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

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Obadno

WHich is why its had all 4 major teams for 20 years + One of the larger NASCAR race tracks + A major College football team and soon to have a secondary football team and MLS expansion.

wait, phoenix is getting an MLS expansion team?

when did that happen?

[toddguy]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

wait, phoenix is getting an MLS expansion team?

when did that happen?

It is not as far as I know.

[muertecaza]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

wait, phoenix is getting an MLS expansion team?

when did that happen?

Obadno jumping ahead a little. Phoenix Rising was among the dozen or cities vying for the last round of expansion decisions, and is expected to be in the running in the next round. They've met several times with MLS, they have a stadium plan and a billionaire from the ownership group of OGC Nice in Ligue 1, they're in the largest metro with the best demographic numbers of the remaining candidates, and they just had a great USL season where they sold out their 7,000 person stadium and made it to the finals. BUT, no decisions yet, and for some reason when I read between the lines in news reports and things, I still have my doubts about Phoenix's chances.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Having driven by Phoenix Rising's stadium numerous times since my parents moved to Mesa, whose bright idea was it to build that thing without any awning/shade!? I know it was supposed to be a temporary facility, but good lord...

[Buckeye Native 001]

Originally Posted by muertecaza

It definitely does not have the long-established corporate presence that older cities like Atlanta or even Minneapolis. But I would say the trend is positive (Benchmark Electronics, for instance, just moved here, and several of the above just entered Fortune's list). What I would say is missing is a company with a really out-sized presence both within the state and without it. Case and point is your question itself--there isn't really a company that makes you think "Phoenix." And even locally, I wouldn't say any of the above companies really hold sway. This may be in part due to most of the corporate headquarters not being homegrown companies.

The lack of corporate investment in the Phoenix area is actually kind of staggering compared to smaller cities. Obviously Phoenix being a newer city is part of the issue, but most of the larger companies (Petsmart, U-Haul, Waste Management) based in Metropolitan Phoenix just don't have the same level of philanthropy/community investment you'd see compared to a place like Cincinnati (home of Proctor & Gamble and Kroger).

Even "old money" Phoenecian families like the Heards, Herbergers and Goldwaters, whose names and influences appeared on everything from park benches to art galleries is minimal compared to places like Columbus, Minneapolis and Seattle. I guess the question is: What would be the best way to get Phoenix (and Arizona)-based companies to consider making those sorts of public/community investments for the betterment of the metropolitan area?

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

Having driven by Phoenix Rising's stadium numerous times since my parents moved to Mesa, whose bright idea was it to build that thing without any awning/shade!? I know it was supposed to be a temporary facility, but good lord...

Its a temporary stadium

[Centropolis]

Source: St. Louis confirmed as next MLS team
Jeff Carlisle
U.S. soccer correspondent
ESPN
8/14/2019

Major League Soccer will award an expansion franchise to St. Louis, a source close to the prospective ownership group has confirmed to ESPN. The deal is expected to be announced as soon as next Tuesday.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch was first to report that St. Louis will be MLS's 28th team.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-le...-next-mls-team

[Centropolis]

currently geotechnical testing is underway for the site of the privately funded downtown stadium.


ksdk.com

[Centropolis]

should have more information next week during the official announcement. my best guess is that st. louis will be in the western division.


kmox.com

here is what the site currently looks like...it's an active expressway spur (that originally was supposed to form a loop around downtwon) that will be coming down and freeing up land for the stadium.




npr.com

[Steely Dan]

COOL!

and cool stadium design as well.

i'm glad to see MLS continue to give the midwest some love.

[Centropolis]

additionally, st. louis has negotiated with MLS to immediately kick FC Cincinnati in the nuts as a matter of initiation.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

COOL!

and cool stadium design as well.

new stadia are always a contentious issue in st. louis/everywhere but this is really a great project all around. it's currently the bleakest, greyest (as in The Death and Life of Great American Cities sense) part of downtown, and one of the worst few blocks of any downtown in the midwest.

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

i'm glad to see MLS continue to give the midwest some love.

really fills a major hole between kc, chicago, and nashville. kc in particular was really hanging out there isolated, so this is great for them.

[Steely Dan]

bummer about being in the west though.

no cubs/cards, hawks/blues style rivalry with chicago.

though, you guys hate kansas city just as much, if not more, so that'll do.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

bummer about being in the west though.

no cubs/cards, hawks/blues style rivalry with chicago.

though, you guys hate kansas city just as much, if not more, so that'll do.

so, i predict that st. louis will flip back and forth between east and west since it's now the (much more natural) city on the divide, instead of kc. i don't know that the overall st. louis to kc rivalry feel is as great as the kc to st. louis rivalry (since we have more sports rivals in multiple directions... nashville, cincy, chicago...) but whatever gap there is i think will be filled by the old familiarity breeds contempt notion.

more western division teams i think will mean an eventual flip to the east...who knows...

[maru2501]

saw that the plan is to bring up the minor league team into MLS?

they use the fleur de lis in their uniform design apparently

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by maru2501

saw that the plan is to bring up the minor league team into MLS?

they use the fleur de lis in their uniform design apparently

fleur-de-lis everything (that and skulls...a fleur-de-lis skull), even the club beer.

the horde coming to a midwestern mls stadium near you. i can only imagine how big this is going to get, now.


stlouligans.com

[Centropolis]

some stats re: MLS stadia...

"of 29 teams, including St. Louis and Sacramento, only 9 have (or will have) a stadium located downtown and near rail transit.

Chicago, Atlanta, NYC, Toronto, Houston, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, St. Louis."

Apparently a lot of earlier teams went with badly sited/non-urban stadiums...obviously if a region doesn't have rail transit then there's not much that can be done. the kc location is just plain horrific, though...obviously something big is being done about chicago. cincy will have a central city stadium, nashvilles situation is...not great.


photoshelter.com

[Steely Dan]

^ thank god chicago will once again be added to that club next year when the fire return to soldier field.

i might actually take my kids to some games now that they'll be back in the city.

[edale]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

some stats re: MLS stadia...

"of 29 teams, including St. Louis and Sacramento, only 9 have (or will have) a stadium located downtown and near rail transit.

Chicago, Atlanta, NYC, Toronto, Houston, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, St. Louis."

Apparently a lot of earlier teams went with badly sited/non-urban stadiums...obviously if a region doesn't have rail transit then there's not much that can be done. the kc location is just plain horrific, though...obviously something big is being done about chicago.

photoshelter.com

Cincinnati is building a downtown stadium for FC Cincinnati (well, West End, right outside of OTR and downtown) and it's only a couple blocks from the streetcar line.

It seems like KC is really into having their stadiums out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by parking lots. There is a lot about the KC metro that confuses me, and this is one of those things. Almost every other major league city in the country has a downtown stadium for at least one of their teams. KC might be the only one where all the stadiums are out in the sticks. If they ever land an NBA or NHL team, the Sprint Center is downtown, but those chances seem unlikely.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by edale

Cincinnati is building a downtown stadium for FC Cincinnati (well, West End, right outside of OTR and downtown) and it's only a couple blocks from the streetcar line.

It seems like KC is really into having their stadiums out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by parking lots. There is a lot about the KC metro that confuses me, and this is one of those things. Almost every other major league city in the country has a downtown stadium for at least one of their teams. KC might be the only one where all the stadiums are out in the sticks. If they ever land an NBA or NHL team, the Sprint Center is downtown, but those chances seem unlikely.

i added a comment above to reflect that (and whatever the hell is going on in nashville, which appears to be a shitblizzard), wasn't sure how it related to the streetcar line but thats all good.

the KC situation is born out of some strange geographical/political factors, including massive central city physical boundaries, and a state line almost splitting the entire metro in two. the downtown kc district itself, while doing increasingly very well in many respects, doesn't have the same kind of (specifically) regional political heft as most downtowns do in the u.s., even within its own city hall, as kansas city proper is so spread out... across vast areas of suburban development.