MLS Expansion. A team called "Upstate". More Upstate New York NHL also?

The cities of western New York, the central Syracuse and the capital sitting east in Albany making up four big towns, all have over half a million people.  Imagine three venues housing Major League Soccer

1.) Rochester/Buffalo, 2.) Syracuse and 3.) Albany

Wouldn't major soccer be great there?  Once a month it would be in two of the towns.  Perhaps in imagination land we would consider cutting Syracuse out of the mix.
What to call them?
Upstate Emperors
Empire North
Northlanders, Norse, Norsemen
The Brigade
Upstate Roadcrew?  Or is that just wrong?
Ballers
Inland Emperors?  Or is that reserved for California?
Placidieous?
Lakers?
Upstate Fleet Foot

What about an NHL team for Syracuse and Albany in between the isle and international waterway?
Gun to your head, how would that work?
What would they be called?  Waivers (Wavers)?  Nationals?
Staties?  Regulators?  Statesmen?  Upstatesmen?  Great Lakers?

Scribbled on .........http://www.nyctourist.com/map1.htm

The allure of hockey or soccer

Hockey Soccer

Want other teams???????? Look at the logic:  http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2011/08/methodology-for-sports-capacity-study.html 



What if the Rangers just split time with Albany or Syracuse?  And one of the NY Football Clubs.:
http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html
http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/11/mls-most-feasible-chance-at-travel.html

See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 

MLS most feasible chance at travel team/home-camp shared team model. A Few Examples.

Loosely speaking, over 15 billion bucks is required in a market in order to host a MLS team and its stadium.  That's the smallest amount in big league American sports, so, the easiest big league franchise to land for your town.

Of all professional sports, a MLS facility could be one of the most youth or amateur team utilized facilities of them all.

If a team were to be shared between two cities, given America's slow warming to soccer, I would think it to be the best sport to ease into a market by showing itself to a location every month as a sort of regional travel team.  And there are plenty of football stadiums to hold it, especially over the Summer.  Build an all-soccer stadium in Nashville, and play that team in a lot of Summer games in the Falcons house (when they're not having the NFL season).  A "Southern" named team could kick off that market; ease into it.

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/major-league-soccer-franchise-32573.html

Midnight soccer.

A camp team is a home team in multiple sites or locations.
I say that because the Texas Rangers could play in multiple places in Texas and be housed in let's say Austin as well as Arlington.  It's all Texas.  A West Coast named franchise, like the Athletics or Raiders could play in Oakland and Portland.  It's regional.

What about soccer in Cleveland and Cincinnati called Ohio Divided?  The Crew is in the middle of the state.  A team touring the corners of the state like Toledo, which is butted up against a vacant Detroit market, could play in Athen's Ohio University stadium.

I don't know.
West Coast Goats
Ohio Divided, Texas Divided
Southern Excited
East Coast Blockade
Northern Railroad
Do you think travel teams could work?

Bored?:
http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/07/shared-mls-mls-expansion-mls-sister.html
http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/07/ohio-mls-c-bus.html
http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/09/ohio-crew-and-buckeye-blue-jackets.html
http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/10/will-mls-embrace-west-coast-moniker.html
http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/10/dream-up-next-northern-mls-franchise.html
http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/09/mls-expansion-for-likes-of-detroit.html
http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/05/a-re-brand-for-chivas-usa-will.html
http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/04/mls-to-atlanta.html
http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/03/mls-will-major-leagues-land-in-austin.html
http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/02/mls-bigger-leagues-major-league-and.html

I'm for a WMLS also.  I talk about that.

I'm more for a MLS Sister team model, even if it starts as exhibition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Women%27s_Soccer_League
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Professional_Soccer

Look at some method to the madness:  http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2011/08/methodology-for-sports-capacity-study.html 

See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 

Gulf Run Rays. Major League Baseball in Monterrey, New Orleans and Tampa

Save Rays baseball.

With the looks of Tampa, what's the harm in trying it out as a travel team?

More than 2300 road miles apart, less by boat and with New Orleans in between, the home-camp stretch from the northern Mexican metropolis to the Bay of Tampa captures my imagination.  In my mind it starts with Tampa, one hell of a tv market with lackluster attendance.

Speaking of dismally attended Florida-based baseball, if I was really feeling like a toolbag, in my imagination I would lump Miami into the Coastal Run conglomerate.

Wouldn't this be the best scheme for MLB to tip toe into the Mexican waters?  And New Orleans for that matter?


But realistically... .

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16920870

Monterrey, 2012.  No, not New Orleans 2005.

I see this as a way as showcasing the potential idea of the major leagues in more places in the form of a regional home-camp travel team.  What better way to test the waters over the period of time other than a season and being able to retract camps.  You could ditch New Orleans and pick up Charlotte for the Southern Rays or Southern Run Rays.  Think also, Virginia Beach area.  Coastal Run Atlantic City.  And on and on.

Look at some method to the madness:  http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2011/08/methodology-for-sports-capacity-study.html 

See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 

Kentucky Major League Soccer. The Big Leagues in Louisville

The fastest and most feasible landing for major sports spectatorship in Louisville and Kentucky is major league soccer.  The strongest American want is big league baseball and football but the biggest salivating to go on in Sluggersville has been taunts with the NBA.
The red and blue state:  http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/2014/10/08/next-nba-louisville/16909917/

The facilities are technically in place in the form of a football stadium and a soccer mainstay could be built for Major League Soccer in Louisville.  For now, MLS is absent Indy and Cinci, even St. Louis and the south in general.

A Louisville showcase could be the Kentucky Horsemen.

Kentucky Horsemen.

That's a bad ass name.  I'd jump river for that excursion. 

Another Sports League?

Here's how it can be done, if at all soon.

An NFL team to balance out an expansion out west in Los Angeles.
Hell, I'd be for the Rams moving from the Gateway lackluster to become the Kentucky Rams, Colonels or Horsemen.

Ditto for the NBA as far as a balance to a Seattle expansion or Clippers move to Seattle.  The association would probably get more support from a modern major sports virgin in Louisville than the likes of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati or the metropolises of Missouri.

http://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/the-nba-needs-to-consider-relocation-to-seattle-and-louisville-not-expansion/

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/2014/10/08/next-nba-louisville/16909917/


MLS could work, but Louisville may have to get way in line behind markets like Minnesota, St. Louis, Indy and on and on.

$ports can be a perverse business as many others.  Louisville is contemporary virgin territory.

I could see an Indianapolis/Louisville baseball franchise called the American Crossroads Racers.  Indycars would be sported on the hat there and thoroughbreds in Kentucky.  Two smaller and charming ballparks brought up in both towns.

For the MLB or NHL, it could be a shared franchise,....a travel team of sorts.  I imagine MLS or MLB also having a possible travel team like the Southern Rivermen coasting down the Ohio and Mississippi along the lines of Memphis and New Orleans.

For the NHL, maybe a share could be the Predators being co-located in Atlanta and Louisville in addition to soundtown.

Flexibility with the imagination on and on ... .

I like the chances of MLS playing it safe for new territory in the south.  I really like the ring of the Kentucky Horsemen nestled against the north.

http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/08/for-states-without-big-league-ball-next.html
 http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/09/a-quick-gander-at-states-without-big.html



See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 

Tennessee Pioneers MLB Team Might Play where NFL's Titans Should. Sharing the State. MLB Memphis and Nashville.

When you get the chance to be the first that is innovative in a big way, do it.

For the love of Tennessee Big League Baseball, spread it across the state.

80 homes games split into 2 locations would be 40 games a piece in Nashville and Memphis.  Add Knoxville into the mix and we're talking 26 games.  25,25,30, however you dice it.  It's your state.  Town to town the heart can grow fonder.
The Braves dominating the south is getting old.

I've drummed the theme in my my blog time and time again.  The Rangers in central Texas as well as the Dallas area; The Yankees additionally in Buffalo or Albany.  The re-coined and revisited California Angels added to Sacramento; Florida Marlins added to Jacksonville/Orlando, but really in Tampa - move the Rays.

How much sense does it make to have the Tennessee Sounds?  The bluesy tunes of Memphis and the country ballads of Nashville.

Boom.  Play that funky music in your morning coffee.

 

              Click these links:

Major League Baseball in Nashville and New Orleans

Time for more MLB in the South

Southtown Soundhounds MLS Franchise

See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 

Salt Lake City: Visiting the Possibility of more Pro Sports

SLC, you're like Portland.  You have 2/5 of the big sports, the NBA and MLS.

1.15 million people encompass the city area with about 10% residing within the city limits proper.

Attendance for the Jazz ranks 12 out of 30.
http://espn.go.com/nba/attendance

MLS in Utah's capital fairs with the like of the nation's capital:
http://mlsattendance.blogspot.com/

So, as a Utah sports fan, the question becomes what's next?

NFL?
NHL?
MLB?

My guess would be "yes" to all, falling in that order.  Eventually.

Football-wise, there is weekly attendance and we just know that it would work.
Considering MLB, your population is half of pro baseball's birthplace in Cincinnati, which wouldn't make the cut, but your minor league hockey edges out Cincinnati, which happens to be located closer to Canada.

In each league, you also have to take a look at how much room there is for "new" teams/markets and see where you fall in line.  MLB is likely to land in Portland first....and then Charlotte.  NFL, well, Los Angeles is going to win that dog fight.  There would be a team in the east to balance that move, and you're not east so..... I'm sure you're not holding your breath already.  Utes and BYU for now.
In the NHL there is Seattle and pesky Portland in line.

If there was a gun to the Big Five Grand Poobah's head, and a big time team had to affiliate itself as Utah, I bet you how it would work by the next sports season or even tomorrow.  The team could be shared with Las Vegas.  A franchise coined "Western".  And it's either the NFL or NHL that is willing to dip its toe in the Vegas market.  Along those lines, I would like to fantasize that Vegas + SLC could be MLB if there was room for more than the two aforementioned metropolises of the Atlantic and Pacific coast variety.

If there isn't a travel team to camp out at Salt Lake City as a travel-share, when do you think you'll land the likes of the NFL, NHL and other big leagues, 2050?

Look at some method to the madness:  http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2011/08/methodology-for-sports-capacity-study.html


See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog (starting in Feb 2014, see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.

Puerto Rico MLB Team. East Coast.

110 miles long by 40 miles wide with 3.6 million people.  Wouldn't this piece of the United States be suitable for a tag along as an "East Coast" franchise shared travel team in Major League Baseball?


http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=18886

Imagine, in addition to playing in Puerto Rico a team called something like the East Coast Emperors or Armada played in these area as well:
Charlotte
Hampton Roads
Atlantic City

All things being equal that would be 20 home games a piece, right?

East Coast Emperors?  Waves?  Cruisers?  Armada?  Seadogs.... Swabbies ....Swarm....Shippers ...Landers?

In Latin America, big league baseball will be in Monterrey and Mexico City someday.  Will it be in Puerto Rico before then?

A downer:  Logistics.  San Juan to Miami is over a thousand miles by air or sea.
Another hindrance is that they're poor in relative terms.

But as I have been saying throughout parts of my blog, ticket prices are becoming increasingly less important.
Got any creative insights?

On new foreign land joining the fun:  http://baseballguru.com/ctomarkin/analysisctomarkin09.html

Who will have the next MLB team outside of the mainland U.S.?  Right now my vote is Monterrey, Mexico.  It's kind of in the center of it all.

Montreal?
Monterry?
Puerto Rico?
Vancouver?

No doubt, Puerto Rico deserves more of a live share.

http://www.wfuv.org/sports/one-one/130114/puerto-rico-and-baseball

See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog (starting in Feb 2014, see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.

Arizona Major League Soccer Franchise should be placed in Tucson

This is the way Arizona should enter the Big Five sports club when MLS finally comes to the Grand Canyon State.

Tucson is 100 miles southeast from Phoenix, and of course Glendale, home to the Cardinals and Coyotes, is just a Phoenix suburban hike northeast from the big town that all associate as Arizona.

Shake up the sports saturation.  Soccer is a weekly venue that Arizona and soccer lovers would make a trek for, to an area with a million people, half of which live inside Tucson.  The proximity to the border, which is a slightly shorter drive than it is to Phoenix, should bring you the thoughts of soccer celebration potential in the area.  And if you don't understand the Latino relationship with soccer, you probably don't know much about the international appreciation of it.

This is a no-brainer to me.  These days, sports saturation is a market issue.

bizjournals.com/bizjournals/news/2015/04/09/capacity5

Check out this chart where Phoenix is #13:  http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-some-us-cities-may-have-too-many-pro-sports-teams-2013-11

http://www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/tucson/tucson-travel-and-leisure/1763-a-tucson-first-major-league-soccer-comes-to-town-.html

A prevalent theme in my blog is team sharing for questionable markets.  A franchise named (and sponsored by) Western Union shared by (all the west) Tucson and Vegas or the likes of Austin, El Paso and Boise would work.  Then more love could be shared across the country and Soccer Nation with an eastern balance like a team called the American Middies sharing venue in towns like St. Louis, Cincinnati and Oklahoma City.  When you need to find a way to make it work, creativity is in order.  Though I'm sure a team like an Arizona Rattlers would do fine as a Tucson mainstay.

A biodome around Tucson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucson,_Arizona
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/07/0702_affordable_places_to_retire/2.htm 

Arizona Firebirds?

See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog ( see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.

Cities on the Verge or Fringe of Becoming a Major League Newbie. A New Major Sports Town.

Which cities do you think are on the verge or fringe of being newbies (or re-entrants) in the Big Five sports?

Austin, Texas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Louisville, Kentucky

Will Major League Soccer and the likes of the NBA land in the above-mentioned cities first or will they enter into a new big five place like:

El Paso, Texas
Boise, Idaho
Tucson, Arizona

Or even.....

Albuquerque, New Mexico
Reno, Nevada
Omaha/Lincoln, Nebraska
Birmingham, Alabama
Little Rock, Arkansas
Virginia Beach, Virginia area


See Virginia bid for the "old" Montreal Expos that ended up becoming the Washington Nationals:
http://articles.dailypress.com/2004-06-25/sports/0406250146_1_mlb-officials-somerindyke-hampton-roads 
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/29/sports/baseball-virginia-s-pursuit-expos-develops-into-battle-between-north-south.html
http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jul/03/nation/na-norfolk3
Team name?:  http://hamptonroads.com/2014/04/neptunes-chosen-va-beach-baseball-teams-name
Neptune refers to the Roman god of freshwater and the sea

More MLS Texas:
http://www.texasmonthly.com/daily-post/austin-and-el-paso-would-both-have-major-league-soccer-teams

Hey Steve Nash, how about in El Paso or Austin?  Let's not be a ball hog.

See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog ( see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.

Your Home Team's Home is a Camp. Regional Teams in Big League Sports.

The market realities for landing an expansion team are NOT RIGHT NOW.
Relocation is more plausible.  But which cities are even ready to receive a relocation?

Let's get real.
The operating cost of stadiums is a pain in the rear.  And a pain in the rear view for some municipalities in which taxpayers foot much of the bills
.
If there is not enough butts in the seats, or the capability of people buying an adequate amount of tickets to a game day in and day out or week in and week out, a city cannot expect to have a team in their town.

IS A CITY LIKE NASHVILLE READY FOR MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL?
What does this article tell me?:
http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2014/09/16/nashville-economy-officially-top-b-mark/15725853/
It tells me that in theory, the answer is yes.

Look at the market money purported to be the amount necessary to sustain the big leagues:

• $85.4 billion for MLB
• $37.6 billion for the NHL
• $36.7 billion for the NFL
• $34.2 billion for the NBA
• $15.4 billion for MLS.

Notice that Nashville makes the cut (since around 2008).  And so do Columbus, Orlando, Sacramento and Austin.  Nashville ranked just ahead of San Antonio and Milwaukee.  Out of everyone stated, Milwaukee is the only one rocking MLB.  And so, yeah, Nashville and others have the money.  All of these cities but the Tennessee ones have the diamonds in their state already.

The Reds and Braves, who sandwich the Volunteer State, might secretly not care if the likes of Nashville ever get a team.  The Cardinals likely feel that way about Memphis, too.

And note that baseball's market money requirement is more than double the others.  So yeah if you're on the above list, for the other sports, let your MLS, NBA, NFL and hockey fantasies for your towns commence.

Do tickets cost cover operating cost of a stadium?
Should you use existing structures or an upgrade in your area to lull a team in?
The television revenue that is brought into sports exceeds that of the profits made by selling tickets.  This reality is a recent phenomenon.
http://awfulannouncing.com/2013/how-mlb-splits-your-tv-dollars.html
http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/09/tv-market-money-more-important-than-gate.html

FACE IT.  YOUR CITY ISN'T REALLY READY FOR THE BIG LEAGUES YET.

BUT THERE IS A SOLUTION.

AND YOU COULD GET A TEAM.

It would be good, if a problem was that the amount of professional sports talent was so painfully good, that a sports league would have to expand.  Not really true just yet.

The reality either way, however, is that there aren't really many markets begging for a team and would be able to back it up, maybe outside of the NFL in Los Angeles being a sure deal.

And since the leagues are about revenue sharing among the owners' teams/markets, as with other businesses and franchises, owners must be leery of cannibalizing their own markets.  And television markets exceed the borders of the city limits.

For example, if you're the Giants, you want your Giants Nation and you want your television money.  Portland is in a comfy position to support the Mariners or Giants.  Or A's.

But I think with my region-(sharing)-teams model and the reality of revenue sharing and the most profitable stream of revenue being television, sharing teams could work.  It goes without saying that creativity is required.

For getting a team...

Whose is on the fence?

NFL for LA

NBA and NHL for Seattle

MLS for Charlotte and Minnesota

NBA in Louisville (who would be a major league modern newbie, much like OKC)

MLB in Portland

MLB in Charlotte

MLS for Minnesota, St. Louis.
El Paso?
San Antonio?

NFL for Portland
San Antonio?  You might want to ask the Texans and Cowboys owners first.

Think revolutionary.  Think broader.  Manifest your destiny.  For more people.

And then there's that wild mirage of a town called Las Vegas.   It has been illusive to the big leagues.  I think this city would be the biggest gainer from my shared-team model.  For instance, if Oakland is having a hard time housing the Raiders and Athletics, I bet if they changed their name to West Coast and also lived in Portland and Las Vegas, everyone would be a winner, especially West Coast apparel sales.

Who is near the fence in decades to come for things like the MLB?

Nashville

Memphis

Buffalo

New Orleans
Omaha  ( http://newballpark.org/2011/04/20/the-131-million-bargain/ )

or NHL

Cleveland

Indianapolis

or MLS

San Diego
Cincinnati
Austin

...a long list.

or NBA

Cincinnati, St. Louis, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Virginia Beach.


Here's a fun gun-to-your-head exercise:  If Cincinnati and Pittsburgh had to share a new NBA team, what would it be?  The Eastern Caravan?

What would you do this year and next as NFL dictator? Give the exercise a try in your mind.  <CLICK >

West Coast Bowl

See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog ( see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.

San Diego: Visiting the Possibility of more Pro Sports

San Diego, do you want the NBA, NHL and Major League Soccer in your city?

I'm not sure you do.  I'm in the same situation.  I live in Cincinnati with MLB and NFL just like you.
You're south.  I live closer to the real thought of what is the American "South".  I didn't grow up playing pickup games of hockey.  Most Americans haven't.  But if you did, it's most likely because you lived closer to the very north.

Your population is robust (top 10 in the nation), but living in proximity to L.A. (second largest in U.S.) does you no favors probably.  In my town, the NHL isn't 100 miles away.  You're a little more distant from Los Angeles as Cincinnati is from Columbus but I think Cincinnati would be more likely to land a team than you.  We're more north, and we're not close to two teams, the Ducks and Kings.  There are cornfields segregating C-Bus from Cinci.  Also, in an effort to achieve more east-west balance, you know Portland and Seattle will get a team before you.  Maybe even Salt Lake City or Las Vegas.  In the east, Atlanta is probably likely to get another chance sometime, but there is probably a smaller waiting list, the likes of Milwaukee, Indianapolis and Cleveland, all near Cincinnati.  Google does tell me that there is a die-hard San Diego following in the historically resurfacing practice of Gulls hockey, though the Pacific doesn't freeze over on your shores.   But Cinci and SD were both playing in the Freezer Bowl and it was in Ohio, so ..... .

I wish the Clippers would've came back to San Diego.  I wish they went to Seattle, also.  In both towns I think that the West Coast Clippers could be one hell of a money-maker team camping out, especially with apparel and a few appearances camped out in Las Vegas.

I'm surprised there isn't more noise about MLS in San Diego.  Your relationship and position to Mexico cannot be ignored.  And the Chivas share a place.  Did you even really try to coax the old Chivas to become California United Somethingorother in your house?  Sharing with Sacramento, to go-along with my franchise safety net theme, would definitely be neat as Cali United.

You guys way down in Southern Cali should advertise more.  Or not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_in_San_Diego

See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog ( see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.

Kentucky Downs. The NFL in Louisville

I'm big on the thought that Louisville could house the NFL and NBA now.

If there isn't an NFL team in Toronto or the rest of Canada, here is where the Jaguars should go in the NFL East.  They won't.  The city of Jacksonville is locked in, just like other joke Florida Franchises.  But if they could move soon, I would like to see them as a Canadian team of sorts that travels the houses of CFL Canada.  But if they couldn't become the "Nord Force", as I've mentioned throughout this blog, I would love to see the NFL in Louisville.

Doesn't the "Kentucky Downs" have a ring to it?

That's Plan A.  Plan B is a little stickier.  It's more aligned to my theme of camping a team in two places.  I would love for the Rams to vacate St. Louis for Portland and Las Vegas and the Raiders moving for Los Angeles.  And then St. Louis could share with Louisville.  Maybe call them the "River Downs"?

But back to Kentucky.  The Downs.  The Colonels?  Stallions?  Thoroughbreds?  The 'Breds..... no, no, that would be horrid.

http://brokensidewalk.com/2009/striking-visions-of-louisvilles-future-within-our-grasp/

Horseman?
Sounds tough.
Rifleman?
Might as well be the 'Skins with a name like that in our political climate.
Kentucky Downs.  I really like it.

Instant rivalry with the Colts and Bengals, don't you think?

Are there any good areas in Louisville to be re-purposed for big time Kentucky?

Transteleportation of Sports Spectatorship

Ohio Flights and Kentucky Horsemen for an NBA Expansion

 Desired Expansion in the CFL ?

See your place in the Index Key

See much more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for the

footballs, baseball, basketball and hockey on my blog.

Contribute ideas to the pages to the right and comment below.

prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com 

SCROLL DOWN TO VOTE and Comment

MLB in Buffalo? Yes, you just need to Build a Stadium. Or maybe not even that.

How about a 30,000 seat stadium to host the Yankees for 20 games a year?

New York, New York.
Buffalo, New York

Or go with the existing structure for the Triple A Buffalo Bisons ballclub.

Dowtown Ball Park, Coca-Cola Field,...whatever it's called, has over 18,000 seats.  It was built with the foresight of growth possibility, as Buffalo is ranked as a decent MLB candidate:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola_Field

The New York Yankees.  Mets?  Buffalo Blue Jays (is that their affiliation now?).  Either way, the New York name is already in place for the Mets or Yankees to play ball on the north side. Part-time regular season better than no time, right?

The structure is in place to go from 18 to 40 thousand seats.  Good foresight by the builders.  Coca-Cola Field.

So, while on the subject, what about visiting the possibility of other major league sports in Buffalo?
Do Buffalonians even want an NBA and/or MLS team?  Anytime soon, realistically, as with my thoughts on shared New York baseball, I believe the new New York Football Club could do time in a conceived New York Yankee (and Football) Club Stadium built in Buffalo.

Hot stove pipe that, Buffalo.

citylab.com/work/2012/07/they-built-it-mlb-never-came/2509/


See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog ( see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.

Southtown Soundhounds MLS Franchise

Imagine the New England Revolution playing "home" games in Boston, Hartford and Albany.

If soccer were to camp around the south, where could it play?

For the south, a regionally represented team with camp games in Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans and Atlanta could play in the South.  Also consider Louisville and Little Rock.  At this time, it might be the only real way it could succeed in the south.  They can parade around till the sport shores up way more of an American following.

So, if we were to have a Major League Soccer Franchise that starts out as a travel team, what would it be?  I'd say the Southtown Soundawgs or some such.  Soundhounds?  What about Southern Railroad?

Charlotte would probably be the most successful anchor to start docking in the south, followed by Atlanta and Nashville.  Add some blues music from Memphis and a Little Rock and band marching in New Orleans and a slow following might be built, and breakaways can ferment final homes in the likes of Atlanta and Charlotte.

NFL stadiums could be utilized and are already in place in NFL towns like Nashville, New Orleans  Atlanta and Charlotte.  Would Memphis, Louisville, Little Rock, or Birmingham eventually want a soccer-only venue?

Any input?

http://myfox8.com/2014/08/02/thousands-fill-uptown-charlotte-for-international-soccer-match/    

INTERNATIONAL SOCCER MATCH IN CHARLOTTE

See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog ( see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.

Major League Sports Franchise in Little Rock.

Little Rock has about 900,000 people in the area.

I have no doubt their SEC grounds would go for a team bid in the NFL.  And being a weekend venue with some Walmart family backing, it could happen.

A team in Arkansas could provide balance for an expansion team in Los Angeles.
What other cities east of the Mississippi lack and could sustain a Sunday team?  Probably Louisville.  If Canada ever came around we know Toronto would work.

Soccer in Arkansas?  Real Little Rock.  Really Little Rock.
The NBA maybe someday.
Probably not MLB in my lifetime.
Could probably give a fruit loop about ice lacrosse.
Just putting it out there and you probably already know:  OKC will probably get the loving before loyalty in Arkansas will ever be recognized in the Big Five sports.

Or is this crazy?



See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog (starting in Feb 2014, see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/  And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine. 

Cleveland. Missing is the NHL and MLS.

Some new players in Cleveland?  A team for the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by the lake under flame.  How so?  With time, one has to suppose.

It would be a good guess as to whether Cleveland would land big time soccer or hockey first.  It's butted up against another market. And adult Americans in general need to love soccer more.

Cleveland hosts the Big 3.  Cinci does not have the NBA.  Columbus has the other 2 of the Big 5 sports as it lies between Ohio's two corner cities.  If a team had to happen today, I'd be all about a MLS team called the "Ohio Battlegrounds".  They would play at the NFL sites in the buckeye state's north and southwest corners.

Cleveland has had many minor league ice teams through the years, even an IHL team called the Indians, in a time when it was in fashion to name all of the towns teams the same name.  Wikipedia provides good sports history placemark with some of those teams of old and new, like the Cleveland Barons, Lumberjacks and Lake Monsters.

The Big Five in Cleveland?
It'll happen someday.  It's just a thought today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessie_%28lake_monster%29

See:  Some NHL Expansion Talk for a Great Lakes Cleveland NHL brand.

See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog ( see table of contents/archive ):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.

I'm the Big Five American Sports Czar Today...so, I'm doing this to make New Teams

Oakland and Tampa, I have decided to spare you.  I might not totally move your big league teams.

The Athletics are playing in the same spot in addition to Portland and Las Vegas.  The re-minted California Angels split games with Sacramento.  The Rangers do at least 25 games in San Marcos.  The Florida Marlins play in Miami again.  And Tampa and Jacksonville, too.
The Rays, they play in Charlotte.  The Southern Rays camp their home games in Louisville, Nashville and a few home-stretches in a quaint little ball yard in New Orleans.

How will it work out?  Your town will have to collectively figure out the facilities.  You know your town better than I do.

The Rams play in Los Angeles.  The West Coast Raiders play in Portland and Las Vegas, four games apiece.   The Jaguars dropped the act and moved to Canada.  They play throughout CFL Provinces as the Norde Force.  Mexico has a team, now that I have decided.  It's in Monterrey and it is the Sur Toros.  They used to be called the Chargers and moved.  Sorry, San Diego.

In Cincinnati, I'm causing an olympic-size ruckus.  I'm opening up the Underground District.  I'm revamping the Gardens.  I'm superplexing Riverfront Colusseum.  Sorry U.S. Bank Arena.  Not in imaginary land you're named not.  I guess I could be a good bloke and just do a big time revamp on the Gardens OR just the old coliseum (instead naming it "Riverfront Colusseum" with a Roman Catholic heritage nod) to save money and host the NHL and NBA in the same place, but I'll create more jobs and blow more money in my imaginary dictatorship.
Going along with my Region Home-Camp theme, I'm swallowing my own pill.  Yes, I'm bringing the NBA, NHL and MLS to Cincinnati.  And it's part-time.
http://cincinnatiprofessionalsportsspots.blogspot.com/2014/08/whenever-it-will-be-where-will-nhl-and.html

The Cincinnati Gardens

See them beautiful Bearcats uniforms?

http://cincinnatiprofessionalsportsspots.blogspot.com/2014/06/what-i-would-do-for-cincinnati-as.html

http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/07/me-as-sports-dictator-i-build-i-expand.html

The National Hockey League now has the North Coast Lakers.  They play in Cleveland, Milwaukee, Indianapolis and Cinci.  The skeleton of the Florida Panthers was pulled out of Miami, at my order, to help this happen.  And there is more tumbleweed bouncing around Arizona.  Because the West Coast Coyotes take camp in Portland and Seattle with Glendale, while Toronto Dos and Quebec City put more players on ice for expansion.  The newly coined Southern Predators play in Atlanta also.  When in my town, the Lakers play at Riverfront.  An outdoor game will take place at Nippert from time to time.

The Ohio Battle NBA franchise rocks the houses.  Yep, I said houses.  The Cincinnati Gardens and the make-believe-yet-conceived Wright Fieldhouse in Dayton.  The analysis of this choice pans out to be further away from the Cavs turf straddling the lake and to fortify the border with that of the Pacers.   I want more Columbus people driving a jump on I-70 to make a game in Dayton.  While it would be ballsy and provocative to put her in Toledo in order to taunt the Detroit market pistoning down a short I-75 drive, a megalopolis of Columbus through Dayton to Cinci is more crowded.

The West Coast Clippers play in San Diego, Seattle and Vegas.  You're welcome.

The Cincinnati Blue Collars are a new MLS team.  We get down at the Forest Fair Futbol Complex, this time bringing love to the north side of town, seeing as I revamped the Gardens in the heart of town, in addition to our south side riverfront.  Should I call them the Rustbelt Blue Collars and share time with the Toledo/Detroit market?  I have given thought to a new Bengals Jerry Jones'esque temple somewhere near Ohio's riverfront.  Then a world-class facility named Paul Brown Stadium could be utilized for local colleges, NCAA Bowl Games, and most importantly in Cincinnati, high school sports.  That's multi-use to the max.

So, I got mine.  Did you get yours?

See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog ( see table of contents/archive ):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.

San Antonio: Visiting the Possibility of more Pro Sports

San Antonio is becoming Title Town NBA.  High times as a champion.  So, what are the chances of landing another big league team?



Monetarily, as it only requires over $15 billion in a market, the best chance is a Major League Soccer team.  Reality for the big sports expanding anytime soon isn't likely, but when it happens these days, it's MLS.  For the other sports, relocation is more likely.
Raiders?  It was thought to be a tease.
Athletics?  More of a chance but Texas, in name, already has the Rangers.

http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-some-us-cities-may-have-too-many-pro-sports-teams-2013-11

San Antonio is a Cincinnati size market.
Anymore, Austin is hot competition for Saint Anthony.  Thinking ahead, and I've mentioned this before in my blog, San Marcos is essentially a halfway point between the two bigger cities.  Planners should consider putting something there, like the next Texas NFL franchise.
http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/07/san-marcos-texas-should-be-second-site.html

What is a shell of a team in St. Louis, the Rams, I think would be a good move into the heart of Texas.  But the reality is that the Texans and Cowboys want their San Antonio to kick in tribute to the Lone Star mega towns.

SA is a Texas town in the heart of Texas.  You know they want football above all.  Thanks, Captain Obvious.

http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/07/san-antonio-raiders-are-you-excited.html

Recently, there was a mouth watering tease with luring in the Raiders.  Going back a little while, there was talk of luring baseball's Marlins.  But yeah, you better believe they want football.

Hockey?  Fat chance.  Houston doesn't have the NHL.  Or they don't have it yet.  Not a massive Canadian demand.  The River Walk never really freezes.
My bets would be for Austin landing the next hockey bid before all else in Texas.  Maybe even over Houston.  They're really hungry for the pros.  The Longhorns are loved, but yeah.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texas_metropolitan_areas

                         Texas areas with over a million people.
Dallas                                   6.3 million
Houston                                6 million
San Antonio                         2.1 million
Austin area with San Marcos 1.7 million
El Paso                                 1 million

thesanantonioriverwalk.com

MLS, then NFL, then MLB.....then NHL...?

All of the big league sports in 50 or 60 years?

Click for a peak at a MLS Stadium proposal


See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog ( see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.

Golden State and New England sounding Teams Rep a Bigger League Region

MLS and the NFL have the Revolution and Patriots who are basically supported by Boston.
In name, they are and represent New England.

The Golden State of California houses one of its four NBA franchises outside of it's capital city (which has its own team), known as the Golden State Warriors.  Perhaps some San Diego basketballers are appeased with this.

The Pats and Warriors have been playing as their family name since the early 1970s.

Would Dallas's basketball team get away with being called the Texas Mavericks?  Sure, but just like the Marlins retracted their name to Miami because of the Devil Rays, the Mavs have to compete with the Spurs and Rockets.

All Big Five leagues carry some state named teams.  NHL and MLB are missing out on a little more of regional namesake creativity.

Coverage casts over a larger area with a region inclusive name.

Big League Hockey and Baseball could do a lot by expanding a name with some creativity and  ingenuity, ringing in more of a following.  A drumbeat throughout my blog has been the West Coast Raiders, Athletics, Coyotes, Clippers and/or a re-branded Chivas.

Venues could be moved or co-located to the likes of Portland and Las Vegas with such as broadstroke regional name like "West Coast".  Imagine the apparel sales.  The B-logo of the Bengals seems mobile to me, so me Cincinnati arse best be careful, lest there should be a West Coast Bengals playing in L.A. and Las Vegas.  But I bet the Raiders and Rams are more vulnerable for a move (again).  Wouldn't two "West Coast" named teams put up some good attendance for 20 baseball games in Portland and Vegas and two NFL games a piece?  I bet they would.

Cost of operating facilities and making a profit off of it are a pain in a business's ass indeed, so having a team "simultaneously" laying claim to a stadium in Portland and the City of Sin would be new ground, but something tells me that "West Coast" apparel sales would have a large embrace.  It's my whole point:  more people with a team.  "I'm a Cowboys fan.  I live in Portland.  I've never been to Dallas.  No connection.  I'm retarded".  Well, I guess most of our pro players are imported mercenaries so that makes us all retarded, but hey.

The way things are now, it's already complicated:
Two teams back in L.A.  Why would you want to do that?  Is Portland chopped liver?
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/nfls-la-future-a-high-stakes-dance-for-3-franchises/ar-BBe3zyr?ocid=mailsignout

Let me settle this.
Los Angeles Rams, West Coast Raiders ((maybe in Oakland (who cares?), Portland and Las Vegas) and the San Diego Chargers.

Want the NHL in Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Cincinnati?
I have this notion for a travel home-camp team for the North Coast Lakers.  You're welcome NHL.
Seattle, Portland and Arizona?  West Coast Snowbirds.  You're welcome.
Atlanta?  Southern Predators with Nashville.  Free up a franchise?  Panthers.  Florida Lightning or stay Tampa Lightning.  If you think hard, you don't have to expand the number of teams.  You can expand number of locations or just your brand with a title change.

As far as where these stadiums are to be built, most especially with regional name, and most especially with a weekly venue like football, build slightly off of the beaten or prime-time path and cause a new area of growth.
http://www.urbancincy.com/2011/01/learning-from-the-urban-design-of-paul-brown-stadium/



See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog ( see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.

Columbus: Visiting the Possibility of more Pro Sports

The only big league soccer and hockey teams in the buckeye state are housed in Columbus.
C-bus has a baseball team.  It's the Columbus Clippers, a Triple A ball club.

http://www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t445
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Clippers

As a kid, I remember their affiliation with the Yankees.  Now, it's the Indians.
In a way, as a Cincinnatian I wish C-bus was the Reds AAA affiliate.  But for the Redlegs, Louisville is as pretty equidistant to Cinci as Columbus is.

There might not be enough room in the heart of the state for the NFL in Columbus.  Go Bucks.  You can take I-71 and it's just a medium drive away straight shot away to big cities away in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and for I-70 to reach Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.

Columbus is the largest city, though the third largest metro area in the state.

http://www.columbusunderground.com/columbus-ranked-as-top-affordable-housing-market-for-millennials

So what about the NBA?  If any, that would seemingly be the strongest likelihood though not likely a strong one anytime soon.  It might not necessarily be the case that Cinci outguns it for a shot, even though the state capital is fairly close to the Cleveland Cavs.  Market saturation is a factor.

Not considering the MLS, look at this chart:  http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-some-us-cities-may-have-too-many-pro-sports-teams-2013-11 
According to this study, NYC, LA, Chicago, Dallas and Philadelphia are right-sized or have a tiny bit of room for more.  So is Tampa and Portland.

I'm for a wider surname for a team in the Columbus region for the next one.  What about a basketball team called the Ohio Battle?  For the NBA, who does Cinci root for?  Some for Indy (it's closer) and some for the Cavs.  There is probably more of a Cavs tilt in Columbus.  Toledo is pretty much in the Detroit area.  I could argue a case that it would be better positioned in Dayton, which is in reach of both Cincinnati and Columbus.

Any input from someone from the C-Bus?


See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog (starting in Feb 2014, see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.

No More Two-Team Towns for a Sports League

What am I going to do with the Rangers, Clippers, Jets, Mets, Angels and White Sox?
At a loss is east to west, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

And standing to gain?

As American Big Five Sports Czar this is what I can think of now:
Portland Mets
      and
Portland Jets
Las Vegas White Sox?  Or is that too much irony?
The Angels of Charlotte, I suppose.
Seattle Clippers
Seattle Rangers
And so the American Northwest would love me.
I suppose I could instead move the Islanders to Seattle since Long Island has thousands of seats that go empty and the Puget Sound and the Ocean are there, also.

So, it's got to be out with the Chivas and the other New York soccer MLS teams also... .

New York, you're slotting that team for the Carolina Kingdom though I would have to consider a strong call from Minnesota for a Norse or Norseman franchise.

Chivas, I'm splitting time with you.  You are playing in Las Vegas and Austin.  Call them "Western Union"?!
Western Divided?  Great West?  Or should I just change the team and move alone to Austin for the "Cattlemen Club"?
 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._cities_with_teams_from_four_major_league_sports 

Maybe the Ducks ol' Mighty?
Not 30 miles but an hour away is Anaheim's distance from Los Angeles.  Mashed together, it just seems like one city.  Gun to my head, if I had to move the Ducks I'd put them in Portland with serious consideration for Green Bay/Milwaukee, way closer to Milwaukee.  But as far as metro areas, I don't want to punish New Jersey for jumping over river, and for that sake I wouldn't want to move the Ducks, Devils or the Nets.

You mad, New York?

Though I want to move the Raiders back to Los Angeles with some play-time in Las Vegas.

Any input?

I'm all about sharing the sports love.
Check out all of the moves I've made throughout my blog.

prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 


See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog (starting in Feb 2014, see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.