An Argument for Big League Sports in Growing Idaho

We’ll be told we don’t have the population to support big league sports.  Still, the growth of the Treasure Valley is putting it on an almost par for size with some of the smaller markets in some leagues.  The population of Boise is larger than Green Bay, Wisconsin and about equal to Buffalo, New York. 

I bring Buffalo into this conversation because ownership is making noise about moving the team if it can’t get a new stadium.  The Bills starting quarterback is a known commodity in these parts.  Josh Allen played for the Wyoming Cowboys.  A doctor I know, Shane Hunsaker, graduated the same school.  The doctor would be an immediate season ticket holder if the Bills landed in either Boise or Salt Lake City.  The latter would be a more likely possibility but at the moment, Buffalo is eyeing Texas.

There are some Bills fans in Twin Falls.  One day a few years ago, I met one while shopping at Walmart.  The house on Filer Avenue with both Bills and Steelers flags isn’t a shock.  The drive between the cities is three hours.  The fan bases overlap along the state line.

For the time being, college football is still king in Idaho.  Baseball is a bit like professional football.  There aren’t any teams nearby and people generally pick from the closest half-dozen.  The Dodgers, Giants and A’s have the best histories but I suppose if you live in the panhandle, you suffer along with the Mariners.

By the way, there had been a quiet push behind the scenes to bring minor league baseball back to Twin Falls.  Some of the best talent in baseball passed through the city and the state in decades past.  Getting a team is complicated by a lack of a playing facility, expensive real estate costs and because the minor leagues have contracted.

I believe the city could support baseball and I believe any big league teams located in Boise would draw from Twin Falls, Pocatello and Idaho Falls.  Oh, and if you can afford a home right now, you can afford tickets.