Expansion team
Expansion team is a term used in sport and describes the establishment of a new team in the US professional leagues in connection with the franchise system existing in the respective league ( MLB , MLS , NBA , NFL , NHL , WNBA ) . In principle, the term can also be applied to other leagues, for example in Europe or Asia , but is not used there.
Reasons for an expansion are the development of new economic areas for the respective franchise and the acquisition of a new fan group, especially in as yet undeveloped, densely populated metropolitan areas or cities. The creation of a competitive situation in large cities and the marketing of this in city duels are just as possible as the creation of a rivalry between regions due to the geographical location (north-south or east-west).
Sometimes teams were declared to be expansion teams after relocating from the league. The best known example is the move of the NFL team of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore. The Baltimore Ravens were declared a new team by the league, so that in Cleveland a team could re-emerge under the old name and the club's history. In Major League Soccer , the same thing happened when the San Jose Earthquakes moved to Houston.
After a suitable location has been found and the financial and organizational aspects have been clarified and regulated, the new team is formed by means of an expansion draft and integrated into the respective league.
Web links
- Sean Mitchell: List of expansion teams in major pro sports (July 8, 2011) ( Memento of April 28, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- NN: Expansion Teams (October 22, 2001) ( Memento from April 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- Expansion teams of the NFL
Individual evidence
- ↑ Chris Burke: Building an NFL Expansion Team. In: si.com. Retrieved November 8, 2011 .
- ↑ Baltimore Ravens. In: sportsecyclopedia.com. Retrieved November 8, 2017 .
- ↑ Expansion team. In: sportingcharts.com. Retrieved November 8, 2017 .