Hurricanes new executive: ‘Very serious’ about bringing MLB team to Raleigh :: WRALSportsFan.com

By Brian Murphy, WRAL

Raleigh, N.C. — Tom Dundon owns one professional sports team in Raleigh. Now he wants to add another.

Dundon is “very serious” about bringing a Major League Baseball franchise to Raleigh, one of the team’s top business executives said Wednesday.

Brian Fork, the new chief executive officer of Hurricanes Holdings, said baseball is one of his job duties along with other development around PNC Arena.

“Tom’s talked about it publicly, but he’s also very serious about trying to bring a Major League Baseball team to Raleigh,” Fork said Wednesday at an introductory press conference.

“That’s easier said than done. We will not be the only city. We will not be the only ownership group looking to get one of the new expansion teams that will probably be created by Major League Baseball in the next couple of years. But Tom is very serious about pursuing that opportunity, bringing it here to Raleigh.”

Major League Baseball has 30 teams and has not announced plans to expand at this point. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, who is set to retire in 2029, said he hopes to have a process in place for expansion before he leaves the job, ESPN reported earlier this year.

At least three MLB franchises are dealing with stadium or relocation issues at the moment: the Oakland A’s, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Kansas City Royals.

A number of cities, including several in the southeast, are considered candidates for potential expansion, including southern cities such as Austin, Charlotte, Nashville and Orlando.

Located about halfway between Washington and Atlanta, Raleigh offers access to a growing state and area without infringing on another team’s territory.

“It’s the perfect storm,” Fork said.

The Hurricanes relocated to Raleigh from Hartford, Connecticut, so buying an existing team and moving it is a possibility, too, Fork said.

Fork, and Doug Warf, team president hired to oversee all business operations for the Hurricanes and PNC Arena, held a press event Wednesday.

Fork previously worked for North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham. Warf worked for the Hurricanes for 16 years before joining a Raleigh investment and management firm.

The pair is handling duties that were previously handled by team president and general manager Don Waddell, who left the franchise after the season. Eric Tulsky was promoted to general manager.

“The big reason why there’s three people now is there’s getting ready to be a lot more things happening here in this building, in the area, the parking lots around the building, than there ever has been before,” Fork said.

Fork and Warf said they spoke before accepting their jobs and decided they wanted to do it together.

“There’s not going to be any so Brian does this and these people work with Brian on that and Doug does this and these people work with Doug on that,” Fork said. “We’re going to team up. We’re going to use our skill sets together.”

Dundon can develop up to 80 acres around PNC Arenas under terms of a new development agreement. As part of the transaction, the Hurricanes signed a 20-year lease extension at PNC Arena, which will undergo a $300-million renovation. Raleigh and Wake County are providing the money for the renovation, through a tax that’s long been collected on prepared food and beverage and hotel stays.

“Tom’s vision is big, and it starts here,” Warf said, referencing PNC Arena. “And the way he tells it makes total sense. We have this great mixture of Southern hospitality and a tech sector, right? And if you bring those together, this building is — and should be — the premier sports venue in the U.S. It should combine those two things.”

A potential baseball stadium would not be placed on the PNC Arena site.

“There’s really not room within those 80 acres to put a baseball stadium,” Fork said. “Where that be somewhere else in the community is something that we haven’t dug into yet.”