Marc Lasry wants a team in Raleigh.
Major League Baseball is not expanding in the very near future. There remains a stadium issue that has not been resolved in the Tampa Bay market and there is the matter of the owners and players needing a new collective bargaining agreement. Nonetheless, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and his owners have to be pleased as politicians and possible owners are coming out of the woodwork in Sacramento, Orlando, Salt Lake City, Nashville, Vancouver, Portland, Oregon and Raleigh and positioning themselves in a race that has not even started. The race to land MLB’s 31st and 32nd franchises. There is now someone in Raleigh who has publicly announced he wants to be part of a Major League Baseball expansion bid in the city, Marc Lasry. Marc Lasry is not just another guy with money who wants to be a controlling owner of a baseball team. Marc Lasry once owned 25 percent of the National Basketball Association’s Milwaukee Bucks franchise. Lasry’s Avenue Sports Fund, has invested in MLB’s Baltimore Orioles franchise, a NASCAR team, PGA Tour Enterprises and a team in Tiger Woods’ league. Lasry’s company has also invested money into the National Women’s Soccer League’s North Carolina Courage franchise. That business is located in Cary which is about 12 miles west of Raleigh.
Lasry has spelled out his desire to own an MLB in Raleigh. There is one another guy in town who might want a Raleigh MLB expansion franchise. Tom Dundon. Dundon is the owner of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes franchise and just added the ownership of the National Basketball Association’s Portland Trail Blazers franchise to his sports portfolio. Dundon has talked in the past about possibly getting involved with a Raleigh bid. But expansion isn’t coming in 2026, or 2027 or 2028 or 2029 so there is plenty of time to plan for a bid.
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