Franchise Relocation and Expansion of North American Professional Sports

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

Abstract

Many professional sports franchises in major cities give their communities identity and purpose. This article addressed the overall process and rationales of “franchise movement,” and examined the intricacy of this unique phenomenon. Through literature review and analysis of collected information concerning a host city’s population, number of Fortune 500 Corporations, ranking of national TV market, arena capacity, and income per capita, the authors identified key indicators that determined the actualization of franchise movement or relocation, and ideal destination cities for future movements. In general, the monetary factor for maximizing franchise’ potential earning and getting a free facility are the strongest incentives for moving or relocating the franchise to a new host city. An ideal host city can be determined by indicators such as population, number of Fortune 500 corporations, ranking of the national TV market size, and income per capita, etc.

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