Expansion team

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

An expansion team is a brand new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, and formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also hope that expansion of their competition will grow the popularity of the sport generally. 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.

Reason for expansion

In North America, expansion often takes place in response to population growth and geographic shifts of population. Such demographic change results in financial opportunities to engage with the new market as consumers of sports demand local teams to support. Major League Baseball (MLB) 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 players. 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 sometimes expand by two or four teams in one season for scheduling reasons, such as eliminating the possibility of a team being without an opponent on a preferred date due to 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 among the least conducive to parity, due to the lack of a salary cap. Similarly, in the 1996 NFL season, only the second year of the Carolina Panthers' and Jacksonville Jaguars' existences, both teams finished conference runner-up. The Florida Panthers made the Stanley Cup Finals in only their 3rd season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

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 not an expansion team. If they move, they are known as a relocated team, and if the name changes they are known as a renamed team. 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. An exception is the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). When the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore an agreement was reached whereby the history of the pre-1996 Cleveland Browns remained in that city and was claimed by the post-1999 Browns when the league placed a new franchise there; even though the actual team and roster had moved to Baltimore to become the Ravens.

Cities and regions with large populations that lack a team are generally regarded to be the best candidates for new teams. For example, the NFL has recently considered Los Angeles, California to be the best possibility for a brand new NFL team. Toronto, Ontario is its second choice. San Antonio, Texas has also been considered a possible location for expansion. The European Super League in rugby league has added teams from France and Wales to cover a great demographic spread.

A-League

Arena Football League

2011

Pittsburgh Power

2014

LA KISS

Australian Football League

1908

Richmond
University (dropped out of competition and folded at the end of 1914)

1925

Hawthorn
North Melbourne
Footscray (became Western Bulldogs in 1996)

1987

Brisbane Bears (now Brisbane Lions)
West Coast Eagles

1991

Adelaide

1995

Fremantle

1997

2011

Gold Coast Suns

2012

Greater Western Sydney Giants

Canadian Football League

1993

Sacramento Gold Miners (defunct) – The first entry in the league's failed attempt to expand into the U.S. After the 1994 season, the team relocated to San Antonio and played as the San Antonio Texans before folding after the 1995 season.

1994

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 version 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) - Also part of the CFL's failed U.S. experiment.
Shreveport Pirates (defunct) - Also part of the CFL's failed U.S. experiment.

1995

Birmingham Barracudas (defunct)
Memphis Mad Dogs (defunct)

2002

Ottawa Renegades (defunct)

2014

Ottawa Redblacks

Indian Premier League

2011

Jim Beam Cup

2008

WA Reds

Kontinental Hockey League

2009

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg

2010

HC Yugra

2011

Lev Poprad
- This team, based in Slovakia, was purchased after its first KHL season (2011–12) by Czech interests. It was disbanded and replaced by the similarly named Lev Praha. The latter team folded at the end of the 2013–14 season.

2012

2013

Admiral Vladivostok
KHL Medveščak (from Zagreb, Croatia)

Major League Baseball

1961

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

1962

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

1969

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

1977

1993

Colorado Rockies
Florida Marlins (now Miami Marlins)

1998

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

Major League Lacrosse

2006

Chicago Machine (now second iteration of Rochester Rattlers)123
Denver Outlaws
Los Angeles Riptide (defunct)
San Francisco Dragons (defunct)

2009

Toronto Nationals (now Hamilton Nationals; though the league considers it an expansion, it was a relocation of the management and player assets from the original Rochester Rattlers, though the name, colors and team history remained in Rochester)

2012

2014

Florida Launch (Though the league considers it an expansion, it was a relocation of the management and player assets from the Hamilton Nationals, though the name, colors and team history remained in Hamilton)

Major League Soccer

1998

Chicago Fire
Miami Fusion (contracted)

2005

Chivas USA (folded by the league)
- Although the team tentatively known as Los Angeles F.C. will effectively replace Chivas in 2017, it will not share any of Chivas' history.
Real Salt Lake

2006

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

2007

Toronto FC

2008

San Jose Earthquakes

2009

Seattle Sounders FC

2010

Philadelphia Union

2011

2012

Montreal Impact

2015

New York City FC
Orlando City SC

2017

Atlanta
Los Angeles FC (tentative name)

2017 or 2018

Minnesota United FC – confirmed to be joining the league; actual date will depend on stadium completion and the actual entry of Los Angeles FC

National Basketball Association

1961

Chicago Packers (now Washington Wizards)

1966

Chicago Bulls

1967

San Diego Rockets (now Houston Rockets)
Seattle SuperSonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder)

1968

1970

1974

New Orleans Jazz (now Utah Jazz)

1976

New Jersey Nets (now Brooklyn Nets), Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs join NBA after merger with American Basketball Association.

1980

Dallas Mavericks

1988

Miami Heat
Charlotte Hornets – The history of this franchise is detailed as follows:
- 2002 – Franchise moves to New Orleans, keeping the Hornets name until becoming the New Orleans Pelicans prior to the 2013–14 season.
- 2004 – The NBA returns to Charlotte with the expansion Charlotte Bobcats franchise.
- 2014 – Following the New Orleans team's name change, the Bobcats reclaim the Hornets name effective with the 2014–15 season. In addition, the Hornets, Pelicans, and NBA agree that all history and records of every previous NBA team in Charlotte (including the original Charlotte Hornets) would belong to the revived Hornets.^[1]

1989

1995

Vancouver Grizzlies (now Memphis Grizzlies)
Toronto Raptors

2002

New Orleans Hornets (now New Orleans Pelicans) – Following the 2014 assumption of the original Charlotte Hornets' history by the revived Charlotte Hornets, the Pelicans are now officially considered an expansion team that began play in the 2002–03 season.^[1]

National Basketball League

1980

Coburg Giants (later became North Melbourne Giants in 1987-1998)

1981

Forestville Eagles (now currently playing ABA)

1982

Adelaide City Eagles (now Adelaide 36ers)
Geelong Cats (now Geelong Supercats until 1996 but now currently playing ABA)
Westate Wildcats (now Perth Wildcats)

1983

Hobart Devils (defunct)

1984

Melbourne Tigers (now Melbourne United)

1988

Sydney Kings (merger of Sydney Supersonics & West Sydney Westars)

1990

Gold Coast Chargers (now Gold Coast Rollers later currently playing ABA)

1992

South East Melbourne Magic (defunct)

1993

Townsville Suns (now Townsville Crocodiles in 1998)

1998

Victoria Titans (later became Victoria Giants in 2002-2004 and then defunct)
West Sydney Razorbacks (now Sydney Spirit, later defunct)

1999

Cairns Taipans

2004

Hunter Pirates (defunct)

2006

Singapore Slingers (defunct)
South Dragons (defunct)

2007

Gold Coast Blaze (defunct)

2015

Brisbane Team

National Football League

1919

Green Bay Packers (did not begin play in the NFL until 1921)

1920

Chicago Cardinals (now Arizona Cardinals)
Decatur Staleys (now Chicago Bears)

1925

New York Giants

1931

Portsmouth Spartans (now Detroit Lions)

1932

Boston Braves (now Washington Redskins)

1933

Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Pirates (now Pittsburgh Steelers)

1936

Cleveland Rams (now St. Louis Rams)

1950

Baltimore Colts (original) (now defunct),

Cleveland Browns- The history of this franchise is treated as follows:

1996- The team moves to Baltimore, becoming the Ravens
1999- Following the 1999 assumption of the Browns, the revived Browns received sole possession of history and records from the Ravens' time in Cleveland. While the history and records since the move to Baltimore remained with the Ravens.

San Francisco 49ers also join NFL after merger with All-America Football Conference.

1953

Second Baltimore Colts (now Indianapolis Colts)

1960

Dallas Cowboys

1961

Minnesota Vikings

1966

Atlanta Falcons

1967

New Orleans Saints

1970

Boston Patriots (now New England Patriots), Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans), Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, and San Diego Chargers join NFL after merger with American Football League.

1976

1995

1996

Baltimore Ravens - Following the 1999 assumption of the Cleveland Browns' history by the revived Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore Ravens are officially an expansion team that began play in the 1996 season.

2002

Houston Texans

National Hockey League

1909

Montreal Canadiens - part of National Hockey Association, which became the National Hockey League

1917

Toronto Arenas (now Maple Leafs)

1924

Boston Bruins
Montreal Maroons (now defunct)

1925

New York Americans (now defunct)
Pittsburgh Pirates (now defunct)

1926

1967

Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas Stars)
California Seals (defunct; later the Oakland Seals, California Golden Seals, and Cleveland Barons. The Barons were later merged with the Minnesota North Stars.)
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
St. Louis Blues

1970

1972

Atlanta Flames (now Calgary Flames)
New York Islanders

1974

1979

Hartford Whalers (now Carolina Hurricanes), Quebec Nordiques (now Colorado Avalanche), Edmonton Oilers, and original Winnipeg Jets (now Arizona Coyotes) join NHL after merger with World Hockey Association.

1991

San Jose Sharks

1992

1993

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (now Anaheim Ducks)
Florida Panthers

1998

Nashville Predators

1999

Atlanta Thrashers (now Winnipeg Jets)

2000

National Lacrosse League

1989

Detroit Turbos (defunct)
New England Blazers (defunct; previously Boston Blazers)

1990

Pittsburgh Bulls (defunct)

1992

Buffalo Bandits

1995

Rochester Knighthawks

1996

Charlotte Cobras (defunct)

1998

Ontario Raiders (now Toronto Rock)
Syracuse Smash (defunct; previously Ottawa Rebel)

2000

Albany Attack (now Vancouver Stealth; previously San Jose Stealth and Washington Stealth)

2001

Columbus Landsharks (defunct; previously Arizona Sting)

2002

Calgary Roughnecks
Montreal Express (defunct)
New Jersey Storm (defunct; previously Anaheim Storm)
Vancouver Ravens (defunct)

2005

Minnesota Swarm

2006

Edmonton Rush
Portland Lumberjax (defunct)

2007

Chicago Shamrox (defunct)
New York Titans (defunct; previously Orlando Titans)

2009

Boston Blazers (second iteration; defunct)

National Rugby League

1910

Annandale

1920

University

1921

St. George Dragons

1935

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

1947

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Parramatta Eels

1967

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Penrith Panthers

1982

Canberra Raiders
Illawarra Steelers (now part of joint venture with St. George Dragons)

1988

Brisbane Broncos
Gold Coast-Tweed Giants (later Chargers, now defunct)
Newcastle Knights

1995

Auckland Warriors (now New Zealand Warriors)
North Queensland Cowboys
South Queensland Crushers (now defunct)
Western Reds (now defunct)

1998

Melbourne Storm
Adelaide Rams (now defunct)

1999

Wests Tigers

2007

Gold Coast Titans

National Women's Soccer League

2014

Houston Dash

New South Wales Cup

2007

Auckland Lions

Northern Territory Football League

2006

Tiwi Bombers

Ontario Hockey League

1991

Guelph Storm

1995

Barrie Colts

1998

Brampton Battalion (Now the North Bay Battalion since the 2013-14 OHL Season)

Philippine Basketball Association

1978

Filmanbank Bankers

1979

Gilbey's Gin

1980

CDCP Shippers

1983

Manhattan

1984

Manila Beer

1985

Shell Azordin Bugbusters

1986

Alaska Aces

1988

Purefoods

1990

1993

Sta. Lucia Realtors

1999

Tanduay Rhum Masters

2000

Batang Red Bull Energy Kings

2002

FedEx Express
Coca-Cola Tigers

2006

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

2014

Blackwater Elite
Kia Sorento

Pro12

2010

Aironi – A team formed specifically for the competition by several existing clubs in Northern Italy, with Viadana the lead side. The team folded when the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) revoked its professional license effective with the end of the 2011–12 Pro12 season; it was replaced by the FIR-operated Zebre.
Benetton Treviso – Founded in 1932, it competed in Italian domestic leagues before joining what is now known as Pro12.

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

2005

Saint John Sea Dogs
St. John's Fog Devils (became Montreal Junior Hockey Club in 2008 and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in 2011)

2012

Sherbrooke Phoenix

Queensland Cup

2008

Super League (Australia)

1997

Adelaide Rams (now defunct)
Hunter Mariners (now defunct)

Super League

1995

Paris Saint-Germain RL (now defunct)

2006

Catalans Dragons — Although Super League used a promotion and relegation system at that time, Les Catalans, as the only French team in the otherwise all-English competition, were assured of a place in the league through 2008. Super League instituted a franchise system effective with the 2009 season, and Les Catalans retained their place in the league.

2009

Celtic Crusaders (later Crusaders Rugby League) – An expansion team only in the sense that they were invited into Super League. The club were established in 2005. After the 2011 season, the club folded due to financial problems; their effective successor club, the North Wales Crusaders, currently compete in Championship 1, two levels below Super League.
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.

2012

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.

Super Rugby

2006

2011

Melbourne Rebels

2016

Argentine team
Japanese team

United Football League (2009)

2010

Omaha Nighthawks

2011

Virginia Destroyers (later assumed the defunct Florida Tuskers)

Victorian Football League

1998

Bendigo Bombers

2001

Tasmanian Devils

Vodacom Cup

2010

Welwitschias (a developmental side for the Namibia national rugby union team).
- This was the second time Namibia participated in the competition; it entered a team from 1999 to 2001. The team withdrew from the competition after the 2011 season due to financial constraints.
Pampas XV (a developmental side for the Argentina national rugby union team)
- Argentina left the Vodacom Cup after the 2013 season, choosing instead to enter the IRB Pacific Cup from 2014. At that time, it was also expected that Argentina would be added to Super Rugby in the near future,^[2] and the country would eventually receive a Super Rugby team beginning in 2016.