Discussions surrounding building an NBA and NHL-caliber arena in the city have materialized in recent years. If so,, when would be the earliest new teams could join and what would be the minimum expansion fee per team? If it’s not the Colonels Las Vegas makes sense. In the following table it shows current NBA teams that are participating in the 2020–21 NBA season, in which city they are located, when the club was founded, joined the NBA, number of times relocated and times the franchise name has changed. [25] Pittsburgh has a long basketball tradition with Pitt and Duquesne as well as more recently with Robert Morris Colonials, the 1968 ABA champion Pittsburgh Condors, the 1995 CBA finalist Pittsburgh Piranhas, the Pittsburgh Rens of the ABL and the Pittsburgh Ironmen of the BAA. With the ABA–NBA merger, four ABA teams became members of the NBA: the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets (became New Jersey Nets, now Brooklyn Nets) and the San Antonio Spurs. It’s been revealed that the Board of Governors are open to expansion in the future, so it’s natural to speculate which cities could earn a franchise. My guess on the latter is 1.5 – 2B expansion fees? Stl is the 21st biggest tv market https://mediatracks.com/resources/nielsen-dma-rankings-2019/, 3. The Hampton Roads metropolitan area in Virginia has no major league sports team, but in August 2017, there was a proposal to bring an NBA team to the area's largest city, Virginia Beach whenever a sports arena is approved and built to host the team in the future. Stl has 11 – 500 fortune companies which ranks 7th most in 🇺🇸. Freedom Hall, opened in 1956 (though renovated several times), holds 18,252 and hosts the Bellarmine Knights. NBA expansion has been in the news the last year or so. I think that it’ll be much less probably around the $1b mark now for an expansion fee. The Consol Energy Center could be a potential site to house an NBA franchise in Pittsburgh, if that ever became a reality. Stl has 6 billionaires. The city already hosts the NBA Summer League, which as of 2018, all league teams participate in. [7][8] San Diego's history with professional basketball spans multiple teams and is encompassed in an 18 year period from 1967 to 1984. Thanks for your comment Edward! The NBA’s expansion to Mexico City would seem like common sense. Jason thanks for your comment mate! [12][13] On August 29, 2020, following a competitive proposal selection process, local officials announced that they had selected a development team to build a new privately-funded sports arena and entertainment district at the site of the San Diego Sports Arena in the city's Midway District.[14]. List of cities who would be NBA expansion candidates over Pittsburgh: Las Vegas Kansas City San Diego Seattle Montreal Tampa St Louis Cinci In other words, ain't happening. Following the 1975–76 season, the NBA merged with the American Basketball Association, a competing league that had operated for nine seasons beginning in 1967. The city’s 8.8million people (20+ million metro pop. Do you think with league losses from Covid and China that the NBA will accelerate expansion? Whether Pittsburgh is big enough for a fourth major league sports team remains to be seen, with teams in the NHL, NFL and MLB. It will be interesting if the NBA looks at expansion as a way for teams to obtain cash after major pandemic loses. The Sacramento Kings were so close to relocating to the city due to an aging Sleep Train Arena. Related: Seattle SuperSonics Relocation: Are the Sonics Making an NBA Return? It may take the city a bit of time to adjust from having zero major league franchises barely a year ago. The most recent examples of the expansion of the NBA are the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat in 1988, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic in 1989, Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995 (who relocated to Memphis … Las Vegas has long been rumored as a potential destination for a future NBA franchise. There have been 11 expansion drafts in NBA history. The NBA notably failed in a lawsuit to return the Clippers to San Diego in the late 1980s after the franchise's then-owner Donald Sterling moved the club to Los Angeles without league approval after being twice denied permission to move. Imagine having three of the four major sports in Las Vegas.”. The 1961 NBA Expansion Draft was the inaugural expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). “Canada could handle two NBA teams,” Silver said last year. The NBA hasn’t added a team since 2004 when Charlotte earned back their beloved Bobcats. NFLs Marijuana Policy Explained, Can NBA Players Smoke Weed? Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle sat down with Stern and asked him about the NBA possibly adding expansion teams so Seattle and Sacramento could both have teams and Stern throws out a Pittsburgh being on his short list of cities. The city is part of the San Diego–Tijuana transborder metropolitan area, home to nearly 6 million residents as of 2020. NBA expansion cities have stood up following NBA commissioner Adam Silver stating that the league is exploring the idea. See Timeline for the history of teams who participated in the NBA. So my 10th and final pick is Paris, as a representative of possible NBA expansion into Europe. Even the NBA was supporting a move away from Sacramento either to Anaheim or San Jose. I created Wolfgang Sports in 2017, as a way to connect my passion for American and British sport. [28][29] This was furthered fueled by Commissioner Adam Silver's statement that the NBA has been in discussions to place a G League team in Mexico City as well opening of NBA Academy in that city for Latin American and Caribbean players.[30]. Silver continued when speaking with CBC’s Rosemary Barton last year. The return of the Seattle SuperSonics via expansion is a no brainer. It has since been reported the NBA discussed adding two teams—both of which would come with a $2.5 billion expansion fee that would be distributed among the league’s current group of governors. https://247wallst.com/special-report/2020/01/21/city-in-every-state-with-the-most-billionaires-2/, 4. The city is also home to the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Definitely teams with an NBA-ready arena will be favored. Do they have a rich NBA history? I think Vegas will definitely get one. If so,, when would be the earliest new teams could join and what would be the minimum expansion fee per team? I would love to get an NBA team in Pittsburgh one day. The Top 5 Cities for the Next NBA Relocation or Expansion Team. ), is higher than all other North American markets including New York City’s. Since 1992, the NBA Global Games have had NBA games hosted in different places around the world, with Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City (the capital and most populous city of the country) being one of the venues for hosting preseason games and regular season games, with the arena having a capacity of over 20,000. [16][17] Louisville has one prior major league basketball team in the Kentucky Colonels, which was a successful franchise during their nine seasons playing at Freedom Hall in the American Basketball Association, winning the ABA Finals in 1975 along with winning the most games and having the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the league's history. 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