Austin – a metro area with a population of nearly 1.8 million but without any major-league sports franchises – could financially support teams from the NFL, NBA and NHL but might have a hard time supporting a Major League Baseball team, according to a new study.
An American City Business Journals study found the Austin area has the financial base – nearly $67 billion in available personal income for 2010 – to make room for NFL, NBA and NHL teams. However, the study indicated Austin has a “borderline” shot at a Major League Baseball team, based on the same income figure.
No formal plans are under way to develop NFL, NBA, NHL or Major League Baseball teams in the Austin area. If Austin were to gain any of the sports franchises, they’d need a place to play. The largest sports venues in Austin are two University of Texas properties – Darryl K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium for football and the Frank Erwin Center for basketball.
Aside from a lack of space for major-league sports teams, Austin must contend with the fact that San Antonio already has an NBA franchise, and Dallas and Houston already have NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball franchises. San Antonio is about 80 miles from Austin, while Dallas is close to 200 miles away and Houston is about 165 miles away.
Austin does have a minor-league baseball team, the Round Rock Express; a minor-league basketball team, the Austin Toros; and a minor-league hockey team, the Texas Stars. Perhaps Austin’s closest equivalents to major-league sports are the University of Texas football, basketball and baseball teams.
Peter Lubell, chief operating officer of the Austin Toros, told the Austin Business Journal in 2009 that he thought UT would fight “tooth and nail” to keep an NFL team from locating here.
The minimum income base needed to adequately support a team is estimated at $85.4 billion for Major League Baseball, $37.6 billion for the NHL, $36.7 billion for the NFL and $34.2 billion for the NBA, according to American City Business Journals.
The study focused on 55 U.S. and Canadian markets without NFL teams, 57 without NBA teams, 58 without NHL teams and 59 without Major League Baseball teams.
Each market was rated on a 100-point score; a perfect score of 100 shows a metro area has the financial strength to support a team. Austin earned a score of 100 for the NFL, NBA and NHL, and a score of 78 for Major League Baseball.
Comments