|
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 founding in 1998, even though Major League Baseball is generally considered among the least conducive to parity, due to the lack of a salary cap. The Chicago Fire won MLS Cup in 1998 during just their first year of existence in Major League Soccer. Also, 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. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「expansion team」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|