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Next city to get a pro sports franchise?


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Which city will be the next to get pro sports?  

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  1. 1. Which city will be the next to get pro sports?

    • Las Vegas
      42
    • Norfolk/Virginia Beach
      15
    • Providence
      6
    • Austin
      5
    • Louisville
      9
    • Hartford
      23
    • Richmond
      1
    • Oklahoma City
      22
    • Birmingham
      3
    • Honolulu
      2
    • Grand Rapids
      14
    • Mexico City
      4
    • Monterrey
      4
    • San Juan
      1


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Listed are some of the larger cities/regions that currently do not have a team in what is considered the four major U.S. sports leagues (NFL - football, NBA - basketball, NHL - hockey, MLB - baseball). Which city will be the next to join the big leagues?

*Notes

Hartford had an NHL team (Whalers) from 1972-1997.

Las Vegas will host the NBA All-Star Game in 2007

San Juan split home dates with the MLB's Montreal Expos for two seasons

Mexico City has hosted several NFL preseason games including one in 1994 which drew the largest crowd in NFL history (112,376), will also host the first ever NFL regular season game held outside the U.S. on October 2, 2005.

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  • It would be nice to see Louisville get an baseball team (especially with the Louisville Slugger museum there)

  • As much as I would like to see Providence attached to a professional sports team, it seems to me that it would be in too much competition with Boston.

  • Norfolk/Hampton Roads deserves a major league team. It is the largest metro in the country without one.

  • Hartford I might could see getting a team, if the attendence could be maintained. Why did the Whalers leave?

  • Austin, Richmond, Oklahoma City, Birmingham, and Las Vegas seem like they could support one. (I'm amazed that Austin and Birmingham don't have one already!)

  • A Michigan forumer might could enlighten me on the situation, but I doubt GR could support one.

  • Honolulu seems to isolated to support any professional team other than one of the minor ones, like arena football.

  • as for international cities listed here, San Juan would probably stand the best chance of the ones listed. Mexico City seems a bit too far off and I'm not quite sure what to think about Monterrey. It might could, though.

Here's a couple to think about:

  • Mobile (close proximity to Biloxi, New Orleans, Pensacola, and Tallahassee if you stretch it some)

  • Ottawa (it may have good competition from the canadian league football, though)

  • Any of the cities between Detroit and Toronto (look at the large markets they are between!)

  • Any of the sizable midwestern cities like Des moines, the Quad cities, Omaha, Wichita, etc.

  • The NC Triad (All of NC's other major metros have one, so why not?)

I'll see what else I can think of.

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Hartford lost the Whalers because of managment and a corupt Connecticut government. It is a long story to get into.

Anyways, Connecticut can support UConn basketball which draw 16,000+ a game, and support UConn football which get 40,000+ a game. The Whalers drew good when they had good teams, and in their last year averaged a little over 13,500 in a 15,000 seat arena.

With the upsqing in Hartford, I could see another NHL team relocate there within the next 5-10 years, and possibly a NBA team once Hartford gets rolling since Connecticut is such a big time basketball state.

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Los Angeles (not listed) has the best chance of any but of the list, Las Vegas will be next. Austin will follow. Hampton Roads may be 3rd IF they are will together and not against each other for once.

Mexico City has potenital simply due to its massive market.

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Las Vegas, definitely. The city has massive momentum with its development and population surge, along with NASCAR locating a huge race there. There is also a significant number of business and city leaders who are pushing to either get a new franchise or move an old one.

Birmingham would be my next pick. Even though it is close to Atlanta, many people that live there would gladly accept a franchise...probably to distinguish themselves from Atlanta!

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Austin, Richmond, Oklahoma City, Birmingham, and Las Vegas seem like they could support one. (I'm amazed that Austin and Birmingham don't have one already!)

I don't know why you are surprised with Austin. First off they are so into there college sports that any other sport will be secondary. Second, it is overshadowed by Dallas and Houston and San Antonio. It doesn't help that San Antonio is only 80 miles down the road. It's not a top 50 market as well at least not yet.

Birmingham and Oklahoma City are interesting choices but yet they are sitting in a state where the college game is just a religion. They eat, live, and sleep college sports especially.

I don't know about Las Vegas. Wouldn't the gambling part of that city get in there way sometimes. That kind of turns off some of the commissioners. I forgot which one but one of them said he has no intentions of ever putting a team in Las Vegas. I think it was Bud Selig or Paul Tagliablue.

I can see Richmond though but only 1 possibly two teams tops.

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While Las Vegas seems to make the most sense, it won't happen. No major league sport is going to drop a team into gambling's playland. Teams, players, etc would be too accessible by professional gamblers, bookies, etc. ... and no sport wants its players associating with the gambling profession.

Major league baseball banned Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle from all MLB activities because of their affiations with casinos in the 1970's...

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Or perhaps to San Antonio, where they are moving now until the mess subsides.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dont worry us down here will take good care of them, Till they can go back home :thumbsup: Not to mention they are use to San Antonio they have been here before. Now as to the topic I believe Hampton Roads" Va beach, Norfolk etc" will be next to get a team D.C is quite a drive and thats the closest city with pro teams. When I was living in Hampton roads from what I remember they were trying to get the Expos few years ago, but it didn't work out. Best bet is they get a baseball team the stadium they already have for the Tides can easily be expanded to major league status.

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Hartford will be next in line. The NHL will have teams still not able to make money after the current CBA and will look to relocate. With Hartford's rebirth downtown, and numerous projects underway, Hartford is a very attractive market for the NHL and soon the NBA with all the basketball tradition Connecticut now has.

Hartford is the nations largest media market without a pro team at #28. Combine the media market with Springfield (Which had a large Whaler fan base) and you have the nations 21st largest market.

1 New York 7,375,530 6.692

2 Los Angeles 5,536,430 5.023

3 Chicago 3,430,790 3.113

4 Philadelphia 2,925,560 2.654

5 Boston (Manchester) 2,375,310 2.155

6 San Francisco-Oak-San Jose 2,355,740 2.137

7 Dallas-Ft. Worth 2,336,140 2.120

8 Washington, DC (Hagrstwn) 2,252,550 2.044

9 Atlanta 2,097,220 1.903

10 Houston 1,938,670 1.759

11 Detroit 1,936,350 1.757

12 Tampa-St. Pete (Sarasota) 1,710,400 1.552

13 Seattle-Tacoma 1,701,950 1.544

14 Phoenix (Prescott) 1,660,430 1.507

15 Minneapolis-St. Paul 1,652,940 1.500

16 Cleveland-Akron (Canton) 1,541,780 1.399

17 Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 1,522,960 1.382

18 Denver 1,415,180 1.284

19 Sacramnto-Stkton-Modesto 1,345,820 1.221

20 Orlando-Daytona Bch-Melbrn 1,345,700 1.221

21 St. Louis 1,222,380 1.109

22 Pittsburgh 1,169,800 1.061

23 Portland, OR 1,099,890 0.998

24 Baltimore 1,089,220 0.988

25 Indianapolis 1,053,750 0.956

26 San Diego 1,026,160 0.931

27 Charlotte 1,020,130 0.926

28 Hartford & New Haven 1,013,350 0.919

29 Raleigh-Durham (Fayetvlle) 985,200 0.894

30 Nashville 927,500 0.842

31 Kansas City 903,540 0.820

32 Columbus, OH 890,770 0.808

33 Milwaukee 880,390 0.799

34 Cincinnati 880,190 0.799

35 Greenvll-Spart-Ashevll-And 815,460 0.740

36 Salt Lake City 810,830 0.736

37 San Antonio 760,410 0.690

38 West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce 751,930 0.682

39 Grand Rapids-Kalmzoo-B.Crk 731,630 0.664

40 Birmingham (Ann, Tusc) 716,520 0.650

41 Harrisburg-Lncstr-Leb-York 707,010 0.641

42 Norfolk-Portsmth-Newpt Nws 704,810 0.640

43 New Orleans 672,150 0.610

44 Memphis 657,670 0.597

45 Oklahoma City 655,400 0.595

46 Albuquerque-Santa Fe 653,680 0.593

47 Greensboro-H.Point-W.Salem 652,020 0.592

48 Las Vegas 651,110 0.591

49 Buffalo 644,430 0.585

50 Louisville 643,290 0.584

51 Providence-New Bedford 639,590 0.580

52 Jacksonville 624,220 0.566

53 Austin 589,360 0.535

54 Wilkes Barre-Scranton 588,540 0.534

55 Albany-Schenectady-Troy 552,250 0.501

56 Fresno-Visalia 546,210 0.496

57 Little Rock-Pine Bluff 531,470 0.482

58 Knoxville 516,180 0.468

59 Dayton 513,610 0.466

60 Richmond-Petersburg 510,770 0.463

61 Tulsa 510,480 0.463

62 Mobile-Pensacola (Ft Walt) 501,130 0.455

63 Lexington 478,560 0.434

64 Charleston-Huntington 477,890 0.434

65 Flint-Saginaw-Bay City 475,500 0.431

66 Ft. Myers-Naples 461,920 0.419

67 Wichita-Hutchinson Plus 446,820 0.405

68 Roanoke-Lynchburg 440,390 0.400

69 Green Bay-Appleton 432,810 0.393

70 Toledo 426,520 0.387

71 Tucson (Sierra Vista) 422,480 0.383

72 Honolulu 414,960 0.377

73 Des Moines-Ames 413,590 0.375

74 Portland-Auburn 407,050 0.369

75 Omaha 399,830 0.363

76 Syracuse 398,240 0.361

77 Springfield, MO 395,820 0.359

78 Spokane 389,630 0.354

79 Rochester, NY 385,460 0.350

80 Paducah-Cape Girard-Harsbg 383,330 0.348

81 Shreveport 382,080 0.347

82 Champaign&Sprngfld-Decatur 378,100 0.343

83 Columbia, SC 373,260 0.339

84 Huntsville-Decatur (Flor) 370,820 0.336

85 Madison 365,550 0.332

86 Chattanooga 354,230 0.321

87 South Bend-Elkhart 333,190 0.302

88 Cedar Rapids-Wtrlo-IWC&Dub 331,480 0.301

89 Jackson, MS 328,350 0.298

90 Burlington-Plattsburgh 325,720 0.296

91 Tri-Cities, TN-VA 323,690 0.294

92 Harlingen-Wslco-Brnsvl-McA 318,800 0.289

93 Colorado Springs-Pueblo 315,010 0.286

94 Waco-Temple-Bryan 310,960 0.282

95 Davenport-R.Island-Moline 308,380 0.280

96 Baton Rouge 305,810 0.277

97 Savannah 296,100 0.269

98 Johnstown-Altoona 294,810 0.267

99 El Paso (Las Cruces) 290,540 0.264

100 Evansville 288,800 0.262

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From from this website:

http://www.nielsenmedia.com/DMAs.html

I live in Durham and attend school near downtown Greensboro.....55 minute drive(gas is crushing me!). I don't think they'll combine media markets due to advertisement money overlaps....I-85/I-40 is quite populated between the two (for instance, Burlington, NC is in between both, a tad closer to Greensboro than Durham and has overlap in tv media markets, specifically Durham-based and Greensboro-based stations, so you get both ABC affiliates, etc....almost seems like one area). I'd imagine the same for some towns located between Norfolk and Richmond, but I'll doubt they'll ever become one market.......

When I lived in Annapolis, MD (30 minutes to DC and 30 minutes to Baltimore), we received broadcast from all local affiliates from both cities....

Nielsen Media Research Local Universe Estimates* (US)

*Estimates used throughout the 2005-2006 television season which starts on September 24, 2005

RANK Designated Market Area (DMA) TV Homes % of US

1 New York 7,375,530 6.692

2 Los Angeles 5,536,430 5.023

3 Chicago 3,430,790 3.113

4 Philadelphia 2,925,560 2.654

5 Boston (Manchester) 2,375,310 2.155

6 San Francisco-Oak-San Jose 2,355,740 2.137

7 Dallas-Ft. Worth 2,336,140 2.120

8 Washington, DC (Hagrstwn) 2,252,550 2.044

9 Atlanta 2,097,220 1.903

10 Houston 1,938,670 1.759

11 Detroit 1,936,350 1.757

12 Tampa-St. Pete (Sarasota) 1,710,400 1.552

13 Seattle-Tacoma 1,701,950 1.544

14 Phoenix (Prescott) 1,660,430 1.507

15 Minneapolis-St. Paul 1,652,940 1.500

16 Cleveland-Akron (Canton) 1,541,780 1.399

17 Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 1,522,960 1.382

18 Denver 1,415,180 1.284

19 Sacramnto-Stkton-Modesto 1,345,820 1.221

20 Orlando-Daytona Bch-Melbrn 1,345,700 1.221

21 St. Louis 1,222,380 1.109

22 Pittsburgh 1,169,800 1.061

23 Portland, OR 1,099,890 0.998

24 Baltimore 1,089,220 0.988

25 Indianapolis 1,053,750 0.956

26 San Diego 1,026,160 0.931

27 Charlotte 1,020,130 0.926

28 Hartford & New Haven 1,013,350 0.919

29 Raleigh-Durham (Fayetvlle) 985,200 0.894

30 Nashville 927,500 0.842

31 Kansas City 903,540 0.820

32 Columbus, OH 890,770 0.808

33 Milwaukee 880,390 0.799

34 Cincinnati 880,190 0.799

35 Greenvll-Spart-Ashevll-And 815,460 0.740

36 Salt Lake City 810,830 0.736

37 San Antonio 760,410 0.690

38 West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce 751,930 0.682

39 Grand Rapids-Kalmzoo-B.Crk 731,630 0.664

40 Birmingham (Ann, Tusc) 716,520 0.650

41 Harrisburg-Lncstr-Leb-York 707,010 0.641

42 Norfolk-Portsmth-Newpt Nws 704,810 0.640

43 New Orleans 672,150 0.610

44 Memphis 657,670 0.597

45 Oklahoma City 655,400 0.595

46 Albuquerque-Santa Fe 653,680 0.593

47 Greensboro-H.Point-W.Salem 652,020 0.592

48 Las Vegas 651,110 0.591

49 Buffalo 644,430 0.585

50 Louisville 643,290 0.584

51 Providence-New Bedford 639,590 0.580

52 Jacksonville 624,220 0.566

53 Austin 589,360 0.535

54 Wilkes Barre-Scranton 588,540 0.534

55 Albany-Schenectady-Troy 552,250 0.501

56 Fresno-Visalia 546,210 0.496

57 Little Rock-Pine Bluff 531,470 0.482

58 Knoxville 516,180 0.468

59 Dayton 513,610 0.466

60 Richmond-Petersburg 510,770 0.463

61 Tulsa 510,480 0.463

62 Mobile-Pensacola (Ft Walt) 501,130 0.455

63 Lexington 478,560 0.434

64 Charleston-Huntington 477,890 0.434

65 Flint-Saginaw-Bay City 475,500 0.431

66 Ft. Myers-Naples 461,920 0.419

67 Wichita-Hutchinson Plus 446,820 0.405

68 Roanoke-Lynchburg 440,390 0.400

69 Green Bay-Appleton 432,810 0.393

70 Toledo 426,520 0.387

71 Tucson (Sierra Vista) 422,480 0.383

72 Honolulu 414,960 0.377

73 Des Moines-Ames 413,590 0.375

74 Portland-Auburn 407,050 0.369

75 Omaha 399,830 0.363

76 Syracuse 398,240 0.361

77 Springfield, MO 395,820 0.359

78 Spokane 389,630 0.354

79 Rochester, NY 385,460 0.350

80 Paducah-Cape Girard-Harsbg 383,330 0.348

81 Shreveport 382,080 0.347

82 Champaign&Sprngfld-Decatur 378,100 0.343

83 Columbia, SC 373,260 0.339

84 Huntsville-Decatur (Flor) 370,820 0.336

85 Madison 365,550 0.332

86 Chattanooga 354,230 0.321

87 South Bend-Elkhart 333,190 0.302

88 Cedar Rapids-Wtrlo-IWC&Dub 331,480 0.301

89 Jackson, MS 328,350 0.298

90 Burlington-Plattsburgh 325,720 0.296

91 Tri-Cities, TN-VA 323,690 0.294

92 Harlingen-Wslco-Brnsvl-McA 318,800 0.289

93 Colorado Springs-Pueblo 315,010 0.286

94 Waco-Temple-Bryan 310,960 0.282

95 Davenport-R.Island-Moline 308,380 0.280

96 Baton Rouge 305,810 0.277

97 Savannah 296,100 0.269

98 Johnstown-Altoona 294,810 0.267

99 El Paso (Las Cruces) 290,540 0.264

100 Evansville 288,800 0.262

101 Charleston, SC 283,730 0.257

102 Youngstown 276,720 0.251

103 Lincoln & Hastings-Krny 274,150 0.249

104 Ft. Smith-Fay-Sprngdl-Rgrs 273,000 0.248

105 Greenville-N.Bern-Washngtn 271,130 0.246

106 Ft. Wayne 270,500 0.245

107 Myrtle Beach-Florence 265,770 0.241

108 Springfield-Holyoke 264,840 0.240

109 Tallahassee-Thomasville 261,250 0.237

110 Lansing 256,790 0.233

111 Tyler-Longview(Lfkn&Ncgd) 255,770 0.232

112 Reno 255,090 0.231

113 Traverse City-Cadillac 247,600 0.225

114 Sioux Falls(Mitchell) 246,020 0.223

115 Augusta 245,590 0.223

116 Montgomery-Selma 245,090 0.222

117 Peoria-Bloomington 241,800 0.219

118 Fargo-Valley City 234,190 0.212

119 Boise 230,100 0.209

120 Macon 229,870 0.209

121 Eugene 229,280 0.208

122 SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb 224,290 0.204

123 La Crosse-Eau Claire 224,090 0.203

124 Lafayette, LA 220,030 0.200

125 Monterey-Salinas 218,080 0.198

126 Yakima-Pasco-Rchlnd-Knnwck 211,610 0.192

127 Columbus, GA 205,300 0.186

128 Bakersfield 201,850 0.183

129 Corpus Christi 192,380 0.175

130 Chico-Redding 191,190 0.173

131 Amarillo 190,250 0.173

132 Columbus-Tupelo-West Point 186,510 0.169

133 Rockford 183,090 0.166

134 Wausau-Rhinelander 182,620 0.166

135 Monroe-El Dorado 174,370 0.158

136 Topeka 170,650 0.155

137 Duluth-Superior 168,650 0.153

138 Columbia-Jefferson City 167,860 0.152

139 Wilmington 167,810 0.152

140 Beaumont-Port Arthur 167,430 0.152

141 Medford-Klamath Falls 163,090 0.148

142 Erie 158,660 0.144

143 Sioux City 156,950 0.142

144 Wichita Falls & Lawton 154,960 0.141

145 Joplin-Pittsburg 153,720 0.139

146 Lubbock 152,150 0.138

147 Albany, GA 152,140 0.138

148 Salisbury 147,890 0.134

149 Bluefield-Beckley-Oak Hill 145,850 0.132

150 Terre Haute 145,630 0.132

151 Bangor 142,790 0.130

152 Rochestr-Mason City-Austin 142,770 0.130

153 Palm Springs 142,730 0.130

154 Wheeling-Steubenville 142,020 0.129

155 Anchorage 141,290 0.128

156 Binghamton 138,560 0.126

157 Panama City 136,450 0.124

158 Biloxi-Gulfport 135,540 0.123

159 Odessa-Midland 135,100 0.123

160 Minot-Bismarck-Dickinson 133,910 0.122

161 Sherman-Ada 124,060 0.113

162 Gainesville 117,190 0.106

163 Idaho Falls-Pocatello 114,560 0.104

164 Abilene-Sweetwater 112,510 0.102

165 Clarksburg-Weston 108,730 0.099

166 Utica 106,130 0.096

167 Hattiesburg-Laurel 105,000 0.095

168 Missoula 104,700 0.095

169 Quincy-Hannibal-Keokuk 103,890 0.094

170 Yuma-El Centro 103,170 0.094

171 Billings 102,620 0.093

172 Dothan 98,370 0.089

173 Elmira (Corning) 97,210 0.088

174 Jackson, TN 95,010 0.086

175 Lake Charles 94,090 0.085

176 Alexandria, LA 93,120 0.085

177 Rapid City 91,070 0.083

178 Watertown 90,930 0.083

179 Jonesboro 89,530 0.081

180 Marquette 89,160 0.081

181 Harrisonburg 85,870 0.078

182 Greenwood-Greenville 76,800 0.070

183 Bowling Green 75,420 0.068

184 Meridian 71,210 0.065

185 Lima 70,940 0.064

186 Charlottesville 69,750 0.063

187 Grand Junction-Montrose 65,190 0.059

188 Laredo 64,410 0.058

189 Great Falls 64,130 0.058

190 Parkersburg 63,990 0.058

191 Lafayette, IN 63,330 0.057

192 Twin Falls 60,400 0.055

193 Butte-Bozeman 59,300 0.054

194 Eureka 58,340 0.053

195 Cheyenne-Scottsbluff 54,320 0.049

196 Bend, OR 54,250 0.049

197 San Angelo 53,330 0.048

198 Casper-Riverton 52,070 0.047

199 Ottumwa-Kirksville 51,290 0.047

200 Mankato 50,930 0.046

201 St. Joseph 45,840 0.042

202 Zanesville 33,080 0.030

203 Fairbanks 32,310 0.029

204 Presque Isle 31,140 0.028

205 Victoria 30,250 0.027

206 Helena 25,810 0.023

207 Juneau 24,130 0.022

208 Alpena 17,790 0.016

209 North Platte 15,320 0.014

210 Glendive 5,020 0.005

Total 110,213,910 100.

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