Major League Baseball lobbies up in Nashville

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred’s office has signed up a team of five lobbyists at the Tennessee Capitol. They include Catie Lane Bailey, Annie Beckstrom, Mack Cooper, and Nicole Osborne Watson of Holland & Knight (the former Waller Lansden), which successfully advocated for $500 million in bonds for a new Tennessee Titans stadium in Nashville last year. Also hired last week was Tony Thompson, the son of the late actor and politician Fred Thompson (R-Lawrenceburg).

The registration forms don’t indicate what Manfred’s office wants from Nashville lawmakers, but the commissioner has publicly speculated about the Tennessee capital being in the mix for an eventual expansion team. A more mundane explanation might be pending legislation to remove a requirement for sportsbooks to use official league data under Tennessee’s sports gaming program.

Former Oakland A’s pitcher Dave Stewart has been leading an effort to bring a major league franchise to Nashville, with hopes of building a stadium near Tennessee State University. But while the group has gained celebrity backing and media attention over the last few years, it hasn’t included the sort of multi-billionaire investor that be able to cover the huge cost of landing and operating a team. The Tennessee Lookout reported in 2020 that former Gov. Bill Haslam had held serious talks with Manfred about leading a separate effort. But Haslam has since bought into the NHL’s Nashville Predators and is scheduled to become the majority owner in 2025.

In another twist, the Holland & Knight lobbying team landed another major sports client last week — the National Basketball Association.