Expansion team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Dilated Peoples album, see Expansion Team (album)

See also: Relocation of professional sports teams

An expansion team is a term used for a brand new team in a sports league. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues, but is applied to sports leagues worldwide that use a closed franchise system of league membership. The term comes from the fact that the league expands its presence into new cities. This sometimes results in the payment of an expansion fee to the league by the new team.

In North America, expansion takes place in response to population growth and geographic shifts of population, driven by the resulting financial opportunity made possible by such demographic change. For example, Major League Baseball was limited to 16 teams located north and east of St. Louis, Missouri for the first half of the 20th century. During this time, the United States population doubled and expanded to the south and west. Rival interests explored the possibility of forming a rival league in these untapped markets. To forestall this possibility, one of the measures MLB took was to expand by four teams in 1961 and 1962. Over the past four decades, MLB expanded further to its current membership.

When an expansion team begins play, they are generally stocked with less talented free agents and inexperienced staffs. Additionally, prospective owners must pay extremely steep fees to the league as well as expensive start-up costs such as stadiums and facilities. As a result, most expansion teams are known for their poor play during their inaugural season. However, with increasing parity (mainly due to first pick drafts) and experience, some are known to win championships only a few years after their first season.

Most teams are considered as an expansion team usually in their first season and sometimes in their second season. A team that moves to another location and/or changes its name is generally not considered an expansion team. They are known as relocated teams. If the name changed they are known as renamed teams. The two major exceptions to this rule are the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL and Houston Dynamo in the MLS.

Cities and/or regions with large populations that lack a team are generally regarded to be the best candidates for new teams. For example, the National Football League(NFL) has recently considered Los Angeles, CA to be the best possibility for a brand new NFL team.

Contents 1 List of expansion teams in history 2 1890s 2.1 1899 3 1900s 3.1 1905 4 1910s 4.1 1910 5 1920s 5.1 1920 5.2 1921 5.3 1922 5.4 1924 5.4.1 1925 5.4.2 1926 6 1930s 6.1 1933 6.2 1935 7 1940s 7.1 1947 8 1960s 8.1 1960 8.2 1961 8.3 1962 8.4 1966 8.5 1967 8.6 1968 8.7 1969 9 1970s 9.1 1970 9.2 1972 9.3 1974 9.4 1976 9.5 1977 9.6 1978 9.7 1979 10 1980s 10.1 1980 10.2 1982 10.3 1983 10.4 1984 10.5 1985 10.6 1986 10.7 1987 10.8 1988 10.9 1989 11 1990s 11.1 1990 11.2 1991 11.3 1992 11.4 1993 11.5 1995 11.6 1996 11.7 1997 11.8 1998 11.9 1999 12 2000s 12.1 2000 12.2 2001 12.3 2002 12.4 2003 12.5 2004 12.6 2005 12.7 2006 12.8 2007 12.9 2008 12.10 2009 12.11 2010 12.12 2011

[edit] List of expansion teams in history

[edit] 1890s

[edit] 1899

CC:

• Worcestershire CCC

[edit] 1900s

[edit] 1905

CC:

• Northamptonshire CCC

[edit] 1910s

[edit] 1910

NSWRL

• Annandale

[edit] 1920s

[edit] 1920

NSWRL

• University

[edit] 1921

NSWRL

• St. George Dragons

[edit] 1922

:CC

• Glamorgan CCC

[edit] 1924

NHL

• Boston Bruins
• Montreal Maroons

[edit] 1925

NHL

• Pittsburgh Pirates
• New York Americans

[edit] 1926

NHL

• Detroit Cougars
• Chicago Black Hawks
• New York Rangers

[edit] 1930s

[edit] 1933

NFL

• Cincinnati Reds (now defunct)

• Philadelphia Eagles

• Pittsburgh Pirates (now Steelers)

[edit] 1935

NSWRL

• Canterbury-Bankstown

[edit] 1940s

[edit] 1947

NSWRL

• Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
• Parramatta Eels

[edit] 1960s

[edit] 1960

NFL:

• Dallas Cowboys

[edit] 1961

MLB:

• Los Angeles Angels (now Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
• Washington Senators (now Texas Rangers)

NBA:

• Chicago Packers (now Washington Wizards)

NFL:

• Minnesota Vikings

[edit] 1962

MLB:

• Houston Colt .45s (now Houston Astros)
• New York Mets

[edit] 1966

NBA:

• Chicago Bulls

NFL:

• Atlanta Falcons

American Football League:

• Miami Dolphins

[edit] 1967

NBA:

• San Diego Rockets (now Houston Rockets)
• Seattle SuperSonics

NFL:

• New Orleans Saints

NHL:

• Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas Stars)
• Los Angeles Kings
• Oakland Seals (defunct)
• Philadelphia Flyers
• Pittsburgh Penguins
• St. Louis Blues

NSWRL

• Penrith Panthers
• Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

[edit] 1968

NBA:

• Milwaukee Bucks
• Phoenix Suns

AFL:

• Cincinnati Bengals

[edit] 1969

MLB:

• Montréal Expos (now Washington Nationals)
• San Diego Padres
• Kansas City Royals
• Seattle Pilots (now Milwaukee Brewers)

[edit] 1970s

[edit] 1970

NBA:

• Buffalo Braves (now Los Angeles Clippers)
• Cleveland Cavaliers
• Portland Trail Blazers

NHL:

• Buffalo Sabres
• Vancouver Canucks

[edit] 1972

ABA:

• San Diego Conquistadors

NHL:

• Atlanta Flames (now Calgary Flames)
• New York Islanders

[edit] 1974

NBA:

• New Orleans Jazz (now Utah Jazz)

NHL:

• Kansas City Scouts (now New Jersey Devils)
• Washington Capitals

[edit] 1976

NFL:

• Seattle Seahawks
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers

[edit] 1977

MLB:

• Seattle Mariners
• Toronto Blue Jays

[edit] 1978

PBA:

• Filmanbank Bankers

[edit] 1979

PBA:

• Gilbey's Gin

[edit] 1980s

[edit] 1980

NBA:

• Dallas Mavericks

PBA:

• CDCP Shippers

[edit] 1982

NSWRL

• Canberra Raiders
• Illawarra Steelers

[edit] 1983

PBA:

• Manhattan

[edit] 1984

PBA:

• Manila Beer

[edit] 1985

PBA:

• Shell Azordin Bugbusters

[edit] 1986

PBA:

• Alaska Aces

[edit] 1987

AFL:

• Brisbane Bears
• West Coast Eagles

[edit] 1988

NBA:

• Charlotte Hornets (now New Orleans Hornets)
• Miami Heat

NSWRL:

• Newcastle Knights
• Brisbane Broncos
• Gold Coast-Tweed Giants

PBA:

• Purefoods

[edit] 1989

NBA:

• Minnesota Timberwolves
• Orlando Magic

NLL:

• Detroit Turbos
• New England Blazers

[edit] 1990s

[edit] 1990

PBA:

• Sunkist Orange Juicers

[edit] 1991

NHL:

• San Jose Sharks - technically the product of a dissolved merger between the Oakland Seals/Cleveland Barons franchise and the Minnesota North Stars, which resulted in the re-activation of the Seals/Barons franchise in San Jose. Half of the 1991 North Stars moved to San Jose.

AFL:

• Adelaide Crows

[edit] 1992

CC:

• Durham CCC

NHL:

• Ottawa Senators
• Tampa Bay Lightning

NLL:

• Buffalo Bandits

[edit] 1993

MLB:

• Colorado Rockies
• Florida Marlins

NHL:

• Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (now Anaheim Ducks)
• Florida Panthers

PBA:

• Sta. Lucia Realtors

[edit] 1995

NBA:

• Toronto Raptors
• Vancouver Grizzlies (now Memphis Grizzlies)

NFL:

• Carolina Panthers
• Jacksonville Jaguars

NLL:

• Rochester Knighthawks

ARL

• Auckland Warriors
• North Queensland Cowboys
• South Queensland Crushers
• Western Reds

AFL:

• Fremantle Dockers

[edit] 1996

NFL:

• Baltimore Ravens - technically a new franchise although it maintained the roster of the Cleveland Browns, whose franchise was suspended until 1999.

PBA:

• Mobiline Cellulars

NLL:

• Charlotte Cobras

[edit] 1997

Super League:

• Hunter Mariners
• Adelaide Rams

AFL:

• Port Adelaide Power (technically not an expansion team, as the Port Adelaide Football Club was formed in 1870)

WAFL:

• Peel Thunder

[edit] 1998

MLB:

• Arizona Diamondbacks
• Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now Tampa Bay Rays)

NHL:

• Nashville Predators

MLS:

• Chicago Fire
• Miami Fusion

NRL

• Melbourne Storm

VFL

• Bendigo Bombers

[edit] 1999

NHL:

• Atlanta Thrashers

NFL:

• Cleveland Browns - technically reactivated. As part of the deal which permitted former Browns owner Art Modell to move to Baltimore, the Browns name and colors remained with Cleveland.

PBA:

• Tanduay Rhum Masters

[edit] 2000s

[edit] 2000

NHL:

• Columbus Blue Jackets
• Minnesota Wild

NLL:

• Albany Attack

PBA:

• Red Bull Thunder

NRL:

• Northern Eagles
• Wests Tigers

[edit] 2001

NLL:

• Columbus Landsharks

VFL:

• Tasmanian Devils

[edit] 2002

CFL:

• Ottawa Renegades

NLL:

• Calgary Roughnecks
• Montreal Express
• New Jersey Storm
• Vancouver Ravens

PBA:

• FedEx Express
• Coca Cola Tigers

NFL:

• Houston Texans

[edit] 2003

WHL:

• Everett Silvertips

[edit] 2004

NBA:

• Charlotte Bobcats

[edit] 2005

MLS:

• Real Salt Lake
• CD Chivas USA

NLL:

• Minnesota Swarm

QMJHL:

• St. John's Fog Devils
• Saint John Sea Dogs

[edit] 2006

NTFL:

• Tiwi Bombers

Super 14:

• Cheetahs
• Western Force

MLS:

• Houston Dynamo (though they maintained the roster of the San Jose Earthquakes)

NLL:

• Edmonton Rush
• Portland Lumberjax

WHL:

• Chilliwack Bruins

Super League:

• Les Catalans — Although Super League currently uses a promotion and relegation system, Les Catalans, as the only French team in the otherwise all-British competition, are assured of a place in the league through 2008.

PBA:

• Welcoat Dragons (from the PBL, note that the promotion and relegation system was not used .)

MLL:

• Chicago Machine
• Denver Outlaws
• Los Angeles Riptide
• San Francisco Dragons

[edit] 2007

New South Wales Cup:

• Auckland Lions

A-League:

• Wellington Phoenix

NRL:

• Gold Coast Titans

NBL:

• South Dragons
• Singapore Slingers

MLS:

• Toronto FC

NLL:

• Chicago Shamrox
• New York Titans

[edit] 2008

Jim Beam Cup:

• W.A. Reds

Queensland Cup:

• Mackay Cutters
• Northern Pride

MLS:

• San Jose Earthquakes

WNBA:

• Atlanta Dream

[edit] 2009

A-League:

• Gold Coast A-League franchise

MLS:

• Seattle Sounders FC

NLL:

• Boston Blazers - Originally slated to commence in 2008, but franchise elected to wait another year

[edit] 2010

MLS:

• Philadelphia MLS team

[edit] 2011

AFL:

• GC17