Will there ever be a major league franchise in an unusual location?

[xzmattzx]

Will we ever see a franchise in one of the major sports leagues, like the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, or even MLS, in an unusual location within its footprint?

This is separate from ideas like putting an NFL team in London, putting an NBA team in Mexico City, etc.

For instance, the Rio Grande Valley has about 1.5 million people in it, within 4 or 5 counties. What if the Rio Grande Valley got a team?

What if a team ended up in smaller cities like Grand Rapids, MI; Lexington, KY; or Richmond, VA?

There is one team in an unusual location: the Green Bay Packers. Of course, anyone with an average background in sports history knows that the Packers are a legacy of when the NFL was a Midwestern league with many teams in smaller cities like Green Bay, or Canton, or Decatur. This legacy is like how there used to be an American League and National League team in most MLB cities (Chicago is a remnant of that) or how the NBA was once a Midwestern league with teams in small cities (there are no remnants of that).

Do the Carolina Hurricanes count as a team in an unusual location? Or is the Research Triangle big enough? That seems unusual at the time. The team also moved from an unusual location in Hartford, which likely will never see a team again.

[Centropolis]

the southern/sunbelt NHL team placement was definitely weird at the time. still seems a bit weird that Nashville has an NHL team.

[suburbanite]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

the southern/sunbelt NHL team placement was definitely weird at the time. still seems a bit weird that Nashville has an NHL team.

Nashville has some of the best fan support for non-original 6 team. A resounding success for Southern hockey expansion.

[ThePhun1]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Will we ever see a franchise in one of the major sports leagues, like the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, or even MLS, in an unusual location within its footprint?

And I still have trouble accepting San Antonio as a pro sports town, to this day it can only MAYBE support an NFL team in addition to the Spurs, whose legacy of success is the only reason they're still there.
This is separate from ideas like putting an NFL team in London, putting an NBA team in Mexico City, etc.

For instance, the Rio Grande Valley has about 1.5 million people in it, within 4 or 5 counties. What if the Rio Grande Valley got a team?

What if a team ended up in smaller cities like Grand Rapids, MI; Lexington, KY; or Richmond, VA?

There is one team in an unusual location: the Green Bay Packers. Of course, anyone with an average background in sports history knows that the Packers are a legacy of when the NFL was a Midwestern league with many teams in smaller cities like Green Bay, or Canton, or Decatur. This legacy is like how there used to be an American League and National League team in most MLB cities (Chicago is a remnant of that) or how the NBA was once a Midwestern league with teams in small cities (there are no remnants of that).

Do the Carolina Hurricanes count as a team in an unusual location? Or is the Research Triangle big enough? That seems unusual at the time. The team also moved from an unusual location in Hartford, which likely will never see a team again.

You mean like San Antonio (in the 80's), Salt Lake (also in the 80's) or Quebec City to name a few?

[Ronin]

Any hockey team in a place that doesn't snow or even come close to it still seems strange to me, with varying results on fan support.

Miami, Tampa, and Phoenix have really poor attendance, while San José, LA, Anaheim, and Vegas seem to be doing well.

[suburbanite]

Originally Posted by Ronin

Any hockey team in a place that doesn't snow or even come close to it still seems strange to me, with varying results on fan support.

Miami, Tampa, and Phoenix have really poor attendance, while San José, LA, Anaheim, and Vegas seem to be doing well.

Tampa Bay has had sellout crowds for almost 6 years. Successful teams lead to crowds regardless of location or natural affiliation with the sport. People like watching winning teams. Arizona is finally in a playoff position and the arena is looking pretty full so far.

[subterranean]

The Packers are also community owned. That's why they haven't gone anywhere.

[bilbao58]

Seems to me the general consensus on this forum is that Houston IS an unusual location.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

the southern/sunbelt NHL team placement was definitely weird at the time. still seems a bit weird that Nashville has an NHL team.

Lot of us northern hockey fans here in the south.

[bilbao58]

Originally Posted by JManc

Lot of us northern hockey fans here in the south.

I'm old enough to remember when Gordie Howe was king of the Summit. I had just moved back to Texas from 2 years in Toronto at the time so was a bit amused...bemused?...by it all.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

For instance, the Rio Grande Valley has about 1.5 million people in it, within 4 or 5 counties. What if the Rio Grande Valley got a team?

I don't think that the Rio Grande Valley is a single media market. Otherwise, it wouldn't be "unusual" to have a major league franchise in a market of that size, because multiple franchises are already located in similarly sized markets. Grand Rapids could probably support a franchise, since it is similarly sized to markets that already do. GR is nearly the same size as Buffalo, Salt Lake City, and New Orleans.

[bilbao58]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

For instance, the Rio Grande Valley has about 1.5 million people in it, within 4 or 5 counties. What if the Rio Grande Valley got a team?

Wait a minute. Are you...like...a plant from the Harlingen Chamber of Commerce???

[mhays]

I had to look up "Rio Grande Valley." Apparently Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and El Paso. Three cities in two very separate regions -- 266 miles between city centers!

Basically two regions that are each a fraction of the size of a typical small-market in any league. And none particularly wealthy.

I've spent time in all three, but not a ton.

[N90]

Actually the RGV is the name of the McAllen and Brownsville areas, not Albuquerque and El Paso which aren't anywhere near the RGV.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Grande_Valley

[Omaharocks]

^Yeah, the Rio Grande Valley refers to the region in south Texas along the border, and doesn't include the cities where the Rio Grande travels through the SW.


That said, El Paso is an interesting candidate for pro sports given the combined El Paso/Juarez population.

[Centropolis]

kansas city and omaha shared an nba team for a while, now the sacramento kings. so i suppose that at first glance omaha might seem like a strange place for a major league team.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

I've always thought it would be an interesting experiment to put a team in Mobile. The nearby areas of Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula and Pensacola combine with Mobile for population of around 1.5 million.

Of course, I'd love for Birmingham to have a team, but I wouldn't consider us getting a franchise to be unusual given our population. We're in the happy group of top 50 metros with Providence, Hartford, and Richmond who have the population and money. At least we're going to be getting a G-League team after our arena is finished being renovated.

[maru2501]

Oklahoma city..


nah

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by ThePhun1

You mean like San Antonio (in the 80's), Salt Lake (also in the 80's) or Quebec City to name a few?

Yes, possibly. I don't know what the thinking was back in the 1980s, or earlier, to have teams in those cities; I don't know if people thought franchises in those cities were left field ideas or made sense. Salt Lake City might be the most unusual of those from back in the day.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by subterranean

The Packers are also community owned. That's why they haven't gone anywhere.

The NFL gave the Packers an ultimatum to build a new stadium in the 1950s or move to Milwaukee.