If America's professional sports leagues were established today, what cities would gain or lose teams? (market, neighborhood)
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Omaha would be among the smallest. But I believe there is enough sustainable population within its metro and CSA and population within a 2 hour radius of its downtown core, to sustain 1 major league franchise. Just one- out of NHL, MIS or NBA..
The bigger and more difficult piece, is the corporate support and sponsorship part. Without that, major league professional sports for Omaha is a pipe dream.
I'm on the fence about Omaha. I think it needs to grow some more before it can be in the convo for expansion. Although, there's no doubt a pro sports team would be welcomed there.
A lot of people in Omaha tend to be KC fans (Royals/Chiefs) or just Husker fans. The thing about it is, Omaha doesn't have enough population in a 100-200 mile radius. And much of that area surrounding Omaha already has loyalty to the Chiefs. So as another poster said, it will be tough to even establish a regional reach when much of said region already has loyalty to another team.
I'm not saying it would/could never happen, but that Omaha just isn't there yet. I do see Omaha growing in the future though, so maybe it will be eventually
I'm on the fence about Omaha. I think it needs to grow some more before it can be in the convo for expansion. Although, there's no doubt a pro sports team would be welcomed there.
A lot of people in Omaha tend to be KC fans (Royals/Chiefs) or just Husker fans. The thing about it is, Omaha doesn't have enough population in a 100-200 mile radius. And much of that area surrounding Omaha already has loyalty to the Chiefs. So as another poster said, it will be tough to even establish a regional reach when much of said region already has loyalty to another team.
I'm not saying it would/could never happen, but that Omaha just isn't there yet. I do see Omaha growing in the future though, so maybe it will be eventually
There are not as many Chiefs or Royals fans in Omaha than you think. When the Dallas Cowboys were winning Super Bowls in the 90’s, most NFL fans here were Cowboys fans.
But, I digress there, lol. I’m not talking about NFL or MLB for Omaha. I agree, not big enough. But- for NHL, MIS or NBA.. just ONE of those 3, from a population standpoint, Omaha is big enough.
The biggest snafu, as I’ve already stated, it’s the corporate support piece. Without that, forget it.
There are not as many Chiefs or Royals fans in Omaha than you think. When the Dallas Cowboys were winning Super Bowls in the 90’s, most NFL fans here were Cowboys fans.
But, I digress there, lol. I’m not talking about NFL or MLB for Omaha. I agree, not big enough. But- for NHL, MIS or NBA.. just ONE of those 3, from a population standpoint, Omaha is big enough.
The biggest snafu, as I’ve already stated, it’s the corporate support piece. Without that, forget it.
Agreed. I think an NBA team would be really great for Omaha, as the area loves basketball and they'd be able to draw Lincoln area fans as well. So I think they could support it and they already support Creighton quite well too. The 50 mile radius population for the area is 1,355,899, with a growth rate of 10.3% of 10 years according to the site, so population isn't a problem for an NBA team at least. But a couple cons: first, the lack of corporate support, like you mentioned, and two, the amount of teams that are also viable for NBA basketball. The NBA says that it plans to want to go back to Seattle, and adding another team alongside them would include cities like Vancouver, Kansas City, Louisville, the Norfolk area, and many others. Does Omaha have the clout to contend with a group like Louisville could put together? an NBA ready arena in downtown (Omaha has the CHI Center, Louisville with the KFC Yum Center), a basketball crazy market, a market that doesn't have any other Big 5 clubs, and a larger population base (Louisville's 50 mile radius population is larger by about 300,000 and Lexington falls just outside that base; if increased to 75 miles, it becomes 2.7 million.
Outside of the struggling Florida baseball teams, the Marlins & Rays, baseball would never leave the other traditional cities that are mentioned in here. There's not too many market/cities that actually want a team. I know Montreal wants the Expos back, Portland Oregon discussed it, and maybe NY could absorb a third team but having a MLB team is not easy at all. In the NFL you only have 8 home games so that's easy to pull off as most teams draw fans from their cities as well as fans from all over the state they reside in. Baseball is 85 grueling home games in big stadiums with no time clock. A city has to have a nice sized metro that has disposable income and baseball loving fans to pull off having a team. Plus you have to have your spring training facility as well as your AAA, AA, A minor league teams organized and squared away. A MLB team is a massive operation
Outside of the struggling Florida baseball teams, the Marlins & Rays, baseball would never leave the other traditional cities that are mentioned in here. There's not too many market/cities that actually want a team. I know Montreal wants the Expos back, Portland Oregon discussed it, and maybe NY could absorb a third team but having a MLB team is not easy at all. In the NFL you only have 8 home games so that's easy to pull off as most teams draw fans from their cities as well as fans from all over the state they reside in. Baseball is 85 grueling home games in big stadiums with no time clock. A city has to have a nice sized metro that has disposable income and baseball loving fans to pull off having a team. Plus you have to have your spring training facility as well as your AAA, AA, A minor league teams organized and squared away. A MLB team is a massive operation
Outside of the struggling Florida baseball teams, the Marlins & Rays, baseball would never leave the other traditional cities that are mentioned in here. There's not too many market/cities that actually want a team. I know Montreal wants the Expos back, Portland Oregon discussed it, and maybe NY could absorb a third team but having a MLB team is not easy at all. In the NFL you only have 8 home games so that's easy to pull off as most teams draw fans from their cities as well as fans from all over the state they reside in. Baseball is 85 grueling home games in big stadiums with no time clock. A city has to have a nice sized metro that has disposable income and baseball loving fans to pull off having a team. Plus you have to have your spring training facility as well as your AAA, AA, A minor league teams organized and squared away. A MLB team is a massive operation
Yes, I keep hearing they are looking to modify some MLB rules to shorten the games. Its fan base has been shrinking the past ten years across the board, while the NHL has been growing.
Seattle's getting its NBA team back probably and Louisville, KC, and Las Vegas are fighting it out for the other team.
Nashville has an MLB ownership group and available land for a downtown facing stadium next to Nissan where the Titans play. MLB is in too many declining markets and too few fast growers. I think Nashville would be a great place to move the Orioles.
Seattle's getting its NBA team back probably and Louisville, KC, and Las Vegas are fighting it out for the other team.
Nashville has an MLB ownership group and available land for a downtown facing stadium next to Nissan where the Titans play. MLB is in too many declining markets and too few fast growers. I think Nashville would be a great place to move the Orioles.
problem is, Nashville already has 3 teams, and yes while its growing, its only at about 2 million in the metro right now. There's already NFL, NHL, and MLS there, and if you have a 40,000 seat stadium and you want 75% capacity, then you're looking at needing to sell 2,430,000 tickets a year to get 75% capacity. Add to the fact that Nashville doesn't really have any major metros nearby (Memphis is what 2 and a half hours away?) and that the sports market is already congested (remember Nashville just built a few years ago a new park for its AAA minor league club) with 3 other pro sports teams makes me think Nashville might not be the best choice. I'd probably put the two extra teams in San Antonio and Montreal...
Seattle's getting its NBA team back probably and Louisville, KC, and Las Vegas are fighting it out for the other team.
Nashville has an MLB ownership group and available land for a downtown facing stadium next to Nissan where the Titans play. MLB is in too many declining markets and too few fast growers. I think Nashville would be a great place to move the Orioles.
The Orioles aren't going anywhere. That's a classic traditional team with an amazing stadium. If any team were even close to being moved it would be the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Orioles aren't going anywhere. That's a classic traditional team with an amazing stadium. If any team were even close to being moved it would be the Tampa Bay Rays.
This. Even for as long and bad as the O's have been there's too much history and tradition there in a great ballpark (my favorite) for them to move. I think it would be just as devastating as when Irsay high tailed the Colts out of town in the middle of the night.
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