Cities Most Likely To Gain A Pro Sports Team Via Relocation Or Expansion By 2028

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by DCReid

I am surprised the NBA is not following the NFL lead in playing a few games overseas, especially in Europe and South America where interest in basketball is very high. Maybe the logistics are more difficult for the NBA to do this...

This is a very good question, though not sure the logistics of hosting an NBA game in Europe are more complicated than playing an NFL game there.

There is less equipment (player and on-field) to transport for sure, and any Euro city of reasonable size will have a good-sized arena that already hosts basketball, hockey, concerts, etc. Any arena like this is much more basketball-ready than a soccer stadium is (gridiron) football-ready.

[osmo]

Originally Posted by Crawford

What about OKC for relocation? Small, reactionary, not particularly prosperous metro, very unappealing for FAs, and team is basically torn to shreds. But good ownership, passionate, forgiving fans, and some history of success.

I cannot imagine they're worth more in OKC than in rich, booming, 4x as big Seattle.

Just because it's a small market does not make it a bad market. OKC makes money and is a healthy small market just like Salt Make City and Sacramento. The issue becomes when you're bleeding money as a small market while also having poor leadership which creates a death spiral into irrelevancy.

Memphis one could argue was never major league ready with weak demographics from day one. New Orleans culturally has never truly embraced basketball and if Zion can't get thier attention then nothing else will.

---

NBA in Europe...

They play a series of regular season games there already each year. The players don't like it as the time difference messes with their routines. Yes, NFL has to transport 100 people over to Europe for a game but they give them a bye week to readjust after the trip so it's less of a hindrance on their regular routines.

NBA is going to push for more early Saturday and Sunday games this year with the intention of reaching Europe and Africa primetime hours to build a consistent block of games and product for overseas.

---

Montreal I'm not sold on for NBA because the Habs have such a pull in the city that I don't knownif an NBA team can get much wiggle room to carve a market there as easy as people think.

[JAYNYC]

Originally Posted by osmo

Aside from Seattle and maybe Las Vegas in the future, the NBA does not need to expand into any more USA markets as it already has its reach into all sections of the USA.

Not sure how I forgot about Las Vegas. There should definitely be an NBA team there (in the new T Mobile Arena).

[JAYNYC]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Memphis and New Orleans are probably the weakest NBA franchises. Small, poor metros, mediocre facilities and little free agent appeal.

This ^ has seemingly racist undertones.

Memphis is 63.3% Black. New Orleans is 60.2% Black.

Meanwhile, Salt Lake City is 2.02% Black, has a smaller MSA than both Memphis and New Orleans, and has facilities older than Memphis and New Orleans, yet you opted not to mention it as a weak market (income discrepancy aside).

Interesting.

Do you honestly believe Salt Lake City has more free agent appeal than Memphis or New Orleans?

[JAYNYC]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I know the big money isn't there due to the small market but wouldn't New Orleans be a fun city to play in for a pro basketball player?

Without a doubt.

Many articles have included New Orleans, NYC, LA, Atlanta, Miami and DC among NBA players' favorite cities to visit/play in.

[JAYNYC]

Originally Posted by DCReid

I know they say that NY and LA can support their two teams given the size of their markets, but I don't see how the Clippers and Nets ever having more of a following in their metros than the Lakers and Knicks.

The number of fans the Nets and Clippers have in their respective metros (or the extent to which they may play second-fiddle to the more high profile teams there) isn't the point. The point is both teams attract a MUCH larger fanbase locally than they would in say, Nashville, Pittsburgh or Cincinnati, regardless of whether or not they are the marquee team in the region.

[muertecaza]

Originally Posted by JAYNYC

This ^ has seemingly racist undertones.

Memphis is 63.3% Black. New Orleans is 60.2% Black.

Meanwhile, Salt Lake City is 2.02% Black, has a smaller MSA than both Memphis and New Orleans, and has facilities older than Memphis and New Orleans, yet you opted not to mention it as a weak market (income discrepancy aside).

Interesting.

Do you honestly believe Salt Lake City has more free agent appeal than Memphis or New Orleans?

Can't speak for Crawford, and I hate the Jazz, but it's not hard to see the difference independent of the racial makeups of the cities. The Jazz have 25 more years of history in Utah than the Grizzlies and Pels do in Memphis and New Orleans. The Jazz are in the top half of the league for attendance; Memphis and New Orleans are in the bottom 6. New Orleans and Memphis are the bottom two franchises in the most recent Forbes valuations while the Jazz are middle of the pack. The Jazz aren't that much higher in revenues, but they are statistically significantly higher in revenues than Memphis and New Orleans, which are bottom four. The Jazz likely have less free agent appeal than Memphis and New Orleans but they are much more well-established.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by JAYNYC

This ^ has seemingly racist undertones.

NOLA is like 35% black, Memphis is like 45% black. Not sure why you believe this "has seemingly racist undertones". Why would black NBA players not want to play in heavily black metros?

Originally Posted by JAYNYC

Meanwhile, Salt Lake City is 2.02% Black, has a smaller MSA than both Memphis and New Orleans, and has facilities older than Memphis and New Orleans, yet you opted not to mention it as a weak market (income discrepancy aside).

SLC isn't a particularly strong market (probably Bottom 10), but it has twice the population and economy of Memphis and NOLA, one of the fastest growing metros (NOLA and Memphis are stagnant) vastly stronger fan support, stronger ownership and is generally a winning franchise. So not really comparable. I'd put it in league with San Antonio, Orlando, Portland, Charlotte, Cleveland.

Originally Posted by JAYNYC

Do you honestly believe Salt Lake City has more free agent appeal than Memphis or New Orleans?

Probably not, but I never claimed such a thing. There are very few teams with strong FA appeal. Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, Nets, Heat, Warriors and then whomever happens to be a reasonable large metro with a shot at a ring (so, right now, maybe Philly, Boston, Houston). All the rest, places like Detroit and Dallas, and obviously places like SLC and NOLA, can't attract max FAs.

I mean, when Durant was FA, and could have theoretically gone anywhere, I think three cities were seriously mentioned. For Kawhi, again, three cities were mentioned. In both cases, it was NY, LA or current franchise.

[osmo]

You need a sizeable middle income base and a tangible corporate base to ensure your NBA team can handle the rough patches. Whatever race or colour that base is will carry your team. This isn't a sure thing though as Atlanta continues to flounder with the Hawks even though it has a large middle class base (white and black). With Memphis, it is far from the giant in the Tennessee economically (Nashville would have gotten the team if it as an open expansion that focused in Tennessee) as it was all an owner looking for a toy for his home town. Outside of the unique situation there was no real reason for Memphis to get a team. Kansas City would have been more appropriate but at that time thier new arena situation was not solidified.

NBA gave up on Vancouver for too soon and left a growing , wealthy. dynamic and young international market in the dark of the night.

Also...funny fact is that the large share of NBA fans are actually white. Not trying to get into race here but the core of their money spending fanbase is indeed white. Bill Simmons made this point while he spent his time in ABC as both the national networks had opposite splits for viewers as ABC was older and white versus TNT which has a younger more diverse viewers. This all spills over into the larger NBA ecosystem as they have the larger reach with young fans but they have not figured out how to monetize these fans as they don't go to games or buy much product. It is still the middle income group going to games and watching in TV. Once the NBa figures out how to get younger fans money a city such as Austin would start to make sense for expansion IMO.

[Shawn]

JAYNYC, corporate sponsorship is one of the foundations of any NBA franchise, and I’m not strictly talking about official brand tie-ups (GE or Dunkin Brands for the Celtics), or arena naming rights. I’m talking about having a large enough corporate base to sell out luxury boxes and ancillary function/events to consistently throughout the year.

The SLC metro has a stronger corporate base to draw on than either New Orleans or Memphis do. Nothing to do with race.

[ThePhun1]

I don't know how New Orleans and Memphis do it, especially New Orleans. New Orleans only has enough corporate dollars and disposable income for one sports team (the long tenured Saints) in theory. FedEx must buy up all the seats and boxes for both University of Memphis basketball and the Grizzlies. Why they support both teams like that I don't know.

[ThePhun1]

Originally Posted by JAYNYC

This ^ has seemingly racist undertones.

Memphis is 63.3% Black. New Orleans is 60.2% Black.

Meanwhile, Salt Lake City is 2.02% Black, has a smaller MSA than both Memphis and New Orleans, and has facilities older than Memphis and New Orleans, yet you opted not to mention it as a weak market (income discrepancy aside).

Interesting.

Do you honestly believe Salt Lake City has more free agent appeal than Memphis or New Orleans?

Stop with your non-sense. That New Orleans and Memphis are not affluent and large markets is not a big secret. It's not just that both places are heavily African-American, it's that few people there have lots of extra money lying around and that last fact is all that really matters, as the NBA does well in markets that have at least as many (or close enough) black people in them like Dallas, Atlanta, Houston and Washington.

Finally, the Jazz have always struggled in free agency, which is why they trade, draft well and get good international players.

And don't accuse me of being racist, I'm black and can PM you my social media pages as proof.

[JAYNYC]

via ESPN.com (https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...os-eight-teams)

The XFL revealed the names and logos for its eight teams Wednesday, a long-awaited step toward its February 2020 debut.

The names will be:

Dallas Renegades

Houston Roughnecks

Los Angeles Wildcats

New York Guardians

St. Louis BattleHawks

Seattle Dragons

Tampa Bay Vipers

Washington Defenders

Houston "Roughnecks" - love that, and points for originality/thinking outside the typical franchise name box.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by JAYNYC

via ESPN.com (https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...os-eight-teams)

The XFL revealed the names and logos for its eight teams Wednesday, a long-awaited step toward its February 2020 debut.

The names will be:

Dallas Renegades

Houston Roughnecks

Los Angeles Wildcats

New York Guardians

St. Louis BattleHawks

Seattle Dragons

Tampa Bay Vipers

Washington Defenders

Houston "Roughnecks" - love that, and points for originality/thinking outside the typical franchise name box.

the XFL picked the same day/time to make their announcement as MLS in st. louis...MLS was just a tad more popular, heard next to nothing about the XFL team....

[SFBruin]

Originally Posted by JAYNYC

This ^ has seemingly racist undertones.

Jeez, the guy was offering an opinion. Plus, from what I've heard, Utah has good fans. Are my sources racist? I don't know.

[JAYNYC]

Originally Posted by SFBruin

Jeez, the guy was offering an opinion. Plus, from what I've heard, Utah has good fans. Are my sources racist? I don't know.

Both Utah AND Memphis (and, at one time, Sacramento) are considered to have the loudest fans.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by JAYNYC

via ESPN.com (https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...os-eight-teams)

The XFL revealed the names and logos for its eight teams Wednesday, a long-awaited step toward its February 2020 debut.

The names will be:

Dallas Renegades

Houston Roughnecks

Los Angeles Wildcats

New York Guardians

St. Louis BattleHawks

Seattle Dragons

Tampa Bay Vipers

Washington Defenders

Houston "Roughnecks" - love that, and points for originality/thinking outside the typical franchise name box.

The Guardians vs. the Defenders is going to be one boring ass match.

[Don't Be That Guy]

Originally Posted by JAYNYC

via ESPN.com (https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...os-eight-teams)

The XFL revealed the names and logos for its eight teams Wednesday, a long-awaited step toward its February 2020 debut.

The names will be:

Dallas Renegades

Houston Roughnecks

Los Angeles Wildcats

New York Guardians

St. Louis BattleHawks

Seattle Dragons

Tampa Bay Vipers

Washington Defenders

Houston "Roughnecks" - love that, and points for originality/thinking outside the typical franchise name box.

Roughnecks is a creative and apropos name for a Houston sports franchise. But Defenders, Dragons, Guardians, Vipers... Terrible. Did they let 10-year-old boys name these teams?

[Acajack]

Wasn't there a Tulsa Roughnecks team in the NASL 30 years ago or so?

[SIGSEGV]

Here's how I would name those teams, to be as fierce and scary as possible:

Dallas Grassy Knoll
Houston Sprawl
Los Angeles Traffic
New York Quants
St. Louis Pizza
Seattle Cloud Cover
Tampa Bay Florida Men
Washington Lobbyists