Nashville Baseball Fans Might Have To Wait A Lot Longer For An MLB Team

Expansion options have become an increasingly popular topic of conversation around Major League Baseball, with several cities going so far as to create plans and stadium renderings in hopes of landing a team. 

Salt Lake City is one such example, with groups in Nashville, Portland and potentially Austin or Charlotte also hoping to land a franchise.

READ: Salt Lake City Group Wants to Bring MLB Team to Utah, Joins Nashville, Portland In Expansion Race

But for fans getting excited about the possibility of having their own local MLB team, it might be a much longer wait than previously expected. Despite expansion fees running at least $2 billion per team, according to a new report from ESPN's Jeff Passan, expansion isn't currently a top priority for the league.

"Expansion, those sources said, is not imminent," Passan wrote, "and in fact is unlikely to happen until the early 2030s." Other MLB priorities include: Getting stadium situations figured out in Las Vegas, the Tampa Bay area; getting through the expected hell of a collective bargaining agreement in 2026; and figuring out the fallout of the Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy.

"It hasn't been much of a topic of conversation," one anonymous owner told Passan. "Everybody knows what's going to happen eventually, but it's so far off that people just haven't focused on it."

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 16:  Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks at the National Press Club July 16, 2018 in Washington, DC. The MLB All-Star game will be held tomorrow at Nationals Park.  (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

MLB Expansion Plans Taking A Back Seat

Just a few weeks ago when announcing his eventual retirement, Manfred did say he wanted to get relocation figured out before the end of his term in 2029. 

READ: Rob Manfred Defends New Jerseys, Wants To Expand MLB And Fix Free Agency

But this new report and ownership quote seems to imply the process could stretch out well past that timeline. 

The next 5-10 years are set to be a turning point for the league, with the new CBA set to re-frame the relationship between players and teams. Expansion could alter the geographical composition and league footprint, and new stadiums for notoriously cheap, small market teams like the A's and Rays, could mean more teams have the revenue to be more competitive.

But given the financial windfall from expansion, it's a bit odd that the league is in no rush to add billions of new revenue. Heck, they're willing to add horrifically ugly ad patches to bring in a few extra dollars.

MLB fans in Nashville, Salt Lake, Austin and other cities might be stuck without a local team for at least 10 more years. Patience is a virtue.