CHAPEL HILL — Potential owners, high-ranking politicians and grassroots organizers have rallied around efforts to bring a Major League Baseball team to Raleigh.
But not everyone is in favor of bringing a major league franchise to the area. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chancellor Lee Roberts told WRAL on Wednesday that he is concerned about increased competition from another professional sports team in the market.
“It’s both attendance and sponsorships,” Roberts said. “Everyone thinks about competition with baseball, and that’s true. We play 35 to 40 games a year in Boshamer Stadium. It’s true for Wake [Forest]. It’s true for Duke. It’s true for NC State. But also we start our football season in the third week of August. About half of our football season overlaps with the baseball season. So I worry about attendance, I worry about the family entertainment budget, and I worry about corporate sponsorships.”
The 2026 MLB regular season began on March 25 and concluded on Sept. 27. The playoffs ran from Sept. 29 to Oct. 28. UNC and NC State opened their football seasons on Aug. 29 and played seven games before the World Series concluded. All college football teams can begin their season in the last week of August in 2027, moving up to accommodate a larger playoff field.
UNC played in the College World Series championship series, which ended on June 22. NC State has appeared in the CWS four times, including 2021 and 2024. UNC has played in the event 13 times, including three times since 2018.
Both UNC and NC State are seeking naming rights sponsors for their football stadiums as well as sponsors for jersey patches and other items to help counter the escalating expenses in college sports, including direct revenue sharing with athletes.
“College sports are part of what makes North Carolina great,” Roberts said. “It’s been true for a long time. Family entertainment budgets are limited. Corporate sponsorship dollars are limited, and I worry about hurting college sports and weakening what’s made college sports so great in this region in this state for a long time.”
UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts on potential MLB team in Raleigh. Story: https://t.co/vr1PoQXmsZ https://t.co/WmsCKnQNkX
— Brian Murphy (@murphsturph) November 11, 2026
Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has said repeatedly that he wants to bring a MLB franchise to the area — either a relocated team or an expansion franchise. Marc Lasry, a billionaire investor in multiple major sports teams including the North Carolina Courage, told WRAL in June that he wants to invest in bringing a MLB team to Raleigh.
U.S. Senator-elect Roy Cooper, a former two-term governor, said a potential North Carolina team should be located in Raleigh, not Charlotte, adding that the “fan base is here to support it.” Gov. Josh Stein said the state would do all it can to support bringing MLB to the state.
The North Carolina state Senate proposed a plan to finance a $1.7-billion baseball stadium in Raleigh in the summer. The deal called for $300 million in state funding with the rest of the money coming from local taxes, sports gambling taxes, personal income tax withholdings from players and performers at the facility and the creation of a sports and entertainment taxing district. Republicans in the state House objected to the deal, and it never received a vote in either chamber.
House Speaker Destin Hall, a Caldwell County Republican, said the House was worried it was “too much too soon” and didn’t want North Carolina to set a floor for other states or municipalities to surpass.
UNC suspended its discussions over whether to renovate or build a new basketball arena, which could cost more than $700 million. The university also renovated its football stadium for the 2026 season, its 100th season in the on-campus venue.
“I worry about using tax dollars to fund competition to North Carolina’s great college sports,” said Roberts, a longtime executive in finance and private equity who served as the state’s budget director under former Gov. Pat McCrory.
Roberts ruled out getting more directly involved in politics. “I have absolutely no intention of running for anything,” he told WRAL.
Democrats won a large majority in the North Carolina House in this month’s elections. Unlike House Republicans, who largely represent districts outside of Wake County, the Democratic majority set to take office in January is filled with Wake County representativeswho might be more inclined to support an economic development project in the county but harbor concerns about giving millions to support a billionaire’s private business.
Rep. Phil Rubin, a Wake County Democrat, told WRAL that while studies don’t show positive economic returns from using public money to build stadiums, the economic development around baseball could have a good return because of the media impact and tourism impact beyond the immediate area. Lawmakers should look at how a Major League Baseball team would help the state as a whole, Rubin said.
Rep. Robert Reives, a Chatham County Democrat, is expected to be the Speaker of the House in January. Democrats were largely sidelined in the baseball stadium debate this summer — when their Republican colleagues expressed concerns about the idea.
“I would love to talk about how we can responsibly bring Major League Baseball to North Carolina,” he told WRAL in a statement. “We are a prime market, and I look forward to engaging in those conversations with my colleagues.”
North Carolina is the most populous state without a Major League Baseball franchise. It has often appeared near the top of lists for an expansion franchise. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred wants to add to the 30-team league. North Carolina has franchises in the National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer and National Women’s Soccer League as well as PGA Tour events and NASCAR races.
The NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, who moved to North Carolina in 1997, won their second Stanley Cup in June and attracted close to 200,000 fans to a post-Cup parade in downtown Raleigh. The Canes’ success has helped the area attract the interest of other leagues.
“We’re all proud of the Hurricanes,” Roberts said. “They had a great season last year, but that season is different, and it’s a different sport.”
Source: www.wral.com
