to get it ready for another franchise.

As I recall, Schwab was the largest field available, that didn’t have a minor league tenant, just the CWS. So with the exception of the CWS, you wouldn’t have to accommodate someone else.

Not to mention the fact that the field is fairly new and in good shape.

[Louie]

Well, I'll throw this out there, the Rays don't exactly have a huge following nationally, and if they relocated here for a stretch, they could definitely expand their reach and popularity in a market without a dedicated team (though, of course, the Royals have a pretty firm majority of fans here).

[Cermak]

This would be huge for Omaha, I think they would draw very well, not just from Omaha, but Lincoln, Des Moines and the surrounding areas as well. The CWS stadium sits empty to often anyway. What a great use for it, even if it’s temporary. Seems to make sense.

[almighty_tuna]

I'll believe it when I see it, but it would be cool for an MLB team to call Omaha home for a season.

[MadJack]

This would be awesome for Omaha but how could the KC Royals and Omaha Storm Chasers allow it? If I understand correctly (Admittedly, I'm not 100 percent sure about this), the Royals can restrict baseball activities in their triple-A city. I assume the Storm Chasers could block this from happening too. After all, if there's a major league team in town, there's no way on Earth I would go watch AAA ball. During the year the Rays would be here, Storm chasers attendance would probably close to nothing. Would MLB and/or the Rays have to compensate the Storm Chasers for this?

If there's a way to pull it off, it would be a massive win for Omaha. As a baseball fan, I would go watch several games!

[WBR_Tom]

I'll believe it when I see it, but it would be cool for an MLB team to call Omaha home for a season.

That's where I'm at on it too. Omaha's a crazy choice. But maybe not as crazy as it seems. They're going to have to play somewhere in 2026/2027.

My guess is they'll pick somewhere like Nashville, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City, Charlotte -- bigger markets where MLB would love to eventually place an expansion team. But from a sheer logistical standpoint, you're scheduling around a AAA team (affiliated with a different MLB franchise) and playing in a smaller ballpark in any of those places. If you want a temporary home where they're the primary tenant in a baseball-only stadium big enough for MLB games, there's nowhere else to go BUT here.

Might come down to which AAA team gives the OK to share their market first, honestly (or accepts whatever monetary payoff they're offered).

[Garrett]

This would be awesome for Omaha but how could the KC Royals and Omaha Storm Chasers allow it? If I understand correctly (Admittedly, I'm not 100 percent sure about this), the Royals can restrict baseball activities in their triple-A city. I assume the Storm Chasers could block this from happening too. After all, if there's a major league team in town, there's no way on Earth I would go watch AAA ball. During the year the Rays would be here, Storm chasers attendance would probably close to nothing. Would MLB and/or the Rays have to compensate the Storm Chasers for this?

If there's a way to pull it off, it would be a massive win for Omaha. As a baseball fan, I would go watch several games!

Even if the Royals could restrict other baseball activities, which I don’t think they can, I can’t imagine whatever contract they have would apply given that the Storm Chasers aren’t in Omaha or even Douglas County.

[nebport5]

This would be awesome for Omaha but how could the KC Royals and Omaha Storm Chasers allow it? If I understand correctly (Admittedly, I'm not 100 percent sure about this), the Royals can restrict baseball activities in their triple-A city. I assume the Storm Chasers could block this from happening too. After all, if there's a major league team in town, there's no way on Earth I would go watch AAA ball. During the year the Rays would be here, Storm chasers attendance would probably close to nothing. Would MLB and/or the Rays have to compensate the Storm Chasers for this?

If there's a way to pull it off, it would be a massive win for Omaha. As a baseball fan, I would go watch several games!

Even if the Royals could restrict other baseball activities, which I don’t think they can, I can’t imagine whatever contract they have would apply given that the Storm Chasers aren’t in Omaha or even Douglas County.

If this is potentially an issue why would playing at The Chuck even be on the table? Unless the media and "people familiar with the matter" are completely ignorant of said restrictions. I know, I know...the media is never wrong.

[Padre]

I'll believe it when I see it, but it would be cool for an MLB team to call Omaha home for a season.

That's where I'm at on it too. Omaha's a crazy choice. But maybe not as crazy as it seems. They're going to have to play somewhere in 2026/2027.

My guess is they'll pick somewhere like Nashville, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City, Charlotte -- bigger markets where MLB would love to eventually place an expansion team. But from a sheer logistical standpoint, you're scheduling around a AAA team (affiliated with a different MLB franchise) and playing in a smaller ballpark in any of those places. If you want a temporary home where they're the primary tenant in a baseball-only stadium big enough for MLB games, there's nowhere else to go BUT here.

Might come down to which AAA team gives the OK to share their market first, honestly (or accepts whatever monetary payoff they're offered).

Just for fun, I looked up the places you suggested.

Nashville- First Horizon Stadium- capacity 10,000. Home team - Nashville Sounds

Indianapolis- Victory Field - capacity 14,230. Home team - Indianapolis Indians

Salt Lake City - Smiths Ballpark - capacity 14,511. Home Team - Salt Lake Bees & Utah Utes

Charlotte - Truist Field - capacity 10,200. Home Team - Charlotte Knights

Charles Schwab Field has almost 10,000 more seats than any of them, without another tenant, other than Creighton, and the CWS.

[Omaha Cowboy]

I'll believe it when I see it, but it would be cool for an MLB team to call Omaha home for a season.

That's where I'm at on it too. Omaha's a crazy choice. But maybe not as crazy as it seems. They're going to have to play somewhere in 2026/2027.

My guess is they'll pick somewhere like Nashville, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City, Charlotte -- bigger markets where MLB would love to eventually place an expansion team. But from a sheer logistical standpoint, you're scheduling around a AAA team (affiliated with a different MLB franchise) and playing in a smaller ballpark in any of those places. If you want a temporary home where they're the primary tenant in a baseball-only stadium big enough for MLB games, there's nowhere else to go BUT here.

Might come down to which AAA team gives the OK to share their market first, honestly (or accepts whatever monetary payoff they're offered).

Just for fun, I looked up the places you suggested.

Nashville- First Horizon Stadium- capacity 10,000. Home team - Nashville Sounds

Indianapolis- Victory Field - capacity 14,230. Home team - Indianapolis Indians

Salt Lake City - Smiths Ballpark - capacity 14,511. Home Team - Salt Lake Bees & Utah Utes

Charlotte - Truist Field - capacity 10,200. Home Team - Charlotte Knights

Charles Schwab Field has almost 10,000 more seats than any of them, without another tenant, other than Creighton, and the CWS.

I don’t believe there are any restrictions the KC Royals could place on Omaha for housing another Major League team..especially since our stadium has absolutely no affiliation with the Royals organization..

This said, as Padre points out in his post- The fact the our DT stadium holds nearly 25k and can be expanded to accommodate up to 35k, make the possibility of Omaha as a temporary landing spot for the Rays at least a consideration.. Albeit a slim one.. I’d give it less than a 2% chance…

It’ll be interesting how this shakes out…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[CBJason]

While there are territories in MLB, I don’t think they would apply to the Omaha/KC situation, based on what I found in the link below.

https://www.entsportslawjournal.com/article/id/754/

After the 1960 expansion, MLB relocation rules were changed to establish power with the individual leagues (Witt, 2005). The National League determined territories to be 10 miles beyond a team’ s city limits, while the American League established a one hundred mile radius around a team’s home ballpark (Witt). Each league required a three-fourths vote to permit a team to move, but neither league could stop the other from relocating into its territory (Brown, 2004; Witt).
Then…..
In December 1994, after failed attempts by the Giants to build in San Jose, MLB amended its territorial rules (Witt, 2005). Currently, teams may only move to a new territory if three-fourths of the league clubs and one-half of other league clubs approve the relocation (Pappas, 2002a).

[Doctor Fate]

KETV said that the mayor’s office said no one has reached out to them from the Rays and that MECA said they would be open to conversations.

[nebugeater]

This would be awesome for Omaha but how could the KC Royals and Omaha Storm Chasers allow it? If I understand correctly (Admittedly, I'm not 100 percent sure about this), the Royals can restrict baseball activities in their triple-A city. I assume the Storm Chasers could block this from happening too. After all, if there's a major league team in town, there's no way on Earth I would go watch AAA ball. During the year the Rays would be here, Storm chasers attendance would probably close to nothing. Would MLB and/or the Rays have to compensate the Storm Chasers for this?

If there's a way to pull it off, it would be a massive win for Omaha. As a baseball fan, I would go watch several games!

Even if the Royals could restrict other baseball activities, which I don’t think they can, I can’t imagine whatever contract they have would apply given that the Storm Chasers aren’t in Omaha or even Douglas County.

It's kind of Ironic that almost everyone claims it as an Omaha team until this scenario. It is not about the city it is in but about the market that MLB assigned to each team. The TV blackout is one thing that the assigned market sets, amount other things

[Cermak]

Omaha could probably support 1 team of the Big 4 sports. Most likely a NHL team or NBA, Baseball would be the least likely. But a temporary home for a year or two of a MLB team we could handle and it would probably thrive. We have the best baseball stadium in the country not currently affiliated with a MLB team. The Mayor needs to pursue this and explore any and all possibilities.

[Bomaha]

Omaha could probably support 1 team of the Big 4 sports. Most likely a NHL team or NBA, Baseball would be the least likely. But a temporary home for a year or two of a MLB team we could handle and it would probably thrive. We have the best baseball stadium in the country not currently affiliated with a MLB team. The Mayor needs to pursue this and explore any and all possibilities.

Watch that be the 2025 mayoral election surprise.

[halgy]

Omaha could probably support 1 team of the Big 4 sports. Most likely a NHL team or NBA, Baseball would be the least likely. But a temporary home for a year or two of a MLB team we could handle and it would probably thrive. We have the best baseball stadium in the country not currently affiliated with a MLB team. The Mayor needs to pursue this and explore any and all possibilities.

As much as I'd love to have an professional team in town, that desire is considerably dampened by fact that the city would almost certainly have to pay for most or all of the arena, and doing that has been shown time and time again to be a net loss for the city. But hosting an MLB team in our existing stadium would be another matter.

[Louie]

Omaha could probably support 1 team of the Big 4 sports. Most likely a NHL team or NBA, Baseball would be the least likely. But a temporary home for a year or two of a MLB team we could handle and it would probably thrive. We have the best baseball stadium in the country not currently affiliated with a MLB team. The Mayor needs to pursue this and explore any and all possibilities.

As much as I'd love to have an professional team in town, that desire is considerably dampened by fact that the city would almost certainly have to pay for most or all of the arena, and doing that has been shown time and time again to be a net loss for the city. But hosting an MLB team in our existing stadium would be another matter.

Agreed, this is not something I really would care if we had. I'm glad to see that we are investing in Union though.

[Dundeemaha]

Omaha's not in the ballpark for any major sport. We haven't invested in Union Omaha (3rd tier of US Soccer), nothing has happened there. We don't have the population for NHL, MLS, NBA let alone MLB or NFL.

There's a lot of advantages of being a small city, it also has disadvantages and one is we are not anywhere near the top tier of professional sports.