Major League Baseball in Tennessee. How to beat out Charlotte for an Expansion Bid. New Brave King of the South.

    A Tale of Two Stadiums.  Two Cities.  Who has the Business Bravery to do it?

Nashville and Memphis.  Rhythm and Blues Country, sound off!

Charlotte is bigger than Memphis or Nashville.  But not combined.  

You know in your gut that Charlotte might win the day for an expansion bid.  What do you think of building two 35,000 seat Major League ballparks in your state versus one that would be typically built in Charlotte (a city that already has a newly built downtown one for Minors).   Build parks in Memphis and Nashville.

Share the love.  Spread the love.

But what if the Charlotte and the Carolinas counter offered MLB with building two stadiums for fear of losing the bid?  From Atlanta, Charlotte and Nashville are a 240 mile hike.  It's pretty much an equidistant draw.  380 miles from ATL is Memphis, which is 280 miles from Cardinals cathedral.  

You have two large cities spread apart in your state.  In all of the Carolinas, stretching south Charlotte and a non-enormous population in South Carolina doesn't make for a great Carolina draw.  Both stadiums if built would be better in North Carolina, unless you had weekend games now and again in South Carolina.

Surrounding states with MLB?  Georgia.  That's it.  Technically Missouri.

9 minor league MLB affiliate teams are in the state of Tennessee.
The same amount are in North Carolina.  In South Carolina,  there are 3, if you're thinking another Carolina brand.  160 miles separate Charlotte and Raleigh in state.  3.2 million between the two.  0.65 million people are in between around Winston-Salem.  Were a stadium to be placed south for a more Carolina brand, loosely speaking there are a million people between Columbia and Charleston 100 miles apart.

There are 1.3 million folks around Memphis and 1.5 in center state capital.  That's less of a concentration than North Carolina.  Two Triple-A teams in NC.  But there's more AA in Tennessee.

The Volunteer state has two Triple-A baseball affiliates, too.  Double A on the east side in three teams:  Smokies and Lookouts and Jackson Generals.  The love is spread out.  Can a Tennessee brand unite better than the brand in Atlanta?  Of course.  Two stadiums in Tennessee beats two in the Carolinas.  You know it.

Well over half a million people round off the east side of Tennessee in places like Chattanooga.  Baseball in Knoxville above.

SO WHO COULD WIN OUT A BID?!

160 and 200 miles separate the two metro distance comparisons (Charlotte-Raleigh v. Memphis-Nashville).

One on one, coming down to Nashville and Charlotte and the whole population concentration, Charlotte would win out.

In my unconventional model of two MLB Ball Parks for one franchise, with consideration to feasibility, if you think distance of the parks and separation from other ball clubs as advantageous, Tennessee baseball could win out.

The Braves may still have the hearts of Alabama.  But baseball hubbed in Tennesse could be a Little Rock draw.

New Nashville

As far as any bid in the east for MLB Expansion, big brand baseball absence from Indianapolis's 1.7 million people are less than that in Charlotte, and less complicated of a decision since Indy is Reds, Cubs and Cardinals country claim.  In any such regard, ditto for Louisville.  Hampton Roads?  A:  See Carolinas.

What would you name them?  In naming, you could break the tone of the old game.  Fightin' Irish..... Fightin' Appalachians.  Smokies is nice.

Bordering Cardinals Country in Memphis

Share the love.  Spread the love.  Could you spread the love further?  Are you thinking New Orleans or anyone else?

I have talked before of a Southern brand of sharing baseball in Nashville and Charlotte, as well as others.
Click below links (from Index):

Time for more MLB in the South

Southtown Soundhounds MLS Franchise 

Dream up the next Northern MLS Franchise. And a Southern one.

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

MLB in Columbia, Carolina in general, and Charlotte

MLB to 2100 AD. A Little Brainstorming for Beyond.
Atlanta having two baseball teams ??? Existing infrastructure strengthens the argument for a team called "Southern".

Nashville: Visiting the Possibility of more Pro Sports

Tennessee Pioneers MLB Team Might Play where NFL's Titans Should. Sharing the State. MLB Memphis and Nashville.
Major League Baseball in Nashville and New Orleans

www.majorleaguenashville.org/How_Do_You_Build_It/

Major League Soccer in Nashville, Charlotte and beyond.
Minor League Soccer. A Travel Team Representing Two Towns or more.
MLB Memphis and Nashville.

Defunct American CFL Teams

Some Failed Expansion Bids of the Past

tennessean.com________nashville-next-major-league-city/25987035/
tennessean.com/story/opinion/2014/06/07/nashville-ripe-major-league-baseball/10115717/
bleacherreport.com/articles/2041269-the-best-names-for-a-nashville-major-league-baseball-team

Is this talk even feasible in the first place?  Running two stadiums with less-than-fulltime usage?  To make it so, would you build smaller, more charming and expensive tickets?  Gun to your head, how would you make it work?  Could you make more efficient use of a multi-use facility?  Would a stadium in Memphis and/or Nashville also house Major League Soccer?  So many questions.  So much room for innovation and land use.

What say you?

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

NBA Exponentially Located -Expansion -Relocation (Co-Location) - Bigger Brand

This is where some teams should consider an additional playing base:

Golden State Warriors in San Diego

New York Knicks  -  Buffalo, Syracuse or Albany?

Tennessee Grizzlies rebrand with play in Nashville, also

Phoenix Suns: consider also playing in Las Vegas
     During such a homestand (camp), refer to them as the Phoenix Suns of Vegas
     Consider an "of Albuquerque" or "of El Paso" camp-brand.
In an expansion, my first nod would be Las Vegas in the west, and I would call them the "Rounders".
Consider rebranding the Jazz.  Give New Orleans the name, for the love of God!  Have a share-team for Las Vegas and Salt Lake City?  West Side Whatchamacallits.  Great Basin Bandits?  Maybe not.

Utah

Clippers rebrand- the West Coast Clippers playing in Seattle, too.  And yes, be in Vegas, too !!!

Indiana Pacers in Louisville for like 3 homestands (camps) in the regular season?
Louisville is the first team in the east to get an expansion team in my book.
But for now, an Indiana Pacers Riverflush brand or "the River Card".

Consider having the Washington Wizards playing a quarter of their games in Seattle for now.  It's word play.

Some home-stints for the Denver Nuggets:  "of Albuquerque or Santa Fe".  New Mexico?  Boise?

For a little bit more of a stretch I scheme ball for my hometown of Cincinnati.
I'm thinking Pacers, Bucks, Cavs or Celtics.
Cavs of Ohio.  Pace Cars of Cinci weekend.  Great Lakes Bucks.  Celtics of Cincinnati.  On the jersey could be sported "Celtic America" or Celtic Nation/Celtic Country.  Expand the brand.
For a homestand camp series of two or three.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder, Mr. Milwaukee and Boston.

Some homestands as the 76ers of Pennsylvania.  Place "Pennsylvania" on the jerseys for a Steel City stint.

What can you come up with?

See what I just did there?  More NBA cities with no expansion in the number of teams.
I touched on about 10 extra cities for the NBA.  That's a 30% increase as a whole.

NBA Nation. The NBA Doubling Down. #NBAExpansion

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

NBA Nation. The NBA Doubling Down. #NBAExpansion

Exponential NBA

For snips and giggles, here is how I give non-NBA towns, two home (camp) stands:

Celtics Country:  Cincinnati

Grizzlies Country:  Nashville

Pacer Nation:  Birmingham

Cavaliers Country:  

Bulls Country:  Monterrey, Mexico

Lakers Land:  Williston, ND  **

Clippers Country:  Seattle

Warriors Nation:  Providence

Suns Country:  Sioux Falls, SD

Magic Territory:  Louisville

Knicks Land:  Albany
Blazing Forward:  Boise
Jazz Lands:  St. Louis
Thunder & Lightning Land:  Little Rock
Wizards Nation: Hartford, CT                                            
Nets Turf:  Atlantic City
Hawk Guys:  Huntsville
Bucks Shot:  Birmingham
Hornets Nest:  Jacksonville
Raptors Landing:  Vancouver
Heat Stroke:  Tampa
Spurs:  El Paso
Pelicans:  Mobile, Alabama
Mavericks:  Albuquerque
Rockets Ship:  Dayton, Ohio   **
Kings Land:  Kansas City        **
76ers Forward Area:  Pittsburgh
Timberwolves Pact:  Omaha
Pistons Place:  Georgetown, KY **
Nuggets Press:  Witchita

Imagine, a stint in Cincinnati for the Celtics with the jersey sporting "Celtics Country".

Which city would you like to add to which country? 

NBA Europe Week. International NBA Sister Cities
NBA Sister Cities Abroad.
NBA - If each franchise had to camp in two cities... .

NBA Exponentially Located -Expansion -Relocation (Co-Location) - Bigger Brand                                       -CLICK-

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

National Women's Soccer League. What about a Major League Soccer Collaborative?

The short of it, as wikipedia puts it, is that the American women are very good, much proportionately better than our men are in competition internationally.  The women only get the feasible business fanfare during the international stuff like the Olympics.  Other soccer strong countries have sidelined their ladies too long and America's emphasis on women's play has helped us be more dominant.

wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_soccer_in_the_United_States
"The success of the women's national team has not translated into success for women's professional soccer in the United States".

I would argue that we tag them along with MLS.  A cohort, a sidekick team, alongside the guys would be neat.  Let the little girls look up to the gals.  Give us all more to root for.  Keep them concession stands going.
Some MLS Franchises like Seattle, Vancouver and Houston have given this some thought.

There is a league now:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Women%27s_Soccer_League
Current teams:
Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, Houston
Portland, Seattle, New Jersey, Maryland, and Western New York

Is your town represented?  Are your ladies or daughters represented?
prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/12/nwsl-houston-dash/

Portland's Alex Morgan

If I couldn't have the WMLB, I would like a WMLS team of Cincinnati Redlegs

WMLB and my Lady Redlegs v. the San Diego Madres

WMLB, WNBA, WNHL, WMLS, ... and wha whuuut, WNFL?!

WNBA. So why not the WMLS?

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

WNFL. You thought correct, the Women's National Football League

UFL and Arena Football filling a void? And the LFL Expanding to Broader Markets Faster. World Markets.

 

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

NHL Exponentially Located -Expansion -Relocation (Co-Location) - Just a thought

Sports leagues in the U.S. could do a better job like the National Canadian Hockey League.  NHL does Hockey night in Canada and broadcast the grassroots of the sport in their showcase.

It is a grassroots highlighting of the national sport and the emphasis of the Sunday night time slot.  It puts a family friendly atmosphere into the mix.
Hockey Day in Canada: wikipedia.org/wiki/NHL_on_Sportsnet#Hometown_Hockey
wikipedia.org/wiki/Hockey_Night_in_Canada#Hockey_Day_in_Canada

Hometown Hockey Games

Broadcast locations               

• 2000: Toronto, Ontario (February 19)
• 2001: Red Deer, Alberta (February 24)
• 2002: Windsor, Nova Scotia (January 5)
• 2003: Iqaluit, Nunavut (February 15)
• 2004: Shaunavon, Saskatchewan (February 21)
• 2005: No Hockey Day in Canada due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout
• 2006: Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador (January 7)
• 2007: Nelson, British Columbia (January 13)
• 2008: Winkler, Manitoba (February 9)
• 2009: Campbellton, New Brunswick (February 21)
• 2010: Stratford, Ontario (January 30)
• 2011: Whitehorse, Yukon (February 12)
• 2012: Prince Edward Island (February 11)
• 2013: Peterborough, Ontario (February 9)
• 2014: Lloydminster, Alberta (January 18)
• 2015: Halifax, Nova Scotia (February 14)^[38]

I wish Major League Baseball or even MLS would inject more of this Summertime Americana into American living rooms.

In my blog I've talked about big league teams having sister cities where they could play some regular season games.  For baseball, many minor league teams have MLB affiliates, some even sharing the ballclub's name like the Mississippi Braves being a reminder that it falls under the southern territory's regional capital, Atlanta.

But mostly, instead of big league teams playing exhibitions or one home stand in another city, I think it would be neat to try "travel tag teams".  An example would be if half of a team's home games were played in two places.  Say the California Angels played in Anaheim and the other half of their home (camp) games in Sacramento.  Texas Rangers playing in San Antonio, also - like that.  Or if the hockey Rangers played in Albany as well as NYC.  The name is already there.  The Dallas Stars have a minor league affiliate in Austin called the Texas Stars.  I think it would be better for the Texas Stars as the proper name for the big league team.  Houston or San Antonio aren't going to be in the NHL, in placement or name, anytime soon.  Splitting some home games in the big leagues between the state's capital and largest city would definitely draw more Texans into the crowd.  A trip to Dallas is far for many Texans.

Could it be done in hockey?

Blue Jackets Country could extend to the rinks of Cleveland and Cincinnati with a few games.  A faceoff at the fence in a Toledo ballpark or football stadium would be a nice game against a Red Wing base.  "Blue Jackets" blazed across the jersey as a home game in another Ohio city.  Though, as a Cincinnatian, I wouldn't mind them being renamed to the Ohio Blue Jackets, I wouldn't want the Reds or Bengals to be called "Ohio", but I wouldn't mind the B'Jacks playing a camp game touted as the home team in Cincinnati wearing Blue Jackets on the uniform.

Do you think that the Coyotes could rebrand to Wolves?  Play in Vegas, Portland and Seattle.  Call them "West Coast".  Hockey in Arizona?  Yep, like hockey in Florida.  Debatable as lackluster.

Panthers could play additionally in Atlanta.  Or should it be Nashville's predators extending some range to the "Capital of the South".  "Capital South" could be sported on the jerseys and part-time in town could work for Atlanta.

The Panthers could get the heck out of Miami for the likes of Cleveland and Milwaukee for a Great Lakes brand, under which Indy and Cinci could receive part-time consideration.  That's for the best.  By that I mean, hockey in the north.

In Canada, building two rinks per NHL team, fairly far apart, could work well.  The community would get it's use out of it.  Red Deer might not reach the figures desired for a business full-time, but there is much Canadian confidence in it as a part-time flux of people pouring into the seats.  Canadian towns could be counted on more than American southern cities.

The Atlanta Thrashers only lasted a shy over a dozen years in the NHL.  They relocated as the second coming of the Winnipeg Jets.

More click-reads:

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

Milwaukee, St. Louis, KC, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Baltimore with more Pro Sports

NHL Regional Coverage. For Now. West__ South __ Great Lakes 

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

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

What Cities Could Celtics Country Romance? The Boston Celtics

For point of reference, get your bearings here:
wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._cities_with_large_Irish-American_populations

HIGHER CONCENTRATIONS OF IRISH AMERICANS

The major league cities without the NBA are in this order of Irish ancenstry percentage:

Buffalo
Pittsburgh
Kansas City
Baltimore (Wizards Country encroachment, a provocative pick)
Cincinnati
St. Louis

Omaha is down on the list, also.  They used to play part-time in the NBA (the Kings).

Let's look at this from the standpoint of expansion "ain't gonna happen".  It's where we're at.  That doesn't mean that the NBA can't expand the brand.  Were I an NBA or Celtics marketer, I would at least do a home(camp) stand in Kansas City in the heart of America one year.  Then next year, Cincinnati.  Boston's team would wear "Celtics Country" jerseys to those games.  A green C styled like the Cinci's Reds for a stint playing the Cavs in the nnati.

A little absence makes the heart grow fonder.  An event can generate buzz.  Apparel sales on the increase.

See where I'm going with this?
Any other franchise camping that you could think of?

wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_Celts

Television territories can get creative.  The likes of Time Warner sucks.  I don't care if they have to do work.

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

Mid-American Cities that should Get More Pro Teams. And Austin.

Oklahoma City showed the country it was bound for basketball big time.  Maybe one day Okies could root for something other than the Rangers on the diamond.  In Middle America, do you want some more representative NHL, NFL, NBA along with Major League Soccer and Baseball?

Is rooting for the Chiefs and Royals or Broncos and Rockies enough?  Or is it Minnesota teams.  Or is it nice to be able to wagon over to a winner on Sundays or in the baseball world?  Your weekends might include Cornhuskers, Jayhawks or Cyclones, otherwise I know you wouldn't be reading this.
 
Not a lot of justifiable population numbers warrant big league ball in the cities of Iowa.  And neither in Witchita.  Plus Kansas City has some pull.  Lincoln/Omaha ranges in 1.2 million people.  In articles links at the end I talk about how I could see a Nebraska NHL Franchise in the future.  The bottom line is that for sports like the NFL and MLB have vacancies in places like Portland and Nashville that would get a nod before anything in Husker Country.  And right now, the MLB in OKC, ice hockey in KC or the NBA in St. Louis might be a nice thought but you know not to hold you're breath if you're paying attention.

I have this theme in mind for a tag team in any of the next league expansions or relocations.  I suppose I should call it "co-locationing".  Let's say the Raiders and Athletics leave Oakland.  They could both go to Portland.  But why not Portland and Las Vegas?  You could call them the "West Coast" Raiders and Athletics.  They could at least spend a quarter of their games in Las Vegas.  And some kid in Reno, Oakland, Sacramento and Portland or even Boise can feel that they too have a team in name, much like a kid from Maine having a relationship with the Patriots.  Hell, lump Los Angeles in there.  They have NFL scars.  I'm for uprooting the Rams and bringing them back.  But more than anything I'm for a brand where more people are represented.  Even if the Rams relocated to Portland and only played home games there instead of my camp idea, I would be for them touted as the West Coast Rams in name.  Will the brand sell more with "Portland" written all over it or "West Coast"?  Dollars on the table.

Could you do something of the camping sort for the reaches of North Dakota to an unrepresented place like Austin, Texas?

Miss Kansas is for real All American

Could a combined team, a tag team traveling camps as home stays go between facilities in the Dakotas, through Oklahoma down to Austin or El Paso?  What about the "Stormers"(for Barnstormers)?

Winter time.  Yes, even in Austin or Texas Hill Country.

Austin's justification for a team alone has a downside.  It takes position between San Antonio Spurs territory and that of Houston and Dallas markets.  I could see the NHL coming there before melting in Houston.  MLS seems to be Austin's best bet.  A soccer stadium in San Marcos could make for a good weekly compromise for the magnetic pull that San Antonio exerts for a spot as well.  "Texas Divided" would be an awesome name because of the Dynamos and FC Dallas.  Build a stadium in El Paso for part time play with central Texas and call it Texas Railroad.  Lone Stars FC.  Star[ZZZZ].

What sounds like a good name for a tag team representing the whole heart of the American region, one perhaps traveling through Omaha and Kansas and others?:  American Central (Heartland Stampede)?  Wagonwheelers?

Wishful thinking doesn't hurt.

For most of Outland America, the weekly venue of football can be a thought with all of the seating venues for that sport in colleges in places like Little Rock.  Do you think that MLS would be more open to give camping out a try?  In the north reaches of geographic middle America I can see justifications for a traveling NHL tag team.  Baseball stadiums are a little harder to come by and the daily attendances don't cut it in most places.  The NBA playing part-time in Omaha again?  Would it work this go around by sharing with St. Louis and Kansas City?

What do you think?

See also:          from      prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/p/key.html
Eastern Cities That Get More Pro Teams. And Louisville
Western Cities That Get More Pro Teams. And Las Vegas

Kansas City-Omaha Kings

The NHL in Lincoln-Omaha. A Big League Team for Nebraska

Dakota NHL Team

Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas in Big Five Pro Sports. Idaho to boot.

A Quick Gander at the States without Big League Sports

NFL for Oklahoma City, Witchita, Omaha, Little Rock and Des Moines

My MADdenized Map of New NFL Turf. The Question is how fertile it is

Oklahoma Oilers in the NFL

Oklahoma City: Visiting the Possibility of more Pro Sports

Think "Midland" in Big League Sports

Dream up the next Northern MLS Franchise. And a Southern one.

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

NFL in More Territory. No Expansion Necessary. My typical blender of ideas like the Midway Bears

NFL for Oklahoma City, Witchita, Omaha, Little Rock and Des Moines

Regional Contingencies for East, Central, and West (Baseball)

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

Try the travel Tag Team model in the Minor Leagues of Sports first.

The home/camp team model is essentially a team at least playing in two places like the Kansas City-Omaha Kings did in the NBA by playing in Nebraska and Missouri.

I think it could come in handy for a team like the Tampa Rays.  They could play in Monterrey, Mexico and retain their television market, in the face of their poor attendance, and even gain Mexican television shares.  I think like part-timing a team in certain locations is better than the team vacating altogether.

Would we apply it to the minor leagues first before the big leagues would embrace it?  Let's look at the Big Five Sports.  

wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnstorm_%28sports%29             Get your bearings via wikipedia.

wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveling_team

Travel Team Baseball.  A baseball tag team in the Minors

Are there any markets without a good heaping of baseball?  From what I can think, the city of Portland Oregon could use some good showmen.  Columbia South Carolina is working something out with a stadium being built.  A part-time team in Portland and Columbia called the Coasters or Travelers could be an idea to fill time in the parks by camping some "home" games in each place.  And from coast to coast they could take on teams from MLB affiliates or those in independent leagues.
Call a team that belongs to more than one town any number of names:

The Barnstormers
Journeyman
The American Journeyman, American Truckers, Home Runs
Trotters (neat name for a Brooklyn or Harlem team?)
Gamblers
Ramblers
Road Warriors
Road Dawgs
Travel Agents
Underdawgs:  obviously because the players are passed up by other pipelines.

Some links below:
Any cities that could use pro (minor league) ball?
milb.com/milb/info/geographical.jsp

ballparkdigest.com/2014/10/23/milb-approves-team-move-to-columbia/
Ground broke January 6, 2015.

And there was a naming contest.  www.columbiaproball.com/

If ever MINOR League Baseball in Cincinnati

Pictures of a Dallas metro minor league baseball park

At the back porch of the Texas Rangers is the city of Frisco, Texas.  Their Double-A ball park is quite a site to see.

Try some of these team ideas on for size:

Basketball:      

I wouldn't mind seeing a Louisville/Las Vegas or a Cincinnati/Las Vegas team in the D-League.
Call them the Wild Cards?
RiverCards
Las Vegas/Louisville/Cincinnati collaborative.

Look at these links:

NBA D-League Expansion Thought. Travel Teams. And Outdoor Action.

NBA D-League and the Expansion of Basketball and Big Times

Football: 

What about a football team called the Ohio Railroad playing in the likes of Youngstown, Toledo and Dayton?

In below-link league, there a travel team in a minor league experiment for the big time:
wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_Experimental_Football_League
www.fxfl.com/

For something more west, Las Vegas, Boise, SLC and Portland should give it a go if there's market room.
( see:  West Coast Whales NHL Team in Seattle, Portland and Las Vegas, West Coast team name in each of the Big Five Sports  ... and more  Index: http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/p/key.html )

UFL and Arena Football filling a void? And the LFL Expanding to Broader Markets Faster. World Markets.

A Paul Newman minor league hockey movie

Hockey

ECHL or AHL Should at least have a Team for Seattle/Portland. Dayton/and somewhere someday.

Soccer 

Minor League Soccer. A Travel Team Representing Two Towns or more.

Any place pairings you can come up with?

Here is a little minor league American aesthetic for you:
Personally, I think Dayton got snubbed in all their sell-out game greatness:  houston.cbslocal.com/top-lists/best-minor-league-baseball-stadiums-to-catch-a-game/

Am I silly?

thatsbush-league.com/about/

http://........minor-league-baseball-in-major-league.html
some-mapping-of-minor-league-baseball.html
http://prosports.................the-minors-ready-for-majors.html
http://prosportsexpansion.............minor-to-major-team-proximity-

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

Portland Blue Sox for Major League Baseball

Baseball expansion has progressed westward and thus far, so have the colors of Red, White and ________ whose next?  Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and ... .
There's a minor league team in Utica, NY.  And various amateur clubs across the country like in Lexington, MA.  They use the name Blue Sox.
And there is a historical connection in name to my beloved Cincinnati area:  wikipedia.org/wiki/Covington_Blue_Sox

Across the river from Cincinnati

Since I'm not of Portland, the decision is easy for me:  the Portland Blue Sox.

170 miles from Seattle and 600 from San Fran.

An added reason that expansion is tough these days is revenue sharing between owners.  You're asking them to get what might amount to a smaller slice of the pie.  And you're asking them to relinquish television territory.  So there is resistance to expansion.  I think that the Giants would be much cooler with the Athletics relocating to Portland.  And of course the Mariners want Portland to still root for them.  It's a fight!


click:  Names for a Portland and Charlotte MLB team ***Work in Progress***

For much more "Portland", word search all the articles on bringing the NHL, NFL and MLB to your town here:  prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/p/key.html


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

MLB Exponentially Located -Expansion -Relocation or Co-Location

81 home games a year.
Imagine if about 20 (a quarter) of those games were at another camp within Yankees or Rangers Country?
What are some other cities that existing teams could play in?

Texas Rangers:  some time in San Antonio or Austin?  Or should they wrap the state with El Paso?

A Florida Marlins (again) rebrand could warrant Marlins play additionally in Jacksonville.  Or get rid of the Rays and seat part-time in Tampa, too.

California Angels (again) of Anaheim and Sacramento.

New York Yankees:  Buffalo or Albany?

panoramio.com/photo/48751766  ARLINGTON, TEXAS

Athletics:  West Coast Athletics in Las Vegas and Portland.  Leave Oakland altogether?  Maybe.  You could be part-time for the California Angels.

What about the Monterrey Bay Rays ?  I vote for them leaving Tampa for the likes of Charlotte and New Orleans, as well as share-time in Mexico.

What about some toe-dipping or toe-tapping in Vegas?  LA Dodgers of Vegas.  Arizona Diamondbacks of Vegas?  A roving Padre like in the olden days?

If you were one of these cities would you enjoy upwards of 20 games?  Would your area garner taxpayer support for this?  I think certainly Las Vegas would.

My thinking just increased MLB regular season places by about a third.  That's monster excitement for places like central Texas, upstate NY and northern California.

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

#MLBExpansion #MLBRelocation

#MLBCharlotte  #MLBLasVegas  #MLBSanAntonio  #MLBAustin  #MLBElPaso  #MLBTampa  #MLBJacksonville  #MLBNashville  #MLBAngels  #MLBSacramento  #SacramentoAngels  #MLBBuffalo  #MLBAlbany  #MLBMexico  #MLBPortland  #MLBMonterrey

Minor League Soccer. A Travel Team Representing Two Towns or more.

For my born and bred baseball brain, I'm going to Americanize this ball for my thoughts.  Please forgive me. For Major League Soccer, this is how I align the domestic feeder system:
 
North American Soccer League (like Triple A)
And the United Soccer League (like Double A)

wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Soccer_League
wikipedia.org/wiki/USL_Pro 

wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_soccer_clubs_in_the_United_States

NASL:

• Atlanta Silverbacks
• Carolina RailHawks
• FC Edmonton (Canada)
• Fort Lauderdale Strikers
• Minnesota United FC
• New York Cosmos
• San Antonio Scorpions FC
• Tampa Bay Rowdies
• Ottawa Fury FC (Canada)
• Indy Eleven
• Future teams:
  • To Begin Play in 2015
    • Oklahoma City
    • Jacksonville Armada FC
    • Virginia Cavalry FC                           

USL Pro:

• Charleston Battery
• Charlotte Eagles
• Dayton Dutch Lions FC
• Harrisburg City Islanders
• LA Galaxy II
• Oklahoma City Energy FC
• Orange County Blues
• Orlando City S.C.
• Phoenix FC
• Pittsburgh Riverhounds
• Richmond Kickers
• Rochester Rhinos
• Sacramento Republic FC
• Wilmington Hammerheads
• Future Teams (scheduled for 2015)
  • Colorado Springs
  • Tulsa
  • Louisville City FC
  • St. Louis FC

I think the Ohio Shipmen would be a fantastic idea.  Would the Dayton Dutch Lions become a brand housed with Cincinnati (a short drive) and Cleveland?  Or a Great Lakes named team would be nice.  I beat this drum for a team playing in a few spots with a bigger name to represent more of an area (like the New England and Golden State brands).  In minor league soccer, the Indy Eleven, if ever struggling, could join Milwaukee, Cleveland, Cincinnati/Dayton for a Great Lakes named team.

A Nashville-West Virginia alliance could be one hell of a relocated or expansion team for any pro league like soccer.  The Appalachian Bootleggers get the passionate blood a' flowin'?

Any regional tag-teams you can concoct in any of the sports?  Any city mergers of fury?

wikipedia.org/wiki/Soccer_in_the_United_States#Lower_divisions


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

ECHL or AHL Should at least have a Team for Seattle/Portland. Dayton/and somewhere someday.

Call them the Northwest Giants or the West Coast Killer Whales.  Something.  Split "home" time in both cities.

Seattle is sure to get the next American bid for a NHL team.  But until then I would love for hockey to try my travel-team-regional model on for size.
 

For Las Vegas, I think it would work best.

If the ECHL's Las Vegas Wranglers don't come back to play, I'd like them in on this deal.  I think the West Coast brand is better than the Wrangler name anyway.  If they get their arena and fool the NHL to stay in town, congratulations to them.  The West Coast brand and co-location idea is what should have happened to Arizona hockey.  Phoenix-Glendale AND Las Vegas is overdoing it for ice hockey, I think anyway.

But honestly I would rather a west expansion balance for the NHL be Portland and Seattle instead of Vegas.  Throw at least five games in Vegas with a West Coast named franchise and I would find that to be the best for the tourist town.

Dayton, Ohio

Another regional moniker that I'd like to see take hold in whatever league of professional hockey (or soccer) is a "Great Lakes" brand.  I like the Lake Erie Cleveland named team.  Minor league hockey is in Toledo and Cincinnati also, with Columbus represented in the big leagues.  Dayton had an ECHL team before.  Places like Milwaukee and Indianapolis have teams but if ever a franchise was struggling I would like to partner Dayton into the mix for co-location.  If the Great Lakes name were ever represented in the NHL, Cleveland and Milwaukee would be the prime nods with places like Indianapolis and the Cincinnati area eager to enter into the fold.
                                        See:  Too snobby for the Minor Leauges
and.....minor-league-hockey-ahl-and-echl-maps.html

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

Detroit Arsenal Major League Soccer Expansion Team

Detroit.  You even have hockey and basketball.  I'm not crying for you.

wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit
Arsenal of Democracy is noted in this wikipedia page.

Major League Soccer isn't in the 12th largest city area in the country.  When will it happen?  I guess not sooner than later, when you consider pushes from places like Minnesota, St. Louis and Charlotte, not even to mention under-served markets like Austin or Las Vegas.

The largest American city on the Canadian border ready to face off in international football.

But I have the name picked:  the Detroit Arsenal
Or does American Arsenal Detroit sound snazzy?







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

#MajorLeagueSoccerDetroit 
See other articles like: 
Ohio United. Or call it an Ohio Divided Team. Cincinnati-Dayton Metroplex   

Cities with the Big 5 ...and the Next Ones

If Ever a Big League Team in West Virginia

The two largest cities in West Virginia have about 50,000 people in them.  Their areas wrap around over a half million people.  The most eyeball on West Virginia at one time is for the Mountaineers city of Morgantown, which borders the southern reaches of the Pittsburgh area.

There's not a huge lump of people spread on the land of hills and mountains.  So, for a big league justification, a population would have to be gathered and it likely couldn't be a weekday or few.  As a West Virginian, you're salivating for pro football, right?

Maybe you know that your best best at a weekly venue would be Major League Soccer, right? 
I think a brand called the "Bootleggers" would draw in some esprit de corp.  Mountain State Bootleggers or WV Bootleggers (Bootleggers W.V. or Mountain Divided).
A team could play in a few spots.  Spreading the map more, you could do time in Hampton Roads and Charleston as a Virginia Divided named team.  Or something.

An amateur's napkin scratch of Hatfield & McCoy homage for a Bootleggers Major League Soccer brand.

If you shared time, camping some "home" games in Nashville or Charlotte under an Appalachian moniker, I bet you would have some fun.  The Appalachian Bootleggers?  Appalachia United?

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

NBA D-League Expansion Thought. Travel Teams. And Outdoor Action.

Filling in the D-League.   nba.com/dleague/franchise_map.html

If Ohio got another D team, it could play in Columbus and Cincinnati and be called the Ohio Whatchamacallits or some such.  I like Ohio Battle.

You could go as far as putting a team in the City of Sin and the City on Cin.  Hell, call them the Wild Cards in Vegas and Rivercards in Cinci.
Or play in Louisville also and call them the Riverboats.

If you spread out the camps for a D-League team, I bet such a team would ease most of the traveling logistics of the D-League.  If a team played in Cincinnati, Kansas City and Las Vegas, that is a pretty good spread.

Even if I stick with my regional theme travel team, something could take place along the Ohio River in Pittsburgh/Cincinnati/Lousville.
Missouri has two big towns.
New Mexico could play in a few sizable gyms.

Guess where the Boomtown Oilers would be?  Did you guess Williston, ND?
North Dakota Oilers?  Boomers?

Ice Hockey has gotten romantic with it's roots on water by being outside.  Why not basketball?
The bush leagues aren't going to walk on water all of the sudden in the American hearts but what about the minds?  A great vehicle for fresh air could be minor league basketball.
During the brunt of the season (Nov - Apr), aka when it's cold as hell here or in the likes of Cincinnati, you could play in the cozy confines of the regions of Los Angeles and Miami.  Or Hildago in Texas (home of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers).  A street game in Monterrey Mexico would be neat.

Summer action would be limitless as to where outdoors.  Basketball could use some more live exposure at the pro level in TV markets that aren't currently served by the NBA.

Exposing the game more to places like Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Columbus, Albuquerque, Birmingham, Nashville, Richmond, and Charleston (WV and SC) would only help basketball dollars.  Some squaring off in Puerto Rico would be nice as well as an occasional Anchorage and Honolulu showdown.  When chatting about this we're going for some television money more than crowd dollars.  Let's serve basketball fiends in the season of baseball and soccer domination.

Regional touts, at least in name (claiming a larger geographic swath to represent), could help the Association study its claim.  Absorb the next struggling franchise attachments to this idea.  Fill the next four voids with this idea with a North, South, East, West construct to toe tap new midwest markets and unrepresented places like Albuquerque or Santa Fe.  The New Mexico Thunderbirds played their Albuquerque Turkey ball camped in one spot.  Lump them in with Las Vegas and coin them as the Western Tumbleweeds and they may not only survive, but they may thrive.  West Virginia could name a team "Appalachia" for a bigger fan base.

How many combinations of cities served by one team could you come up with using an NBA, D-League and U.S. Map?

Click:  NBA D-League and the Expansion of Basketball and Big Times
See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnstorm_%28sports%29

If ever MINOR League Baseball in Cincinnati

Or rather: If ever (More) Minor League Baseball in Cincinnati.
The Florence Freedom play in the Pioneer League.   florencefreedom.com/

Florence, Kentucky is pretty much south Cincinnati.  The team is in an independent league (not MLB affiliated) and runs a program for teams of kids aged 14 - 18 for use of their field.

Just up I-75, the Reds minor league A-ball Dayton Dragons tout one of the most successful draws in professional sports.  Twice the distance, a hundred miles down river, our triple-A Louisville Bats round the bases.

Would minor league baseball closer and more intimate to the Queen City work out?  Probably so.  Some argue, Cincinnati is the largest little town.  Some would say Reno is the biggest little city or some such.

Pictured is where the Florence Freedom play across the Ohio River.


Cincinnatians.  Where would be a good place for a baseball stadium?

A 5,000 seater in an independent league like the Pioneer?
An 7,000 seater closer to the 9000 to rival record attendance of the one in Dayton?

Going along with my thoughts of possible travel teams, I like this idea for a club on both sides of Vine Street:
The Eastsiders, placed some place closer or in Clermont County.   And.
The Westsiders, placed wherever there is room for something like a 5k seat facility, maybe Harrison (?) or some property out by North Bend or Saylor Park.  Two 5k stadiums, one on each side of town.

These teams could spend 3/4 of their time barnstorming or traveling.  And that East side West side matchup cross-town series, at least one here, one there... that could grow into a thing of beauty.

And those stadiums, no matter what, they can get quite a bit of usage by all ages across the Cincinnati spectrum.  My Roy Hobbs League, among other places was playing games at St. Xavier High School and places like Triangle Park (the sight of the NFL's first game, lineage-wise) up in Dayton.

Where would be awesome spots to build stadiums in Cinci?
Newtown?  Eastgate?
North of Colerain and I-275?  A ballpark along the river?

What would be some good ballparks for Eastsiders to be playing ball in?  Newark?  The stadium for that old team is now home plate for some New Jersey colleges.  Could the Eastsiders play in Columbia, SC?  Puerto Rico exhibitions?  Cuba?  Westsiders in Portland for some share-time?  Alaska?  Honolulu?  Boise?

sethsnap.com/2012/12/19/cincinnati-from-the-west-side/

    

 Photo (left) is a story of 

workers coming home to the Westside.

Is my idea Batty?
Should I be happy with the Reds in the Biggs and the regular ol' amateur circuit with some independent pro action across the river?

Some EAST/WEST illustration:   imgur.com/a/7ncYL

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

#CincinnatiBaseball

NBA D-League and the Expansion of Basketball and Big Times

What do you see for a future of the NBA in this map?  Something from Boise to Iowa?  Omaha?
Louisville for a balance to Seattle?  What in the east would balance further expansion with Las Vegas?

Do you think that expansion may take part in Europe by 2020?
sports.yahoo.com/blogs

Does your town want to be represented in the D-League?  Why isn't it in Louisville or Las Vegas?

wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Development_League 

wikipedia.org/wiki/..........Defunct_NBA_Development_League_teams

Take a look at Austin, Grand Rapids and Delaware's obvious affiliation.  And the Santa Cruz Warriors and LA doubling down with the D-Fenders.

I read that Fort Wayne has no parent club at this time.

Click:  NBA D-League Expansion Thought. Travel Teams. And Outdoor Action.

http://www.nba.com/dleague/blog.html

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