What started as a grassroots effort to put Raleigh on Major League Baseball’s expansion radar has grown into a legitimate bid backed by state leaders, a billionaire-led ownership group, and national recognition as one of MLB’s top expansion markets. Now, as the opportunity becomes more real than ever, it’s time to unite the entire state behind one shared vision to bring MLB2NC.
Can North Carolina Support an MLB team in Raleigh? The numbers say yes!
Not only can we support a team, the data suggests an MLB team would thrive
0 People Living in North Carolina
North Carolina has a population of 11,197,968 which is ranked 9th nationally, and makes it the largest state in the US without at least 1 MLB team.
0 Miles to the Nearest MLB Team
North Carolina sits in the middle of MLB's largest East Coast dead-zone. From Raleigh, NC, it's 278 miles to Nationals Park in DC (Nats) and 406 miles to Truist Park in Atlanta (Braves)
0 In-State TV Homes
North Carolina has 3.22 million TV homes in the state (according to Neilsen), ranking 8th overall and making htem the largest in the US without MLB
A group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon, wants to bring MLB to NC with others ready to join him
Tom Dundon stepping up to lead the charge has propelled North Carolina’s MLB bid to the top. His proven success building the Carolina Hurricanes into perennial contenders in a non-traditional hockey market gives him unmatched insight into creating a winner fast here in Raleigh.
Dundon’s team stepped up in 2024 and has been working on the bid behind the scenes since that moment. However, he’s made it clear that this bid will comprise multiple deep-pocketed investors. In fact, others have now gone public with their support for bringing MLB to Raleigh. Marc Lasry, whose Avenue Sports Fund is already invested in the NC Courage, recently expressed strong interest in the market. “I want to be an investor in Raleigh… It’s a market that’s going to continue to grow,” he said. Lasry added that he would be willing to partner with Tom Dundon, stating, “If, ultimately, at the end of the day, Tom and I need to team up, that’s what will happen.” While most other expansion contenders still lack even a single committed investor, this growing coalition of high-profile, well-capitalized backers positions North Carolina’s bid as potentially one of the strongest in the country. As MLB moves closer to expansion, expect even more interested parties to emerge.
Show MLB that NC is ready. Take your support to the streets.
Spread the word by picking a hat or a shirt and starting a conversation about bringing MLB to NC.
The Hats
Support North Carolina's bid for an MLB Team with the official MLB2NC 'on-field' cap or pick up a more casual style with our floppys or truckers.
The Shirts
Show your support with the MLB2NC tees that makes it clear that you're part of the movement to bring MLB to the great state of North Carolina.
Shop The Jacket
Rock the NC on your chest with the official MLB2NC dugout bomber jacket. Great for those cold nights on the bench (or at the bar).
Vocal Political Support For MLB and It’s Economic Impact
MLB wants stability and part of achieving that is to find expansion markets that can offer a strong public/private partnership. Our bid has positioned baseball as the great unifier and has garnered support across the aisle thanks to the immense economic and civic impact MLB brings.
What they're saying about us
Local and national media alike believe North Carolina’s bid will be one of the frontrunners when MLB expansion begins. We’ve been covered by ESPN, The Athletic, Forbes, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, The Sporting News, Axios, Spectrum, ABC 11, WRAL, OG Media, North State Journal, Winston-Salem Journal, and many more. Here are a few of our favorite quotes…
The community group that started it all.
8 years ago a group of Raleigh locals and small business owners put their money where their mouth was and built a community movement from the ground up. Fueled by baseball passion and city pride, they rallied the city behind an idea that Raleigh should be in the conversation for one of Major League Baseball's coming expansion teams. Today, that small movement is backed by government officials and investors, has national media calling Raleigh a frontrunner, and has that dream on the cusp of becoming a reality.
See the Initiative
Keep up to date with MLB2NC Expansion News
Learn why, despite what you might initially think, MLB expansion in North Carolina is a very true possibility with nothing standing in its way
June 11, 2026
In what might be one of the most significant press conferences for baseball fans in North Carolina, the Carolina Hurricanes announced a new […]
June 11, 2026
In mid-April, the Sports Business Journal did an in-depth profile on the Carolina Hurricanes’ owner, Tom Dundon. In the article, Alex Silverman told […]
June 11, 2026
For those who haven’t been paying attention to this movement and those who haven’t dug deep enough into the data, “Does Raleigh have […]
June 11, 2026
Gov. Cooper joined the OG Podcast to talk all things sports but made sure to get in a few comments about the potential […]
December 8, 2023
With the MLB season over, it’s time we start digging a little more into the expansion landscape. What regions will MLB be targeting […]
December 8, 2023
Tom Dundon wanting to bring MLB to Raleigh feels like unchartered territory, but we’ve been in a similar situation before. Let’s go back […]
December 8, 2023
On Oct. 3rd, AXIOS News shared some breaking info in their “The quiet effort to bring MLB to Raleigh” piece. The report stated that: “A […]
December 8, 2023
Tom Dundon (Owner of the Carolina Hurricanes) went public with the plan to “lead a group to put our best foot forward to […]
November 21, 2023
We fully expect this to be the question on most people’s minds, and rightfully so. We’ll preface by saying, we love the Bulls […]
February 3, 2016
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has been on record over the past year discussing his goal for Major League Baseball to expand […]
January 25, 2016
What if we told you that in 15 years, the Triangle would bypass every small-market MLB metro in population? Would you believe us? […]
January 25, 2016
In early June, 2023, North Carolina passed House Bill 347, legalizing online sports betting and retail sportsbooks (and names ‘MLB’ in the bill). […]
Just in case you have a few questions…
Below is a list of frequently asked questions about the movement and MLB expansion
1. Why are we doing this?
2. Can I help? How do I get involved?
Start by signing the petition (click the ‘Join the Movement’ button in the menu). You can also help by sharing the message on social media, wearing your hat and shirt on the streets, and attending our events. Tell your friends, your family, and local businesses, and make sure you let the media know you want coverage of our movement, and inform your local elected leaders that the time is now to get involved in bringing MLB to NC.
3. When does expansion actually begin?
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has stated that once the Rays and A’s stadium situations have been resolved, then expansion conversations will begin. The A’s have a new stadium being built, but the Rays are still in limbo. On top of that, we are in the middle of the meetings for the Collective Bargaining Agreement, where the owners and the players’ association attempt to come to an agreement on terms. When those two thins are resolved, we are told expansion will begin.
TLDR: Probably late 2026 or 2027,
4. Does North Carolina have a shot?
Without a doubt. Forbes, ESPN, The Athletic, and just about every legitimate publication have listed Raleigh as a potential frontrunner for MLB expansion. MLB is aware of our bid and no other contending market has the land, the ownership group, the community support, or the government support to make this happen. We do.
5. What about the Durham Bulls?
Let us start by saying, the Durham Bulls aren’t going anywhere. However, the much-discussed ’25-mile territory rule’ that had been floated around here for years, couldn’t stop an MLB team, according to MiLB legal. But that’s a moot point since MLB took control of MiLB in 2020, and the last 3 AAA teams they’ve added have been strategically located less than 25 miles from their parent club. That’s their new model. As for the question of whether it would hurt the Bulls, there isn’t a precedent for that. In fact, it’s the opposite. The Seattle Mariners and the AAA Tacoma Rainiers have successfully coexisted within 30 miles of one another for over 40 years with their best attendance seasons coming after the Mariners arrived. If you’d like all the details, we’ve broken it all down, right here.
6. How the heck did this even start?
This was literally started by the community. Two baseball fans, who happened to be local designers, came up with the idea over some beer in downtown Raleigh to create a grassroots movement to bring MLB to Raleigh. They got a group of their friends together (who happened to own some local businesses), and they started the campaign.
The goal was to run a truly authentic campaign with no catch. Every dollar of profit would go to build baseball in underserved areas and to help their community. It grew, they threw fun community gatherings at breweries and just kept beating the drum for baseball. Eventually, the media took note, then the government, then a billionaire.
Pretty wild, but if you know Raleigh, then you know what this community is capable of.
7. What will the team name be?
If we came up with a team name right off the bat, everyone would argue over that, and we’d lose sight of the overall idea and goal. We haven’t introduced a team name, nor will we. Eventually, whoever owns the team will get to do and we’ll lobby for the fans to have a say in it.
Questions?
Did we miss anything? If so, DM us on any of our social media platforms for the quickest response.
About Us
Want to learn a little bit more about our mission, our plans and how this is all going down. Check out the ‘about us’ page.