FanPost

Rays Moving to North Carolina? Fight Fire with Tech Start-Up Fire


So, yeah, I'm the dork that keeps talking about the Rays stadium and specifically the far-fetched idea of building a stadium adjacent to Florida Polytechnic University. However, turns out that perhaps our biggest threat of losing the Rays comes from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.

Why?

"A hyper-educated workforce means the Research Triangle, the North Carolina region comprising Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh--Inc.'s No. 3 Surge City--has a booming and brainy startup scene. Once known for tobacco and textiles, the area has reinvented itself as a hub equally well-versed in tech and food."

and as a result of that, this:

"Raleigh’s biggest strength is its distance from existing major league teams. The closest teams — the Nationals, Orioles and Braves — are all over four hours away. Raleigh is not a terribly large MSA, but it has the second largest population and highest median family income in the untapped Carolinas region."

So investing in central Florida's own research triangle (UF, USF and UCF) with an MLB stadium as an amenity for potential start-ups next to Florida Poly might not be such a bad idea or the Rays might end up as an amenity for existing tech companies in North Carolina.

This post was written by a member of the DRaysBay community and does not necessarily express the views or opinions of DRaysBay staff.