Virgin territory for pro sports

I thought Jacksonville was the NFL's smallest market besides Green Bay.

Also, Providence has a team -- the Patriots. Foxborough is 12 miles closer to Providence than to Boston, according to Mapquest.

 

Of the above list, excluding Vegas, only a Louisville NHL franchise makes regional sense. But that's like putting a curling franchise in Odessa, Texas.

Portland doesn't make the list because they already have the Blazers.

 

That whole list, or whatever government agency sponsors it, is a crock. The area I work in is at 224,000 for its metro area, but it doesn't list it. Another former area I live in lists two cities in its area, but not a third, which is closer and bigger than the second one mentioned.

I hate census stats, they can be taken anyway you want them.

 

This site

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/NumberPortability/msas.html

says Jacksonville's MSA ranks 58th, behind New Orleans (45) and Nashville (49).

 

I guess that means Intercourse, Pa. is out of the question.

 

Don't teams spend the weekend in hotels in Providence when they play in Foxboro?
Hartford maybe a bit misleading because in terms of TV markets, which I would think owners care about, its in like the high-20s, bigger than Kansas City, Cincinnati, Green Bay, Jacksonville and Buffalo.

 

I think at some point in the future, we'll see an NHL team in Anchorage, Alaska.

Lots and lots of oil money up there for corporate sponsorships.

Ultimately, the definition of "major league" will continue and continue to grow. Leagues will continue to expand, even if it may take a long time, and more cities will come under the definition.

In 1920, there were about 10 cities which would have been considered "major league." Now, there are like 60.

 

Yes, many of them do.

 

Hamilton, Ontario. (Hi. JR!) And don't tell me they have the TiCats. They're shit. And in the CFL.

 

They had the Steelheads.

At least, until the show got canceled.

 

I was referencing smallest areas that have a major team. I'm assuming Portland, Ore., is smaller than Buffalo, but I could be really wrong.

Edit: Which in hindsight I am. Apparently they are 17th according to dixiehack, they just aren't on the linked list.

 

I had no idea there were so many people in the Grand Rapids and Greenville areas.

I could see the Greensboro/Winston-Salem area getting an MLB team someday. At one point the Twins flirted with moving there and there's not a big leage team in the Carolinas, so the TV market would likely include Raleigh-Durham (more than a million people), Charlotte (around two million) and Greenville-Upstate, South Carolina. I'm sure they'd draw attendance from all those areas too.