An expansion 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 the North American major professional sports leagues but is applied to sports leagues in other countries with a closed franchise system of league membership. The term comes from the expansion of the sport into new areas. That 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 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 that time, the United States population doubled and expanded to the south and west. Rival interests explored the possibility of forming a rival 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 to 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.
When an expansion team begins play, it is generally stocked with less talented free 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, and 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 few seasons, which 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 by 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. The Milwaukee Bucks also won the 1971 NBA Finals in only their third year of existence, greatly helped by drafting Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1969 draft and acquiring Oscar Robertson from Cincinnati Royals before the 1970-71 season began. The Chicago Fire won MLS Cup in 1998 in just their first year of existence in Major League Soccer. In 2011, the Portland Timbers started their MLS franchise, and they won the MLS Cup in 2015. The Florida Panthers made the Stanley Cup Finals in only their 3rd season in the National Hockey League (NHL) even though, like MLB, the league then had no salary cap. The National Football League, 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: none of the four teams started with new rosters since 1995 (when the salary cap was imposed) won a Super Bowl (the Carolina Panthers have come closest, reaching the NFC Championship Game in their second season and reaching the Super Bowl twice, but have never won); the most recent addition to the league, the Houston Texans, took over a decade to reach the playoffs, and the Cleveland Browns have yet to win a playoff game in the nearly two decades since its return to the league in 1999.
Most teams are considered as an expansion team usually in their first season and sometimes in their second season, but 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 it moves, it is known as a relocated team, and if the name changes, the team is known as a renamed team. In response to a negative attitude that some fans have towards relocated teams, there have recently been instances where relocating clubs change their identity completely; name, colors and mascot; but because the roster is the same and the league does not expand as a result, they are not regarded as expansion teams. One of two noted exceptions are the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL): when the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore, an agreement was reached for which 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.The other noted exception are the New Orleans Pelicans, who were previously known as the New Orleans Hornets after relocating to New Orleans from Charlotte, N.C., in 2002. After the 2012 sale of the Hornets, new owner Tom Benson changed the name, colors and mascot from Hornets to Pelicans. The Charlotte Hornets segment of the franchise's history was sold to the then-Charlotte Bobcats (themselves formerly considered a 2004 expansion team) and the 2002 New Orleans Hornets are now officially regarded as an expansion team.
Cities and regions with large populations that lack a team are generally regarded to be the best candidates for new teams. The European Super League in rugby league has added teams from France and Wales to cover a great demographic spread.
2007: Wellington Phoenix2009: Gold Coast United (defunct); Northern Fury FC (defunct)2010: Melbourne Heart (now Melbourne City)2012: Western Sydney Wanderers2011: Pittsburgh Power (defunct)2014: Los Angeles Kiss (defunct)2015: Las Vegas Outlaws (defunct)2017: Baltimore Brigade, Washington Valor1908: Richmond; University (dropped out of competition and folded at the end of 1914)1925: Hawthorn; North Melbourne; Footscray (became Western Bulldogs in 1996)1987: Brisbane Bears (now Brisbane Lions); West Coast Eagles1991: Adelaide1995: Fremantle1997: Brisbane Lions; Port Adelaide2011: Gold Coast Suns2012: Greater Western Sydney Giants1993: Sacramento Gold Miners (defunct) – The first entry in the league's failed attempt to expand into the U.S. After the 1994 season, the team relocated to San Antonio and played as the San Antonio Texans before folding after the 1995 season.1994:Baltimore Stallions (technically defunct) – The Stallions were the most successful team in the CFL's U.S. experiment, winning the Grey Cup in 1995. However, the impending relocation of the NFL's Cleveland Browns to Baltimore led the team to depart for Montreal, where it became the current version of the Montreal Alouettes. Despite this history, the CFL does not recognize the link between the Stallions and Alouettes, instead treating the Alouettes as a continuation of past CFL teams in Montreal.Las Vegas Posse (defunct) – Also part of the CFL's failed U.S. experiment.Shreveport Pirates (defunct) – Also part of the CFL's failed U.S. experiment.1995: Birmingham Barracudas (defunct); Memphis Mad Dogs (defunct)2002: Ottawa Renegades (defunct)2014: Ottawa Redblacks2011: Kochi Tuskers Kerala; Pune Warriors India2008: WA Reds2009: Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg2010: HC Yugra2011: Lev Poprad - This team, based in Slovakia, was purchased after its first KHL season (2011–12) by Czech interests. It was disbanded and replaced by the similarly named Lev Praha. The latter team folded at the end of the 2013–14 season.2012: HC Donbass; Slovan Bratislava2013: Admiral Vladivostok; KHL Medveščak (from Zagreb, Croatia)2014: Sochi2016: Kunlun Red Star1961: Los Angeles Angels (later California Angels, then Anaheim Angels, now Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), Washington Senators (now Texas Rangers)1962: Houston Colt .45s (now Houston Astros); New York Mets1969: Kansas City Royals; Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals); San Diego Padres; Seattle Pilots (now Milwaukee Brewers)1977: Seattle Mariners; Toronto Blue Jays1993: Colorado Rockies; Florida Marlins (now Miami Marlins)1998: Arizona Diamondbacks; Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now Tampa Bay Rays)2006: Chicago Machine (now second iteration of Rochester Rattlers); Denver Outlaws; Los Angeles Riptide (defunct); San Francisco Dragons (defunct)2009: Toronto Nationals (now Hamilton Nationals; though the league considers it an expansion, it was a relocation of the management and player assets from the original Rochester Rattlers, though the name, colors and team history remained in Rochester)2012: Ohio Machine; Charlotte Hounds2014: Florida Launch (Though the league considers it an expansion, it was a relocation of the management and player assets from the Hamilton Nationals, though the name, colors and team history remained in Hamilton)2016: Atlanta Blaze1998: Chicago Fire SC; Miami Fusion (contracted)2005: Chivas USA (folded by the league); Real Salt Lake2006: Houston Dynamo - History of this franchise is treated as follows: In 2005 the franchise was established in Houston from San Jose as an expansion team. The history of San Jose Earthquakes was inactive until the franchise was reactivated in 2007.2007: Toronto FC2009: Seattle Sounders FC2010: Philadelphia Union2011: Portland Timbers; Vancouver Whitecaps FC2012: Montreal Impact2015: New York City FC; Orlando City SC2017: Atlanta United FC; Minnesota United FC2018: Los Angeles FCTBD: Miami MLS team1961: Chicago Packers (now Washington Wizards)1966: Chicago Bulls1967: San Diego Rockets (now Houston Rockets); Seattle SuperSonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder)1968: Milwaukee Bucks; Phoenix Suns1970: Cleveland Cavaliers; Buffalo Braves (later San Diego Clippers, now Los Angeles Clippers); Portland Trail Blazers1974: New Orleans Jazz (now Utah Jazz)1976: New Jersey Nets (now Brooklyn Nets), Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs join NBA after merger with American Basketball Association (ABA).1980: Dallas Mavericks1988: Miami Heat; Charlotte Hornets – The history of the Hornets is detailed as follows:2002 – Franchise moves to New Orleans, keeping the Hornets name until becoming the New Orleans Pelicans prior to the 2013–14 season.2004 – The NBA returns to Charlotte with the expansion Charlotte Bobcats franchise.2014 – Following the New Orleans team's name change, the Bobcats reclaim the Hornets name effective with the 2014–15 season. In addition, the Hornets, Pelicans, and NBA agree that all history and records of every previous NBA team in Charlotte (including the original Charlotte Hornets) would belong to the revived Hornets.1989: Minnesota Timberwolves; Orlando Magic1995: Vancouver Grizzlies (now Memphis Grizzlies); Toronto Raptors2002: New Orleans Hornets (now New Orleans Pelicans) – Following the 2014 assumption of the original Charlotte Hornets' history by the revived Charlotte Hornets, the Pelicans are now officially considered an expansion team that began play in the 2002–03 season.1980: Coburg Giants (later became North Melbourne Giants in 1987–1998); Launceston Casino City (defunct)1981: Forestville Eagles (now currently playing ABA)1982: Adelaide City Eagles (now Adelaide 36ers); Geelong Cats (now Geelong Supercats until 1996 but now currently playing ABA); Westate Wildcats (now Perth Wildcats)1983: Devonport Warriors (defunct); Hobart Devils (defunct)1984: Melbourne Tigers (now Melbourne United)1988: Sydney Kings (merger of Sydney Supersonics & West Sydney Westars)1990: Gold Coast Chargers (defunct, later known as Gold Coast Rollers)1992: South East Melbourne Magic (defunct)1993: Townsville Suns (now Townsville Crocodiles in 1998)1998: Victoria Titans (later became Victoria Giants in 2002–2004 and then defunct); West Sydney Razorbacks (now Sydney Spirit, later defunct)1999: Cairns Taipans2004: Hunter Pirates (defunct); New Zealand Breakers2006: Singapore Slingers (defunct); South Dragons (defunct)2007: Gold Coast Blaze (defunct)Only extant teams are listed. Two charter franchises, the Chicago (now Arizona) Cardinals and Chicago Bears (originally Decatur Staleys), are still active.
1921: Green Bay Packers, previously an independent, join the league1925: New York Giants1930: Portsmouth Spartans (now Detroit Lions), previously of the Ohio League, join the NFL.1932: Boston Braves (now Washington Redskins) – replaced the 1931 Cleveland Indians, who in turn replaced the Orange/Newark Tornadoes, a 1929 expansion team that left the league in 1930.1933: Philadelphia Eagles – replaced the Frankford Yellow Jackets, a 1924 expansion team that folded in 1931; Pittsburgh Pirates (now Pittsburgh Steelers), previously the Rooneys of the Western Pennsylvania Senior Independent Football Conference, join the league.1936: Cleveland Rams (now Los Angeles Rams) join from the 1936 American Football League.1950: Three teams joined the NFL after a partial merger with the rival All-America Football Conference (AAFC):Baltimore Colts (original) – Not to be confused with the later franchise of the same name, this team folded after the 1950 season.Cleveland Browns – The subsequent history of this franchise is treated as follows (for more details, see Cleveland Browns relocation controversy):1996 – The team moves to Baltimore, becoming the Ravens.1999 – Following the 1999 revival of the Browns, the revived Browns received sole possession of history and records from the Ravens' time in Cleveland. All history and records since the move to Baltimore remain with the Ravens.San Francisco 49ers1953: Baltimore Colts (second) (now Indianapolis Colts); not to be confused with the aforementioned Baltimore Colts who folded in 1950. Replaced the position held by several franchises, dating back to another charter franchise, the Dayton Triangles1960: Dallas Cowboys1961: Minnesota Vikings1966: Atlanta Falcons1967: New Orleans Saints1970: Boston Patriots (now New England Patriots), Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans), Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, and San Diego Chargers (now Los Angeles Chargers) join NFL after merger with the 1960 American Football League (AFL).1976: Seattle Seahawks; Tampa Bay Buccaneers1995: Carolina Panthers; Jacksonville Jaguars1996: Baltimore Ravens – Following the 1999 assumption of the Cleveland Browns' history by the revived Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore Ravens are officially an expansion team that began play in the 1996 season.2002: Houston Texans1909: Montreal Canadiens – part of National Hockey Association, which became the NHL.1917: Toronto Arenas (now Maple Leafs)1924: Boston Bruins; Montreal Maroons (now defunct)1925: New York Americans (now defunct); Pittsburgh Pirates (now defunct)1926: Chicago Black Hawks; Detroit Cougars (now Red Wings); New York Rangers1967: Los Angeles Kings; Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas Stars); California Seals (defunct; later the Oakland Seals, California Golden Seals, and Cleveland Barons. The Barons were merged with the Minnesota North Stars in 1978); Philadelphia Flyers; Pittsburgh Penguins; St. Louis Blues1970: Buffalo Sabres; Vancouver Canucks1972: Atlanta Flames (now Calgary Flames); New York Islanders1974: Kansas City Scouts (later Colorado Rockies, now New Jersey Devils); Washington Capitals1979: Hartford Whalers (now Carolina Hurricanes), Quebec Nordiques (now Colorado Avalanche), Edmonton Oilers, and original Winnipeg Jets (now Arizona Coyotes) join NHL after merger with World Hockey Association (WHA).1991: San Jose Sharks1992: Ottawa Senators; Tampa Bay Lightning1993: Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (now Anaheim Ducks); Florida Panthers1998: Nashville Predators1999: Atlanta Thrashers (now the second incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets)2000: Columbus Blue Jackets; Minnesota Wild2017: Vegas Golden Knights1989: Detroit Turbos (defunct); New England Blazers (defunct; previously Boston Blazers)1990: Pittsburgh Bulls (defunct)1992: Buffalo Bandits1995: Rochester Knighthawks1996: Charlotte Cobras (defunct)1998: Ontario Raiders (now Toronto Rock); Syracuse Smash (defunct; previously Ottawa Rebel)2000: Albany Attack (now Vancouver Stealth; previously San Jose Stealth and Washington Stealth)2001: Columbus Landsharks (defunct; previously Arizona Sting)2002: Calgary Roughnecks; Montreal Express (defunct); New Jersey Storm (defunct; previously Anaheim Storm); Vancouver Ravens (defunct)2005: Minnesota Swarm (now Georgia Swarm)2006: Edmonton Rush; Portland Lumberjax (defunct)2007: Chicago Shamrox (defunct); New York Titans (defunct; previously Orlando Titans)2009: Boston Blazers (second iteration; defunct)1910: Annandale1920: University1921: St. George Dragons1935: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs1947: Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles; Parramatta Eels1967: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks; Penrith Panthers1982: Canberra Raiders; Illawarra Steelers (now part of joint venture with St. George Dragons)1988: Brisbane Broncos; Gold Coast-Tweed Giants (later Chargers, now defunct); Newcastle Knights1995: Auckland Warriors (now New Zealand Warriors); North Queensland Cowboys; South Queensland Crushers (now defunct); Western Reds (now defunct)1998: Melbourne Storm; Adelaide Rams (now defunct)1999: Wests Tigers2007: Gold Coast Titans2014: Houston Dash2016: Orlando Pride2007: Auckland Lions2006: Tiwi Bombers Football Club1991: Guelph Storm1995: Barrie Colts1998: Brampton Battalion (Now the North Bay Battalion)1978: Filmanbank Bankers1979: Gilbey's Gin1980: CDCP Shippers1983: Manhattan1984: Manila Beer1985: Shell Azordin Bugbusters1986: Alaska Aces1988: Purefoods1990: Sunkist Orange Juicers; Pepsi Hotshots1993: Sta. Lucia Realtors1999: Tanduay Rhum Masters2000: Batang Red Bull Energy Kings2002: FedEx Express; Coca-Cola Tigers2006: Welcoat Dragons (from the PBL, note that the promotion and relegation system was not used .)2014: Blackwater Elite; Kia Sorento2010:Aironi – A team formed specifically for the competition by several existing clubs in Northern Italy, with Viadana the lead side. The team folded when the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) revoked its professional license effective with the end of the 2011–12 Pro12 season; it was replaced by the FIR-operated Zebre.Benetton Treviso – Founded in 1932, it competed in Italian domestic leagues before joining what is now known as Pro12.2005: Saint John Sea Dogs; St. John's Fog Devils (became Montreal Junior Hockey Club in 2008 and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in 2011)2012: Sherbrooke PhoenixQueensland Cup
2008: Mackay Cutters; Northern Pride1997: Adelaide Rams (now defunct); Hunter Mariners (now defunct)1995: Paris Saint-Germain RL (now defunct)2006: 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.2009:Celtic Crusaders (later Crusaders Rugby League) – An expansion team only in the sense that they were invited into Super League. The club were established in 2005. After the 2011 season, the club folded due to financial problems; their effective successor club, the North Wales Crusaders, currently compete in Championship 1, two levels below Super League.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.2012: Widnes Vikings – An expansion team only in the sense that they have been invited into the now-franchised Super League. The club have existed since 1875, were founding members of what is now the Rugby Football League in 1895, and participated in Super League as recently as 2005.2006: Cheetahs and Western Force2011: Melbourne Rebels2013: Southern Kings2016: Jaguares and Sunwolves1998: Bendigo Bombers2001: Tasmanian Devils2010:Welwitschias (a developmental side for the Namibia national rugby union team) - This was the second time Namibia participated in the competition; it entered a team from 1999 to 2001. The team withdrew from the competition after the 2011 season due to financial constraints.Pampas XV (a developmental side for the Argentina national rugby union team) - Argentina left the Vodacom Cup after the 2013 season, choosing instead to enter the IRB Pacific Cup from 2014. At that time, it was also expected that Argentina would be added to Super Rugby in the near future, and the country would eventually receive a Super Rugby team beginning in 2016.2010: Espoon Honka; Minsk-20061997: Peel Thunder1991: Tacoma Rockets (Now the Kelowna Rockets)1992: Red Deer Rebels1995: Calgary Hitmen1996: Edmonton Ice (Moved to Cranbrook, British Columbia two years later and changed their name to the Kootenay Ice)2001: Vancouver Giants2003: Everett Silvertips2006: Chilliwack Bruins(Moved to Victoria, BC in 2011 and became the Victoria Royals)2007: Edmonton Oil Kings1997: Houston Comets (folded)1998: Detroit Shock (later the Tulsa Shock, now Dallas Wings); Washington Mystics1999: Orlando Miracle (now the Connecticut Sun); Minnesota Lynx2000: Indiana Fever; Seattle Storm; Miami Sol (folded); Portland Fire (folded)2006: Chicago Sky2008: Atlanta Dream1983: AIS (defunct)1984: Bulleen Boomers (now Melbourne Boomers)1986: Canberra Capitals1989: Sydney Flames (now Sydney Uni Flames)1990: Perth Lynx1992: Adelaide Lightning; Dandenong Rangers2001: Townsville Fire2007: Bendigo Spirit2008: Logan Thunder (defunct)2015: South East Queensland Stars2010: Atlanta Beat; Philadelphia Independence (both folded along with the league after the 2011 season)2011: Western New York Flash (remains in operation; now a member of the National Women's Soccer League)
