An expansion team is a term used for 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.
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, they are 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 inaugural season. 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.
Most teams are considered as an expansion team usually in their first season and sometimes in their second season. 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 and Houston Dynamo in the MLS.
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, CA to be the best possibility for a brand new NFL team and Toronto as a second choice. The European Super League has added teams from France and Wales to cover a great demographic spread.
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List of expansion teams in history
1890s
1899
CC:
1900s
1905
CC:
1910s
1910
1920s
1920
NSWRL
1921
NSWRL
1922
:CC
1924
- Boston Bruins
- Montreal Maroons (now defunct)
1925
NHL
- Pittsburgh Pirates (now defunct)
- New York Americans (now defunct)
1926
NHL
- Detroit Cougars (now Red Wings)
- Chicago Black Hawks
- New York Rangers
1930s
1933
- Cincinnati Reds (now defunct)
- Pittsburgh Pirates (now Steelers)
1935
NSWRL
- Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
1940s
1947
NSWRL
1960s
1960
NFL:
1961
MLB:
- Los Angeles Angels
- Washington Senators (now Texas Rangers)
NBA:
- Chicago Packers (now Washington Wizards)
NFL:
1962
MLB:
- Houston Colt .45's (Now Houston Astros)
- New York Mets
1966
NBA:
NFL:
1967
NBA:
NFL:
NHL:
- Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas Stars)
- Los Angeles Kings
- Oakland Seals (Defunct. As the Cleveland Barons was merged with the Minnesota North Stars)
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- St. Louis Blues
NSWRL
1968
NBA:
AFL:
1969
MLB:
- Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals)
- San Diego Padres
- Kansas City Royals
- Seattle Pilots (now Milwaukee Brewers)
1970s
1970
NBA:
- Buffalo Braves (now Los Angeles Clippers)
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Portland Trail Blazers
NHL:
1972
ABA:
NHL:
1974
NBA:
- New Orleans Jazz (now Utah Jazz)
NHL:
1976
NFL:
1977
MLB:
1978
PBA:
- Filmanbank Bankers
1979
PBA:
1980s
1980
NBA:
PBA:
- CDCP Shippers
1982
NSWRL
1983
PBA:
- Manhattan
1984
PBA:
- Manila Beer
1985
PBA:
1986
PBA:
1987
Australian FL:
- Brisbane Bears (joined with Fitzroy in 1996 to form Brisbane Lions)
- West Coast Eagles
1988
NBA:
- Charlotte Hornets (now New Orleans Hornets)
- Miami Heat
NSWRL:
PBA:
1989
NBA:
NLL:
1990s
1990
PBA:
1991
NHL:
- San Jose Sharks (Officially an expansion team although the roster of Minnesota was divided between the North Stars and the Sharks. Both clubs participated in a draft to fill the remainder of the rosters.)
AFL:
1992
CC:
NHL:
NLL:
1993
MLB:
NHL:
- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (now Anaheim Ducks)
- Florida Panthers
PBA:
1995
NBA:
- Toronto Raptors
- Vancouver Grizzlies (now Memphis Grizzlies)
NFL:
NLL:
AFL:
1996
NFL:
- Baltimore Ravens - officially a new franchise although it maintained the roster of the Cleveland Browns, whose franchise was suspended until 1999.
PBA:
NLL:
1997
WAFL:
1998
MLB:
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now Tampa Bay Rays)
NHL:
MLS:
- Chicago Fire
- Miami Fusion (contracted)
1999
NHL:
NFL:
- Cleveland Browns - officially reactivated. As part of the deal which permitted former Browns owner Art Modell to move to Baltimore, the Browns name and colors remained with Cleveland.
PBA:
2000s
2000
NHL:
NLL:
PBA:
NRL:
2001
NLL:
VFL:
2002
CFL:
- Ottawa Renegades (defunct)
NLL:
PBA:
NFL:
2003
WHL:
2004
NBA:
2005
MLS:
NLL:
2006
NTFL:
MLS:
- Houston Dynamo (though they maintained the roster of the San Jose Earthquakes)
NLL:
WHL:
- 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.
PBA:
- Welcoat Dragons (from the PBL, note that the promotion and relegation system was not used .)
MLL:
2007
NRL:
NBL:
MLS:
NLL:
2008
MLS:
NBA:
- Oklahoma City Thunder (though they maintained the roster of the Seattle SuperSonics)
WNBA:
2009
MLS:
- Celtic Crusaders – 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.
2010
A-League:
MLS:
CFL:
UFL:
2011
A-League:
AFL:
MLS:
2012
AFL:
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