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MLS blows the WNBA & MLR out of the water when it comes to attendance and revenue.
Roster depth is getting stronger by the year. The league has been growing at a sustainable rate. There is a great emphasis on attracting young talent from the throughout the Americas before such players move on to the world's best clubs in Europe.
It's much closer in profile to a "top league" than it is to second rate leagues that are still operating at a loss.
The WNBA is he TOP Women's Basketball League in the World. Women's Basketball just isn't that popular but they may see an uptick here soon.
The MLS is nowhere near the top Men's soccer league in the World
MLR is a startup league...essentially the Rugby version on the MLS
You could easily make the case that MLB should condense. 4 teams could fold (Oakland the two Florida teams and Kansas City). MLB has a big passion gap. Outside of NY, LA, Boston, Chicago and St. Louis, baseball's just not a thing on the level of other sports. MLB used to be # 2 in popularity and now I would rank it a distant third. And not having a salary cap means that the cities I just mentioned aren't down for very long, and are most often on top or near the top of the payroll expenditures, because of merchandising and local ratings, as well as attendance revenue.
I don't think it's a good idea for any of these leagues to expand any further, personally. Even the NFL, if it were to expand, and I think it will, they will target European cities, or possibly Mexico City. Nothing state side.
Edit: I think an idea that makes a lot of sense is to take my Brooklyn Nets (formerly New Jersey Nets) and relocate them to Louisville. Louisville could easily support an NBA team.)
All this to say that a city/region landing an MLS team is not the same as NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL. Period.
Even NHL is only just starting to REALLY be worthy of that conversation. I say that living just a few miles away from allegedly one of the "top" NHL fanbase/gameday atmosphere's in the league. I want to be excited about hockey...I really really do. lol
That said Raleigh landing a NFL team (as mentioned upthread)...ain't happening. Yes Raleigh/The Triangle is now larger than Charlotte was when the Panther's started in the mid 90s...but the Panthers aren't "Charlotte's" team... they are the team for "The Carolinas". Charlotte makes more sense logistically because it sits on the border with SC thus pulling from both states in fandom. No way the NFL would siphon off the Panther's fanbase by putting a team in The Triangle.
Honestly; none of the cities in this poll have much of a chance of getting an NFL team. Most could probably support a NHL or MLB team.
Especially given that many on the list are a reasonable drive to an NFL stadium and it is a one game a week league. So, if you are in Rochester or Syracuse, you can take the 1 to a little over 2 hour drive to Highmark Stadium for an NFL game. From Louisville, you can get to a game in Indianapolis or Cincinnati in less than 2 hours. You could even drive the few hours from Omaha to Arrowhead in KC or Des Moines to US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. So, NFL teams are generally viewed from a regional lens for that reason.
Once a week, and in the middle of the day on a weekend. Buffalo and Green Bay make it work, but I doubt either would be awarded a team today. Both have had to hold fast against plans to move to bigger cities already, supported by college-like fan bases.
I can't imagine being a fan in Buffalo on Thursday or Monday Night, with the game starting at 8:30 for West Coast viewers and ending at 11:30 or 12:00, then trying to drive for two hours. Might as well take a sick day on Tuesday.
(For that matter, being a West Coaster I can't imagine any event lasting to 11:30.)
Once a week, and in the middle of the day on a weekend. Buffalo and Green Bay make it work, but I doubt either would be awarded a team today. Both have had to hold fast against plans to move to bigger cities already, supported by college-like fan bases.
I can't imagine being a fan in Buffalo on Thursday or Monday Night, with the game starting at 8:30 for West Coast viewers and ending at 11:30 or 12:00, then trying to drive for two hours. Might as well take a sick day on Tuesday.
(For that matter, being a West Coaster I can't imagine any event lasting to 11:30.)
No different than any other Eastern Time Zone team in regard to late start times. People travel from all over for their favorite team in every city.
Last edited by RocketSci; 05-02-2024 at 04:53 PM..
Once a week, and in the middle of the day on a weekend. Buffalo and Green Bay make it work, but I doubt either would be awarded a team today. Both have had to hold fast against plans to move to bigger cities already, supported by college-like fan bases.
I can't imagine being a fan in Buffalo on Thursday or Monday Night, with the game starting at 8:30 for West Coast viewers and ending at 11:30 or 12:00, then trying to drive for two hours. Might as well take a sick day on Tuesday.
(For that matter, being a West Coaster I can't imagine any event lasting to 11:30.)
The thing that people forget in regards to Buffalo is that it is next to the biggest concentration of people in Canada with the Golden Horseshoe region, which has close to 10 million people right across the border: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Horseshoe
So, it essentially has an area similar to the Chicagoland area right next to it and about 15% of Bills season ticket holders come from Canada. Same goes for the Sabres of the NHL. So, that is also in the back pocket for those teams in Buffalo.
This video gets into this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARqUZ5nmG1g (this doesn't even include much of the Twin Tiers of NY and PA and even parts of NW PA/the Erie metro area)
Within something like 3 hours of Highmark Stadium, there are roughly about 15 million people. So, there is actually a large population to draw from within a reasonable drive. This is where "market" in terms of the NFL is tricky, as you can include nearby areas that also attend games as well.
I'm agreeing that NFL games can draw from further around since there are fewer games and they're usually on weekends in the middle of the day.
My point is that the commute circle gets much tougher with night games. Buffalo to Toronto in the wee hours of the morning, on a work night?
I knew what you were referring to.
It is only a couple of hours away and think about it, as RocketSci mentioned, people will schedule around the event. So, doing this a couple of times a year isn't going to break those willing to go, as they likely have made plans.
He's talking about cities that do not already have one. Obviously, bigger cities will always get first dibs because ownership will likely invest money for and in that city. But what city that doesn't have one yet is likely to get one.
I'll say Louisville, Richmond, and Hampton Roads could easily get a MLS team. NFL, no. MLB. Absolutely not. NBA, no as well. MLS I can see because of what type of sport soccer is.
So, what type of sport is it? MLS seems likeliest to me too, but just because of their stated expansion goals, not because of some unidentifiable aspect of the sport itself
All of these metro areas are on the smaller scale for sports media markets. However some of them are growing and I wonder if any of them could support pro sports teams in the future. With rumors of the MLS going to 40 and NHL going to 36. Makes me wonder if one of these cities will get their chance one day.
Louisville is the most deserving. It has had a NBA team in the bag many times and dropped the ball.
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