If Raleigh landed MLB, where are the most likely spots for a stadium

If Raleigh ever lands a Major League Baseball team , it would be a transformative milestone for the city, especially for the stadium area, attracting hundreds of millions in investment.

Why it matters: Where that money ends up remains in the air as the Carolina Hurricanes explore a potential bid to land a baseball team.

State of play: Brian Fork, the new CEO of the Carolina Hurricanes, told reporters in July that while the team is committed to bidding for an expansion franchise, it's still early in the process and land for a stadium hasn't been identified yet.

• But if the team is successful in getting one of the two expected expansion slots , it will likely need to partner with the state and local governments to make it an attractive landing spot, Fork acknowledged.

Zoom in: Despite the fact that Raleigh has no formal bid, two areas have already attracted speculation for a stadium, local insiders in real estate, development and government tell Axios.

• Leading the conversation are West Raleigh's growing Blue Ridge Corridor near PNC Arena, which is getting hundreds of millions of dollars in public money for renovations , and downtown Raleigh, which is currently searching for more ways to attract visitors .

West Raleigh

West Raleigh's Blue Ridge Corridor area is already home to PNC Arena — but more importantly, it will be home to Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon's proposed apartments, hotels, offices and entertainment district around the arena .

• Putting a stadium near that area, which is expected to see more than $800 million of investment around PNC , makes a lot of sense if you want to capitalize on that investment, Chester Allen, executive vice president for CBRE's Land Services group in Raleigh, told Axios.

Reality check: Much of the land near PNC Arena, however, is owned by the state's Agriculture Department, which primarily uses it for the State Fair and event parking. The fairgrounds are one of the department's most treasured assets.

• "A short answer is no, we would not be interested in selling land around the fairgrounds," Andrea Ashby, director of the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services public affairs division, told Axios in an email.
• "With the State Fair and other events that are hosted at the fairgrounds year-round," she added, "we have to have parking for our attendees and that is our focus."

Yes, but: The Department of Agriculture has previously shown some willingness to shed land in the area.

• The Raleigh tech company Bandwidth built its headquarters near PNC Arena on land that it purchased from the Agriculture Department for $30 million , and it lets the State Fair use its lot for parking .

Downtown

City leaders , especially Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin, have long called for adding a sports stadium in downtown Raleigh to supercharge the number of visitors to the area.

• A recent report by a consulting firm noted that in its discussions with residents, the idea of a sports arena downtown came up repeatedly.
• But there are few larger sites available in the downtown core, noted Bill King, CEO of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance. If there's room, it's likely to be along downtown's southern edge .

Zoom in: One site that many bring up is Kane Realty's Downtown South project on South Saunders Street, home to one of the largest undeveloped parcels of land near downtown where some had envisioned a sports stadium.

• Yes but: The idea of a stadium originated with a partnership with N.C. Courage owner Steve Malik, who wanted to put a soccer stadium there.
• Those plans seem less certain after Malik's bid for a Major League Soccer team were unsuccessful. Kane Realty did not respond to a request for comment.

Another possibility a recent report on downtown Raleigh's five-year economic development plan floats is relocating the state's Central Prison from in between Dix Park and downtown.

• If the prison's sprawling campus were freed up, it would open a large amount of land for a stadium or other developments.
• The report notes that the facility is older and likely needs a major investment in the coming years. "At that time, consider relocation in an effort to free up valuable land for a major new downtown amenity," reads the report, written by Interface Studios.

Reality check: That plan, however, would require significant coordination with the state, a community willing to house a relocated prison and a significant public-private partnership to fund.

What they're saying: "My personal bias is baseball belongs downtown. I think it often is that way in many other cities," King told Axios. "But obviously there's a lot of dynamics there that may or may not make that happen."

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