U.S. states without major sports teams
There are currently 24 U.S. states without major sports teams, when major league sports are defined as Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), and the National Hockey League (NHL).[1][2]
Contents
Reasons
The reasons for this are mixed. Often it is because of a lack of population density or size in a single city or even an entire state. The lack of density hurts television contracts, advertising, ticket sales, attendance, and city/state funds for the required facilities and salaries of the players. In many cases a "home" fan base may span several states, as with the New England Patriots (and, though not in name, the Boston Red Sox), Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys. Even though the Patriots and the Red Sox both play in the Boston area, each team has many fans in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, as do the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins, to a lesser degree. (The Patriots' stadium is actually closer to downtown Providence than it is to downtown Boston.) And while the Panthers and the NBA's Charlotte Hornets both play in Charlotte, North Carolina, both teams have fans from all over the Carolinas. The Cowboys, meanwhile, often have fans in other parts of Texas, as well as in Oklahoma. Similarly, fans of Pittsburgh franchises can be found in West Virginia (mainly in the northern half of the state), fans of Philadelphia teams can be found in Delaware and New Jersey, fans of Kansas City teams can be found in Kansas, Nebraska and the southern half of Iowa (while northern Iowa natives are often fans of the Minnesota teams, along with natives of North Dakota and South Dakota), while Idaho and Oregon natives are often fans of the Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks, Utah natives are generally fans of Colorado Rockies, Denver Broncos, and Colorado Avalanche, and fans of San Francisco and Oakland teams are frequently located in Nevada, Dallas sports fans can be found in New Mexico and Arkansas, and fans of Washington, D.C. teams can be found in Virginia and Maryland.
Other popular sports
In place of major league teams, collegiate, minor league, and high school teams enjoy quite a lot of attention, such as high school football teams in many states lacking a professional franchise, the Auburn and Alabama football teams in Alabama, and the Louisville and Kentucky basketball teams in Kentucky.
Of course, many states without professional team sports still boast celebrated sports institutions (e.g., the Kentucky Derby in Kentucky, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska, the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii). This list also does not take into account PGA Tour, LPGA Tour or NASCAR — the second-most watched spectator sport in the U.S., behind NFL football. As of the 2014 season, seven states without major professional sports teams host Sprint Cup races: Alabama (Talladega), Delaware (Dover), Kentucky (Sparta), Nevada (Las Vegas), New Hampshire (Loudon), South Carolina (Darlington), and Virginia (Martinsville and Richmond). Of the aforementioned states, three host two annual Sprint Cup races (Alabama, Delaware, New Hampshire), and Virginia hosts four races.
List of U.S. states without major sports teams
NOTE: The asterisk (*) denotes a state that used to have a team in one of the major leagues; see below.
- Alabama (the second most populous state on this list)
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Connecticut*
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Iowa*
- Kentucky* (the fourth most populous state on this list)
- Maine
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska*
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island*
- South Carolina (the third most populous state on this list)*
- While the Carolina Panthers always intended to make their permanent home in North Carolina, they played their first season at Memorial Stadium on the campus of Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina while their permanent stadium was being completed, and still retain a fanbase in the area.
- South Dakota
- Vermont
- Virginia (the most populous state on this list)*[3]
- Although no major-league team currently plays in Virginia, two of the teams based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area—the Redskins and Capitals—have their operational headquarters and practice facilities in Northern Virginia.
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
Outside the continental United States
Alaska and Hawaii have never had a major league team, mainly due to their distance from the U.S. mainland, and that the states were admitted to the union in 1959, when most of the major sports leagues were emerging leagues.
Alaska's largest metropolitan area of Anchorage would be a challenging location for a major league team, due to its relatively small population (380,000), undersized venues, distance from other teams, and cold climate.
The Honolulu metropolitan area has adequate population (950,000) and large enough venues to host a team (Aloha Stadium seats 50,000). Honolulu used to be home to a World Football League franchise in 1974 and 1975, and has been host of the annual NFL Pro Bowl since 1980, except in 2010 and 2015.
Recent developments
Connecticut joined the list after the NHL's Hartford Whalers moved to North Carolina in 1997. Though fan support for a return to Hartford is big, issues have risen over arena quality, cash, and lack of interest from potential team owners. The state is home to the Connecticut Sun WNBA team which moved to Uncasville in 2003 -- the only WNBA team that does not share a city with an NBA team.
Oklahoma re-joined the list when the New Orleans Hornets of the NBA ended their temporary stay in Oklahoma City brought on by the Hurricane Katrina disaster. The Hornets played 36 of 41 home games in Oklahoma City during the 2005-06 NBA season, and played 35 home games in both Oklahoma City and nearby Norman in the 2006-07 season. The franchise returned to New Orleans permanently for the 2007-08 season, leaving Oklahoma without a major team. However, Oklahoma was removed from the list once again when for the 2008-09 season, the Seattle SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City and became the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Kansas was on this list until 2008, when the Major League Soccer franchise Sporting Kansas City (formerly known as the Kansas City Wizards) moved from Kansas City, Missouri to Kansas City, Kansas and began playing home games at CommunityAmerica Ballpark while their soccer-specific stadium that is also in Kansas, Livestrong Sporting Park, was being built.
Teams formerly located in one of these states
Connecticut
- Hartford Whalers (NHL, 1979–1997)
- Hartford Blues (NFL, 1926)
- Hartford Dark Blues (Major League Baseball, 1876–1877; National League (NL) team)
- Boston Celtics (NBA, played part-time at the Hartford Civic Center from 1975–1995)
- New York Giants (NFL, played at the Yale Bowl in New Haven from 1973–1974)
Iowa
- Waterloo Hawks (NBA, 1949–1951)
Kentucky
- Louisville Brecks/Colonels (NFL, 1921–1923, 1926)
- Louisville Colonels (Major League Baseball, 1891–1899; NL team)
- Louisville Grays (Major League Baseball, 1876–1877, NL team)
- Kentucky Colonels (American Basketball Association 1967–1976)
Nebraska
- Kansas City–Omaha Kings (NBA, 1972–1975): After moving from Cincinnati after the 1971–72 season, the franchise now known as the Sacramento Kings played home games in both Kansas City, Missouri and Omaha. The team made Kansas City its sole home in 1975. The team relocated to Sacramento, California in 1985.
Rhode Island
- Providence Grays (Major League Baseball, 1878–1885; NL team)
- Providence Steam Roller (NFL, 1925–1931)
- Providence Steamrollers (NBA, 1946–1949)
South Carolina
- Carolina Panthers (NFL, played inaugural season at Memorial Stadium in Clemson in 1995)
References
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