Add Salt Lake City to the list of potential homes for expansion franchises in Major League Baseball.

A group led by former Utah Jazz owner Gail Miller and known as “Big League Utah” on Wednesday announced it is joining the league’s expansion race. It cited population growth, the economy, sports history, and the potential for Utah to be the “Future of America’s Pastime.”

The group has had conversations with Major League Baseball about its expansion efforts for the past year, according to a press release on the organization’s website.

“Over the past year, we have enjoyed our ongoing conversation with Major League Baseball and have formally registered our interest in Salt Lake being considered an expansion market,” CEO of the Larry H. Miller Company, Steve Starks, said in the release.

“We have strong reasons to believe we will be a viable candidate,” he explained. “The response has been universally enthusiastic as we have invited others to join the coalition. Anytime you’re in the running to add a professional baseball team to your market, you jump at that opportunity. Baseball becomes synonymous with great cities across this country. It helps form their identity.”

Starks also told ESPN that a survey of local fans revealed they wanted an MLB team in Salt Lake more than an NFL team.

Salt Lake City is home to the NBA’s Utah Jazz and Triple-A baseball’s Salt Lake Bees. The Bees are moving to South Jordan, Utah, which would make a potential Salt Lake team one of six big league teams to have its Triple-A affiliate within 45 miles.

“There’s significant activity and support in this sports space,” Jeff Robbins, president and CEO of the Utah Sports Commission, told The Dallas Express. “Looking at bringing the MLB in is something that people are really interested in — looking at the prospects of doing that.”

“There’s a big fanbase here,” he continued. “If you look at the other professional franchises, they’ve done really, really well, and then the Olympics is a huge undertaking… I think there’s a desire to continue to grow sports; there’s a desire to look at bringing in other franchises that might make sense.”

The coalition has plans to build a new MLB stadium in Salt Lake with the support of local businesses and partnerships.

“Rocky Mountain Power — that’s a big utility that has a development and some other partners that certainly make it attractive to look at bringing in an MLB expansion team or reaction franchise,” Robbins explained.

“…Just going down the road in terms of exploring a future bid, I think there’s real excitement around here from the governor on down in terms of the prospect of doing that.”

Major League Baseball has long been rumored to be eyeing expansion from 30 to 32 teams, which Commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed in an interview with ESPN last summer.

However, ESPN also reports that the league will not begin to expand until the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays settle disputes over new stadiums amid relocation rumors.

The Athletics are leaning toward relocating to Las Vegas when their lease ends after the 2024 season, while Tampa’s situation is less clear.

The MLB has not added an expansion franchise since the Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks joined in 1998, five years after the league added the Florida Marlins and the Colorado Rockies.

Other candidates often mentioned in expansion talks include Nashville, Charlotte, Montreal, Las Vegas, Portland, and Mexico City.