On a Less Serious Note, What Happens to the Saints and Hornets?
The New Orleans Saints are currently practicing in San Antonio and will be playing their first "home" game on the road in New Jersey (where the New York Giants play). Both team owner Tom Benson and the league are interested in the Saints playing later home games in Baton Rouge, on LSU's home field. According to some rumors that the team will never return to New Orleans, instead making a home in San Antonio or Los Angeles. Many people feel that relocating the Saints from New Orleans would be demoralizing and tactless. But others argue that New Orleans will not be able to house an NFL team for many years, and may never again be fit to be an NFL city.
I would suggest a compromise: permanently moving the team to Baton Rouge, a reasonably large city with a large stadium and no professional sports teams that is fairly close to New Orleans. The team could simply become the "Louisiana Saints." If Baton Rouge doesn't work out, I would recommend moving to either Austin or Birmingham, so that the team can at least stay in the same region.
As for the Hornets, little has been said about where they will play next year, though the NBA has informed its teams that the Hornets may relocate for the upcoming season. Nashville has offered to host some home games and Oklahoma City has offered its Ford Center as a home court for the entire season. Because the Hornets are not nearly as dear to the people of New Orleans as the Saints are, I would recommened permanently moving the team to either Oklahoma City or Louisville.
Of course, no one of importance really cares what I think. Nonetheless, here are some lists you might find interesting:
Ten Largest U.S. Metropolitan Areas Without a Major League Franchise:
followed by overall ranking among U.S. metro areas
1) Riverside, CA, 13
2) Providence, RI, 32
3) Virginia Beach, VA, 33
4) Las Vegas, NV, 36
5) Austin, TX, 40
6) Louisville, KY, 43
7) Hartford, CT, 44
8) Richmond, VA, 46
9) Oklahoma City, OK, 47
10) Birmingham, AL, 48
By "Major League" I mean NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball, and NHL. If you exclude the NHL, San Jose, CA would rank first and Columbus, OH would rank third. (Both of these cities also have Major League Soccer teams.) Hartford has a WNBA team (the Connecticut Sun). Riverside's close proximity to Los Angeles, Providence's to Boston, and Louisville's to Cincinnati and Indianapolis should also be noted.
Ten Largest U.S. Metropolitan Areas Without an NFL franchise
1) Los Angeles, CA, 2
2) Riverside, CA, 13
3) Portland, OR, 25
4) Sacramento, CA, 27
5) San Jose, CA, 28
6) San Antonio, TX, 29
7) Orlando, FL, 30
8) Columbus, OH, 31
9) Providence, RI, 32
10) Virginia Beach, VA, 33
Ten Largest U.S. Metropolitan Areas Without an NBA franchise
1) Riverside, CA, 13
2) San Diego, CA, 17
3) St. Louis, MO, 18
4) Baltimore, MD, 19
5) Pittsburgh, PA, 20
6) Tampa, FL, 21
7) Cincinnati, OH, 24
8) Kansas City, MO, 26
9) San Jose, CA, 28
10) Columbus, OH, 31
Ten Smallest U.S. Metropolitan Areas With a Major League Franchise
1) Green Bay, WI (Packers, NFL), 152
2) Salt Lake City, UT (Jazz, NBA), 50
3) Jacksonville, FL (Jaguars, NFL), 45
4) Buffalo, NY (Bills, NFL; Sabres, NHL), 42
5) Memphis, TN (Grizzlies, NBA), 41
6) Nashville, TN (Titans, NFL; Predators, NHL), 39
7) New Orleans, LA (Saints, NFL; Hornets, NBA), 38
8) Charlotte, NC (Panthers, NFL; Bobcats, NBA; Hurricanes, NHL), 37
9) Milwaukee, WI (Brewers, MLB; Bucks, NBA), 35
10) Indianapolis, IN (Colts, NFL; Pacers, NBA), 34
I would suggest a compromise: permanently moving the team to Baton Rouge, a reasonably large city with a large stadium and no professional sports teams that is fairly close to New Orleans. The team could simply become the "Louisiana Saints." If Baton Rouge doesn't work out, I would recommend moving to either Austin or Birmingham, so that the team can at least stay in the same region.
As for the Hornets, little has been said about where they will play next year, though the NBA has informed its teams that the Hornets may relocate for the upcoming season. Nashville has offered to host some home games and Oklahoma City has offered its Ford Center as a home court for the entire season. Because the Hornets are not nearly as dear to the people of New Orleans as the Saints are, I would recommened permanently moving the team to either Oklahoma City or Louisville.
Of course, no one of importance really cares what I think. Nonetheless, here are some lists you might find interesting:
Ten Largest U.S. Metropolitan Areas Without a Major League Franchise:
followed by overall ranking among U.S. metro areas
1) Riverside, CA, 13
2) Providence, RI, 32
3) Virginia Beach, VA, 33
4) Las Vegas, NV, 36
5) Austin, TX, 40
6) Louisville, KY, 43
7) Hartford, CT, 44
8) Richmond, VA, 46
9) Oklahoma City, OK, 47
10) Birmingham, AL, 48
By "Major League" I mean NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball, and NHL. If you exclude the NHL, San Jose, CA would rank first and Columbus, OH would rank third. (Both of these cities also have Major League Soccer teams.) Hartford has a WNBA team (the Connecticut Sun). Riverside's close proximity to Los Angeles, Providence's to Boston, and Louisville's to Cincinnati and Indianapolis should also be noted.
Ten Largest U.S. Metropolitan Areas Without an NFL franchise
1) Los Angeles, CA, 2
2) Riverside, CA, 13
3) Portland, OR, 25
4) Sacramento, CA, 27
5) San Jose, CA, 28
6) San Antonio, TX, 29
7) Orlando, FL, 30
8) Columbus, OH, 31
9) Providence, RI, 32
10) Virginia Beach, VA, 33
Ten Largest U.S. Metropolitan Areas Without an NBA franchise
1) Riverside, CA, 13
2) San Diego, CA, 17
3) St. Louis, MO, 18
4) Baltimore, MD, 19
5) Pittsburgh, PA, 20
6) Tampa, FL, 21
7) Cincinnati, OH, 24
8) Kansas City, MO, 26
9) San Jose, CA, 28
10) Columbus, OH, 31
Ten Smallest U.S. Metropolitan Areas With a Major League Franchise
1) Green Bay, WI (Packers, NFL), 152
2) Salt Lake City, UT (Jazz, NBA), 50
3) Jacksonville, FL (Jaguars, NFL), 45
4) Buffalo, NY (Bills, NFL; Sabres, NHL), 42
5) Memphis, TN (Grizzlies, NBA), 41
6) Nashville, TN (Titans, NFL; Predators, NHL), 39
7) New Orleans, LA (Saints, NFL; Hornets, NBA), 38
8) Charlotte, NC (Panthers, NFL; Bobcats, NBA; Hurricanes, NHL), 37
9) Milwaukee, WI (Brewers, MLB; Bucks, NBA), 35
10) Indianapolis, IN (Colts, NFL; Pacers, NBA), 34
posted by Tinley | 6:10 PM
1 Comments:
Saints are gone, never to be seen again. The owner has been trying to move the team for years to LA, and the Hurricane gave him the "excuse" necessary to move them. This is great especially after the state has paid the owner 100s of millions of dollars to stay in louisiana. Yet we can't seem to give our teachers a pay raise? Priorities right, make all the money you can. Sucks for us lifelong Saints fans, but I will get over it.
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