Quote:
Originally Posted by wwmiv
I think football is out of the question here, as Longhorn football, Cowboys, and Texans will compete with eyeballs. I don’t think the local culture is as appreciative of baseball as some here believe. Basketball is dominated by the Spurs and the Austin market, when at 4 million, is going to even more integrated with San Antonio’s market, socially and economically.
Austin tends to prefer oddball sports. Biking, racing, rowing, swimming, tennis, rugby, soccer... hockey? I think the Ice Bats are more likely simply because of the culture to become a major league sports team than we get one of the other big 4. Gaming is also becoming more and more professionalized in sports-like leagues, and Austin is well primed to become a center for that, as well. Austin is simply the preeminent “alternative sports” city in the country. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
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I think hockey is on the possible list as well, but I put it slightly below MLB, mostly due to other dynamics at play.
If and when Texas gets a second hockey team, I think it's undoubtedly going to Houston. They're by far the biggest city without all 4 big ones.
The NHL is also about to expand to 32, and I'm not sure they're ever going beyond that, taking away the expansion option for Austin. Plus there's way more Canadian teams (expectedly so) in the NHL, leaving fewer US spots.