What Team Relocations Say About City Trajectories

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The allocation of sports franchises says a lot about the power relationships between our cities. In this video I look at the inequitable distribution of teams, run a regression analysis (of course), and talk about the ten most oversupplied AND undersupplied cities.
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[@CityNerd]

Welcome to...THE COMMENTS. Tread carefully, and read this one first! Bellroy has cool items that genuinely improve my quality of life these days, AND they're made from upcycled materials. Receive 10% off anything from their store using my custom link! bit.ly/48S55lk

[@maxpowr90]

I actually used the promo code! Was eyeing a new passport holder so why not save 10% (well, 12% with Rakutan).

[@richardalvarez2390]

Omaha was just ranked the #1 city to move to in 2024 by Forbes, there are also many other statistics that Omaha tops in top 10 lists. Also the state of Nebraska was ranked as 3rd best state for 2024 on how well its run. By US News. I think it's time to take a team away from neighbor Kansas City, so that Omaha has one team.

[@steemlenn8797]

Um... do I understand that right? Who plays in the first league in baseball (and maybe American handegg) is defined by whoever puts a certain amount of money in the pot? There is no "the winner goes up, the loser goes down"? But that would mean you miss out on all the "do we make it or not??" drama and all the "never second league again" songs!

[@taxirob2248]

You referred to a hypothetical railgating utopia in Texas of all places, are you thinking about doing the existing city pairs railgating episode? There are a lot of good ones out there that already have passenger trains running between them, and far more that can and should.

[@kennyw42]

I love Bellroy! Great sponsor!

[@superdog3293]

CityNerd being completely deadpan when talking about moving the wild out of minnesota to texas shows his steadfast commitment to dry humor.

[@jeffreywilliams3421]

His dedication to it is so unwavering that I'm starting to think he's 100% serious

[@dxtxzbunchanumbers]

This wasn't just dry, this was like replacing toilet paper with sandpaper

[@rachel_sj]

As long as Minnesota gets all their rodeos, that’s fair…

[@dmcinerney6841]

And simultaneously making the joke about it not being a hockey state when it is literally THE hockey state 😭

[@timtwoface]

Never going to happen but a very fair point. Though of the 4 major leagues, if one had to leave the Twin Cities I would suggest it's either MLB or NBA.

[@at0mly]

"Minnesota isn't really ice hockey country." LMAO.

[@jziskind]

One of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard

[@cutieteal]

He’s definitely trolling lol

[@MarcusGormsen]

I understand MN may be over represented, but that is the last team that should be moved (are we sure we aren't being trolled, lol?) There is still a giant scar on the heart of every Minnesotan from the last time. FNG! Edit: LMAO, I paused and ran to the comments before he even finished talking. Ride the high speed rail "to watch the Northstars play the Wild. Stay mad Minnesota." Epic troll!

[@Monsoozi]

Then moved it to Texas

[@Wico90YT]

PWHL Minnesota's doing phenomenal too

[@JuanWayTrips]

City Nerd woke up and chose violence. Curly Lambeau wanted to move the team out of Green Bay, but because the team was already majority publicly owned, he couldn't. He refused to go back to Green Bay when he left, and the team couldn't rename "New City Stadium" to "Lambeau Field" until Curly Lambeau died.

[@glenmurie]

Sports teams should have ownership structures like the Packers. The community should majority own the team, not billionaires who often don't even live in the cities the franchises are headquartered in.

[@sabretooth1997]

@@glenmurie If I'm not mistaken, such an ownership structure is "illegal" in the NFL and the Packers are only grandfathered in. Gee, I wonder why.

[@Khronogi]

​@@sabretooth1997cause the people who made the rules lol

[@Earth1218]

@@sabretooth1997such a mystery, isn’t it? It’s almost like they want to hold host cities hostage and then screw them over as soon as a new opportunity arrives. 😡

[@Skip6235]

This feels like an April Fools video. Or a “how to piss off as many people as possible” video. I love it.

[@CityNerd]

It's equal opportunity trolling

[@jameshughes6078]

I'm fairly certain NOLA would start the next civil war if the saints left

[@richardgilson3512]

TBF he did leave the Bills in place. I think Buffalo's reaction to losing the Sabres would be: "why did it take so long?"

[@PaulMcElligott]

@@jameshughes6078True. If any team is leaving NOLA, it’s the Pelicans.

[@Benz2112]

You are going to make a lot of Minnesotans mildly discourteous towards you.

[@PolkCountyWIProgressive]

And they will death look you, being incapable of actually expressing active disgust due to Minnesota Nice.

[@alexroselle]

Revenge is a hot dish best served cold

[@jimstevenson4506]

​@@alexroselle Now I want to hear Kilgon spoken with a Minnesota accent.

[@leandersearle5094]

@@jimstevenson4506 Considering the vikings had Norwegian and Swedish accents...

[@ryanrobinson5638]

I feel Nettled, don't know about you *chefs kiss* The phrasing, the team, the states involved...... even if at my expense, I have to admit it's a top tier troll job

[@cardinalj]

Two things about the pittsburgh mention. 1st Love the view of the t-line crossing the Mon. I love taking that trip. Second, if you move Pittsburgh Pirates, you will take away 1/3 of the native population's wardrobe.

[@kylelauterhahn1242]

Oh no, where else will Yinzers be allowed to wear Black and Yellow?!?

[@john-ic9vj]

You can take the T during steeler and penguin games too so don't cry too hard

[@lewatoaofair2522]

Oh, less black & yellow? At least there’s still black & yellow and black & yellow to wear. “You know what it is!”

[@cardinalj]

Living in Pittsburgh, you will see on non game days. People in full steelers, pirates or penguins outfits. It's just a way of dressing in Pittsburgh. They really show out for their teams. And when I say full outfits, I mean hat, shirt, jacket and pants.

[@CityNerd]

Hahahahahahaha

[@AK-so9gm]

This is Citynerd’s most diabolical video and I am here for it

[@mollup1071]

Santurce was BRUTALLY butchered but love the idea! Puerto Rico has such a beautiful baseball culture that deserves more love

[@CityNerd]

The winter league is fun!

[@marcoalejandrocruz]

⁠@@CityNerdCame here to comment the same. I’d be content with something close to “San-tour-say”.

[@taxirob2248]

PR, DR and Cuba all deserve major league franchises

[@Yanick.R]

This video has some of the wildest takes I’ve ever seen from City Nerd. Going to need some popcorn on hand when I read the rest of these comments.

[@jameshughes6078]

He deliberately picked the most inflammatory teams to move in metros with multiple teams. I love it. You actually need to know something about sports to troll this well, and everyone took some strays in the end. Perfecto.

[@jimbosaurus]

As a native Bostonian, I'm absolutely STUNNED we didn't make the overserved list. Particularly given the low/negative population growth rate.

[@bugswatter]

Boston paid for its negative population growth long ago when the Braves decamped to Milwaukee.... It has one major league team in each important sport. For a city of Boston's importance, I'm glad it kept the Red Sox and lost the Braves. (The Yankees need a nearby top ranked team to keep from getting too complacent.)

[@CityNerd]

One thing not mentioned -- I did actually allocate the Pats/Rev partially to Providence, otherwise Providence would've ended up on the "undersupplied" list

[@sumedhgarimella6024]

​@@CityNerd that actually makes sense tbh, the Pats fly out of Providence airport and not Boston

[@barryrobbins7694]

When a team keeps moving and you still support them, you are no longer a fan - you’re an enabler.

[@valleyofiron125]

How you supposed to stop watching KD while he enters his prime. You don't know pain!

[@barryrobbins7694]

@@valleyofiron125 12 step?

[@agilagilsen8714]

The American thing of just uprooting a sports team is wild to me. Even more so than suburban life. How can you ever support a team that just leaves town? I’d even struggle to support them if I lives where they moved to. They are essentially a brand new team, and all team history should be erased with the new location.

[@barryrobbins7694]

@@agilagilsen8714 If only that was the wildest thing some Americans do.

[@taxirob2248]

@@agilagilsen8714 do you stop loving your kids when they graduate college and get a job on the other side of the country?

[@psychlops924]

You know, unironically, the best thing that could probably happen to Puerto Rico would be to get a professional sports team. Then the rest of the country would actually care somewhat about them and pay attention to them. Even I, a geography nerd, still have to remind myself that, oh yeah, Puerto Rico is just as much a part of America as Hawaii or Alaska, and there’s actually a city of 2 and half million people there. A major sports team (preferably MLB) would do wonders in created a stronger sense of unity between the mainland United States and Puerto Rico

[@lewatoaofair2522]

Actually, with you mentioning it, I wonder if a Pro Team in PR WOULD actually make it more like Alaska or Hawai’i; statehood. Technically, Puerto Rico is as much a part of the US as Guam or DC; they’re not “States”, but still under the territorial collective. They only get a non-voting member in the House, yet are still subject to laws passed at the Federal Level. Putting a pro team in Puerto Rico will not guarantee such a political promotion, but it may be a noteworthy component in getting there (so long as the locals want it (both the team and statehood, I mean)).

[@joshuah.6095]

You are wrong. Puerto Rico is not “just as much a part of America” it is an unincorporated territory that belongs to the United States but is not a part of. A result of the US’ imperial ambitions. Puerto Rico is a nation.

[@paulw.woodring7304]

The real answer is to give them their independence as a separate and sovereign country.

[@dakaufman12]

@@lewatoaofair2522 Having a sports team doesn't automatically lead to statehood, unfortunately. See: District of Columbia. :(

[@wta1518]

If that worked, than Toronto would be a part of the US by now.

[@nickmonks9563]

As a Denverite, I can think of few things more insulting that suggesting we move one of our teams to (of all places) the Inland Empire...but you led with sending Minnesota to Texas, so despite the ranking I'll have to demur. Well played, CityNerd. Well played.

[@matthays9497]

A CRIME HAS BEEN COMMITTED. You were supposed to relocate the Nuggets to Seattle. (You were the chosen one!)

[@StartCodonUST]

It's the Curse of the Kraken, which I would guess moved Seattle from underserved to proportionally-served by pro sports.

[@MrMRMONKEY232]

I feel seattle is still top contender with Vegas for expansion if it happens soon

[@calvinhosworld]

😂

[@ecurewitz]

How did he overlook that?

[@matthays9497]

@@StartCodonUST Seattle has exactly four ice rinks in city limits (all owned by the team) and maybe 200 basketball courts. We also have many thousands of personal hoops, but I've never seen a personal hockey net. This is a basketball city, with a basketball history. Sport #4 doesn't make up for the lack of a top-three.

[@ggoldhagen24]

The joy CityNerd takes by making sacreligious moves like Nuggets to the Inland Empire or the Wild to Texas brings me, a sports nerd, true joy.

[@pizzaguy552]

Green Bay having the Packers basically only exists because the team is owned by fans, not a billionaire owner. So a relocation would be subject to fan approval, which will probably never happen. Win for the non-billionaires!

[@UserName-ts3sp]

im pretty sure they’d fold before relocating.

[@barryrobbins7694]

On the other end of the spectrum, the Nuggets were owned by Lockheed Martin in the 1990s.

[@PCSPounder]

Speaking as someone who knows the standard Bundesliga ownership structure, because (with a couple exceptions) fan ownership of 50%+1 is required… …if the NFL getting greedy and shutting down the Packers leads to the deserved riots that topple the oligarchy, it might be worth it. I think.

[@UserName-ts3sp]

@@barryrobbins7694 the lightning were once owned by the japanese mafia

[@michaelsearle]

Sports teams top 10? City Nerd going back to his roots!

[@ScoobyDooIsDead]

City Nerd and sports is a top tier combo

[@twbrandt]

This is probably the most sarcastic CityNerd video ever. I love it!

[@Hoopsnake]

I love this video, but the idea of taking an Ice Hockey team out of the colder northern areas to San Diego or Texas seems incredibly cursed to me somehow.

[@lizcademy4809]

As a former San Diegan now firmly entrenched in Minneapolis (and preferring the weather up here) ... most San Diegans barely know what ice hockey is. San Diego, 1990: We now have THREE ice rinks in the whole metro area. My daughter's figure skating practice is now at 7:30 a.m., instead of 5:00 a.m. Worth the 20 mile drive. Minnesota, 1990: It's October, and the park 2 blocks from home just set up the outdoor rink. We can use it until mid-April, at least.

[@barryrobbins7694]

The San Jose Sharks seem to be doing well.

[@blarneystone38]

Wouldn't be the first time the NHL did it. CN mentioned Minnesota to Dallas. We've also had Hartford to Raleigh, Quebec City to Denver, and Winnipeg to Arizona (now Utah)

[@TheRandCrews]

⁠@@blarneystone38at least Winnipeg got theirs back, Nordiques not so much to hope

[@DGotliebVids]

The San Diego Gulls is one of the higher attended AHL hockey teams (1 step down from NHL)

[@Zach-xv5pq]

Its crazy that american sports teams can just change cities

[@geirmyrvagnes8718]

Socialism for the rich.

[@carstarsarstenstesenn]

as an American who isn't into sports I always found that insane

[@barryrobbins7694]

It is baffling that some teams still have a fan base no matter how often they move. Loyalty to a team that doesn’t have loyalty to fans?

[@geirmyrvagnes8718]

@@barryrobbins7694 I assumed they just get fresh new fans in the new city? Do people keep supporting their team after it has moved to a different state? This is hard to wrap my little European brain around.

[@barryrobbins7694]

@@geirmyrvagnes8718 Yes, they do get new fans in the new city, but they also keep some of the fans from the old city. The Raiders in the NFL moved from Oakland to Los Angeles, from Los Angeles back to Oakland, and then to Las Vegas. They are literally triangulating the various fan bases.

[@MrStrickland90]

this is probably the most i’ve laughed at a citynerd video. i love the chaos

[@hamburglar83]

You were trolling when you said Minnesota (state with the most nhl players) isn’t hockey country right???

[@hastyscorpion]

Yes….

[@blarneystone38]

Looks like he succeeded

[@StartCodonUST]

I'll echo other comments: I want to see this re-done with Combined Statistical Areas. Professional sports could be considered city amenities, but they're just as much regional culture, especially outside the megalopolises. North Dakota is basically part of the Twin Cities from a sports culture standpoint. I guess the complication here is that Hudson, WI, which is firmly in Packers country, is actually part of the Twin Cities MSA, being less than 20 miles from downtown St. Paul. Some state boundaries are harder to cross for some sports franchises and some states than others (The Twins do a better job breaking into Wisconsin than the Vikings), but I think the CSA comparison is still intriguing.

[@taxirob2248]

I want to see city pairs that allow for train travel to adjacent cities for sporting events, right now SD-Anaheim-LA MLB matchups are the only ones I can think of that are super convenient. I don't know enough about the Northeast to know what's happening up there, or of the Milwaukee-Chicago connections for that matter.

[@StartCodonUST]

@@taxirob2248 Chicago-Milwaukee has 8 trains a day, and it's a quick 90-minute journey that's pretty competitive with driving, especially when there's even a little traffic (which is to be expected most of the day), so it's pretty good.

[@taxirob2248]

@@StartCodonUST that's awesome! I've always though Ohio being mostly flat would have been a great place for higher speed passenger trains between cities. The only thing we have is Amtrak Capitol Limited and Cardinal lines, and nothing running north-south to connect Ohio's biggest cities. Right now Columbus is getting all the investment, and other cites could benefit from cheap rail connections with it.

[@StartCodonUST]

@@taxirob2248 Hopefully the Northern Lights Express from the Twin Cities to Duluth is just the beginning of a new wave of Midwest rail service expansion. I can't think of a corridor with more potential than Cleveland to Louisville.

[@taxirob2248]

@@StartCodonUST I hope the addition of passenger rail stops the continued freeway expansion on Duluth's waterfront. It's pretty gross that they keep building there instead of bypassing downtown and through Arnold. The case could be made that the west and north sides would benefit from the freeway coming through there instead.

[@tannermiller6242]

The idea of the Wild relocating to Texas makes me want to puke

[@brocktj4]

The Saints are too deeply ingrained in New Orleans to ever move. You'd do better just moving the Pelicans to Austin.

[@stevengordon3271]

Face it - New Orleans will be under water before the end of the century. The question is not where to relocate the Saints, but where to relocate New Orleans.

[@MausiMisty]

@@stevengordon3271If New Orleans will be underwater, so will Miami. Mind you we have better water management policy and infrastructure at the moment. Those Dolphins going to be real dolphins in that stadium soon. But you're right @brocktj4, I don't think anyone would miss the Pelicans but we are also hosting the All Star Game next year in the middle of Mardi Gras. I think sports teams locate here because we are a "good time" city despite any other negatives. Unfortunately we likely have one of the worst city and state governments in the country.

[@knsuthefill]

Although I agree with @brocktj4 comment, I would miss the Pelicans

[@maduross]

The Austin Saints is just evil, you’re wrong for that one

[@patrickking5883]

If you take the Buccos out of Pittsburgh, we will turn you into a pierogi

[@christopherking9338]

Stargell Forevah!!!!

[@patrickking5883]

@@christopherking9338 WE ARE FAM-A-LEE

[@nickmonks9563]

Yinz. YINZ.

[@MasterSmith13]

I refute the idea of moving the Nuggets from Denver. But since I am a man of reason. I offer San Bernadino the Rockies instead.

[@christopherking9338]

San Berdoo Doo Doo!!!😂😂

[@blarneystone38]

Man, they already have to be the Rockies, and now you're making them live in the Inland Empire too? Have some mercy

[@kevinwoolley7960]

Ha ha you beat me to this comment!

[@thatgamingfreak]

This is the engagement bait video and I am here for it.

[@stevengordon3271]

The good thing about NOT having an NFL franchise in your metro is no TV blackouts.

[@c.d.9035]

What is this, "unpopular opinion" week? Moving the Packers out of Green Bay would be sacrilege.

[@steveschriefer2733]

I agree. I think a better metric would have been using teams with the lowest merchandise revenue to determine who should move. If you can't sell shirts and tchotchkes, you need to relocate.

[@Randomdive]

@@steveschriefer2733 According to a list by the NFL store, by that metric the Packers are #6 and the Bears aren't even on the top 10 despite having more people in the metro area than all of the state of Wisconsin.

[@blarneystone38]

@@steveschriefer2733 This will only tell you so much about a team's success in its geographic area, though. Teams like the Yankees, Cowboys, and Lakers sell tons of merch all around the country, even to people who have never been to their cities. You could realistically relocate those teams anywhere (not that anyone ever would) and they would continue to be hugely successful

[@thomasnewton8223]

@@blarneystone38global merchandise sales would be a hilarious landslide 1st place for Yankees. It’s insane that they are basically a fashion brand in Europe and Asia. You can get more unique Yankees merch internationally than you can in New York 😭

[@amymormino3029]

While he does mention it, I would have thought City Berd would have more consideration for the only community-owned NFL team. If only they all were like that! The Packers will only move if the city wants them out and I doubt that will ever happen!

[@matthays9497]

I'd do CSAs, not MSAs. Fanbases come from larger areas. The 49ers aren't even in the San Francisco MSA.

[@p0rridge]

Media markets are also more in line with CSAs, not MSAs.

[@bruceperry8107]

Definitely. Denver, Cleveland, Salt Lake and LA all have substantial satellite cities that root for their sports teams that are included in the CSA but not MSA. What they have in common isn't being g overserved, it's having bigger than average CSAs for their MSA size.

[@MuddyRavine]

What about Baltimore and DC. They have their own teams and TV/Radio Stations but are in one CSA? That might be the only one that should be kept as a MSA.

[@p0rridge]

@@MuddyRavine Washington/Baltimore is an interesting case because they do share the same local broadcast for baseball (MASN).

[@stevengordon3271]

Explaining exactly why the Inland Empire does not have nor deserve its own professional sports franchises.

[@TF417]

More cities like Green Bay should get professional sports franchises imo, it brings such a unique charm and character to the NFL

[@debuthunter5389]

It would take INSANE marketing, and likely sustained on-field success to even have a chance. Packers are an absolute exception. Nowhere near the rule.

[@TrevinFlickinger]

@@debuthunter5389 Oh definitely, Packers are one of the most historic / winning franchises so I don't think it would be an exact replica but would sure be fun to see happen

[@guffmanify]

100% agree

[@CollinSerigne]

New Orleans/ Louisiana is dying and you take one of the only things we have left away from us

[@VidaBlue317]

Don't die

[@Sylox95]

Facts!

[@kjhuang]

This whole video is about "the progressive" City Nerd transferring wealth from the have nots to the haves.

[@josephscarmuzza8187]

It’s a flawed part of the video because the some fanbases (like the who dats) extend to a whole region. Whereas, for Austin for example, their fans would only extend to the next exiting team over (hill country isn’t as big as the whole gulf south)

[@arcadeshift5071]

"Minnesota isn't hockey country." Dude, we literally have the most registered hockey players in the US, the most rinks, the most American NHL players. We're literally called the State of Hockey. You're a next level troll.

[@zaroes]

"I included the WNBA and NWSL partly because I am a card-carrying member of the 'woke mob'" is honestly my favorite thing I've heard you say

[@chrishinkle1764]

Minor quibble: plenty of Japanese baseball teams have changed cities and/or names over the years. Moreover, some have combined or just gone belly up. Its not unusual there.

[@lewatoaofair2522]

I mean, the teams are primarily named by their parent companies rather than hometowns (SoftBank Hawks, Ratuken Eagles, Yomiuri Giants, et cetera.)

[@chrishinkle1764]

@@lewatoaofair2522 Exactly

[@alanmctaggart4371]

Moving the Packers from Lambeau Field to the Alamodome......"Minnesota isn't really ice hockey country".......taking a team from the heartland to Puerto Rico....I'm telling you, Ray, you're the only KZbin urbanist with the right amount of "menace" to talk about sports as well, and I respect the hell out of it.

[@Jarhead2318]

As a lifelong Royals fan I am absolutely outraged. As a human who loves and understands stats and metrics, I am impressed with the move.

[@sophia1176]

wow this has got to be one of the meanest videos on this channel, and i'm loving it

[@manzell]

Given that NFL only plays 8.5 home games per year - the valence of a "Local" team is much lower than even MLS. The Mariners sold 2.7 million seats last year; Storm 180,000; Seahawks 580,000 - and MLS Sounders just over 1,000,000. The Hawks are closer to the Storm than the Sounders in terms of total local attendance!

[@matthays9497]

I'm seeing 546,744 for the Sounders in 2023, a little over 32,000 per game x 17.

[@manzell]

@@matthays9497 hmm I used the save technique and recall a similar avg attendance figure. Not sure where I went wrong (probably counted all games and not just home games)

[@jgray2718]

This video is clearly well thought out and will surely generate no controversy. I can't imagine how Ray will generate the necessary engagement to justify Bellroy's advertising dollars.

[@GymLeaderEllie]

oh god. "the coney island guardians" has the least ring to it of anything i have ever heard.

[@dxtxzbunchanumbers]

There was also a big opportunity missed: Staten Island being a borough of cops and mobsters, moving a team called the Guardians there would entirely fit with their own self image. The big bonus would also keep the worst Yankee and Mets fans on their own island.

[@taxirob2248]

@@dxtxzbunchanumbers it would also get that dumb name out of Cleveland. It sounds like an NBA expansion team name.

[@ericandbeethoven]

Cleveland totally missed the target when they could have chosen Cleveland Rocks as the new team name. So Let's go Coney Island G's.

[@taxirob2248]

@@ericandbeethoven nah, it should have been the Spiders. There was historical precedent there.

[@norlockv]

To paraphrase one of the County Commissioners in MKE: “We can choose to be Chicago-light or Des Moines-squared. The economics aren’t going to allow the market to support these public amenities by itself.”

[@PBrown-mg4wy]

Haha, being born in Des Moines and living in Chicago now, with my dad being from Milwaukee, this rings very true

[@taxirob2248]

And I think that right now Milwaukee has what it both needs and can support.

[@kiosk5595]

I have a wild conspiracy theory. CityNerd hates sports so much that he’s advocating to take them out of all the cities he loves the most and throw them into the cities he hates

[@amtm94]

Hampton roads mentioned without immediately getting roasted!!! A win's a win

[@vehicles_n_stuff]

Hampton Roads mentioned without mentioning Virginia Beach! Another win!

[@AFNick]

A lot of it is driven by cultural priorities. Midwest cities like Cleveland and Pittsburgh have been able to keep it cities while San Diego and Oakland have not despite population declines in the former cities because they prioritize sports over other cultural amenities.

[@taxirob2248]

San Diego's muni bond rating went up when the Chargers left. Moody's realized that an NFL franchise groveling for another free stadium was bad for the city, good thing the voters did too.

[@kskssxoxskskss2189]

Hello from Cincinnati. Lay off the soccer team, they are the biggest party in town.

[@PCSPounder]

@@kskssxoxskskss2189 I appreciate your ability to take this seriously.

[@emdragowsky2967]

"Rail-gate" best compound verb of 2024

[@alexroselle]

I didn’t even know that the Sacramento Kings originally came from Kansas City, wow! My modest proposal: keep the A’s in Sacramento after they “pre-relocate” in 2025, and force John Fisher to sell the team. Las Vegas can have the Cubs like your thumbnail provocatively suggested. I still blame the Cubs for breaking the timeline back in 2016, they deserve to be relocated to a dystopia like Vegas

[@lewatoaofair2522]

Actually, the Kings were established as the Rochester Seagrams in the 1920s. They were renamed the Royals just before helping establish the NBA. The won a championship in 1951, then relocated to Cincinnati in 1958. It was 1972 was when they arrived in KC (albeit splitting their home games between there and Omaha for the first 3 seasons there) and became the Kings. They arrived in SacTown in 1985.

[@Ramonatho]

I don't see why people think a billionaire can be forced to sell a team. Like if he could have been forced to they would have done that, but no one can force him to do that.

[@chrisknapp00]

The CityNerd's assessment that "Minnesota really isn't ice hockey country" reminds of the joke from Spinal Tap. Ian Faith: "The Boston gig has been cancelled... Yeah. I wouldn't worry about it though, it's not a big college town."

[@thechikage1091]

The cross-pollinating between urbanism and sports on this channel is one of my favorite things in the world, despite not being all that into sports outside of being able to enjoy any given game that happens regardless of who is playing, because I used to play most of them as a kid/teenager.

[@bbartky]

I’ve felt for a long time that San Juan deserves an MLB team so I was very happy to see you suggest that.

[@schmitty8259]

Would be interesting if this incorporated regional gravity of the City. I.e. Denver represents pretty much all of the mountain west region, not just Denver, while Inland Empire fans already have professional teams nearby.

[@wtice4632]

😂 no denver doesnt rep us

[@PolkCountyWIProgressive]

Denver represents the Front Range of Colorado alone. The rest of the mountain west wants no part. Ask anyone from Wyoming and Montana.

[@bruceperry8107]

If you ask people in Wyoming what NFL team they support, the Broncos will be by far the most popular team

[@PolkCountyWIProgressive]

@@bruceperry8107Not associating with Denver and liking a sport team are not mutually exclusive. Otherwise, Oakland Raiders would never have developed a national following.

[@nickmonks9563]

@@PolkCountyWIProgressive There are an awful lot of Broncos jerseys in Cheyenne and Albuquerque that say otherwise.

[@arbarrro]

Fun fact about Norfolk Scope: it had the world's largest reinforced concrete thinshell dome from 1971 to 1973, and then again from 2000 until now! (It may not have had the size of the Kingdome, but it's certainly making up for it in longevity.)

[@alexthemorgan]

I havent laughed this hard in a long while. Minnesota isnt really ice hockey country, im moving the wild to Houston. No one is really gonna care if i move the clippers to norfolk. The San Antonio Packers.

[@PASH3227]

I second the clippers saving as an LA represented. No one here cares for the Clippers! Honestly unless it's the Dodgers or Lakers, LA could care less for other sports teams. LAFC is the most valuable MLS franchise, and when they won their championship there was little fanfare. Rams are also one of the top 5 most valuable NFL franchises yet the stadium is packed with visiting team fans.

[@lapotencia25]

I'm just here to thank you for bringing a third baseball team back to New York, a city that from 1958-1961 was chronically underserved (after the departure of Dodgers/Giants, before the Mets). Also of note is that California in 1957 had almost 15 million people and only 2 pro sports teams (both NFL).

[@ericsimandl3998]

Story idea: college towns without Amtrack service. Ranking college towns with Amtrack service.

[@grahamturner2640]

The story behind the Coyotes moving is that for a while, they were playing in the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, but the city government kicked them out because they weren’t paying their lease. Afterwards, they ended up in the Mullet Arena in the ASU Tempe campus until they could get an actual arena of their own. The Tempe proposal failed because voters voted no in a special election, and the Scottsdale proposal allegedly failed because one city council member was vehemently opposed to it, and all other possible proposals in the valley failed.

[@nickmonks9563]

Rightfully so. A team that can't pay their lease then demands the city build their capitalist enterprise a stadium for them is one of the great atrocities of America, rivaled, perhaps, only by our penchant for systemically treating human beings as something other than human beings...but one of them has to take the top spot.

[@LiquorWithJazz]

"That ship has sailed!" Boat puns are always good with yachts of ideas!

[@rainpunchlove]

Last comment “does anybody care if I move the clippers to Norfolk? Because that’s what I’m about to do” 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@iandaviesmusic]

I was looking forward to you roasting the hell out of Oakland for losing four of their major sports teams (each from FOUR different sports leagues)

[@nickmonks9563]

Yes, but they have a nice shiny rebrand on their airport now indicating that they are all grown up, so I'm sure it'll all work out.

[@jaeranando]

Four?

[@johnhblaubachea5156]

@@jaeranandoYes. They had a hockey teams, the California Golden Seals from 1967 - early 1980's when it moved to Cleveland and subsequently folded.

[@PCSPounder]

It’s a different story than you portray, at least for the Raiders. The Raiders had the ultimate blue collar fan base in Oakland. When I was living in the South Bay, local media would tell people that there was more interest in the Giants (during the A’s glory years) and the Raiders (during the 49ers glory years). They weren’t wrong on either count. But most of the blue collar crowd was priced out of both the NFL and the Bay Area.

[@pacificostudios]

Denver is not only the biggest air hub in the Mountain West, but it is the largest city along the Rockies. There simply isn't another city between California and the Missouri River that can support MLB or NFL play. Not even El Paso or Albuquerque or Boise.

[@ehoops31]

I used to feel bad for the Fever being in boring Indiana, but you moved them to Fresno?! Who knew it could be worse!

[@isaurogalvan2707]

Seattle has a basketball team. You might have heard of them: they’re called Oklahoma City Thunder.

[@thedapperdolphin1590]

You just destroyed all the goodwill you’ve built up with Pittsburghers over the years haha. I’ve heard from many baseball fans that PNC park is one of, if not the, favorite stadiums of theirs. And people around here love going to Pirates games, even if they suck.

[@sabretooth1997]

Yeah, that stadium is amazing. Never been there for a game but have seen a concert.

[@trickfall8752]

New York City doesn't actually have a football team so I vote to move one there.

[@RoadTripTelevisionNJ]

There is only ONE NFL football 🏈 team from New York --- The Buffalo Bills (Orchard Park, New York) There is only ONE MSL soccer ⚽ team from New York --- The New York City Football Club (Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York)

[@trickfall8752]

@@RoadTripTelevisionNJ Also the NYC only has one hockey team, The Rangers. The Devils are New Jersey and the Islanders are Long Island.

[@goattnder]

Awesome to see Ramona HS! But can you please pronounce it "Inlind" Empire?

[@jziskind]

I really don’t understand taking a baseball team from Pittsburgh and moving it to Dallas, which has a team 20 miles away that just won the World Series. Rare CityNerd L.

[@shills2634]

And while the Pirates haven't been successful recently, they are the third oldest team in all of baseball, in a city with a passionate fanbase for all its teams, and play in one of the best ballparks in the league. Taking them away already makes no sense, much less for a city that already has a team, and even less for a city with a team that just won the whole damn thing.

[@moose4ku440]

It's not about the actual teams. It's just a mathematical comparison between city size and sports representation

[@massvt3821]

The Pirates go back to the 1880s, so this just won't happen anyway..

[@sethland]

@@shills2634Attendance is among the bottom 10 yearly. But also blame the ownership on that too.

[@nickhaynes2550]

@@moose4ku440But if that’s all sports leagues were about, all you’d have to do is determine league size, get out census results, award them to the top X markets, and then knock off for lunch. Plus like the original commenter said, the DFW market is already served by a team anyways.

[@cyclicmusings2661]

CityNerd really rustled the feathers of many sports fans with this one. Somehow my hometown of Orlando escaped his great relocation of teams, I suppose we're well served with the Magic and Orlando City Soccer, and don't need an NFL or MLB team.

[@vincetuss8136]

With sending the teams you moved to Virginia, you should look at how Virginia’s plans to lure the Wizards and Capitals to suburban Virginia fell apart and what that means.

[@Timmymtd]

this one ruffled some feathers that’s for sure. Another great video

[@jeffc1347]

It would be interesting to see a subscriber count comparison before and after this video lol.

[@txbornviking1]

This Chanel has "nerd" in the name, I have standards to maintain... an absolute gem!

[@xorascape]

This entire video was him taking the piss, and I'm here for it. (Also, I think the greater meta joke flew over a lot of peoples' heads.)

[@nickmonks9563]

💯

[@SupermanHopkins]

CityNerd moving into sports is the collaboration we all needed in 2024. 😅

[@williamjongeward8672]

Video idea- best public libraries. They're great third places, contribute so much to society, and I feel like San Diego might show up

[@BrandonJXN2]

Moving a hockey team out of Buffalo to San Diego. Moving the Packers to San Antonio. And as someone who lives in Riverside California (I live a block away from Ramona HS), the Inland Empire is pretty much half and half when it comes to Dodgers/Angels support. The Clippers play preseason games at Ontario and there are a couple of minor league baseball teams that draw pretty well (Lake Elsinore Storm, 66ers, Quakes)

[@JonDoe-ln6nl]

Leave my Sabres alone! And return the Clippers since they were carpetbagged from Buffalo (Braves) in '78!~

[@GoToHell22]

I appreciate the Wild being moved to Houston and the Toyota Center after they moved our minor-league team who played there to Iowa. Welcome back, Aeros!

[@OpenSpacesBlueSkies]

City nerd said “Football is a barbaric pastime”. I can agree with that

[@thomaswhittington8032]

This is hilariously trollish, tho I know you're getting at real ideas. I'll say, though, in the case of Denver, Minnesota, KC, the large cities on the periphery on vast sparsely populated areas, I think some of the value proposition comes from being able to pull from (way) beyond their metros. Denver sports teams are kinda the de facto for WY, MT, etc. Minnesota covers ND and SD to some degree. KC pulls fans from Wichita, etc.

[@tebryenton]

I both enjoyed this video and also felt absolutely gutted by every recommendation.

[@knutthompson7879]

Meh. Given the commonly extortive stadium "deals" billionaire owners force on desperate communities, having a top level pro sports franchise is definitely a double edge sword.

[@briansmith8470]

Glad to see Austin getting a team!

[@arc4705]

Genuinely shocked Chicago isn't oversupplied considering 1. we have two MLB teams, and 2. the preview pic. I've been clickbaited!

[@thegreenscreengeek]

Charlotte White Sox anyone?

[@arc4705]

@@thegreenscreengeek Would rather get rid of the Cubs 💀 Get them away from the gayborhood

[@MC_aigorithm]

not humoring Jacksonville being twice the size of Miami is why I like you sir

[@Earth1218]

He gets it.

[@haweater1555]

In nearly half of U.S. states, the highest paid employee of a public agency is a state university football coach. And most of the rest are basketball coaches.

[@johnhblaubachea5156]

True, but we need to put an asterisk next to these. Most of their compensation comes from designated donations to the universities (or their affiliated tax-exempt alumni association) So, at least the tax-payers are not being fleeced to pay these salaries and bonuses!.

[@haweater1555]

@@johnhblaubachea5156 I know that college football boosters go to the ends of the Earth to defend salaries, but is a sports coach really the most "important" public task?

[@Anneal2425]

Mexico also does a lot more relocating than you think. LigaMX has regularly relocated clubs like Necaxa and Atlante in the past. Other countries like China, Australia, and South Korea do it too.

[@SeanA099]

Virginia mentioned ☺️☺️☺️. Although Norfolk does already have a popular minor league hockey team right now

[@kjquinn7856]

CityNerd overlooks the fact that NOVA is adjacent to DC and about an hour from Baltimore, so at least some Virginians can see pro sports.

[@SeanA099]

@@kjquinn7856 yeah. I grew up in the suburbs there and I’ve been to plenty of DC sporting games

[@mplstransplant]

I knew after watching the intro that you'd be coming for the Twin Cities, but man, I was not ready for THAT level of disrespect! Congratulations, you got me, lol.

[@davidferris8782]

At 9:08 you said "make it make sense" about Salt Lake City's soon to be 3 top tier teams with a MSA of only 1.3 million. The way that makes sense is that the MSA doesn't make sense. It's too small. A better representation is the Combined Statistical Area that includes Provo/Orem/Lehi and Ogden MSAs. That brings the number up to 2.8 million. It really is one big metro area, the Wasatch Front. It's not uncommon for people like my brother in law to commute from Provo MSA, the furthest south, through Salt Lake and into Ogden.

[@devinmathews7809]

The comment I just made is redundant.

[@PCSPounder]

But then you’ve got a market where at least half the citizens tithe 10% of their income and won’t all be making the drive. I’m seeing what’s going to happen. New arena will accommodate hockey WAY better than the current Jazz arena ever did, the Olympic bid will drive that arena, the Yeti (or the Whatever-You-Call-Thems, but since Seattle dared go with Kraken) will be given a leg up, and the Jazz will eventually leave.

[@lapotencia25]

For all the Europeans in the comments thinking it's crazy that US teams can just move, well it's always been that way, and always will be, because of geography. The US has 56 separate metro areas with over 1 million people, teams can just pack up and find another decent-sized market. In a European country, even a large one, there are only so many major cities. Also, the European capitals (London, Madrid, Paris etc) have such a degree of primacy over the other cities in their country that it makes the entire league more concentrated with many clubs in the same league in one city.

[@phineasbogg1318]

Could we move the Minnesota hockey team to the bustling metropolis of Santa Rosa, CA to play in the hockey rink attached to the Snoopy Museum. 😁

[@vvvvvvvvvwv]

You’ve managed to trigger nearly every sports fan in the country. Nicely done

[@steveoulman634]

Ray, this is the only CityNerd video that I bailed on before it finished. It's a quaint analysis, but I think it missed the mark in terms of assessing the greed of professional sports teams owners and the gullibility of communities to fund their private entertainment palaces. A community is so much more than the ink it receives from a sports team. Even if it were April 1, the video doesn't work.

[@jazzcatjohn]

He literally said this video was all about the numbers.

[@nickmonks9563]

I think this one was entirely intended to poke at the core tenets of the channel itself.

[@collinmadden4874]

the absolute AUDACITY of moving a 2nd Minnesota NHL team to Texas made me come from Nebula to find this video on KZbin to comment. I think, as a Minnesotan, that would be my Joker Origin Story Moment.

[@hamburglar83]

Irony is Utah wants to change the name of the coyotes that actually fits them butttttt they decided to leave the JAZZ name for the nba. What about Utah screams Jazz??

[@devinmathews7809]

That's why I wanted the coyotes to be renamed to the hurricane.

[@matveistanonis2805]

The fact that Columbus, Ohio doesn't make this list tells me everything I need to know. No "big three" sports teams, but a skyrocketing population and they didn't make the cut? The stats obviously aren't capturing what they're meant to.

[@bobgardin2347]

When calculating using COMBINED metro areas, Cleveland moves WAY up the list. Like its media market, it pulls from the Akron and Canton metros. And it draws some of its fan base from Toledo, Youngstown, and Columbus.

[@andyb2040]

Highly recommend a trip to Milwaukee! Very underrated city. Recommend staying in the lower east side or near the third ward