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I'm going to stick with US only cities... because I think the major American leagues could definitely find support in Vancouver, Toronto, and Mexico City due to market size alone and possibly the biggest European markets like London and Paris, though travel would be an issue.
Let's start with the obvious.
Los Angeles needs an NFL team.
The next most obvious is probably the NBA coming back to Seattle.
Other than that, I think there are a handful of mid-sized metro areas that could potentially support a pro franchise that are currently without one.
Austin, Louisville, Las Vegas (gambling issues...), Birmingham, Louisville, Raleigh (though its proximity to Charlotte may be problematic) Virginia Beach or Richmond, the Inland Empire, etc. come to mind.
Atlanta is problematic to Birmingham as well. Birmingham will NEVER get any pro team..........period
I wouldn't count on it. Farmer's Field was the most realistic option, given that there was a financier behind it (AEG), but that fell through because the sale of AEG really screwed things up.
All the other options (Carson, Inglewood) are even more far-fetched.
>inb4 cities voted yes on them
Cities vote yes on almost everything all the time if there is a way to increase city coffers.
I still would love to see a NFL team in VEGAS thou.
Atlanta is problematic to Birmingham as well. Birmingham will NEVER get any pro team..........period
I agree that Atlanta's proximity to Birmingham is problematic, but I wouldn't say Birmingham will NEVER get a pro team. However, it is going to take several things coming together... none of which are happening at the moment (a facility to be built, a willing ownership group, a league wanting to expand, etc.)
Isn't there some sort of double jeopardy or three strikes and your out law in regards to franchises? If a city couldn't keep one hockey team, okay--if a city lost two though, maybe you're not a good hockey market.
Then again since their last two teams left for Calgary and Winnipeg, maybe it's just another potential future team relocation to Canada--and lord knows, people in Canada really want more hockey teams.
I made the point earlier that the city didn't "lose" the NHL teams, they were simply sold to outside buyers that moved them - much like the NBA team that left Seattle or the NFL teams (both of them) that left LA. It wasn't the city's fault and had nothing to do with the city itself.
I agree that Atlanta's proximity to Birmingham is problematic, but I wouldn't say Birmingham will NEVER get a pro team. However, it is going to take several things coming together... none of which are happening at the moment (a facility to be built, a willing ownership group, a league wanting to expand, etc.)
There are other cities that are in close proximity that have NFL/MLB/NHL teams...Baltimore and DC are a good example of that. Birmingham will probably need to grow a little first.
I do think the Hampton Roads area could use a team (NBA jumps out the most). I think that's a big enough region to support major league sports. My concern would be that the Military population is transient and that may not bode well for drawing new fans (transient people allegedly already support teams). Richmond could probably support a team too, but I think the Hampton Roads area is a more appealing option due to the size and relatively rapid growth.
Perhaps the biggest roadblock for either of those VA areas potentially getting a team is politics. The vast majority (~80%) of RVA metro's population lives outside of the City of Richmond, and their counties/cities want nothing to do with building a new arena to attract a team (which was also pretty much how Richmond lost its AAA baseball team in 2008). Similar issues exist in Hampton Roads with all of the Seven Cities being in competition with each other, especially Norfolk and Virginia Beach (example: the city council of VB recently voted 7-2 against building an access road that would help with traffic flow to/from a new outlet mall just on the Norfolk side of the city limits).
The regions are big enough, but that doesn't matter because there's less regionalism in those areas of VA, likely due in large part to the Commonwealth's setup of "independent cities."
Similar issues exist in Hampton Roads with all of the Seven Cities being in competition with each other, especially Norfolk and Virginia Beach (example: the city council of VB recently voted 7-2 against building an access road that would help with traffic flow to/from a new outlet mall just on the Norfolk side of the city limits).
The regions are big enough, but that doesn't matter because there's less regionalism in those areas of VA, likely due in large part to the Commonwealth's setup of "independent cities."
This is not really true. There IS a large sense of regionalism...but that does not stop individual cities sense of individualism...nor should it, many people misinterpret these things. Voting against an access road for an outlet mall and supporting a professional team that represents your region are two separate issues.
I've always felt like Charlotte (or the Carolinas, in general) could use a MLB team. That area is a no-man's land, with people kind of rooting for the Braves by default.
I've always felt like Charlotte (or the Carolinas, in general) could use a MLB team. That area is a no-man's land, with people kind of rooting for the Braves by default.
Charlotte would be hard-pressed to support THREE pro franchises though. Perhaps it would make more sense for a pro baseball team to set up shop in Raleigh.
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There are other cities that are in close proximity that have NFL/MLB/NHL teams...Baltimore and DC are a good example of that. Birmingham will probably need to grow a little first.
