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Anexpansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also hope that the expansion of their competition will grow the popularity of the sport generally. The term is most commonly used in reference to theNorth American major professional sports leagues but is applied to sports leagues in other countries witha closed franchise system of league membership. The term refers to the expansion of the sport into new areas. The addition of an expansion team sometimes results in the payment of an expansion fee to the league by the new team and anexpansion draft to populate the new roster.
In North America, expansion often takes place in response topopulation 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 ofSt. Louis, Missouri, for the first half of the 20th century. During that time, the United States population doubled and expanded to the south and west. Rival interests explored the possibility of forming arival league in the untapped markets. To forestall that possibility, one of the measures that 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.
Leagues that are new and/or financially struggling may also admit large numbers of expansion teams so that the existing franchises can pocket more revenue from expansion fees.Indoor American football leagues are notorious for doing so: the leagues can double the number of teams and have many new teams fail within a year or two.Major League Soccer, after spending most of its first decade of existence with relatively stable membership and struggling finances, adopted a policy of continuous expansion beginning in 2005, a policy that the league as of 2017 has no intention of stopping.[1]
Cities and regions with large populations that lack a team are generally regarded to be the best candidates for new teams. Inrugby league, the United Kingdom-basedRugby Football League'sSuper League has added teams fromFrance andWales to cover a great demographic spread. The operator of Super League, England'sRugby Football League, has also added teams to the lower levels of its league pyramid, specifically theChampionship andLeague 1, from both France and Wales, and most recentlyCanada. Inrugby union, the competition originally known as the Celtic League and now asPro14, which began with sides only from theCeltic nations ofIreland,Scotland, and Wales, has added teams fromItaly and more recentlySouth Africa. The U.S.-based NFL has considered a potentialfranchise in the UK.
When an expansion team begins play, it is generally stocked with less talentedfree agents, inexperienced players, and veterans nearing retirement. Additionally, prospective owners may face expensive fees to the league as well as high startup costs such as stadiums and facilities. The team is also at a disadvantage in that it has not been together as a team as long as its opponents and thus lacks the cohesiveness other teams have built over years. As a result, most expansion teams are known for their poor play during their first seasons. Expansion teams must also compete with any expansion rivals for available talent, a common problem since leagues often expand by two or four teams in one season.
Expansion teams are not necessarily doomed to mediocrity, however, as most leagues have policies which promote parity, such as drafts and salary caps, which give some expansion teams the opportunity to win championships only a few years after their first season. InMajor League Baseball (MLB) TheArizona Diamondbacks won the2001 World Series in their fourth season, and theFlorida Marlins won the1997 World Series in their fifth season. In the NBA, TheMilwaukee Bucks won the1971 NBA Finals in their third year of existence, greatly helped by draftingKareem Abdul-Jabbar in the1969 draft and acquiringOscar Robertson from theCincinnati Royals before the1970–71 season began. In the NHL, theFlorida Panthers made the Stanley Cup Finals intheir third season even though, like MLB, the league then had no salary cap; a cap was established in 2005. However, theVegas Golden Knights quickly emerged as one of the NHL's best teams in its first season. Thanks to a less-harsh expansion draft and successful management, the team defied all odds and advanced to the2018 Stanley Cup Finals in their first year of existence, and later won the2023 Stanley Cup Finals in just their sixth season.
TheNational Football League (NFL), despite being considered the most generous in its revenue sharing and the strictest with its salary cap, has had far more difficulty bringing expansion teams up to par with their more established brethren. Of the six teams to have been added to the NFL since theAFL–NFL merger, the fastest turnaround between an inaugural season and the team's firstSuper Bowl victory was 27 seasons (theTampa Bay Buccaneers, established in 1976, wonSuper Bowl XXXVII in the 2002 season); none of the four teams to hold expansion drafts since 1995[note 1] have ever won that contest, with only one, theCarolina Panthers (who reached the game in their9th and21st seasons of existence) playing in the game. In1996, the Panthers andJacksonville Jaguars each made it to their respective conference championship games in their second season in the league.
Expansion teams are usually considered as such in their first season and sometimes in their second season. A team that moves to another location and/or changes its name is not an expansion team. If it moves, it is known as arelocated team, and if the name changes, the team is known as arenamed team. Relocated teams may change their name, colors, and mascot at the same time as the move; however, because the roster is the same and the league does not expand as a result, they are not regarded as expansion teams. A handful of franchise relocations are officially recognized by their respective leagues as creation of expansion franchises; this is done so that the history of the team stays with the original city, to be assumed a few years later by a revival of the franchise after a period of inactivity. The league expands in the season corresponding to the original franchise's revival, and holds an expansion draft for the revived franchise. For examples, see the notes below on theNFL'sBaltimore Ravens (relocated in 1996 from theCleveland Browns, which were revived in 1999),NBA'sNew Orleans Pelicans (relocated in 2002 from theCharlotte Hornets, which were revived in 2004 and were initially named the Charlotte Bobcats), andNHL'sUtah Mammoth (relocated from theArizona Coyotes in 2024, revival of the Coyotes expected in 2029).
TheNational League had an eight-team lineup established in 1900, mirrored by the eight charter franchises of theAmerican League in 1901. This list enumerates franchises added since this "Classic Eight" era.
Eight charter franchises of the NBA (founded in 1950 via merger of theBAA andNBL) are still active.
There was only one expansion team in the whole history of the ABA.
Only extant teams are listed. Two charter franchises, theChicago Cardinals (nowArizona Cardinals) andDecatur Staleys (now theChicago Bears), are still active. Starting in 1960, the NFL held an expansion draft for new franchises.
Two teams from the AFL of the 1960s were expansion teams in that league. Both joined the AFL after the merger with the NFL was agreed to, but before it was finalized.
The NHL had a six-team lineup established in 1942. This list enumerates the teams added since the "Original Six" era.
Six of the seven charter franchises from 2018 remain active.
The WNBA began in 1997 with eight charter franchises, four of which are still active: theLos Angeles Sparks,New York Liberty,Phoenix Mercury, andUtah Starzz (nowLas Vegas Aces).
AFL Women's, launched in 2017 with 8 teams, is operated by the Australian Football League, with all teams fielded by AFL clubs. The league expanded to 10 teams prior to the 2019 season and 14 prior to the 2020 season. In 2023, the remaining four AFL clubs launched women's sides.
Originally known as the Celtic League, and later as Pro12 and Pro14.
TheLeague of Legends Championship Series (LCS) and theLeague of Legends European Championship (LEC) initially fielded teams from eight organizations when they began operations in 2013; both leagues expanded to a total of ten teams in 2015.
LCS expansion teams
LEC expansion teams