Oklahoma City Flirting with the Idea of an MLB Pro Baseball Team

With the incredible success of the OKC Thunder, the Sooner State capital city has been eyeing other professional sports likely longer than they let on.

Last fall, a possible NFL expansion was the talk of the town, including a slew of possible team names... but would Oklahoma support a pro-football team with the same vigor as the Thunder?

While we'd all expect the best, adding additional professional sports to the state would be an incredible gamble.

All the same, the OKC minor-league ballclub has been a shocking success.

When the old 89'ers relocated to Bricktown to become the Redhawks, the buzz around the new entertainment district was electric. However, as the new wears off everything eventually, ticket sales got to the point where it was hard to entice fans to the park for even as low as $6 on $1 hotdog night.

Popularity bounced back when they transformed to become the OKC Dodgers, and still as the Oklahoma City Baseball Club, tickets are shockingly high for a Triple-A affiliate.

Even with the high ticket prices, fans fill the Bricktown Ballpark every home game throughout the summer... but is it because people love baseball? Or does the home field just have the advantage of being within Oklahoma's most popular tourist attraction?

Obviously, Bricktown Ballpark isn't big enough to host a permanent major league team. On its best attempt, the ballpark could only fit a little over 13k people in it. The Tampa Bay Rays stadium is the smallest in the MLB with room for 25k.

Would OKC build a new ballpark?

OKC loves the Thunder, so much that they just voted to build a new nearly-billion-dollar venue for the team across the street from the current home court... but would the city agree to another massive sports project so soon?

Also, where would they build it?

Bricktown is always expanding outward, perhaps they could build a new ballpark and move the borders again. Or send it back across town to the OK State Fairgrounds. More than a few rumor-mongers on social media suggested building a stadium overlooking Hefner Lake, which could mean even more for that entertainment district, but is there enough space? And why wouldn't they want an air-conditioned dome for our hot summer play?

It's all just speculation at this point. The hopes and wishes of many. I guess the real question might be, what would we call an Oklahoma MLB team?