Expansion team

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For the Dilated Peoples album, see Expansion Team (album).
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See also: Relocation of professional sports teams

An expansion team is 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 expansion of the sport into new areas. This sometimes results in the payment of an expansion fee to the league by the new team, and an expansion draft to populate the new roster.

[edit] Reason for expansion

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 30-team membership. In the context of MLB, the term "expansion team" is also used to refer to any of the 14 teams enfranchised in the second half of the 20th century.

When an expansion team begins play, it is generally stocked with less talented free agents and inexperienced staffs. Additionally, prospective owners may face expensive fees to the league as well as high start-up costs such as stadiums and facilities. As a result, most expansion teams are known for their poor play during their first few seasons. This can be exacerbated by the fact that leagues often expand by two or four teams in one season, to eliminate the possibility of a bye-week in the draw from having an odd number of teams. In those cases, expansion teams must compete with their expansion rivals for available talent. Expansion teams are not usually doomed to mediocrity forever, as most leagues have policies which promote parity, such as drafts and salary caps, which gives some expansion teams the opportunity to win championships only a few years after their first season. The Arizona Diamondbacks won the 2001 World Series only three years after the team's 1998 founding, even though Major League Baseball is generally considered the least conducive to parity. Similarly, in the 1996 NFL season, only the second year of the Carolina Panthers' and Jacksonville Jaguars' existences, both teams finished conference runner-up.

Most teams are considered as an expansion team usually in their first season and sometimes in their second season, although, especially for purists, Major League Baseball teams can be considered "expansion teams" indefinitely. 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 changes they are known as renamed teams. In response to a negative attitude some fans have towards relocated teams, there have recently been instances where relocating clubs change their identity completely; name, colours and mascot, but because the roster is the same, and because the league does not expand as a result, they are not regarded as expansion teams. Teams which have been 'reborn' in this manner include the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL, the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA, the Houston Dynamo in the MLS, and the new Winnipeg Jets in the NHL. (Legally, however, the Ravens are considered an expansion team, due to an agreement with the Cleveland Browns, the current incarnation of which was formed in the manner of an expansion team, but owns the rights to the Ravens' history while the team was in Cleveland and known as the Browns.)

Cities and 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, California to be the best possibility for a brand new NFL team and Toronto, Canada as a second choice. The European Super League in rugby league has added teams from France and Wales to cover a great demographic spread.

Contents

[edit] List of expansion teams in history

[edit] 1900s

[edit] 1908

AFL:

[edit] 1909

NHA (now NHL)

[edit] 1910s

[edit] 1910

NSWRL

[edit] 1919

NFL

  • [[Green Bay Packers (did not play in the NFL until 1921) (NFL.com)

[edit] 1920s

[edit] 1920

NSWRL


NFL

[edit] 1921

NSWRL

[edit] 1924

NHL

[edit] 1925

NHL

AFL:

NFL:

[edit] 1926

NHL

[edit] 1930s

Winnipeg Blue Bombers join the CFL

[edit] 1930

Portsmouth Sparatins (now Detriot Lions)(NFL.com)

[edit] 1931

Boston Braves (now Washington Redskins) (NFL.com)

[edit] 1933

NFL

[edit] 1935

NSWRL

[edit] 1940s

[edit] 1947

NSWRL

[edit] 1960s

[edit] 1960

NFL:

[edit] 1961

MLB:

NBA:

NFL:

[edit] 1962

MLB:

[edit] 1966

NBA:

NFL:

American Football League:

[edit] 1967

NBA:

NFL:

NHL:

NSWRL

[edit] 1968

NBA:

AFL:

[edit] 1969

MLB:

[edit] 1970s

[edit] 1970

NBA:

NHL:

[edit] 1972

ABA:

NHL:

[edit] 1974

NBA:

NHL:

[edit] 1976

NFL:

[edit] 1977

MLB:

[edit] 1978

PBA:

  • Filmanbank Bankers

[edit] 1979

PBA:

NHL:

[edit] 1980s

[edit] 1980

NBA:

PBA:

  • CDCP Shippers

[edit] 1982

NSWRL

AFL

[edit] 1983

PBA:

  • Manhattan

[edit] 1984

PBA:

  • Manila Beer

[edit] 1985

PBA:

[edit] 1986

PBA:

[edit] 1987

AFL:

[edit] 1988

NBA:

NSWRL:

PBA:

[edit] 1989

NBA:

NLL:

[edit] 1990s

[edit] 1990

PBA:

[edit] 1991

NHL:

OHL:

AFL:

[edit] 1992

NHL:

NLL:

[edit] 1993

 CFL:

MLB:

{ NHL:

PBA:

[edit] 1994

 CFL:
  • Baltimore Stallions (technically defunct)
    • The Stallions were the most successful team in the CFL's U.S. experiment., winning the Grey Cup in 1995. However, the impending relocation of the NFL's Cleveland Browns to Baltimore led the team to depart for Montreal, where it became the current incarnation of the Montreal Alouettes. Despite this history, the CFL does not recognize the link between the Stallions and Alouettes, instead treating the Alouettes as a continuation of past CFL teams in Montreal.
  • Las Vegas Posse (defunct)
  • Shreveport Pirates (defunct)

[edit] 1995

CFL:

NBA:

NFL:

NLL:

OHL:

ARL

Super League

AFL:

[edit] 1996

NFL:

PBA:

NLL:

AFL:

[edit] 1997

AFL

Super League:

WAFL:

[edit] 1998

MLB:

NHL:

MLS:

NRL

VFL

[edit] 1999

NHL:

NFL:

PBA:

[edit] 2000s

[edit] 2000

NHL:

NLL:

PBA:

NRL:

  • Northern Eagles (Joint venture between Manly-Waringah Sea Eagles and North Sydney Bears - now defunct)
  • Wests Tigers (Joint venture between Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies)

[edit] 2001

NLL:

VFL:

[edit] 2002

CFL:

NLL:

PBA:

NFL:

[edit] 2003

WHL:

[edit] 2004

NBA:

[edit] 2005

MLS:

NLL:

QMJHL:

[edit] 2006

NTFL:

Super Rugby:

MLS:

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

NLL:

WHL:

Super League:

PBA:

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

MLL:

[edit] 2007

New South Wales Cup:

A-League:

NRL:

NBL:

MLS:

NLL:

[edit] 2008

Jim Beam Cup:

Queensland Cup:

MLS:

WNBA:

[edit] 2009

A-League:

KHL

MLS:

NBL (NBL + Basketball Australia):

Super League:

  • Celtic Crusaders (now Crusaders Rugby League) – An expansion team only in the sense that they were invited into Super League. The club have existed since 2005.
  • Salford City Reds – Also technically not an expansion team; they have existed since 1873, and played in Super League as recently as the 2007 season.

[edit] 2010

A-League:

Magners League

  • Aironi – A team formed specifically for the competition by several existing clubs in Northern Italy, with Viadana the lead side.
  • Benetton Treviso – Founded in 1932, it competed in Italian domestic leagues before joining the Magners League.

KHL

MLS:

NBL:

UFL:

Vodacom Cup:

VTB United League:

WPS:

[edit] 2011

AFL:

KHL

 MLS:

  Super Rugby:

Indian Premier League:

UFL:

WPS:

AFL:

[edit] 2012

AFL:

MLS:

CFL:

Super League:

  • Widnes Vikings – An expansion team only in the sense that they have been invited into the now-franchised Super League. The club have existed since 1875, were founding members of what is now the Rugby Football League in 1895, and participated in Super League as recently as 2005.
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