What City Is Most Likely to Lose a Professional Sports Franchise? (soccer, league)

[T-8]

Seems like NHL had made a back-and-forth move towards glory with its southern expansion, paying now the costs.
Once they moved the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix: somebody should have stopped them just to explain how the market does work.
The Jets in Phoenix ? Seems like you're selling ice to polar glaciers owners... n-o-b-o-d-y would buy it.
Winnipeg, Regina and Minnesota are kinda milestones NHL could never renounce. Instead, NHL headquarters totally ignorated those typical (and somehow sure) good hockey markets.

Wrong forecasts: that's the reason NHL suffers today.

Greetings from Italy... (we too have ice hockey here...)

[BelieveInCleve]

There is 3.1 million people in the Cleveland-Akron area and 4.5 million people in the Cleveland market area, there is no way we are losing a professional sports team. All the teams are doing good now. The Indians nearly beat the Red Sox last season and if they did that they would have beaten the Rockies since the Boston swept the Rockies and the Indians would have won a world series. The Browns are doing great now and nearly made it into the playoffs since they had the same record as Jacksonville but they got in instead. The Cavs are doing the best and made it all the way to the finals last year after beating the pistons. Cleveland is never losing any of the sports teams. You can expect to see a championship from one, two or all three of them within the next year. Well at least see 1 championship in Cleveland in the next year.

[AndyJ]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

The fact that they belong in Winnipeg. The fact that their "fans" only show up when theyre doing good (which is pretty much NEVER). The fact that its in the middle of the most un-hockey cities in America. Moving them from Winnipeg to Phoenix was blasphemous and an insult to tradition.[/url]

Just saw this, but totally agree - NHL doesn't belong in Phoenix of all places in my opinion. T-8 brings up a good point about it as well.

[censusdata]

Seattle will b/c of the politics involved, even though it is a large, very dense, and fast growing city

[big daryle]

Does it look like the Supersonics will be coming to OKC in 2008 or will the lawsuit prevent it from happening until 2010?

[happytown]

More than likely the Sonics will be coming to OKC Sooners than later. Whatever the case will be, they are supersonicing out of seattle. Whether it be OKC or KC.




If OKC passes the Ford Center Improvement tax then its a done deal in OKC.

[NYRangers 2008]

Originally Posted by Steve_W

SWB,
Why don't you run for mayor here in Omaha and get us a pro team. No hockey though.
The only thing we have here is Creighton Basketball.

You had a AHL team last year and they moved.

As for Buffalo, the fans up there are more rabid and loyal for their Sabres than the Bills. If anyone is leaving Buffalo it is the Bills. Did you see the Winter Classic on New Years Day? Over 70,000 loyal hockey fans filling the Bill's stadium. It was a great day for hockey. The Sabres are in Buffalo for good.

[Canes2006Champs]

If anything Seattle is in danger of losing the Sonics.

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by Galloway

yes but who cares about hockey anyways, im glad that the coyotes are in an un-hockey city. hopefully this way they will die out and the franchise will be lost forever, the same goes for other teams in the southern part of the US. the less hockey the better.

and also may i add that the year that the nhl had the lockout (2005 i think) was one of the best years of my life, no hockey on tv for a whole year!!!
hockey is like one big virus in the world of sports and it should be gone all together.

We'll gladly take hockey here in Kansas City. Hockey is highly underrated in many parts of the U.S., in my opinion.
There's nothing sporting to do around KC in the off-season, except for mediocre Chief's football (DOWN WITH KING CARL!), and college basketball, both of which annoy me almost as much as hockey does you... but not quite as much. Chiefs football is sort-of fun when they're good.

It's nice to see that nobody seems too worried about KC losing any teams. We support what we have very well... to a fault, I guess. Even the lowly, always-in-last-place (but not for long) Royals can pull in crowds of 30k+ on a nice summer evening.

[Nameless]

Originally Posted by northbound74

We'll gladly take hockey here in Kansas City. Hockey is highly underrated in many parts of the U.S., in my opinion.
There's nothing sporting to do around KC in the off-season, except for mediocre Chief's football (DOWN WITH KING CARL!), and college basketball, both of which annoy me almost as much as hockey does you... but not quite as much. Chiefs football is sort-of fun when they're good.

It's nice to see that nobody seems too worried about KC losing any teams. We support what we have very well... to a fault, I guess. Even the lowly, always-in-last-place (but not for long) Royals can pull in crowds of 30k+ on a nice summer evening.

I've always been impressed with how an area KC's size has been able to support both MLB and NFL as well as they have. It is one of the most over saturated sports markets but hey, if you guys keep up the attendance then no one has a reason to complain. (Besides your friends down I-35 waiting on their first team while you're trying to real in your 3rd) It would be neat to see an NHL team to fill up the new Sprint Center though. It sure looks like a gem.