Salt Lake City group joins MLB expansion chase

A Salt Lake City consortium led by the former owner of the Utah Jazz plans to pursue a Major League Baseball franchise in the coming years, touting the area's population growth, strong economy and baseball history as draws for a coveted expansion slot, people involved with the project told ESPN.

Big League Utah, a group headed by longtime Jazz owner Gail Miller, will join Nashville's Music City Baseball and the Portland Diamond Project in lobbying to join the current 30 MLB organizations. Las Vegas, considered a prime destination for a franchise, has emerged as a strong candidate if the Oakland Athletics relocate.

While sources said MLB does not plan to expand until it figures out the futures of Oakland and the Tampa Bay Rays — both of whom have considered moving amid struggles to secure new stadiums in their current metropolitan areas — commissioner Rob Manfred told ESPN in July: «I would love to get to 32 teams.»

The Salt Lake City coalition includes the Larry H. Miller Company — the conglomerate founded by Miller's late husband, Larry, an automobile magnate — as well as local business leaders and former major league players Dale Murphy and Jeremy Guthrie, both Utah residents. The group has targeted building a stadium in the Rocky Mountain Power District, a 100-acre mixed-use zone located between Salt Lake City's new airport and its downtown core, an investment that would come on top of an expected $2 billion expansion fee.

«Salt Lake City is a major league city,» said Steve Starks, CEO of the Miller Company. «We believe that as a top-30 media market in the fastest-growing state in the country with the youngest population, that's where our attention should be — and that we could accomplish bringing a team to the