Can the 2030s be the first decade without a relocation in the big 4 sports leagues since the 1910s?

[Big Z Man 1990]

Every decade except the 1910s since the start of the 20th century has had at least one move in the four current major sports leagues.

Note that only MLB existed from the turn of the century. The NHL launched in 1917, the NFL in 1920, and the NBA in 1946.

Here's a breakdown of "permanent" moves by decade:

1900s: 2
1910s: 0
1920s: 5
1930s: 5
1940s: 2
1950s: 11
1960s: 11
1970s: 9
1980s: 7
1990s: 7
2000s: 3
2010s: 3
2020s: 1

I'm counting the trail of NFL franchises that started with the Dayton Triangles and ended with the Dallas Texans as part of the Colts history. Moves of teams that later folded are also included in the total.

Notice there were 45 moves in the last 5 decades of the 20th century. Officially, there have been only 7 moves (as many as in the 1990s alone) since the turn of the century.

So, I'm hoping that the 2030s will make the first decade in a long time that no franchises in the big 4 sports leagues move. Will that be able to happen?

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[LT]

The most interesting thing in this post to me is that there once was an NFL team called the Dayton Triangles

I think it's certainly possible. It's becoming more prohibitively expensive to buy and relocate a franchise in all of the leagues. But to get something perfect like this over the course of a full decade (where we only have general ideas as to what the economic situation may look like) is also statistically unlikely.

 

[Mightygoose]

I think we need to get more through this decade first before pondering the 2030s.

Hard to see where the industry will be during that time with the TV landscape changing, many sports having aging fan bases will present another challenge.

Many arenas and stadiums that went up in the 90s boom will reach the 40 year mark, teams will be looking for new or major Reno's by then. Those that don't have 'willing partners' will be candidates.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

A good way to ensure teams don't move in the 30s is for leagues to allow teams to have the same ownership structure as the Green Bay Packers. If such structures had long been allowed in the major sports leagues, the Atlanta Thrashers, as an example, might have never relocated. These ownership structures theoretically are designed to keep teams from moving.