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Portland fought hard to get the Expos to move there before it was beat out by DC. The Pittsburgh Penguins almost moved there.
Before Portland became hipster central, it was a working to middle class city that enjoyed sports. The two-thirds of the population that still represents the core of 90's Portland may not be enough to support a baseball, hockey or football team.
I'd say that there's a lot of middle class sports fans across the entire 2.3 million that makes up the Portland Metro. Blazers, Timbers, Winterhawks, and so on draw pretty good crowds for their levels of play, and sports bars are usually packed for big games. At my work in Portland I hear a lot of NFL discussion on a daily basis, to say nothing of the Ducks and Beavers fans(traffic jams last Saturday as people drove south from Portland to games in Corvallis and Eugene). So even with hipster stereotypes and yuppies, there's still enough interest even if it isn't a Midwestern sports town--and all the transplants here bring their home team loyalties but will pay to watch other teams too.
Though the real issue is that no one wants to pay for a baseball or football stadium, so probably the NHL is the only league that could relocate here quickly(Paul Allen reportedly would be interested). And I think NFL would have the most interest and has the best season for Oregon's weather, though NHL could work--maybe if the team was any good. But it's not the best time for the NHL overall though, so who knows.
Sorry if this has already been said, but transplants often root for their hometown teams.
Growing up in Arizona, everyone loved sports, but nobody hardly anyone followed the Cardinals, the Dimondback, and the Suns. Nobody followed the Coyotes.
Just because Austin has the population to support a pro-team, doesn't mean that the people there would follow it. This is the main reason why Vegas doesn't have a pro-team either.
Sorry if this has already been said, but transplants often root for their hometown teams.
In baseball, that would present an interesting dilemma for a Portland baseball franchise. Do they secure a rivalry with Seattle by joining the AL West, or make an effort to lure transplanted Giant and Dodger fans by going into the NL West?
Don't agree with that. They are down but it's one of the top programs of all time.
Only two conference championships in 20 years. Think about that. They weren't in the SEC. They have an enormous budget. But during 18 of the last 20 years, they failed to win a conference championship, and clearly had no affect nationally. How many teams have done better than this over the same time period?
Texas' history doesn't come anywhere near Michigan's, but it would be a bit ridiculous to claim that "Michigan already has a pro team" (no Lions jokes, please), wouldn't it, considering their run the last couple decades? Remember, that's the comment I was referring to.
Austin doesn't even have one team, how could they support three?
MLB is out. You need a 3-4 million metro to support MLB (the current small markets have an established historic fan base). Portland is a maybe for MLB, but no way Austin.
NFL? Both could support NFL, but would Austin be able to let go of the college football stronghold?
NHL/NBA. Portland obviously supports the NBA, but I doubt Austin would be a huge NBA town (again, it's a giant college town).
Portland could do NHL I suppose.
So yea, Portland could possibly do three. Austin would probably not do much better than one pro team.
And I would consider MLS a major league team. I know they don't have the revenue numbers that the other leagues have, but it still takes a large market to support an MLS team and their attendance is near NBA/NHL per game. So Portland has two teams already.
Fixed it for you. The metro isn't dying, but St. Louis proper is, and has been for the last 50 years.
Austin probably won't be a pro sports mecca because there's a larger market 80 miles down I-35 - San Antonio, and they already have a leg up in regards to infrastructure w/ the Alamo Dome.
It's hard to compete with a big time college sports programs in mid sized markets with large universities. It would be especially hard in Texas where there are already many pro sport franchises in the other cities. Texas already has 2 NFL teams, 3 NBA teams, 2 MLB teams, 1 NHL team and 2 WNBA teams. I could imagine Austin following in the footsteps of a similar market like Raleigh and landing the NHL but that would be about it. The NFL wouldn't choose to compete with the UT football program and the Spurs are right down the road in S.A. I also don't see MLB watering down their Texas market with yet another team in the state when their two teams are already in the bottom half in league attendance.
As for the Alamodome, it has to now be one of the biggest white elephants in the US since the Spurs left it more than a decade ago. If any of the major sports wanted in that market, they had a facility waiting for them....crickets. This positions the dome as an aging mega multi-purpose facility without a true intended anchor tenant (yes, I know that UTSA football uses)
With the Alamodome being more than 20 years old, any possible pro sports expansion would almost assuredly come with a request for a new facility or an enormous overhaul.
I'd like to see Portland get a major league lacrosse team. I think lacrosse would be a good fit at Providence Park.
A major league lacrosse team is something that both native Portlanders and non-native Portlanders could root for. Few people in Portland are probably lifelong fans of any current teams. Also, Oregon does have a sizable Native American population.
I'd like to see Portland get a major league lacrosse team. I think lacrosse would be a good fit at Providence Park.
A major league lacrosse team is something that both native Portlanders and non-native Portlanders could root for. Few people in Portland are probably lifelong fans of any current teams. Also, Oregon does have a sizable Native American population.
People forget about or may not realize that there is a professional Lacrosse league(Major League Lacrosse). It is the fastest growing sport in the country and is an exciting sport. So, that could be an option for growing areas that do not have or could get another professional sports team. Rochester NY even has a team.
Fixed it for you. The metro isn't dying, but St. Louis proper is, and has been for the last 50 years.
Austin probably won't be a pro sports mecca because there's a larger market 80 miles down I-35 - San Antonio, and they already have a leg up in regards to infrastructure w/ the Alamo Dome.
St. Louis market is what is being looked at not what they refer to as the city limits. It's not booming like Austin but it is stable in terms of of economics and has a great structure for sports. Being a sports town is a small part of the stl image.
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