Relocation of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada

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Relocation of professional sports teams occurs when a team owner moves a team, generally from one metropolitan area to another, but occasionally between municipalities in the same conurbation. The practice is most common in North America, where a league franchise system is used and the teams are overwhelmingly privately owned. Owners who move a team generally do so seeking better profits, facilities, fan support, or a combination of these.

Unlike most professional sport systems worldwide, North America does not have comprehensive governing bodies whose authority extends from the amateur to the highest levels of a given sport. North American sports generally do not operate a system of promotion and relegation in which poorly performing teams are replaced with teams that do well in lower-level leagues, forming a franchise and minor league system instead.

Background

A city wishing to get a team in a major professional sports league can wait for the league to expand and award new franchises. However, such expansions are infrequent, and generally limited to a narrow window in time. Many current owners believe 32 is the optimal size for a major league due to playoff structure and ease of scheduling.[citation needed] As of 2024, each of the major leagues has between 30 and 33 franchises. The National Hockey League (NHL) has expanded to 33 teams in total, with the Vegas Golden Knights having become the league's 31st team in 2017, the Seattle Kraken having become the 32nd team in 2021, and the Utah Hockey Club having become the 33rd team in 2024.[1][2]

In past decades, aspiring owners whose overtures had been rejected by the established leagues would respond by forming a rival league in hopes that the existing major league would eventually agree to a

merger; the new league would attain major league status in its own right; or the established league was compelled to expand. The 1960s American Football League (AFL) is perhaps the most recent example of a successful rival league, having achieved each of the three goals listed above in reverse order. However, all major sports have had a rival league achieve at least some of these goals in the last half of the 20th century. Baseball's proposed Continental League did not play a game but only because Major League Baseball responded to the proposal by adding teams in some of the new league's proposed cities. The American Basketball Association (ABA) and World Hockey Association
(WHA) each succeeded in getting some of their franchises accepted into the established leagues, which had both unsuccessfully attempted to cause their upstart rivals to fold outright by adding more teams.

However, the upstart leagues owed their success in large part to the reluctance of owners in the established leagues to devote the majority of their revenues to player salaries and also to sports leagues' former reliance primarily on gate receipts for revenue.[citation needed] Under those conditions, an ambitious rival could often afford to lure away the sport's top players with promises of better pay, in hopes of giving the new league immediate respect and credibility from fans. Today, however, established leagues derive a large portion of their revenue from lucrative television contracts that would not be offered to an untested rival. Also, the activism of players' unions has resulted in the established leagues paying a majority of their revenues to players, thus the average salary in each of the big four leagues is now well in excess of $1 million per season.[citation needed]

Under present market and financial conditions, any serious attempt to form a rival league in the early 21st century would likely require hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars in investment and initial losses,[

ratings; the networks are far less willing to provide such coverage to an unproven upstart league, often requiring the upstart league to pay the network
for those leagues to be covered.

Therefore, as long as leagues choose not to expand or reject a city's application, the only realistic recourse is to convince the owners of an existing team to move it (or convince a prospective owner to purchase a team with the intent of moving it). Owners usually[

Baltimore Colts left for Indianapolis (NFL owners voted to give Colts owner Robert Irsay
permission to move his franchise to the city of his choosing after no satisfactory stadium would be built).

Moving sports teams is often controversial. Opponents criticize owners for leaving behind faithful fans and governments for spending millions of dollars of tax money on attracting teams. However, since sports teams in the United States are generally treated like any other business under

Phoenix Coyotes
by siding with the NHL, which claimed that it had final authority over franchise moves.

Newer sports leagues tend to have more transient franchises than more established, "major" leagues, but in the mid-1990s, several NFL and NHL teams moved to other cities, and the threat of a move pushed cities with major-league teams in any sport to build new stadiums and arenas using taxpayer money. The trend continued in the 2000s, when three National Basketball Association (NBA) teams moved in a seven-year span after there were no moves at all in the 16 years before it. Critics referred to the movement of teams to the highest-bidding city as "franchise free agency."

List

The following charts list movements of franchises in the modern eras of the major North American sports leagues. It does not include:

  • Moves within a city, which have occurred many times in all major leagues.
  • Short distance moves from one city in a metro area to another city in the same metro area. (For example, San Francisco to Oakland or vice versa.)
  • Short-distance city-suburb moves. (For example, Los Angeles to Anaheim, both of which are in the same urban agglomeration.)
  • Team moves that happened before the organization joined its current league.
    • Note, however, that the NFL considers the American Football League of the 1960s as an integral part of its own history. Therefore, moves of AFL teams during the existence of that league are included.
  • Moves of teams that, as of 2023, no longer exist. There were many such moves in the early years of the NFL in particular.
  • Teams that have threatened to move as leverage for a new stadium or arena in their current market without actually moving, as well as teams that nearly moved for other reasons, not related to team dissatisfaction in a given market. (For example, the
    almost moving to Anaheim, Seattle, and Virginia Beach
    from 2011 to 2013.)

Major League Baseball

See also:
Major League Baseball relocation of 1950s–60s and List of defunct and relocated Major League Baseball teams
Further information: 2020 Toronto Blue Jays season
  • 2021: Toronto Blue Jays temporarily moved to Dunedin, Florida, from April 8 to May 24, then moved back to Buffalo, New York, from June 1 to July 21. On July 30, the team moved back to Toronto and returned to the Rogers Centre full time.
Further information: 2021 Toronto Blue Jays season

National Basketball Association

Main article:
List of relocated National Basketball Association teams
Further information: 2020–21 Toronto Raptors season
Further information: 2021–22 Toronto Raptors season

National Football League

Main article:
National Football League franchise moves and mergers

The history of the NFL fully incorporates that of the fourth American Football League, which began operation in 1960 with eight teams and became by far the most successful rival to the NFL. In 1966, the two leagues agreed to a merger that took full effect in 1970. All teams from the 1960–1969 AFL were brought intact to the NFL, and the current NFL recognizes all AFL records and statistics as its own.

  • 1996: Cleveland Browns players and coaching staff moved to Baltimore and became the Baltimore Ravens. The move was one of the most controversial in major professional sports history. In response to a fan revolt and legal threats, the NFL awarded a new franchise to Cleveland in 1999, which for historical purposes is considered a continuation of the original Browns franchise.
    Further information: Cleveland Browns relocation controversy
  • 1997: Houston Oilers moved to Memphis, Tennessee. The team originally planned to play the 1997 and 1998 seasons in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis before moving to Nashville. However, due to poor attendance, the team moved to Nashville in 1998, playing in Vanderbilt University's stadium. The team was renamed as the Tennessee Titans in 1999, when its new stadium was opened. The NFL granted Houston a new expansion franchise in 2002.
  • 2016: St. Louis Rams moved back to Los Angeles after 21 seasons in St. Louis. The team moved to a newly built SoFi Stadium in nearby Inglewood in 2020. Rams owner and CEO Stan Kroenke later settled for $790 million to the city of St. Louis over his bad faith efforts to keep the team in St. Louis.
  • 2017: San Diego Chargers returned to their original home of Los Angeles after 56 seasons in San Diego. The team played in the suburb of Carson before joining the Rams at their new stadium in 2020.
  • 2020: Oakland Raiders were approved to move to a recently constructed Allegiant Stadium in the Las Vegas area in 2020.[6] The team played in Oakland for the 2018 season and, due to being thwarted in its plans to play in San Francisco by their regional rivals the 49ers, were forced to play in Oakland in 2019 as well before completing the move to Las Vegas in 2020.[7][8]
    Further information: Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas

    • National Hockey League

    Main article: List of defunct and relocated National Hockey League teams

    Unlike in the MLB and NBA, the NHL did not temporarily move teams due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the league temporarily abolished conferences and re-aligned divisions for the 2020-21 season, consolidating all seven Canadian teams to the North Division due to travel restrictions at the Canada–United States Border.

    Only one NHL team that moved has kept its name: the Calgary Flames.

    The Edmonton Oilers nearly moved to Houston in 1998, but the team remained in the city after a limited partnership raised enough money to purchase the franchise before the deadline.[9][10] The then-Phoenix Coyotes were placed into bankruptcy with the intent to circumvent the league's relocation rules, but this was blocked by a judge. Other threats to leave came from two of the 1967 expansion teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins (on multiple occasions) and St. Louis Blues (in 1983), but ultimately stayed in their existing markets.

    • 1976:
      1991 NHL Dispersal and Expansion Drafts
  • 1976: Kansas City Scouts moved to Denver and became the Colorado Rockies.
  • 1978: The Cleveland Barons franchise merged with the
    1978 NHL Dispersal Draft
  • 1980: Atlanta Flames moved to Calgary; Atlanta was awarded an expansion team in 1999, which moved to Winnipeg in 2011.
  • 1982: Colorado Rockies moved to East Rutherford and became the New Jersey Devils; 13 years later, Colorado received the Quebec Nordiques.
  • 1993: Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas and became the Stars; Minnesota was awarded an expansion team in 2000.
  • 1995: Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver and became the Colorado Avalanche.
  • 1996: Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix and became the Phoenix Coyotes. The team changed its geographic name to Arizona before the 2014–15 season. In 2011, Winnipeg would receive another team, also called the Jets, through the move of the Atlanta Thrashers.
  • 1997: Hartford Whalers moved to Raleigh and became the Carolina Hurricanes. For the 1997–98 and 1998–98 seasons, they played home games in Greensboro while their intended home, the venue now known as PNC Arena, was under construction in Raleigh.
  • 2011: Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg and became the new Winnipeg Jets.
  • 2024:
    2024-25 season; however, the Arizona Coyotes records and trademarks must remain behind in Arizona, which gives current Coyotes ownership until 2029 to secure a new arena financing deal, after which the franchise will be reactivated via expansion.[11]

    • Major League Soccer

    • 2006:
      Lew Wolff
      in 2006 and the option was exercised in 2007. The Earthquakes resumed play in MLS in 2008 as a continuation of the previous Earthquakes franchise under new ownership.

    Women's National Basketball Association

    Canadian Football League

    While none of the CFL's core Canadian franchises have moved from one market to another, the league's short-lived expansion into the United States did include one team move.

    The league also attempted to move the Las Vegas Posse after their single season of 1994. Prior to the 1995 season, multiple ownership groups unsuccessfully tried to buy the team for a move to Jackson, Mississippi. Following that, plans were made to move the team to Miami, Florida as the Manatees, but plans fell through when the league chose to end the U.S. expansion before the Manatees' scheduled launch in 1996.

    The CFL's expansion into the U.S. both began and ended with events that were not technically team moves, but were also not truly new teams being formed. The staff of the Ottawa Rough Riders moved from Ottawa to Shreveport, Louisiana, to become the Shreveport Pirates in 1993, but the CFL forced the team itself to be left in Ottawa, where a new owner kept the franchise alive. In 1996, the owners of the Baltimore Stallions folded the team upon the announcement that the Cleveland Browns would be moving to Baltimore (but see Cleveland Browns relocation controversy). Despite high attendance and success on the field, management felt that they would be unable to directly compete with an NFL team in the same city. The Stallions' ownership group took over the then-dormant Montreal Alouettes franchise. While the players were released from their contracts with the Stallions, many were subsequently signed to the Alouettes. The CFL and the Alouettes do not consider the Stallions' records, including the 1995 Grey Cup victory, as part of the team's legacy. The Alouettes are instead considered a continuation of the previous teams of that name.

    Esports

    Few esports leagues follow the city-based model of older North American professional sports leagues. Still, teams in the Call of Duty League and the now-defunct Overwatch League have moved:

    References

    1. ^ Rosen, Dan (June 24, 2015). "Board of Governors OKs start of expansion process". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L.P. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
    2. ^ Muir, Allan (July 21, 2015). "NHL expansion bid results disappoint league, leave Seattle out in cold". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
    3. ^ Bloom, Barry M. (September 29, 2004). "MLB selects D.C. for Expos". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
    4. ^ "Charlotte Hornets Name Returns to Carolinas". Hornets.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
    5. ^ "Hornets all the buzz in Charlotte". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures, LLC. Associated Press. May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014. [Hornets president and CEO Fred] Whitfield also announced that, in collaboration with the NBA and the Pelicans, all the statistical information, records and history of Charlotte NBA basketball will be restored to the franchise. That means the Hornets will now own and have access to all the historical elements from the recent Bobcats era (2004–14) as well as the original Hornets teams that played in Charlotte....
    6. ^ Rosenthal, Gregg (March 27, 2017). "NFL owners approve Raiders' move to Las Vegas". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
    7. ^ "Oakland sues NFL, Raiders over move to Las Vegas". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Associated Press. December 11, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
    8. ^ Beaton, Andrew (December 11, 2018). "Oakland Files Lawsuit Against Raiders, NFL". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
    9. ^ "A New Oilers Team Could Hit Houston". The New York Times. February 12, 1998. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
    10. ^ Flores, Lucien (October 30, 2012). "NHL Relocation: 7 Scares That Almost Happened". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
    11. ^ "Leaving Arizona: Everything you need to know about the Coyotes moving to Salt Lake City". ESPN.com. April 15, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
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