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NEWS FLASH: Rays Should Boot the Durham Bulls and Move into Their Stadium…no really

Raleigh-Durham is one of the prime expansion candidates in the United States and it appears the Rays would be much better off if they were to move to Durham.

According to data collected by Chris Mitchell of The Hardball Times, see link in the comments, Raleigh ranks 7th among potential expansion/relocation sites, Charlotte 15th , Durham 21st and Greensboro 28th while Tampa ranks a distant 46th , just below Toledo, Ohio and the Rays rank 30th in revenues generated , by far the lowest among existing MLB teams.

According to Mitchell,

"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."

Only 25 miles separate Durham from Raleigh while the stadium in Durham would put the relocated Rays closer to Greensboro and Charlotte, a new stadium near Raleigh-Durham International Airport would also make a lot of sense.

Of course, as Rays fans we don't want any of this to happen but should not be surprised if Stu Sternberg has mulled the possibility.

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