Next Major League Expansion Team: Too Close to Other Sports Markets for Now Though. Sandwiched in Between is some Meat

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Too Close to Other Sports Markets for Now Though. Sandwiched in Between is some Meat

Indianapolis- Cards, Cubs or Reds
Definitely Columbus-Reds or Indians
In the same ballpark, Louisville clashes with sports countries.
Baltimore is between Philly and D.C. for other sports
Hampton Roads on east coast Virginia is between D.C. and the Carolina country.
OKC isn't as Denver Dallas sandwiched as it once was thought to be.

Expansion takes time. Captain Obvious says that too.
Before the 1990s, the furthest MLB team south in the southern U.S. in the American League was the Orioles until Tampa Bay landed a full-time team. In the National League, Houston was the only thing in the heart of the country before pushing eastward into St. Louis until Denver hit mile high. Atlanta has its dominance of the south until something like Nashville or Charlotte comes along.

Do you have any observations?

Proximity Screws them Over for a Big League Team

East Coast Whalers of Hartford and Hampton Roads

With MLB Expansion Comes MiLB Expansion

If you're willing to consider a chunk of miles you can make more cases of being sandwiched. The world has shrunk. Distance Decay. The boob tube and even fast cars. Regional sports networks make this claim in large chunks of mileage. For instance, Portland is in a state of its own but between the Bay in California and Seattle in Washington. It could be said of southern California and Phoenix holding weight with Las Vegas. It would be a stretch in this regard to say that Albuquerque is at the bottom of a triangle for Texas, Arizona and Colorado teams. Little Rock is Little Rock and Omaha is what it is also.

Austin has a problem. It'd be a great and smooth venture for Major League Soccer if not for San Antonio. And Houston, and Dallas for all the other sports. Let San Antonio have soccer and Austin have the NHL. Houston can fill their car with oil and drive to the heart of their state for a change.

San Jose makes its claim for northern Cali's bay area for big time soccer and hockey. East of them, Salt Lake City touts these big two too. All of these loosey-goosey thoughts have led me to regional brands. Austin ice-hockey named Texas_____ (like their place as the Dallas affiliate as the Texas Stars) could make a more palatable draw out of San Antonioans and Houstonians. I'd argue the same for Columbus, Ohio. Carolina brands do it right. Could Missouri do a Kansas City-St. Louis tag team in the NBA?

I have many thoughts throughout the blog. Combining cities for a team is some. Compromises like San Marcos for Austin and San Antonio, and an NFL tailgating destination in Alabama created out of thin air, building up an entire town. What do you got?