How many relocations will there be in the big 4 sports leagues this decade?

[CHRDANHUTCH]

I understand why small market teams are typically at risk, but I love having a bunch of different cities represented across the major sports. It saddens me to see the Hurricanes and Jaguars brought up as relocation candidates.

It's awesome to see cities like Buffalo, Columbus, and Raleigh in the NHL, along with Memphis, OKC, New Orleans, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, and San Antonio in the NBA and Buffalo, Jacksonville, and New Orleans in the NFL host teams.

I know these cities are longshots, but I'd be thrilled to see more of these smaller markets like Austin, Birmingham, Louisville, Providence, Richmond, and Virginia Beach represented. And of course, Hartford

Louisville has been done before, but corrupt ownership basically made it a scorched market.... yes, there are fans there from the Panthers 2 year run....but the only reason why Louisville got pro hockey was the inherit rivalry that exists between Lexington and Louisville....they saw what Lexington had ( even though backed by SJ/USA Hockey).

Birmingham's served by the SPHL Bulls...

Hartford is AHL Territory. (good luck trying to battle the Rangers to vacate that territory)
Providence, is the same way.... between Boston, and the lease in Providence is extended until 2029.

Richmond has no arena and no arena prospects since Henrico County shot down the Navy Hill arena project...

Norfolk controls the peninsula, so Virginia Beach is a non-starter.... it's why the regional moniker Hampton Roads was abandoned for that active ECHL Franchise.

 

[generalshepherd141]

Louisville has been done before, but corrupt ownership basically made it a scorched market.... yes, there are fans there from the Panthers 2 year run....but the only reason why Louisville got pro hockey was the inherit rivalry that exists between Lexington and Louisville....they saw what Lexington had ( even though backed by SJ/USA Hockey).

Birmingham's served by the SPHL Bulls...

Hartford is AHL Territory. (good luck trying to battle the Rangers to vacate that territory)
Providence, is the same way.... between Boston, and the lease in Providence is extended until 2029.

Richmond has no arena and no arena prospects since Henrico County shot down the Navy Hill arena project...

Norfolk controls the peninsula, so Virginia Beach is a non-starter.... it's why the regional moniker Hampton Roads was abandoned for that active ECHL Franchise.

I was recommending these places moreso for other pro sports leagues like the NBA and NFL, but yeah you're exactly right about why these markets don't have the NHL.

In an ideal world I'd love to see the Whalers back, but they'd need to build a new arena or at the very least redevelop the XL Center for that to have a shot. I think the territory concern with the Rangers is overstated though because paying them an encroachment fee like the Devils paid the Rangers/Isles/Flyers back in 1982 would solve that problem. However, with expansion looking extremely unlikely for the foreseeable future, a prospective Whalers owner would need to purchase a current NHL team and have relocation approved by the owners. I think that's not out of the question because Hartford is not a terribly-small media market (it's actually larger than Columbus, Vegas, and Buffalo among the league's US TV markets), has a more populous urban area than Raleigh and Winnipeg, and could be supported by Bristol-based ESPN if they acquire NHL broadcasting rights.

Otherwise, I'm still hoping for the Nords to come back and for Hamilton to see a team. I'm not gonna speculate on which teams I wouldn't mind seeing moved because that's unfair to fans of those teams on here. Yet, I will say that I think the Phoenix market can support an NHL team, so their perceived fanbase problems are a direct result of the Coyotes' blatant mismanagement over the years. There's no reason that one day that market couldn't be seen as a "Southern success" of the NHL like Dallas, Nashville, and Tampa. I remember how loud their crowds were in 2012 and that playoffs showcased the potential of the fanbase in Arizona.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

I was recommending these places moreso for other pro sports leagues like the NBA and NFL, but yeah you're exactly right about why these markets don't have the NHL.

In an ideal world I'd love to see the Whalers back, but they'd need to build a new arena or at the very least redevelop the XL Center for that to have a shot. I think the territory concern with the Rangers is overstated though because paying them an encroachment fee like the Devils paid the Rangers/Isles/Flyers back in 1982 would solve that problem. However, with expansion looking extremely unlikely for the foreseeable future, a prospective Whalers owner would need to purchase a current NHL team and have relocation approved by the owners. I think that's not out of the question because Hartford is not a terribly-small media market (it's actually larger than Columbus, Vegas, and Buffalo among the league's US TV markets), has a more populous urban area than Raleigh and Winnipeg, and could be supported by Bristol-based ESPN if they acquire NHL broadcasting rights.

Otherwise, I'm still hoping for the Nords to come back and for Hamilton to see a team. I'm not gonna speculate on which teams I wouldn't mind seeing moved because that's unfair to fans of those teams on here. Yet, I will say that I think the Phoenix market can support an NHL team, so their perceived fanbase problems are a direct result of the Coyotes' blatant mismanagement over the years. There's no reason that one day that market couldn't be seen as a "Southern success" of the NHL like Dallas, Nashville, and Tampa. I remember how loud their crowds were in 2012 and that playoffs showcased the potential of the fanbase in Arizona.

Arizona, simply, as has been discussed numerous times, here, likely isn't being relocated East..... Hamilton, has seen better days as a market, if Brampton cannot make a go of it in a pandemic, after battling for three straight years....it's unlikely you'll see Hamilton, after what the Canadiens/Andlauer tried doing with the Bulldogs.

totally disagree that Hartford will return and has been solidly established as a Rangers affiliate.

Quebec is like any prospective market, there's gotta be a significant fanbase for it to be self sustainable if the product isn't what the expectation is.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

In an ideal world I'd love to see the Whalers back, but they'd need to build a new arena or at the very least redevelop the XL Center for that to have a shot. I think the territory concern with the Rangers is overstated though because paying them an encroachment fee like the Devils paid the Rangers/Isles/Flyers back in 1982 would solve that problem. However, with expansion looking extremely unlikely for the foreseeable future, a prospective Whalers owner would need to purchase a current NHL team and have relocation approved by the owners. I think that's not out of the question because Hartford is not a terribly-small media market (it's actually larger than Columbus, Vegas, and Buffalo among the league's US TV markets), has a more populous urban area than Raleigh and Winnipeg, and could be supported by Bristol-based ESPN if they acquire NHL broadcasting rights.

Hartford won't happen.

Hartford would not be supported by ESPN. ESPN didn't support the Whalers for the 20 or so years the Whalers were around, they wouldn't now, especially with how much of a small market it would be. The person who founded ESPN was actually fired by the Whalers.

Looking at just the urban area is ridiculous because most of metro Hartford supported the Rangers or Bruins even when the Whalers were there. Raleigh and Winnipeg are isolated so they maintain market hegemony, and

Looking at the media market size is ridiculous because Columbus, Vegas, and Buffalo are still the biggest NHL team in their own cities. Hartford never was and never will be.

Most of the state didn't support the Whalers when they were there and wouldn't if they returned. Whaler fans didn't even exist in the more populous and wealthy Fairfield County. That area has always been solidified Rangers territory. Whalers fans didn't exist beyond the Mass-Conn border. No potential owner in their right mind would pay what would surely be an exorbitant amount to take the rights to huge areas that never supported and never will support a Hartford NHL team in a small market that has always been and always will be culturally, economically, and sports-wise split between Boston and NYC.

As for the arena, there are plenty of NHL-size and NHL-ready arenas in North America. Sprint Center in Kansas City, Centre Vidéotron in Québec, FirstOntario Center in Hamilton, Toyota Center in Houston, and the list goes on. Just because you have a NHL area primed and ready doesn't mean you could, would, or should get a team.

 

[oknazevad]

Jacksonville in the NFL.
Tampa Bay in MLB

Both teams are already one foot out the door. Jacksonville plays annual home games in London every year. Seems pretty clear they are being groomed to move to Europe. People forget, but Tampa had an agreement to play half their home games in Montreal this past season before COVID hit and forced that to change. And if I'm not mistaken, it was the second half of the schedule that would have shifted to Montreal. Could you have imagined last year playing out with that team reaching the World Series when they are playing half their games in Montreal? Wonder how the fans in Tampa would have reacted to that?

You are mistaken about the Rays. The idea was floated, but there was no agreement. Indeed, it was shut down hard by pretty much everyone who actually has power. It was a negotiation tactic at most.

 

[oknazevad]

Vancouver is probably out for MLB, because under my four-league plan and schedule format, teams in the PCL have no protected rivalries in interleague play - adding Vancouver will cause them to want to play Montreal, Toronto, and possibly Ottawa every year, and vice versa.

Thus, the 11th and 12th PCL teams, which would be added decades after MLB expands to 40, would likely go to Salt Lake City and Sacramento, both of which currently only have the NBA.

Your fantasy nonsense has zero bearing on whether the Vancouver ever actually gets a real-world team. Enough with the crap.

 

[Spirit of 67]

None.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

Your fantasy nonsense has zero bearing on whether the Vancouver ever actually gets a real-world team. Enough with the crap.

Just ignore me if you don't like my posts.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

And, I want the relocation musical chairs to stop with the Raiders.

We haven't had a decade without relocations since the 1910s when you factor in relocations of defunct teams in the big 4 leagues. This is what I want for the 2030s.

 

[PCSPounder]

Major leagues that have broadcast territories (MLB for sure, NBA & NHL perhaps) find it harder to move teams for what should be obvious reasons. It’s insanely hard to move a baseball team simply because no substantial market has a minimum 25,000-seat baseball stadium just laying around.

It’s also ragingly hard to move a 2nd team into an arena already hosting a major league team. The general exception is when the receiving arena is in a top 3 market or, in a few cases, a market the league in question thinks they have to be in (I might put NBA to Seattle in that category).

So I’d vote 2, and choose from Jacksonville, Tampa, and Memphis.