This document discusses using sports teams and leagues to teach geographic concepts. It provides examples of how the locations of professional sports franchises relate to concepts like central place theory, agglomeration, and Weber's least cost theory of industrial location. Specific leagues and teams are mapped to demonstrate fan allegiance and how radio station networks illustrate central place hierarchies. Potential relocations of teams are analyzed in the context of population shifts, facility issues, and markets being over-extended with multiple franchises.

1. Paul T. Gray, Jr.
Russellville High School
Russellville, Arkansas
paul.gray@russellvilleschools.net

2. Sports can be an effective vehicle to teach
geography
 Many students can really identify with
sports
 Using local or regional teams can be a
way to make geographic concepts more
real
 Most importantly, sports teams are about
place, regional, cultural, urban, locational
and economic issues

3. The NFLhttp://www.sportsgrid.com/nfl/u-s-map-redrawn-nfl-allegiances/

4. The NFL by countyhttp://www.footballsfuture.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=514689&start=0

5. The NBAhttp://www.basketballforum.com/nba-forum/451361-great-nba-team-map.html

6. MLBhttp://hittoleftfield.com/2012/06/27/on-relocation-part-2-of-4-major-league-baseball/

7. The NHLhttp://hoosierhockey.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/commenter-discussion-the-united-states-of-hockey/

8. MLS

9. Sports Team Location and
Weber’s Least Cost Theory
 Weber eliminated labor mobility and
varying wage rates
 He calculated the “pulls” exerted on each
point of manufacturing
 He indicated companies wanted to
minimize costs in three major areas
 In professional sports location we may
want to call this, “How Much Stuff Will
Your City Give Me to Locate Here
Theory/Model” or “The Sports Team
Blackmails Your City for what it wants.”

10. Weber’s Least Cost Theory – 3 primary
factors of location (to minimize costs)
 Transportation – the lowest possible costs in moving raw materials to
the factory and the finished product to market
 Labor – this reduces profits, therefore owners may want to move
farther from raw materials and markets
 Agglomeration – like industries clustering in the same area(s) can
reduce costs. Existing infrastructure (transport, water, educated/skilled
labor, buildings, etc.)
 Deglomeration – what happens when too much agglomeration takes
place?
 Other Factors – political stability, cheap energy, local receptiveness
(locating a prison), taxation (exemptions and, free land), climate (LA
and film industry), local mores (brewery, sex shops, etc.), owner’s local
connections to area (locates even though not the cheapest or most
productive location)
 The “other factors” can be especially important in sports team location

11. Central Place Theory
 Low order goods
 High order goods – e.g. sports
 Population Threshold - # of people
 Market Threshold – amount of $ in the place/area
 Range or Range of Sale
 Multiplier Effects (of sports team location)

12. I am an NFL fan
 I was driving up to Canada via Detroit a few
summers ago
 Began thinking about how close Detroit,
Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, etc. are
to each other
 Wondered who is a fan of whom in certain
places
 I asked some students to try to map central
places with hexagons

13. Have students experiment with Central Place and thresholds and ranges

14. Income thresholds in pro sports – these are
essentially disposable incomes in MSAs
www.bizjournals.com/specials/2006/0213/
 $89.2B - Major League Baseball
 $38.4B - National Basketball Association
 $35.7B - National Hockey League
 $33.0B - National Football League
 $16.1B - Major League Soccer

15. What about Central Place factors of
location using sports?
 According to Hinch & Higham in Sports
Tourism Development
 Sports teams are centrally located and
there to provide outlets for the
hinterlands
 Greater number of sports provided, the
higher order the location

16. Sports Tourism Development Hinch
and Higham continued
 Low-order sports (e.g. soccer) can
locate in lower order thresholds
 Higher order locations are fewer and
more widely spaced (Christaller) with
higher thresholds
 Major League Baseball has the most
higher order cities (largest populations)
 The NFL has many more cities in the
mid- and lower order (lower populations)
 Ironically (or not given the NFL’s player
pay structure), 6 of the last 8 Super
Bowl winners were small market teams

17. Sports Tourism Development Hinch and
Higham continued
 Finally, a hierarchy of sports locations exists
to:
1. Provide consumers who wish to minimize their
travel to obtain the sports they want
2. Producers of sports need to maintain a
minimum threshold to survive
3. Many times, city leaders do not ask these
questions – they just want a team without
evaluating pros and cons
4. The risk today is almost entirely on cities – not
the teams

18. Central Place in the geography of sports
 John Bale in Sports Geography says:
 A MLB team needs a threshold of 1 million
fan visits each year to be viable
 Bale says this number is not realistic for
most metro areas

19. According to Bale, the Central Place approach to
sports team location has assumptions (just like the
models we teach):
1. Even population distribution
2. Homogeneous plane surface
3. Economic rationality
 We all know irregularities abound
 How about an example or two?

20. Smaller Market cities with successful teams
ICE HOCKEY
 A Canadian Metropolitan Statistical Area of
3.5M people will average 4,000 more fans
per game than a comparable U.S. MSA
(Bale)
SOCCER
 Rochester, NY is a soccer-crazy hotbed
capable of a pro team
FOOTBALL
 Green Bay & Pittsburgh are football towns
BASEBALL
 St. Louis and Cincinnati are baseball towns
BASKETBALL

21. What about teaching the “other”
factors of location using sports?
 According to a Federal Reserve Bank of
Kansas City Report:
 1 extra day of sunny weather per year
means $7-12 more spending
 This means $14-24M more spending in a
metro area of 2 million population
 US population has shifted South and West
over the past 50-60 years
 Many of the teams have moved or
expanded to the Sun Belt

22. A Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas
City Report continued
 Metropolitan areas which lost a franchise
are more likely to finance a new stadium
(Quality of Life issue? Inferiority complex w/o a team?)
 Part of being a first-rate city is having pro
sports (and opera, museums, etc.)
 However, bond supporters and teams only
show positive impact numbers
 Actually, this study found there are
negative indicators of having a pro sports
team

23. A Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas
City Report continued
 For example, Maryland residents get about
$1M/year in revenue from the Baltimore Ravens
 The public cost of the Ravens stadium is
$14M/year
 Washington residents get $3.8 to $5.1M
compared to $28M annual cost for the Mariners’
stadium
 So, the question becomes…what benefits do
teams bring to the community at large?
 Some of these benefits are tangible and others
less tangible

24. Teams have always moved or the
leagues expanded
 Population shifts – Ft. Wayne Pistons become
Detroit Pistons
 Local Disputes – Baltimore Colts move to
Indianapolis due to pending MD law and
Cleveland Browns move to Baltimore in dispute
over stadium ownership
 New Stadium – too many to mention
 Expansion – growing and shifting populations
 All the above and personal problems – Norman
Green moves the Minnesota North Stars to
Dallas

25. The most overextended sports
market – at least on paper?http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2011/08/denver-is-most-overextended-market.html
 DENVER with 5 teams
 The Denver needs total personal income
(TPI) of $209.3 billion to provide an
adequate base for its five teams
 Denver’s actual TPI is $121.9 billion,
yielding an income deficit of $87.4 billion
 Still, Denver is a pretty good sports
town. The Rockies seem safe now
given some winning seasons of late

26. The other overextended marketshttp://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2011/08/denver-is-most-overextended-market.html
Rank City # teams TPI
Deficit
2 Cleveland 3 ($71.445)
3 Pittsburgh 3 ($56.676)
4 Tampa-St.
Petersburg
3 ($54.119)
5 Kansas City 3 ($52.292)
6 Milwaukee 2 ($51.806)
7 St. Louis 3 ($42.294)
8 Phoenix 4 ($41.069)
9 Minneapolis-St.
Paul
4 ($39.400)
10 Cincinnati 2 ($37.524)

27. MLB teams most likely to move
 Oakland A’s
1. Stadium is a wreck (note sewage
backups in locker rooms in June 2013)
2. The money is in the west and south bay
3. Those moving to Oakland are escaping
high rents of San Francisco
 Where will they go?
1. Most likely San Jose
2. If not there – Sacramento or Portland

28. MLB teams most likely to move
 Tampa Bay Rays
1. Tropicana Field is the worst baseball
venue in the world
2. The physical location of the Trop in St.
Petersburg is very hard to get to
3. Good play the last few years has kept
moving talk down
 Where will they go?
1. Most likely Tampa
2. If not there – Charlotte or Orlando

29. NBA team most likely to move
 Sacramento Kings
1. NBA will not expand anytime soon, so movement will be
based on money and population shifts
2. With the Warriors moving to a new arena in SF, there’s
nowhere close to go
 Where will they go?
1. On paper, the move should be to Kansas City, but KC has
lost the NBA before – the Kings to Sacramento
2. KC has an NBA-ready arena already built
3. Las Vegas is another potential NBA city. There’s plenty of
money
4. There are also lots of LA Laker fans and casinos and
gambling in Vegas – potential NBA owners are wary

30. Los Angeles and the NFL
http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2011/08/los-angeles-is-the-clear-choice.html
 A study determined that an NFL team
requires an income base of $36.7 billion
 The Los Angeles area has $220.3 billion
in available personal income after
meeting the needs of its other pro-sports
franchises
 On paper, that’s enough to support 6
NFL teams
 What about the intangibles or “other”
factors of location for LA?

31. NFL teams most likely to move to
LA Jacksonville, Buffalo, St. Louis, Oakland, New Orleans
1. Jacksonville is a very small market (3rd
smallest) and fan
support has been low
2. Buffalo is the 2nd
smallest NFL market (tied with New
Orleans) with little success in recent years
3. St. Louis is a mid-market size. Recent sale to Missourian
Stan Kroenke (also owner of Nuggets, Rapids, Avalanche,
Mammoth and Arsenal) makes Rams’ move less likely
4. Oakland’s stadium is a wreck. They’ve won in LA before
5. New Orleans–all is well right now in this 2nd
smallest NFL
market. N.O.’s population has shrunk. They’d better win
 Where will they go?
1. Los Angeles
2. Still, will people consistently come to NFL games in LA?

32. This is one of the major drivers of an LA
team - NFL Potential TV Viewership

33. We moved and everyone seems
happy
 Baltimore Orioles moved to the CBD
from the suburbs and the Baltimore
Ravens came to the CBD
 Cleveland Browns (after expansion)
and Cleveland Indians and Cleveland
Cavaliers built new venues in the CBD
 These cases involved building new ball
parks and/or stadia in downtown areas
as part of a larger urban revitalization
effort

34. We moved and not everyone is
happy Dallas Cowboys
 The Cowboys moved to suburban Arlington
between Dallas and Ft. Worth
 This moved promised many larger developments
around Cowboy Stadium (with the Texas Ranger
park just down the street)
 Large-scale (high-end hotels, restaurants, etc.)
developments have not come – example??
 Super Bowl XLV – Green Bay stayed in Ft. Worth
(Omni) and Pittsburgh stayed in Dallas (Omni
Mandalay Bay - Irving)

35. Other factors in sports teams
location Missouri joined the SEC in 2012. Located as the most
northwest SEC team, travel expenses in the SEC
increased from just under $5 million annually to $7
million.
 Non-revenue Mizzou teams (not football or basketball)
spent as many as 11 days on the road, which affects
competiveness and academics
 In 1994, the Rams decided to leave Los Angeles
 Down the list of factors the Rams mentioned in a St.
Louis Post-Dispatch article for moving……
 Travel costs of a coastal team, or as we would teach in
APHG – Centrality
 The Rams said they could save at least a quarter of a
million dollars in travel alone
 Rams’ owner at the time, the late Georgia Frontiere, a
native of St. Louis

36. Who travels to most? Coastal teams.
 The NFL West Coast teams
 Seattle – 33,586 miles
 San Diego – 28,298 miles
 Oakland – 27,721 miles Source:
www.stlouistoday.com/blogs/sports-around-the-horns/2007/08/rams-are-miles-high-in-nfl 8-
11-07

37. Who travels the least?
 Northeastern teams
 New York Jets – 9,186 miles
 Buffalo – 9,972 miles Source:
www.stlouistoday.com/blogs/sports-around-the-horns/2007/08/rams-are-miles-high-in-nfl 8-
11-07

38. In 2012, who traveled the most and
least?
 MOST – Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco
49ers, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders
 LEAST – Indianapolis Colts, Washington
Redskins, Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay
Packers – centrality to other teams
 Teams traveling under 1,000 miles for a game
win 43 percent of the time. The number drops to
40.3 percent when teams travel between 1,000
and 1,999 miles, and plummets to 39.8 percent
when they travel over 2,000 miles.
 3% may not sound like much unless you miss
the playoffs by one game

39. Another way to teach location
and central place is to map team
allegiance is by…
Number and location of radio stations which
carry a team

40. Students could map the Cleveland Browns
network
OHIO
AKRON / WAKR-AM 1590
ASHLAND / WNCO-AM 1340
ASHTABULA / WFUN-AM 970
ATHENS / WATH-AM 970
BUCYRUS / WQEL-FM 92.7
CADIZ / WCDK-AM 1430
CANTON / WHBC-AM 1480
CELINA / WKKI-FM 94.3
CHILLICOTHE / WCHI-AM 1350
CLEVELAND / WMMS-FM 100.7 / WTAM-AM 1100
COLUMBUS / WFJX-FM 105.7
DAYTON / WONE-FM 97.5
DEFIANCE / WDFM-FM 98.1
DOVER / WJER-FM 101.7
ELYRIA / WEOL-AM 930
FINDLAY / WQTL-FM 106.3
FOSTORIA / WFOB-AM 1430
LIMA / WBUK-FM 106.3
MANSFIELD / WMAN-AM 1400
MARIETTA / WJAW-FM 100.9
MARION / WMRN-AM 1490
MOUNT VERNON / WMVO-AM 1300
NEWARK / WHTH-AM 790
PAINESVILLE / WBKC-AM 1460
PORTSMOUTH / WNXT-AM 1260
SANDUSKY / WMJK-FM 100.9 / WLEC-AM 1450
TOLEDO / WIOT-FM 104.7
WOOSTER / WQKT-FM 104.5
YOUNGSTOWN / WNCD-FM 93.3 / WKBN-AM 570
ZANESVILLE / WHIZ-AM 1240
OTHER STATES
KENTUCKY
LEXINGTON / WLAP-AM 630
NEW YORK
HORNELL / WLEA-AM 1480
ROCHESTER / WYSL-AM 1040
PENNSYLVANIA
CORRY / WEYZ-AM 1530 / WWCB-AM 1370
ERIE / WJET-AM 1400
WEST VIRGINIA
PARKERSBURG / WJAW-FM 100.9

41. Cincinnati Bengal Radio Network
 Listen to the game on one of these 2013 Bengals Radio Affiliates:
OHIO
 Athens WATH-AM 970
 Canton WTIG-AM 990
 Celina WCSM-FM 96.7
 Chillicothe WBEX-AM 1490
 Cincinnati WCKY-AM
WEBN-FM
WLW-AM 1530
 Columbus WBWR-FM 105.7
 Dayton WTUE-FM 104.7
 Findlay WBVI-FM 96.7
 Hillsboro WSRW-AM 1590
 Lima WIMA-AM 1150
 Logan WLGN-AM 1510
 Marietta WMOA-AM 1490
 Middleport WMPO-AM 1390
 Mt. Vernon WMVO-AM 1300
 Portsmouth WIOI-AM 1010
 Washington Court House WCHO-FM 105.5
 Zanesville WHIZ-AM 1240
KENTUCKY
 Ashland WCMI-AM 1340
 Cynthiana WCYN-FM 102.3
 Lexington WBVX-FM 92.1
 Louisville WKRD-AM 790
 Somerset WTLO-AM 1480
INDIANA
 Washington WAMW-FM 107.9
WEST VIRGINIA
 Huntington WRVC-AM 930
 Ravenswood WMOV-AM 1360

42. There is much more one can
do with sports and APHG
 Cultural issues
 Geography of team monikers
 Migration issues
 Gender issues
 Race and Ethnicity
 Globalization

43. Thank You and
Questions

44. Selected Sources
 Bale, J. Sports Geography. (2003), 2nd
Ed. Routledge.
 Carlino, G., & Coulson, N. E. (2002). Working paper No. 02–12: Compensating
differentials and the social benefits of the NFL (No. 02–12). Philadelphia: Federal
Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
 Hinch, T. and Higham, Sports Tourism Development, (2004). Cromwell Press.
 Rappaport, J., & Wilkerson, C. (2001). What are the benefits of hosting a major league
sports franchise? Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, (First
Quarter), 55–86.
 Santo, C. (2005). The economic impact of sports stadiums: Recasting the analysis in
context. The Journal of Urban Affairs, 177-191.
 http://hittoleftfield.com/2012/06/27/on-relocation-part-2-of-4-major-league-baseball/
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._cities_with_teams_from_four_major_league_sports
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relocation_of_professional_sports_teams
 http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/mizzou/more-on-mizzou-s-facilities-
facelift/article_f125d834-44cf-53df-a5ca-e6225693b8ce.html
 http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82a53b24/article/oakland-raiders-will-travel-
the-most-miles-in-2012
 http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2011/08/denver-is-
most-overextended-market.html