Teams With Multiple Home Venues.

[kimball]

9 hours ago, leopard88 said:

Before moving to the Verizon Center/Capital One Arena, the Bullets/Wizards played several regular season home games per year at the Baltimore Arena (now Royal Farms Arena).

 

If memory serves me, the Celtics used to play several regular season home games per year in Hartford at one point.

 

The Celtics and Bullets were the latest teams to play home games outside of their regular venue. But, as mentioned above, the practice was fairly regular in the 70s for the entire league. Even in the 80s you saw the Jazz play home games in Las Vegas, Hawks in New Orleans, Sonics in Tacoma and the Kings in St. Louis.

[Dilbert]

One that comes to mind for me that actually worked was the Green Bay Packers playing a handfull of games each year in Milwaukee. Kinda wish they still did that

[MilSox]

On 12/1/2019 at 5:00 PM, OnWis97 said:

I think the old “Milwaukee” season ticket package still exists for the Packers so the old Milwaukee games are probably a success in that more people have game access.

Now that I think of it, the Packers in Milwaukee is probably what prompted a lot of other teams to experiment with multiple homes.  The Packers didn't even occur to me when I made this post because of how "normal" that seemed when I was growing up. 

[packerfan21396]

The Packers in Milwaukee worked so well, they put Milwaukee in their (alternate) logo:

 

In addition to the Packers' Milwaukee games, another good Milwaukee second home (albeit for just one game) was two years ago when the Bucks recreated their beautiful 70s-80s court and played in their 70s-80s home to celebrate their 50th:

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

After Cleveland's Municipal Stadium opened in 1931, the Indians split their schedule between that large stadium and the smaller League Park.  This went on until 1946.

 

The Montreal Alouettes had to use the stadium at McGill University for a 1998 playoff game that conflicted with a concert at Olympic Stadium.  They liked it so much that they moved there full time, but continued for several years to play a few games at Olympic Stadium.

 

The San Francisco Warriors played several games each season in Oakland and San Jose after their move from Philadelphia in 1962.  They adopted the odd name Golden State Warriors in 1971 because the plan at the time was for the team to play home games in cities up and down California.  After a few games in San Diego, the plan was scrapped, and the team from then on played all its home games in Oakland, up until this season.

When the Brooklyn Dodgers were getting to the end of their rope about the inadequacy of Ebbets Field, they played some home games in 1956 and 1957 in Jersey City.

[TBGKon]

On 12/1/2019 at 6:24 PM, alxy8s said:

Haven't used it in about 20 years, but Alabama used to play a ton of their "home" games at Legion Field.

Last time was 2003, South Florida was their last opponent in Birmingham.  I think the change to games in Tuscaloosa was when Bryant-Denny ended up having a larger capacity.

[pmoehrin]

On 12/1/2019 at 6:00 PM, OnWis97 said:

I think the old “Milwaukee” season ticket package still exists for the Packers so the old Milwaukee games are probably a success in that more people have game access.

 

The Packers playing in Milwaukee for me is the ideal model of what a modern "second-home" should be.

 

I'll guarantee you a lot of people who went to those games would never go to Lambeau because its two hours north, and that's the whole point — attracting loyal fans within your regional fan base who wouldn't otherwise show up. Because they have that strong regional following that's not limited to Green Bay, the Packers punch way above their weight class in terms of how valuable the market is and how valuable the team is.

 

It doesn't make sense for a modern-day pro team to have two home venues across the street from each other. But a team like the Blue Jays I think should be playing a three-game set in Buffalo every year. Buffalo isn't large enough to be an MLB-market on its own, but there's plenty of Blue Jays fans there, along with a 17K seat Minor League stadium they could sell out. Maybe you attract some fans who don't want to make the trip to Toronto, but then decide to go to a game up north after seeing the Blue Jays in person.

 

This is where my mind goes for growing the sport and investing in new markets. You can play in 50 different markets without expanding the league to 50 teams.

[The_Admiral]

Nope, the Buffalo fans can make the trip if they want to see a game. Toronto is a world-class city (just ask 'em!) with a metro population of around 9 million, they shouldn't be farming out their local team's home games like they're the Kansas City-Omaha Kings. Moving games not only out of Toronto but into the States only legitimates the idea that baseball can't survive in Canada without subletting the team back to America where baseball belongs.

[MilSox]

On 12/3/2019 at 2:06 PM, AstroBull21 said:

Last time was 2003, South Florida was their last opponent in Birmingham.  I think the change to games in Tuscaloosa was when Bryant-Denny ended up having a larger capacity.

Arkansas used to do a similar thing with Fayetteville and Little Rock.

Are the Little Rock games still a thing?  I know they were still playing in Little Rock when Auburn and Alabama stopped using Legion Field.

[dfwabel]

24 minutes ago, NicDB said:

Arkansas used to do a similar thing with Fayetteville and Little Rock.

Are the Little Rock games still a thing?  I know they were still playing in Little Rock when Auburn and Alabama stopped using Legion Field.

Yes. Their game versus Missouri was in Little Rock in November after a new turf and upgraded locker rooms. They will host the spring game there in 2020, 2022, and 24, with the Mizzou game there in 2021 and 23

 

[Red Wolf]

41 minutes ago, NicDB said:

Arkansas used to do a similar thing with Fayetteville and Little Rock.

Are the Little Rock games still a thing?  I know they were still playing in Little Rock when Auburn and Alabama stopped using Legion Field.

 You better believe it. It was neat seeing national TV show footage of the River Market though. The Packers playing at Milwaukee is the closest analogue to Arkansas still being forced into playing games in Little Rock (the One True City of Arkansas). Mostly in the sense that it just doesn't make sense anymore. War Memorial in Little Rock used to be a larger venue, but no longer is. Fayetteville used to be really difficult to get to, but no longer is. The NCAA used to have crazy restrictions on TV but no longer does. The idea that Arkansas should continue playing games in almost my home town is outdated nonsense.

 

A huge part of college athletics is selling the university (America!). Getting people to come to an okay stadium near the med school doesn't sell people on going to a school three hours away. They can't even bring in recruits for official visits for the Little Rock games. The bolded in my next quote sums things up I think.

 

On 12/1/2019 at 7:50 PM, Red Wolf said:

Alabama football playing at Birmingham was mentioned, and that was a far more common thing years ago, especially in the South where the college teams were the closest thing to a major pro team, but they were all located in smaller college towns instead of the major cities of the state. Arkansas is the only school I'm aware of that still does it. They don't want to, but as you can imagine, there's some backwards-ass political nonsense that keeps them playing in Little Rock.

 

  

On 12/1/2019 at 9:53 PM, sc49erfan15 said:

 

Nope, upon consulting Wikipedia, theirs actually seats 1,360.

 

The smallest is the G.B. Hodge Center, home to the USC Upstate Spartans. Official capacity is listed at 837... they actually renovated it a few years ago to have fewer seats. It's also where I announced my first ever D1 basketball game!

 

 

It's mind-boggling that so many D1 schools play at my local rec center. I am kind of bummed that my... Let me see here... Fourth favorite team can't even win this competition. I'm still devastated that Jacksonville gave up a 20+ point lead to Western Carolina (showing zero gratitude for me making them great in NCAA Football 06 or so), and the football program is dead too. Truly a rough time for Dolphins fans.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

On 12/1/2019 at 7:53 PM, sc49erfan15 said:

 

Nope, upon consulting Wikipedia, theirs actually seats 1,360.

 

The smallest is the G.B. Hodge Center, home to the USC Upstate Spartans. Official capacity is listed at 837... they actually renovated it a few years ago to have fewer seats. It's also where I announced my first ever D1 basketball game!

 

 

Sidebar, but this is what the NBA Summer League experience looks like. If you want to see NBA-level players in this kind of environment, it's really something.

[sc49erfan15]

2 hours ago, DG_Now said:

 

Sidebar, but this is what the NBA Summer League experience looks like. If you want to see NBA-level players in this kind of environment, it's really something.

 

I really enjoy those kinds of arenas. Maybe it's due to me going to undergrad at a school in the Big South (multiple 1,000-1,500 seat gyms at the time), but they can be great atmospheres.

 

Not that you're seeing too many NBA level players there, but it's still enjoyable.

[Red Wolf]

On 12/10/2019 at 5:57 PM, sc49erfan15 said:

 

I really enjoy those kinds of arenas. Maybe it's due to me going to undergrad at a school in the Big South (multiple 1,000-1,500 seat gyms at the time), but they can be great atmospheres.

 

Not that you're seeing too many NBA level players there, but it's still enjoyable.

 

Random A-Sun, Southern, and Big South games are like my third favorite reason for ESPN+ (behind A-State and MLS games). It makes for a really cool atmosphere and UNCG got screwed last year.

[McGlinchey23]

I wish the Eagles would play some games at Franklin Field

[BBTV]

42 minutes ago, McGlinchey23 said:

I wish the Eagles would play some games at Franklin Field

 

Nobody that lives in or around U City does.

[McGlinchey23]

9 minutes ago, BringBackTheVet said:

 

Nobody that lives in or around U City does.

How come?

[dfwabel]

53 minutes ago, McGlinchey23 said:

I wish the Eagles would play some games at Franklin Field

Yes, because the Franklin Field upper deck has NO restrooms....Sure, work with that.

[BBTV]

10 minutes ago, McGlinchey23 said:

How come?

 

Really?  All that congestion in that area?  The absolute disaster that the Schuylkill would turn into?  Suburbanites too scared of mass transit trying to park their SUVs... where?  The area can't handle all of that. Drunk fools wandering around Locus Walk?  I don't know where you live, but I'm assuming it's not in the city.  Forgive me if I'm mistaken.

 

Let alone that the stadium has zero amenities for players or fans.  Who's going to pay $150 for a ticket to pee in a diaper because there's no toilets upstairs, and - are they even equipped to sell alcohol?  With the limited capacity, ticket prices would probably go up since the supply would be lower - and explain to half of the season ticket holders how they're only getting 7 home games vs 8.

[McGlinchey23]

14 minutes ago, BringBackTheVet said:

 

Really?  All that congestion in that area?  The absolute disaster that the Schuylkill would turn into?  Suburbanites too scared of mass transit trying to park their SUVs... where?  The area can't handle all of that. Drunk fools wandering around Locus Walk?  I don't know where you live, but I'm assuming it's not in the city.  Forgive me if I'm mistaken.

 

Let alone that the stadium has zero amenities for players or fans.  Who's going to pay $150 for a ticket to pee in a diaper because there's no toilets upstairs, and - are they even equipped to sell alcohol?  With the limited capacity, ticket prices would probably go up since the supply would be lower - and explain to half of the season ticket holders how they're only getting 7 home games vs 8.

The season ticket holders would get the same explanation that any team gets that plays games in London, or Toronto, or any one-off game. 

Plenty of NFL stadiums are in “downtown” areas or in the heart of major cities, and they make it work