- U.S. cities with teams from four major league sports
-
See also: List of American and Canadian cities by number of major professional sports franchises
There are 12 U.S. cities with teams from four major sports, where "city" is defined as the entire metropolitan area, and "major professional sports leagues" as:
- Major League Baseball (MLB), This consists of the National League founded in 1876, and the American League founded in 1901
- National Hockey League (NHL), founded in 1917
- National Football League (NFL), founded in 1920
- National Basketball Association (NBA), founded in 1946
The New York Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolis in the country, is the only region with at least two teams in each major sports league, and is home to three NHL clubs.
Overview by city
Italicized teams play outside the city limits of the metropolitan area's core city or cities; the specific location is given in parentheses.
Analysis
Principal city versus metropolitan areas
Of these metropolitan areas, the only ones with a team in each sport that plays within the limits of its principal city are Chicago, Denver, and Philadelphia. In the Twin Cities area, three of the teams play in Minneapolis and one plays in St. Paul, although all four teams are named after the state of Minnesota, not the individual cities. In the San Francisco Bay Area, all teams play in one of the region's three major cities (San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose). All other areas have at least one sport represented solely by a team (or teams) that plays in a city's suburbs.
Smallest population with all four
The least-populous metropolitan area with at least one team in each of the four major sports is Denver, whose estimated population is 2,552,195. Additionally, Colorado is the least populous state to have a team in each major sport. However, Denver is the hub of an urban corridor of an estimated 4.3 million people, and the largest city for 500 miles.
Largest population without a team
The most-populous metropolitan area (as of the 2010 U.S. Census) without a team in any of the four major sports is the Las Vegas Valley area.[2] But Las Vegas, the U.S.'s sports gambling capital, is unlikely to get a franchise because American professional sports interests refuse to have any open connection to the gambling industry. Previously, the Hampton Roads metro area held that distinction; centered around Norfolk, Virginia, it is the nation's 30th-largest metro area.[3]
The most-populous U.S. city with no teams in any of the four major sports is Austin, Texas, 14th in the nation by population. Austin's metropolitan area, however, is only the third-largest without a team.[4]
Largest population without all four
The most populous metropolitan area that lacks a team in one of the four major sports is the Greater Los Angeles Area, whose 17,877,006 people makes it the country's second-largest.[5] This area has two baseball teams (the Dodgers and Angels), two basketball teams (the Lakers and Clippers), and two hockey teams (the Kings and Ducks), but has not had an NFL franchise since 1995, when both of its franchises moved (the Raiders to Oakland and the Rams to St. Louis). (Los Angeles is also the only metro area to have major-league baseball, basketball, and hockey teams, but none in football.) Like New York, the Greater Los Angeles Area had two teams in each sport after the NHL awarded the expansion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (now the Anaheim Ducks) and before the departure of the football teams. In 1999, the NFL wanted to grant its 32nd franchise to Los Angeles, but no workable ownership and stadium plan materialized, while Houston (which had lost its NFL franchise in a controversial move as well) presented such a plan and was awarded the Houston Texans franchise. Houston, which lacks an NHL team, is the second-largest metropolitan area to not have a franchise in all four major professional sports.
Two of one of the four sports
The sport that most commonly has two teams in one metropolitan area is baseball, with multiple teams in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Boston, St. Louis and Philadelphia also had two baseball franchises, but one team from each city moved in the 1950s. In 2006, Philadelphia was the largest television market without two baseball teams, with Dallas being the next-largest.[6]
Two of each of the four sports
The only area with at least two franchises in all four sports is New York, which is both the largest city and the largest metropolitan area in the United States. Five of the metro area's nine major-sports franchises play outside the city limits: the NFL's Jets and Giants, the NBA's Nets, and the NHL's Devils all play in New Jersey; the NHL's Islanders play on Long Island. However, all teams retain "New York" in their name except the Devils and Nets. (The Nets will change their name to Brooklyn at the start of the 2012 NBA season as they plan to relocate to that borough).
New York is also the only city to host at least one team in each sport throughout the entire period that MLB, the NHL, the NFL and the NBA have coexisted (1946 to the present).
Greater Los Angeles had at least two franchises in all four sports for two years, from the creation of the Anaheim Ducks in 1993 to the departure of both its NFL teams in 1995.
Most recent with four sports
The most recent city to be added to this list is Washington, D.C., which, from the start of the 2005 baseball season, hosts the Nationals, formerly the Montreal Expos. Washington had not had an MLB team since 1972, when the Senators moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area as the Texas Rangers.
However, it could be argued that the Baltimore Orioles previously served as Washington's baseball team, since the cities of Baltimore and Washington are 32 miles apart. In fact, the Orioles' dependence on the Washington market was great enough that Orioles owner Peter Angelos received concessions from MLB in exchange for his permitting a new team in Washington. If one considers the Orioles to be Washington's baseball team, the most recent city to be added is the Twin Cities area in Minnesota, which was given the expansion Minnesota Wild NHL team in 2000.
States with all four but not in one metro area
Among those states that have no metropolitan areas with all four sports, only Ohio has teams in all four major sports: the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns; MLB's Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians; the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers; and the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, the only one located outside Cleveland and Cincinnati.
Most populous state without all four
After the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, on May 31, 2011, Georgia became the most populous state without teams in all four sports. Metro Atlanta became the third-largest metro area without teams in all four sports (after Los Angeles and Houston; explained above). Georgia is now home to the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, the Atlanta Braves of MLB, and the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, all of which play within the city limits of Atlanta.
Previously, North Carolina had been the most populous state without teams in all four sports, having edged out New Jersey when the southern state's population surpassed the northern one's.[7] Both lack a Major League Baseball team, though three teams (the New York Yankees, New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies) play in metropolitan areas that include parts of New Jersey. North Carolina is home to the NFL's Carolina Panthers and NBA's Charlotte Bobcats, who both play in Charlotte, as well as the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, who play in Raleigh. New Jersey is home to the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets, who play in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, as well as the NHL's New Jersey Devils and NBA's New Jersey Nets who play in Newark.
Most populous state without a single major league team
Virginia remains the most populous state without a single big-league team in any sport, although Northern Virginia residents, whose communities form much of the Washington, D.C. suburbs, have access to teams in Washington, D.C. and, at a stretch, Baltimore; and southern Virginia residents have access to the Carolina Hurricanes, the only major-league team in the Raleigh-Durham area.
Iowa is the most populous state without either a major-league team or part of a metropolitan area which has a major-league team.
Canadian cities
Three of the four major leagues (MLB, the NBA and the NHL), have at least one team in Canada. Thus, although it is not a U.S. city, Toronto is notable because it has MLB (Blue Jays), NBA (Raptors), NHL (Maple Leafs) and MLS (Toronto FC) teams, plus a professional football team, the Toronto Argonauts. The Argonauts play in the Canadian Football League, which is currently an all-Canadian circuit, although the CFL had teams in the United States from 1993 until 1995. Calling the CFL a major league would be problematic since its lack of a U.S.-based team leaves it with a much smaller revenue base than the NFL. There has often been speculation of an NFL team in Toronto, which is larger than many NFL cities and the third-largest city in North America without an NFL team, but the NFL insists it has no plans for expansion. The NFL currently allows the Buffalo Bills to play one regular-season game a year at Toronto's Rogers Centre, as the Bills' profits depend on a considerable Southern Ontario fan base.[8] The first two games in the Toronto series did not directly conflict with the CFL, as they were scheduled for December, after the end of the CFL season; however, future games may be scheduled during the CFL season as Argonauts-Bills doubleheaders. How such a doubleheader would work is an issue that would need to be resolved in that case, since CFL's field dimensions differ from NFL's.
There are a further two Canadian cities which formerly had two major league teams plus a CFL franchise.
Montreal, the second-most populous Canadian city, had the Montreal Expos MLB team, which moved to Washington, D.C. It still hosts the NHL's Canadiens and the CFL's Alouettes. Montreal also once had an NFL farm team, the WLAF Montreal Machine, before the league became exclusively European. Additionally, Montreal once had a Division 1 soccer franchise, and will be home to Canada's third MLS team, the Montreal Impact in 2012.
Vancouver, the third-most populous Canadian metropolitan area, had the Vancouver Grizzlies NBA team, which moved to Memphis. It still hosts the NHL's Vancouver Canucks, CFL's B.C. Lions and MLS's Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Cities formerly with teams in all four leagues
Cleveland, Kansas City, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Atlanta formerly hosted teams in all four major sports leagues.
- Greater Los Angeles became a four-sport city in 1967 and remained so for 28 years. In fact, for two years (1993–1995) it joined New York as the only cities with two teams in each of the four major sports (MLB's Dodgers and Angels, NFL's Rams and Raiders, NBA's Lakers and Clippers, and NHL's Kings and Ducks). However, Los Angeles lost both of its NFL teams in 1995.
- St. Louis was briefly a four-sport city (MLB's Cardinals, NFL's Cardinals, NBA's Hawks, and NHL's Blues) from the 1967 NHL expansion until the Hawks left for Atlanta the following year.
- Kansas City had all four sports (MLB's Royals, NFL's Chiefs, NBA's Kings, and NHL's Scouts) from 1974 to 1976. After two unsuccessful years in Kansas City, the Scouts moved to Denver (and later to New Jersey). The Kings moved to Sacramento in 1985.
- Cleveland briefly held four-sport status (MLB's Indians, NFL's Browns, NBA's Cavaliers, and NHL's Barons) when the Oakland Seals moved there in 1976 as the Cleveland Barons, only to lose it when the Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars (currently the Dallas Stars) in 1978.
- Atlanta featured teams from all four sports from 1972 to 1980, as the home of the NHL's Flames (the team moved to Calgary) and from 1999 to 2011, as home of the Thrashers (who relocated to Winnipeg).
Cities that have lost, then regained four-sport status are Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Atlanta.
- Detroit had a charter franchise of the NBA when it was called the Basketball Association of America at the start of the four-major-sport era in 1946. It folded after one season; Detroit rejoined the four-sport club when the Fort Wayne Pistons moved to Detroit in 1957.
- Chicago had a BAA/NBA team fold in 1950, then attracted an expansion franchise in 1961 only to see it move to Baltimore two years later. Chicago rejoined the four-sport club in 1966 with the expansion Bulls.
- The San Francisco Bay Area had teams in all four sports from the NHL expansion in 1967 until the Seals departed for Cleveland in 1976. It regained four-sport status when the expansion San Jose Sharks joined the NHL in 1991. Oakland alone (as mentioned above) had a grand slam without help from San Francisco from 1971 (when the Golden State Warriors moved to Oakland) to 1976.
- Minneapolis-St. Paul became a member with the arrival of the Minnesota Timberwolves as an expansion NBA franchise in 1989, only to see the NHL's North Stars depart for Dallas in 1993. The Twin Cities regained their status with the NHL's expansion Minnesota Wild in 2000.
If the American Basketball Association (1967–1976) is considered to have been a major professional sports league, additional cities formerly made the list. In addition to the MLB Pirates, the NFL Steelers and the NHL Penguins; Pittsburgh also hosted the ABA's Pittsburgh Condors, originally called the Pipers, in 1967 and from 1969 until the team's demise in 1972. Similarly, if the ABA is counted, St. Louis would have regained four-sport status between 1974 and 1976, as the city was home to the Spirits of St. Louis. Also, Minneapolis-St. Paul was a four-sport city from 1967 to 1969 as they hosted the ABA's Minnesota Muskies in 1967–68 and the Minnesota Pipers in 1968–69.
If the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) is considered to have been a major league, Houston would have made the list; the Houston Aeros operated from 1972 to 1978, but were ultimately left out of the NHL-WHA merger negotiations and folded before the merger. Under the same assumption, Cleveland would have joined the four-sports club in 1972 with the arrival of the WHA Cleveland Crusaders, which were displaced in 1976 by the NHL's Barons.
Soccer (MLS)
Major League Soccer is the fifth-largest professional team sport league in the United States by revenue and attendance. Of the 13 metro areas with teams in the four larger leagues, eight host MLS franchises as well.
MLS teams that play outside city limits are indicated in italics, followed by their locations of play.
One other metropolitan area with teams in the four larger leagues also previously held five-sport status: Miami (Miami Fusion).
The San Francisco Bay Area lost five-sport status after the Earthquakes moved to Houston to become the Dynamo in 2006 but regained it with the reactivated Earthquakes in 2008.
Of cities that once held four-sport status, only Los Angeles and Kansas City have current MLS franchises; none has had four-sport status since MLS operations began. Both of Los Angeles's MLS franchises play outside of city limits, in Carson.
No Ohio city can claim five-sport (or four-sport) status, but the state itself can via Cleveland & Columbus (as well as Cincinnati) sports teams with the Columbus Crew.
The debut of MLS's Toronto FC in 2007 gives Toronto five professional sports teams, although its football team plays in the Canadian Football League. Once a year the Buffalo Bills play a game at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
See also
- U.S. states without major sports teams
- Multiple major sports championship seasons
- List of North American cities by number of major sports teams
- List of TV markets and major sports teams
- List of major professional sports teams in the United States and Canada
Notes and references
- ^ Nielsen DMA Rankings
- ^ "Population and Housing Occupancy Status: 2010 - United States -- Combined Statistical Area; and for Puerto Rico". United States Census Bureau. 2010. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_NSRD_GCTPL2.US41PR&prodType=table. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-PH1-R&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-format=US-10S
- ^ http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/CBSA-est2006-annual.html
- ^ U.S. Census Bureau, Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Estimates, Table 2. Annual Estimates of the Population of Combined Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007.
- ^ http://www.tvb.org/rcentral/markettrack/us_hh_by_dma.aspn
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008". United States Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/popest/states/tables/NST-EST2008-01.csv. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ^ Associated Press (2008-02-01). "Commissioner announces Toronto plan for Bills". National Football League. http://www.nfl.com/news/story;jsessionid=DAFF70E67B4A749C6DBA40480DC08656?id=09000d5d8066be0f&template=with-video&confirm=true. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
External links
Categories:- Sports in the United States by city
- Sports teams in the United States by city
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
