East Coast Feds. Imagine this NHL Franchise

Should not the Panthers just vacate Florida?

How about as an alternative to total vacation, in the sense of the word meaning "totally vacating" Miami, let's turn the Panthers into a NHL Travel team that enters, let's say 9 newer American markets.

Imagine the NHL touching more of these markets:
Albany, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Atlantic City, Virginia Beach/Hampton Roads area, Louisville and Atlanta.

I have also dream-schemed a North Coast named team and other tweaks such as:
Northland
West Coast
Southland
Great Lakes

click:  Dakota NHL Team 

http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/09/at-least-two-new-american-nhl-teams-in.html 

prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/03/new-teams-for-big-four-tomorrow.html 

prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/09/more-major-league-cities-with-no-new.html

Is this East Coast enough ?  worldmapdownload.blogspot.com

Included in some of these are the above mentioned cities and the likes of OKC, Austin, Houston, Las Vegas, Portland and Seattle.

Any other names for an East Coast brand?
East Coast American Mounties?  Fleet     Battle Group     Lakers     Blockade     Yankees
     Shippers     Workers     Blue Collars     Dockman     Colonials     Railers

What do you think?

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

NHL Team in Austin and Las Vegas called the West Coast Cattle Drive.

Would putting a NHL franchise in Austin be ignoring Houston?  No great loss.  They could easily host exhibitions.  Maybe the ice melts faster in Houston than in Texas Hill Country.

Perhaps the factor of market saturation puts the puck more in Austin's court, the capital of Texas.

I'm not alone in thinking that the south, and anything with proximity to Arizona, needs to prove itself to the NHL.  The highest level of minor league hockey in the south is housed in the middle of the country.  It's Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Austin.  The Texas teams are pretty close to each other.

Las Vegas has a hockey team a league below the AHL that the above named are a part of in Oklahoma and Texas.

I say, market two birds with one stone.  Don't become another Atlanta (NHL failure).  So, that's another reason to snub Houston.  But consider new big leagues cities a turn in both Austin and Las Vegas.

What better name for a western team that is essentially a travel team or camp team, than the "Cattle Drive"?
Better than the Tumbleweeds?  Wolf Pack?  Wagon Trains?

wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Stars
wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas_Wranglers

Cats          'Drivers'    ???    What to call them???

Time and affiliation could be had in Oklahoma City or the likes of Salt Lake City and Boise.

I'm well aware that perhaps singularly, Seattle and Portland deserve a NHL team and perhaps deserve the West Coast moniker if anybody does.  I'm not alone in thinking Arizona doesn't deserve it yet, especially when compared to some northern cities, not mentioning  those hockey fans more enthused in Milwaukee and Cleveland that aren't snowbirds.

View TV Metrics (NHL):  West Coast Whales NHL Team in Seattle, Portland and Las Vegas

Showgirls can wear cowboy hats, also, right?  www.las-vegas-shows-reviews.com

Austin:

State named teams. A Wider Geographic Home for the Big Leagues

NBA MidAmerican Express Travel Team (for Louisville, El Paso & Austin...and maybe St. Louis?) 

MLS, Will the Major Leagues land in Austin for the first time, or will San Antonio get that Soccer team before their capital city???

Further articles of shared Travel (region) teams in all of the sports, particularly a "West Coast" brand in every sports league, always touting Las Vegas, check out my table of contents or index to the right.

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

Major League Soccer in Nashville, Charlotte and beyond.

The Bootleggers.

How much badassery is in some 'leggers soccer of Appalachia.

Tennesee Bootleggers or Carolina Bootleggers?

As a travel team named "Appalachia" I envision one hell of a following in name and schedule.  If absence makes the heart grow fonder.  Anchor that bastard in Atlanta and see all of the other big cities, especially NFL ones that could house the team.

www.arc.gov/appalacian_region/MapofAppalachia.asp

Big stadiums with no Big Leagues?  Think Athens, Ohio and Knoxville.  Think West Virginia and 'Bama.  Lexington.

If not a leg or a foot, dip them toes in Atlanta, Nashville and Charlotte.  Not much of a stretch is Cincinnati or Pittsburgh either.  It was a nice thought anyway.

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

#MLSPittsburgh #MLSCincinnati #MLSNashville #MLSCharlotte #MLSAtlanta #MLSKentucky #MLSWestVirginia #MLSBirminghamAlabama #MLSYoungstown #MLSKnoxville #MLSAthensOhio

Ohio United. Or call it an Ohio Divided Team. Cincinnati-Dayton Metroplex Major League Soccer

Ohio United.  Or call it an Ohio Divided Team.  Cincinnati-Dayton Metroplex  NBA, NHL or MLS Team ??

United or Divided
The names obviously have more of a soccer MLS ring to it.  "Divided" especially with already a team in Columbus.

For any new MLS market, the name "Excited" sounds like some contemporary American word play.

Ohio has all of the Big 5 sports and it is uniquely spread to 3 of it's cities with the NHL and MLS being housed in the heart, the NBA nestled in the northeast along with the big two also securing the border on the southwest corner.
There could be thoughts of the NHL entering the Cleveland market or the NBA in Cinci, but obviously the balance is complicated with Columbus in the middle of it all.  The MLB isn't in C-bus.
It would be difficult to be called "United".

It would be unique to be called "Divided".
As far as big league Soccer, I am not ignorant of the absence of big market ball in Detroit or Indianapolis.  That's why I have given the thought before to placing a team perhaps in Toledo, Detroit and Indianapolis under the umbrella name of "Great Lakes United" or "Lakes Fleet of Feet",... you get the idea.
See:  Ohio Big 5 Experience: Cincinnati to Cleveland and through Columbus. NBA, NHL or MLS in Dayton or Toledo?

I think the MLS is already ready and poised for the NFL bighouses of Cleveland and Cincinnati.  "Ohio Divided" as an expansion team could work.  A dogpound/jungle cats and dogs alliance might be weird, but a game or two in the neglected corners of Ohio in the form of Athens and Toledo would be a good visit in idea or practice.

Ohio Divided might even be a thought for Columbus and Cincinnati versus Cleveland on the hardwood.

Ditto for Cinci-Cleveland in the NHL to Columbus.

Feasibility reguarding a NBA team for Cincinnati and Dayton combined is a thought.  Cinci-Dayton metro.
AKA Cincinnati-Dayton Corridor or Metroplex.

Some thoughts on some team names?
Cinci-Dayton United
CD, DC Metros
Ohio Divided
Queen City Sprawlers (suburban sprawl)

How about Cincinnati-Dayton Metroflex ?   ...'flex; not plex?
CD Metroflex.

Aeros          Cannons          Brigades          Grads          Natives          Flights          Wings

Pilots ?       Fleet?

? A Jets name in 3 of the five big sports?
? Two with Astros?

What do you think?

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

 Samples:

Yankees Hockey: The Great Lakes/North Coast Hockey Team. A New NHL Franchise and Concept

A good name for the newest Cincinnati team.

Color Scheme Identity. The name Blue Collars not claimed after all this time.

Cincinnati: Visiting the Possibility of more Pro Sports

D.C. Baltimore United? Could it be? Congrats on the new Stadium.

Washington D.C. and Baltimore are butted right up against each other.

I find it a natural partnership. 
I don't find that thought unique.  The Orioles were the ballclub of the nation's capital for quite a few decades.  D.C. and Baltimore are part of one huge concrete blob. 

As a man in my thirties, I don't expect to see a NBA franchise in Baltimore in my lifetime.  Why?  The Wizards are pretty much right there.

D.C. is united.  In name, why not go further?  Balwash Corridor.  My countless vote goes for DC Baltimore United.

www.blackandredunited.com

washingtonpost.com/blogs/soccer-insider/wp/2014/12/17/d-c-united-stadium-approval-improves-its-playing-field-in-mls-in-many-ways/

dcunited.com/
www.mlssoccer.com/

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

The Biggest Calls for New Big League Teams

The Biggest Calls for New Big League Teams in the Big Five


MLB in Portland and Charlotte

Can't the A's and Rays just vacate or co-locate with these towns now?

The NFL in Toronto, Portland and Los Angeles

It's time for Toronto to shit on our pastime.  Like the World Series in '93.  I'm just being cute.  And it won't hurt the CFL.  It will in fact be a sort of national team (full of mercenaries) playing their home games camped throughout coast-to-coast Canada.

If there were to be only a two-team expansion I would say a team should play in Portland and Los Angeles under the umbrella name of West Coast.  If a four team expansion, I would still call for a West Coast share that included Las Vegas, but balance would also have Louisville.

Cannot the Raiders and Jags commit this justice of balanced movement?

NBA in Seattle and Louisville

Whenever it would happen.  Seems like more talk of contraction for the basketball league these days.
West Coast Clippers could include places like Las Vegas and Seattle if they camped out with a new name.

wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Texas

80 miles from San Antone and twice as further to Houston lies Austin.  Name for this team?  Austin Texans.               Texas United.  Texas Divided.  Texas Republic.  Heart Texas ? ? ? ? ?

MLS in Austin

When is the Big Leagues going to land in this up-and-comer.  They are teased about big-time sandwiched between San Antonio, the big D and Houston.

Whataya' think of calling the club "The Band of Texans"?

And what about the first major Big Five Sport in Mexico to be MLS Monterrey ?
For the bigtimes in general, a good east-central-west balance for big five newbies would be Louisville, Austin and Las Vegas.

NHL needs Portland, Seattle and more Great Lakers

Great Lakers (your choice:  Milwaukee, Cleveland, Indianapolis and/or Cincinnati)
I would love this to be a region's own travel franchise.  The northwest-west could do the same with Portland-Seattle-Vegas.
Blandly speaking 40 home games could be split a number of ways.  For instance, in the Great Lakes Region:  10 games in each of the cities.  Or, since Columbus wears Ohio hockey already, let 15 games take place in Wisconsin and Indy while the corners of Ohio get to showcase 5 home camp skates a piece.  I would even like to see any combination with exhibition games fermenting the Great Lakes or Northwest/West Coast namesake.


I believe this to be a shake-up for the better in sports world North America.  It amounts to more people, space and coverage.

Click ----> INDEX to see combinations of teams and travel teams

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

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#MLSMonterrey #MLSAustin #MLBCharlotte #MLBPortland #NFLPortland #MLBLasVegas #MLSLasVegas #NHLLasVegas #NFLLasVegas #NBALasVegas #NHLPortland #NHLSeattle #NBALouisville #NHLCincinnati #NHLIndianapolis #NHLCleveland #NHLGreenBay #NHLMilwaukee #NFLLA #NFLLosAngeles #NFLCanada #NFLToronto

Indianapolis: Visiting the Possibility of more Pro Sports

You got it, Indy.  Your presence is felt in the National Football League and basketball association.  Two of the Big Five.

And, as could be surmised from reading my blog, I have great appreciation for the generosity of your NBA team's first name.  Your claim is the entire state, not just by heart, but in name, even if apolis isn't much harm.

Americanly, there is a tumbleweed that blows through not just the fields and crossroads of Indiana, but through the very heart in the form of Indianapolis's area of around  2.3 million people, over 800,000 of which are in the city proper.  The twelfth largest city in the country is without it's major presence pastime.  The baseball.  The big league.  You have alcoholics baseball.  Sorry,...that was a bad attempt at a joke for AAA, aka Triple A baseball.  And you probably have many a major league fans that are at least on the geographic fringes of Cubs, Cardinals and Reds Country.  At the crossroads, you're a battleground and it's a good question to ask someone from Indiana.

Children's Museum at the heart of Indiana.  Not quite the dinosaur in the room.  And not quite out there, either.

Other cities nearer-by places that would vie for MLB love would be Louisville (the neighbor a short paddle away), Nashville and Charlotte.  So, I would consider you a shoe in if MLB was to expand by 4.

The NHL?  Your population and market saturation standing as compared to the likes of Milwaukee, Cincinnati and Cleveland seem to leave Indianapolis in a good position to face the Blue Jackets first, out of that lot.  Out of those mentioned and Atlanta, you seem to me the best candidate in the north, and top two in the American east for getting to the big skate someday.  The same could probably be said for Major League Soccer.

What would be a good name for the next Indiana team?
.blogspot.com/2014/03/any-good-logos-or-team-names-you-can.html

Would you like a travel team in the meantime? 

Crossroads Racers of Indianapolis and Louisville. A nifty example of a MLB team shared for Kentucky and Indiana and beyond

Indianapolis is next east city to get NHL, right?

http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/05/orlando-portland-charlotte-sacramento.html

Perhaps it is that folks in Indianapolis are so practical that I'm not seeing a robust movement or internet presence for calling out the fans, MLB-wise.


www.facebook.com/MLBnINDY

mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/08/16/mls-expansion-hopefuls-indy-eleven-and-sacramento-republic-fc-each-hit-seaso

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 to the pages to the right and comment below.

prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com 

SCROLL DOWN TO VOTE and Comment 
 

Oklahoma City: Visiting the Possibility of more Pro Sports

With 1.3 million people in the metro area, that's about a million less than my Cincinnati.  OKC's enthusiasm for hosting regular season games while New Orleans was in rehab showed the National Basketball Association that big league ball was a fit for Sooner than later.

wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City
 
Also home of the Barons ( hockey),  Redhawks newly renamed the Dodgers (baseball team of Los Angeles affiliation) and a heaping of college football, it has to be considered more than ignored.

I-35 and OKC run through the heart of America
All that football 'round Okietown but not in the Big League.  Central city competition for NFL football might be more robust of a weekly attendance option.  Think of the main pigskin places in Arkansas and Nebraska.  And don't forget San Antonio.
click:  Oklahoma Oilers in the NFL

The sun will shine,...big and bright, clap clap clap clap, deep in the hearts of okies.  Someday. 

What a great Rangers rival it would be for MLB.  And KC.  And Minnesota
200 miles from Dallas, about 350 from KC and a thoughtful candidate in Little Rock, if ever a need for balance as a central expansion team, OKC looks to be it.  Omaha and Lincoln Nebraska combined equals the pop of OKC, even if they're baseball heart is the same.  Competition for the bid would be Nashville, which is longitudinally nestled between the National League Central cities of Chicago and Cincinnati. 

Since Texas has a stronger baseball presence than the south's sole claim in Atlanta, baseball's soul might lean to the tune of Nashville and Charlotte first.  But then that east lean might beckon balance for Portland in the west and a call for something central.  Anyway,..... moving along.

Hockey seems further off.  Houston doesn't even float or slide a team yet.  MLS maybe has better of a chance.

That football in OKC and Stillwater.  In Okie-miles that's those spots are the same distance as Cincinnati to Dayton.  Yep, the NFL seems the best bet of them all, enthusiasm-wise.


For more Oklahoma City big league sports options, to include travel teams, check out the index.

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

Some Mapping of Minor League Baseball. Triple A to one A and all the way to the Bigtime

Both Toledo and Dayton have a Fifth Third Field 

The Teams:
milb.com/milb/info/geographical.jsp
http://www.milb.com/milb/info/affiliations.

wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_baseball_league

http://imgarcade.com/1/baseball-teams-map/

oursportscentral.com/services/maps/


Attendance:
milb.com/news/article
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=neumann-110708_dayton_dragons_sellout_streak

The darker shades show more attendance.  Do you have an inkling for a team where you're at?

The Reds are in Florida, Kentucky, Ohio again, and Montana

HIGHEST ATTENDANCE

oursportscentral.com/services/maps/

HIGHEST TEAM ATTENDANCE

billsportsmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/baseball_minor-leagues_84-highest-drawing-teams_2013-avg-attendance_all-milb-affiliated-and-independent-teams_drawing-over-4000-per-game_m_.gif

Is your city mapping itself out for pro baseball?
thestate.com/2014/04/06/3372033/columbia-faces-final-decision.html
wltx.com/story/news/local/2014/07/16/columbia-minor-league-baseball-team-loan

Does your city's development team fall within the League of Big Nations' borders?

nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/23/upshot/24-upshot-baseball

cincinnatimagazine.com/features/the-big-sellout/


Fashion Bonus:  totalprosports.com/2014/07/31/21-crazy-minor-league-baseball-jerseys/

BONUS: A Snapshot of the Big time birth.

billsportsmaps

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

Women's Major League Baseball. The WMLB.

A League of Their Own.

Watch the fiction based on fact.
Get your bearings:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-American_Girls_Professional_Baseball_League

Yeah, you've probably seen the movie.  A League of Their Own.

I have thought about a Women's MLB before:
prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/07/wmlb-wnba-wnhl-wmls-and-wha-whuuut-wnfl.html

prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/07/wnba-so-why-not-wmls.html

I'm somewhat of a baseball enthusiast.  I would enjoy watching ladies playing baseball.  Not so much softball, but yes, baseball.

myersparktrinity.blogspot.com/2010/12/girls-can-play-baseball-too.html

espn.go.com/espnw/athletes-life/article/9892355/espnw-girls-get-diamond-all-three-team-tournament-organized-baseball-all

The WNBA is a success, right?  I'm sure I could admire a few more facets of the ladies game.  I bet I would pay attention a little bit more.

Then the question inevitably begs, what about more,...like the lady counterpart to MLS, which to me seems the likeliest fit to all?  I would love the Lady Crew to take the field as a before or after the Crew matchup.

drawception.com/viewgame/OMygCcdaZB/nhl-vs-nba-vs-mlb-vs-nfl-vs-mls/

                 

American football and hockey are questionable for this thought indeed.

I'll just come out and say it.  There's the Lingerie League (now known as the Legends Football League ) and it's a wonder how to sexualize hockey.  But isn't hockey Canada's religion?  Can they not build it up so that the girls can come too.  I mean they can come onto the ice.  I'm sure there's some knothole hockey or whatever.  And there has got to be some girl little league action.

While the WNBA is great, there is something to be said about the exhibition that is another thing of beauty.  I mean, I cannot even keep a blog straight or on topic when the ladies are in the room:

bikinibasketball.com/

Of course I would want bikini baseball or for the option for the gal players to wear whatever brand in whatever fashion they wish in team colors.  Perhaps there would be the choice of dress, skirt, bikini or some such.    Sexualizing might not be the greatest, but it sells and may serve more of an "in" (inroads) to expanding the options for a more robust women's team league.

I'm not the only dork.  This camera man can't even keep balance for the basketball camera action:
youtube.com/watch?v=yXZDDD9lS2k


What are some clever counterpart names for any team in any of the Big Five Sports Leagues?
Try some:
Cleveland Engines
Cincinnati Redleggers
or just Lady Redlegs
Cincinnati Bangals
Lady Lakers
Buffalo Billies
Washington Skirts or Skins
Cowgirls
San Diego Madres

What do you think?

Maybe, just this time, I'll contain myself by not attaching great images of God or Goddess's creation on this post.

click:      WMLB and my Lady Redlegs v. the San Diego Madres

In the future I'm sure to have future posts about the WNBA, WNFL, WMLS, WMLB and WNHL as counterparts to the men's teams.  And mayhaps when some bikini league expansion comes to Cincinnati, I'll get more some more insight towards that.

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

Eastern Cities That Get More Pro Teams. And Louisville.

Atlanta, I'm sharing the Nashville Predators with you and a title change.  The Southern Predators.  I want to consider some such arrangement for MLS.  Thinking of Tampa and Charlotte, also.


Buffalo, you get to share on any number of New York brands.  Get your facilities prepped.

Charlotte, I'm moving the Rays to your town.  Or sharing it with Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg.  I'm definitely sharing you with Tennessee below.

Nashville (Memphis).  The Tennessee Grizzlies.  For a new expansion in MLB, I'd create the Tennessee brand by raising the name of the Smokies.  Wouldn't a Smokey Bear mascot be darling?   Or even consideration to naming you the Blues.  Knoxville would get to host the camp site for a series or two at least.
But without an expansion of teams, you're likely to get the Southern Rays with C-lott.

Tampa Bay, I'm giving you the short end of the stick, kinda sorta.
You will get share time with the Florida Marlins.

Jacksonville, yeah, you have the Marlins now.  And you'll be sharing the Jaguars.  I think an interesting basketball expansion could be the Panhandle Coast Pirates in the NBA.  Exhibition in Mobile, Alabama could be a show.

WiZiWiG Hotties on Campus

Louisville, just like Las Vegas to the west, I'm lumping you in on a deal or four.  Welcome in the Southern Jaguars.  I actually figure you one of the best bets for NBA Expansion in the East.  Being called the East River Rafters with the likes of Cinci, Pittsburgh and St. Louis is a thought if the league pumped out an expansion travel team.  Could you hosts some Southern Rays baseball action?

Baltimore, I've got to tell you, I'm not feeling a lot of love right now.  You're Balwash.  But it's with a business mind.  I don't even give priority to Cincinnati, my beloved hometown.
With Cincinnati, I'm more hip to sharing Crew Soccer and Blue Jacket hockey of C-bus ilk, all in a name change.  C-bus is Columbus, but the C-bus drives to Cleveland and Cinci.

New Orleans:  not quite yet.  But consider jumping in on some of the mentioned Southern hockey and baseball brand nods.  Ditto for the likes of Little Rock

Maybe my imagination down the line will let me figure on how all big time towns can be big five brothers circa 2085 AD or whatever.

Did I miss somebody?  What's the head count?


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

Western Cities That Get More Pro Teams. And Las Vegas.

I should I say more western cities that get more pro teams in my book:

Seattle:  NBA and NHL
And you're sharing with Las Vegas, Portland, maybe Arizona and L.A..

So, the NHL is going to expand by 4, is it?  Well, I'm going to kills some bird with one salvo.  If it was up to me, hockey in Glendale would be gone.  You, Portland and some consideration for Las Vegas would be given on the hockey front as the West Coast Coyotes.  But in the expansion I want to give you a West Coast team.  Name it whatever sounds good.  I think the play on "Whales" and rolling with Vegas as well as the northwest bay super towns is a neat idea.

And say hello to the West Coast Clippers.  Yeah, you and Vegas are in on that deal.

 click:  Seattle with the NBA Team Again. And a New NHL Team


Portland:  NFL, NHL and MLB !!!

You read that up there with Seattle, didn't you?  You have your hockey team camping out at your place.
And now you're getting the West Coast Raiders with Vegas and a little bit of LA.

And yes, you're getting the Athletics with Las Vegas, also.

Los Angeles is a no-shit Sherlock for the NFL.
You house the West Coast Raiders part-time for camp games.
And St. Louis loses their Rams, becoming your LA Rams again.  Time-and-a-half football, big time again.  Not double-time again like the New Jersey Giants and Jets or anything.  But way better than the last 20 years for you.

collegecheerheaven.blogspot.com/2014/02/colorado-dance-squad-has-great-team.html

Salt Lake City, I have to tell you that maybe you should flop names with New Orleans on the hardwood.
Could I surmise some MLB, NFL and NHL for you? 

I'm leaning towards giving you some pre-season game action on the West Coast brands.  Don't call me, I'll call you.
Actually, I want someone to call me.  I was just acting hard.

Sacramento, it's ditto for you on preseason for the West Coast football and baseball brand, at least.  But I have a surprise for you.  You have the West Coast Goats.  Screw L.A. football team II. 

And below, San Diego gets West Coast Ghosts soccer club love with you.  As does,.....drum roll, please:  .....Las Vegas.

San Diego:  same preseason beat for Clippers and Whales hockey.


Boise, you may feel that I snubbed you a little if I threw in Vegas, and don't fret.  Check out your towns in the CLICK INDEX:  prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/p/key.html

San Jose is Spanish for "San Francisco".  San Jose Sharknadoes sounds fun though.

Arizona and Major League Soccer?  I put you a MLS team in Tucson when the league lets me.  And when I have more money than I know what to do with.  click:  Arizona Major League Soccer Franchise should be placed in Tucson

OKC, I'm keeping you in the stable for now.

San Antonio, I don't see why the Texans couldn't throw you a game and the Texas Rangers couldn't float you a few series.

Any leftovers?  Left outs?



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

Changing a Sports Team's Name. Power Play$

Changing a Sports Team's Name.  It's all in a name.

The power of place is often denoted by name.  The New England Patriots, Revolution, Golden State Warriors, Texas Rangers, Tennessee Titans and Colorado Rockies for example, make their claims to a broader-than-city geographic swath.   
"If I'm from Boise or Wyoming, I'm a drive away from viewing the Rocky Mountains.  The Rockies are my team."  
"I live in New England.  A trip to see the Patriots is a car ride over to Foxborough."
"Golden State, that's me.  I'm Cali".

Are there any creative way you could see a sports team brand laying more of a claim?  Expanding in name and/or places.  Toss some ideas around.  Spit ball.

Route 66 Example of Expansion by naming:
         A team in Las Vegas named .... or .... .
Las Vegas Root 66ers
Vegas Flights
West Coast Routers or Rooters
.....call them the Engineers, West Coast Railroad, ...whatever.
Las Vegas is a good example to think of somewhat of a Jet-set home.  Couldn't the New Jersey Jets play there?

............................ and Expansion by adding nodes (camps):
West Coast Riders play in San Diego, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Kansas City and/or St. Louis.


In many cities throughout America, there are places that lack professional sports teams but can make arrangement to adequately house a few games.  The amounts of seats in Mississippi, Alabama and Iowa for football are but a few examples.  Using the "absence makes hearts grow fonder" concept, a game marked on the calendar could be the talk of the town and quite a draw.  The NBA in Boise may not work all of the time but it could work some of the time.  Ditto for St. Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and so on.  Are exhibitions enough for places like Louisville or Cinci?  Maybe.  Definitely for the Texas Rangers in San Antonio or if the Pacers could have face time in Louisville, Indiana and Cincinnati, Indiana in the nation of Imaginationland.

If you think I'm a dork, sue me.  Especially if her name is sue.

A camp game in Albuquerque

Throughout my blog posts, I've mentioned options for the leagues to keep the number of teams they currently have yet still being able to expand their brand.

Even if it's keeping their home game play to one location like their current stadium, here are some examples:

By simply changing the name:

...back to the Florida Marlins
...back to the California Angels
West Coast Raiders
West Coast A's
West Coast Clippers
West Coast Coyotes
West Coast Club of Major League Soccer.  Not the players formerly known as Goats.

By playing in a couple of places:

Florida Marlins in Tampa, also.
or East Coast Rays by playing in Charlotte, also.
New York Yankees playing in Buffalo, too.
West Coast Athletics playing in Portland and Las Vegas, also
West Coast Raiders playing in Portland, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, also.
West Coast Clippers in Las Vegas and Seattle
West Coast Coyotes in Portland and Seattle as well.
California Angels in Sacramento.
Eastland Pirates giving docking time to Charlotte or Nashville.
Eastland Phillies in Louisville.
Southern Rays in Charlotte.

...and on and on.

Click:  More Major League Cities with No New Teams in the Big Five Sports


If the leagues expand, perhaps they should toe-tap into questionable markets, certainly if they had to do it these day, gun to their head.  Instead of questioning contraction and expansion in the number of teams, they could get creative and expand their brand altogether.  If the Raiders or A's are in trouble, rename them West Coast and share them with Portland.

Just a neato thought on the next expansion:
Southtown Soundawgs or Southern Blues playing baseball in Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans.
or dump Tampa and move them to all of these places... .

I know there is something to be said of "hometown proud".  But let's face it, our athletes are mercenaries from all over other American towns and the globe.

West Coast Flights?  Las Vegas Pilots? If an artist adds some roots to a logo what about calling a team the West Coast Redwoods?

Any thoughts?

For more examples, combination possibilities of team co-location and big leagues expansion, check out the index or table of contents in my blog.

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

NBA Travel Team. Route 66 NBA Club.

From Chicagoland to Southern California, one could imagine a NBA Travel Team.  It could essentially have camp games instead of the traditional home game concept.  Look at Route 66.  San Diego could use some basketball.  Maybe Albuquerque and Las Vegas.  Could even lump in Kansas City with St. Louis.  Stretch it out to Little Rock or even Louisville for some love, exhibition or regular season.  Try to justify what the imagination will allow.  I would like the Los Angeles Clippers (once San Diego's team) to change their name to the West Coast Clippers.  Inclusivity.  Some play in Seattle.  Many ways to do it.  Expanding the territory by name is one way to do it.  

Having a traveling team is another way to bring the league to more places.  In years down the road, attendance at one of the camp sites may be harder for the league to ignore if attendance figures beckon the need for a stand-alone team for the likes of Albuquerque or San Diego.

On the flip side, if a team like the Portland Trailblazers were having bad attendance at home, they could camp around America in the regular season and try to win some affection as "America's Team".  With revenue sharing these days the owners may be up for some 50/50 action on the pie if there was a game in Boise or Omaha.

Why can't we all have a team?  Something named "Western" or "Eastern" could cover it.

What could this regional team be called?

The Truckers?  Routers.  Road Warriors.  Bandits.  Mustangs.  Wolf Pack.  Ranchers.  Cruisers.  Marshals?

Click:  NBA Travel Team for the National Road     ......for similar names that could be had.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_66

www.riverspilot.comwww.riverspilot.com

Any thoughts?

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

#NBASTLouis #NBAChicagoTeam2 #NBASanDiego # NBALouisville #NBAAlbuquerque #NBALasVegas #NBAOmaha #NBAKansasCity

NBA Travel Team for the National Road

Westward was a movement of many Americans in the decades after American independence was achieved.
 For your bearings on the National Road, click map pic below.

How would a travel team like National Road Westwards sound?
Road Warriors?

Think of cities from Baltimore to St. Louis without the NBA.  In between those towns are Pittsburgh, Columbus and the Dayton-Cincinnati area.  The route crosses over Pacer Country.  The stretches of Toledo and Springfield, Illinois (and the historic road named directly going through Springfield, Ohio), as well as Louisville are thoughts.  Even Kansas City is a little leap from St. Louis.   All I just named number to 10.  Think exhibitions in both of the Springfields and Toledo.  Divide 41 camp games any number of ways.  So, about 5 games each if you count 7 camp (hometown) cities.  More for Pitt, C-bus and St. Louis?  Breakaway cities for expansion teams when the time comes down the road?

Check out this old travel team for Missouri and Nebraska:  Kansas City-Omaha Kings

What to call them?  

The Troops, Brigadeers, Canons, Historians, Runners, Wheelers, Rollers, Pioneers, Travelers, Towntrotters, Townshippers, Roaddawgs, Rowdawgs, Riders, Horseman, Robins, Banners, Ramblers, Gateways, Gatekeepers, Railroad, Routers, Raiders, Marauders, Rangers, Presidentials, Reps, Monuments, Revolutionaries,......?

Either way, I think it would be more love for the NBA because it is absent from quite a few major league towns.

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

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

More Canadian NHL teams

FiveThirtyEight.com Article:

And it isn’t as though the NHL was lacking for other options. Our research showed that, in addition to Quebec City and a second Toronto franchise, the Canadian cities of Kingston, Halifax and perhaps even Moncton, Sherbrooke or Sudbury could each reasonably hope to support a team. From the standpoint of fan avidity, all were more attractive markets than Seattle — not to mention Las Vegas, which was sandwiched between Milwaukee and Kansas City, Missouri, as the least hockey-mad of the potential expansion sites we examined. Each of those seven Canadian municipalities also contained more NHL fans than five current NHL cities: Phoenix; Columbus, Ohio; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Miami and Nashville.

...more
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/half-of-the-nhls-rumored-expansion-cities-dont-make-sense/ 

http://www.dailyfaceoff.com/7066/the-great-canadian-hockey-challenge

Nordiques born again soon?

Check out table of contents and index to find out more talk on your town for expansion in the Big Leagues.

"Northern Lights" NHL Team a New Expansion Team for Seattle and Portland. Try that on for Size.

Kill two birds with one Stone('s thought).  Two markets are drooling for the highest level hockey.

The home-team of the Northern Lights camping in Seattle and Portland.

Add some Anchorage time into the mix.  An exhibition in Boise?  And North and South Dakota?  Money!

Forward thinking.  Let's do it.

http://therandomstuffmydadforwardsme.blogspot.com/2012/06/fwd-fw-northern-lights-over-teepees.html

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.


si.com/nhl/2015/01/27/nhl-expansion-seattle-milwaukee-rangers-islanders-rivalry

Las Vegas MLS is best choice.

The reason why?

Simply, there is less major league sports saturation in the City of Sin.  None to be precise.

The other markets have Kings, Vikings, Twins, Timberwolves and Wild.

Las Vegas is ready!

VOTE – Best choice for MLS expansion: Las Vegas, Sacramento or Minneapolis?

 Foot to the balls.

A different kind of football for now.  LA v. Las Vegas.  Legends Football League.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/us/las-vegas-mls-bid.html?_r=0

http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/stadium/beers-stadium-study-has-4-million-hole

http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/stadium/vegas-releases-new-soccer-stadium-financials 


http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2014/07/21/thinking-long-term-mls-preliminary-discussions-over-expansion-franchise-las-

Click: Las Vegas reaches agreement on possible $410 million MLS stadium 

                                               - - -

Other links for the chances or opportunities of Las Vegas landing the pros:

http://www.latintimes.com/mls-expansion-which-city-will-become-24th-team-major-league-soccer-poll-277730      #Sacramento 



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/ 

 

A Fast Pitch for Expansion in the Big Five Sports Leagues. Westward Hockey and Soccer.

My Fastest Pitch for Expansion is Regional Tag Team Co-location  in the Big Five Sports Leagues.  And it's for Westward Hockey and Soccer, NHL & MLS.

For my Expansion Pitch, I think the best opportunities lie within Major League Soccer and the National Hockey League.

And I see that opportunity from San D. to Seattle.  A West Coast deemed franchise

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/looking-at-six-potential-nhl-expansionrelocation-destinations-from-las-vegas-to-hamilton/

I wouldn't mind seeing this happen:

I want to see an expansion of place and name.

Name in one league. NHL- A more inclusive branding.  Instead of a team being named Portland or Seattle (or even Las Vegas), call it "West Coast" no matter which venue is "home field".
                                                  Seattle
West Coast Hawkies?

Places in another. MLS     -More home towns that a team plays (camps) in.
                                                  San Diego (new) field (and/or Carson) and Las Vegas

                           ...or even consider Tucson, AZ (click below)

West Coat Goats?

Arizona Major League Soccer Franchise should be placed in Tucson

Will MLS embrace a "West Coast" Moniker Brand? Be the First.

One team playing in a couple of cities.  West Coast team in Vegas and Southern Cali.

http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-next-expansion-team-whats-smartest.html

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/what-should-a-toronto-expansion-team-be-called/

http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/2014/03/any-good-logos-or-team-names-you-can.html

NHL: Seattle expansion team (or Las Vegas or Portland)
MLS:  The old Chivas USA whose spot in the league is to become the new LA Football Club set to play in 2017, setting its sites on it's own stadium.

I would like to see Seattle awarded a franchise in the NHL and be called the West Coast Whatevers.   I mean, I would love for them to play camp games in Portland and Las Vegas also, but let's cite Seattle as a possible hometown with a broader name, like Golden State is in Oakland and Foxborough is to New England.
.
Since Soccer venues are cheaper.  I would like to see the Chivas playing at current L.A. digs and/or San Diego, alongside Las Vegas.  And maybe be called the Americanized West Coast Goats for now.

 http://college.holycross.edu/RePEc/spe/MathesonBaade_FinancingSports.pdf 
In above link, look at the costs charted in the last pages.  Roughly speaking, basketball, hockey and soccer venues are half of what baseball and football ones are.
To the point that soccer is the cheapest franchise purchase and economic housing requirements in all of the leagues ($15 billion in a market), I would like to go with soccer as a regional team that camps in a few markets.

I guarantee the winner would be West Coast apparel and certainly NHL or MLS merchandizing.

Some say, economically, expansion is unwise if not questionable, at least in the States for hockey.  Soccer has a little bit of room, at least for the likes of the Carolinas, Minnesota and St. Louis.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/half-of-the-nhls-rumored-expansion-cities-dont-make-sense/

The NHL had thoughts of sharing home games with another city before, Saskatoon with St. Louis.  The NBA's Kings was shared with Missouri (both KC and St.L) and Nebraska before.

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

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


Two football clubs in Los Angeles with two different stadiums?  Well, I would prefer a stadium in places like San Diego and Las Vegas for a wider and singular West Coast team.  What better way to toe-touch into a market and expand more territorially and gradually.

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

West Coast Whales NHL Team in Seattle, Portland and Las Vegas

With the impending news of the NHL likely expanding to Seattle along with Quebec City and another Toronto team, I can't help but wish the NHL would help expand into other markets of contention like Las Vegas and Portland.  Arizona's Coyotes didn't move to Seattle and that sucks.  I would've gone for the West Coast Coyotes in Portland and/or Seattle.  Consideration to Salt Lake City wouldn't even be bad.

Why not the West Coast Whales?  Why not some love for Anchorage from time to time.  Why not an Islanders vs. Whales match up from time to time in Honolulu?

Why don't these sports leagues want more viewers in this time where viewership is so big and lessening the importance of actual attendance?  Regional Sports Networks (RSN) in below-link means money.  That's how, as a Cincinnatian I can catch some Blue Jackets games up from Columbus.  Even while the Whales were camped in Seattle or Portland, I'd be watching them from Las Vegas.  Innovative logistics.

Why not maximize an expansion of 3 teams?
How about 3 teams at least hitting 8 more markets.

It could be something to the tune of at least like 6 new U.S. markets with a team name of "West Coast".  Do exhibitions in the likes of Anchorage, SLC and San Diego on top of splitting 40 regular season home games between Sin City, Trailblazer and Mariner town.  Years down the line during the next expansion perhaps there would be a breakaway like Portland and then Boise could step in to fill the void by that time.

Why not a West Coast coined brand, at least in name?  Even a West Coast Whales franchise playing in Portland would sell a whole lot of jerseys in San Diego.  I bet.  Oh, well maybe the NHL isn't interested in bigger apparel sales.

Sharing can mean caring.  To have some than none at all.  Don't hate; innovate.


http://nhltoseattle.com/:

https://nhlinseattle.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/nhldemoincomeandtvmarket.png

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