March 13th, 2030
Melbourne
Commish's Office Announce License Sale
Today the ABL front office approved of the sale of the Auckland License to the Fremantle Swans ownership group for an undisclosed sum. This will bring a second team to the Perth metro area and Western Australia. When asked about what this means for the future of Baseball New Zealand's involvement the ABL said the following:
Baseball Australia, the ABL, and Major League Baseball will continue to help Baseball New Zealand with its investment. For this reason they have representation in the Amateur League. Auckland's history will stay with the city should they ever have another license to compete.
Additionly when asked about where the commissioner sees the league growing over the next 10 years the ABL head hancho responded:
Provided the quality and numbers are their, along with sponsorship and government support we could see the league grow by four more to six more in the next decade and a half. Similar to the stretch Major League Soccer went through in the 10s and early 20s we have numerous cities, ownership groups, and regions, want to make bids. In fact we are going to sit down with 6 or 8 ownership groups this season to discuss entry requirements and commitments that are essential to place a bid. Those teams wanting to submit bids will meet with our competition comittees next offseason.
When asked about specifics on those bids and who they could come from the commish declined to mention specifics or than "the game continues to grow into new markets and strengthens in current major metros."
Former ABL Superstar Stefan Welch, a special advisor to the league office did speculate that we'd see the usual suspects that had been shut out the past few rounds. Welch specifically mentioned Wollongong, Central Coast, North Queensland, Ipswich, Hobart, Melbourne, and Sydney, as competitive options.
League analyst for SKY SPORTS says that the league could see an uptick in Marketing, Sponsorship, and TV revenue by adding a second Melbourne and Sydney Licsenses.