First SC metro to get a major league professional sports team

[MikesLogic]

I voted Charleston, though the only kinds of ML sports I could see locating here would be Soccer or Hockey both of which could get very good attendance from the area residence.

[NcSc74]

Columbia. It's in the center of 4 million plus South Carolinians and enough out of the way of Atlanta and Charlotte. In other words it's not just a run-through place on the way from one to the other. Charleston is too far to travel from Greenville and vice versa.

I can see NHL in the near future maybe. Raleigh got the Canes(who are 6-2-1 by the way) when the Triangles metro was just north of a 1 mil. As for the city I don't know. I don't think it matters. SC is a small state with 4 million peeps. Say what you want some day there will be a continuous urban corridor from Gvill to Charleston. So NHL would be the likely candidate. As for NBA,NFL,MLB I think that would be a long way off. It is all about markets and revenues. I would think when the southeast cresent is the size of bowash then there will be some teams and some good rivalries too...

[NcSc74]

Why do everyone in sc thinks the panthers represent our state. That is North Carolina! People in North Carolina don't even think about us. We need to start seeing ourself as our own state or will always be #2. Charlotte knew they didn't have the population to support a franchise, that's why it's in Charlotte. It can make money off us and them. That's why they lost the hornets because the people of Charlotte was going to the games. If Charlotte didn't have half of s.c. attending their games bringing in revenue of probally hundreds of millions of dollars they would have survived. Charlotte doesn't even have a million people there. Do you know how much money they make off us, that can be in s.c. and in state money. If he had some great thinkers back then we would be capitalizing off our own money. But by Far as i see it sc would rather just be a shadow of N.C. or should i say Charlotte

Not as true as you think. The people of Charlotte did not like the owner telling them how, when, where a new arena was going to be built. He was trying to force the cities hand and not give the city time to come up with the money. Also at the time there was a bond referendum for education I do believe and so the new arean lost at that time. I am sad that the hornets did move but I am glad to see that scoundrel Shinn has left the carolinas. Now he has sold all rights or was bought out of the hornets org and has nothing but a sour taste in his mouth now.

As for the people attending yes SC does represent but there is another 2-3 million 30 to 45 minutes away my friend. Besides it is not about how big your city is it is how large your TV market is. There are plenty of cities in the US that would love to have their hands on a team or get another one but their market cannot support it. Some examples...Oklahoma City, Louisville, Norfolk, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Hartford(wants its team back), Providence etc...My point is your city and metro can be large but it does not guarantee a pro team...example LA, Houston(before the Texans), Baltimore(the first and real Colts). In time SC will get a pro team but only when it becomes profitable for the owners and the league. As I see it I think we are lucky to have the teams we share. 20 years ago who would have ever thought the Carolinas would be host to some....

[Mr.Marc]

It would be neat if in the future Columbia gets MLB, Greenville-NBA and Charleston-NFL. However, I do realize that this would be faaaaar into the future.

[GvilleSC]

It would be neat if in the future Columbia gets MLB, Greenville-NBA and Charleston-NFL. However, I do realize that this would be faaaaar into the future.

I like this idea. One for each of the cities.

[Charleston native]

I don't think Greenville would get the NBA. They are way too close to both Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Bobcats markets, and the NBA in general does not have a strong following in this state. G'ville could get the NHL...I believe the Grrrowl has a good following. The only NHL market that would interfere would be Atlanta's. But for crying out loud, if G'ville got an NHL team, please change that name!

It's also hard for me to see Columbia getting an MLB team. Again, USC baseball is the main attraction here, and with Cola losing a minor league-A team, pro baseball does not fare well here. Columbia could get the NHL as well, I think. The Inferno have strong support here, and USC does not have hockey team. They have a great name!

Charleston would be the strongest contender for the NHL. The Stingrays have a good following down there, and there is good isolation from other NHL markets. The only market that would even be remotely close is the Carolina Hurricanes since they are located in Raleigh. Considering the isolation, I have to say that Charleston is the strongest contender for another sports franchise besides the NHL. I could see MLB, NFL, and MLS coming to the city in the future. The minor league baseball team, the Riverdogs, break attendance records almost yearly, the arena football team did have fair fan support, and again, my hometown has a large soccer fan base. The current soccer team, the Charleston Battery, has good attendance for their games, and the team already plays bigger cities' teams such as Atlanta, Charlotte, and Orlando. The league that they're in is basically one tier lower than MLS.

[Spartan]

I don't have a problem with Charlotte being the host city for professional sports teams in the Carolinas. It is the logical central place to serve the 12 million people in both states.

The catch is that this thread is about SC alone, so really the Charlotte and Atlanta markets are irrelevant to some extent.

[ROBTEX]

I'm predicting Charleston in the year 2064.

[waccamatt]

It will be so long the question is almost irrelevant.

[sonofaque86]

I'm predicting Charleston in the year 2064.

I'm thinking 2086

[Charleston native]

I'm thinking 2086

Come on, guys, a little optimism here? 2050 is my pick for Charleston.

[803metlife]

Who ever gets the first major league team will be a big step for the whole sc. Every region in sc has a potential for being the first city with a franchise team. More than likely it'll probally be spreaded out like NHL in Chuck and NBA columbia or greenville. I don't think s.c. we'll see it's own pro football league, because of the high acceptance of the panthers. But look at it on the bright side atleast we don't have a team like New Englang Patriots that represents 3 states.

[Charleston native]

Who ever gets the first major league team will be a big step for the whole sc. Every region in sc has a potential for being the first city with a franchise team. More than likely it'll probally be spreaded out like NHL in Chuck and NBA columbia or greenville. I don't think s.c. we'll see it's own pro football league, because of the high acceptance of the panthers. But look at it on the bright side atleast we don't have a team like New Englang Patriots that represents 3 states.

The strongest case for an NFL team in SC is Charleston, since it lacks a major college team. The Citadel only as I-AA college ball, and C of C is years from having their own, and that team would probably be I-AA as well. I just don't see a major pro team coming to Cola and G'ville with their closeness to other TV markets. Especially the NBA...it has a poor following in this state...remember the NBDL? Like someone said earlier, TV markets is what the major league organizations look at. NHL is the only team I can see coming to all Big 3 cities for SC since hockey seems to attract many fans in this state.

[Spartan]

Lets not forget that Raleigh has a NHL team called the Carolina Hurricanes, which sorta takes the NHL from us too. Charlotte also has the Bobcats (NBA), so SC doesn't have much to choose from.

[waccamatt]

Who ever gets the first major league team will be a big step for the whole sc. Every region in sc has a potential for being the first city with a franchise team. More than likely it'll probally be spreaded out like NHL in Chuck and NBA columbia or greenville. I don't think s.c. we'll see it's own pro football league, because of the high acceptance of the panthers. But look at it on the bright side atleast we don't have a team like New Englang Patriots that represents 3 states.

The last time I looked New England had 6 states....

[krazeeboi]

Lets not forget that Raleigh has a NHL team called the Carolina Hurricanes, which sorta takes the NHL from us too. Charlotte also has the Bobcats (NBA), so SC doesn't have much to choose from.

Although the name "Carolina Hurricanes" would suggest that the market for the team includes both Carolinas (like "Carolina Panthers"), this is hardly the case; Raleigh is too far removed from the NC/SC border (closer to the NC/VA border in fact). I think we will eventually have a shot for the NHL in SC.

[sonofaque86]

Maybe if Florence got one it would really jumpstart the city...It's far away enough from any other really major cities in and out of the state?? But I guess it's too small but who knows?

[krazeeboi]

Florence has years of work to do to catch up with the state's Big Three, let alone to be competitive and resourceful enough to land a major league professional franchise. I would think that Myrtle Beach would have a better chance of landing a team for the region than Florence--that's many years off as well. But to its credit, Horry County IS one of the state's fastest growing counties. It's definitely the next area to look out for in SC.

[Jerseyman4]

The NHL in Florence would not make it, its too small of a city. Even if the population reached 100K, it still would not make it. The money being spent on tickets, parking and ameneties would be too expensive for many people to do this as a recreational hobby more than a few times. I do know that the Pee Dee Pride have done VERY well in Florence. Not only they fight a lot, they actually play VERY WELL too. Its no wonder on sports reports, the Pee Dee Pride would be talked about first on WBTW sports! ECHL hockey in SC has been a great success if you ask me however, it needs to develop itself more and more if any NHL team ever makes it to the Palmetto State. Betwen Chas, Columbia and GSA, they have an equal chance of getting an NHL team but Chas. may have the slight edge on this one.

When i used to go to Hurricane games in Greensboro (before the RBC was built), you had the Triad metro population (2 million?) and an hours drive from Charlotte and Raleigh and the average fan attendance at the cane games were 3000 people! Only if they played the NY Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins, the fan attendance would go sky high to cater the transplants that moved to the Carolinas.

Does anyone remember the infamous curtain at the Gboro Colloseum?

[Greenville]

I think a lot of people are victims of some sly and effective promotional work by the Carolina Panthers. The reason they have said so much about the team being for "both Carolinas" is obviously so they can draw fans from both states. Remember, they had the arduous task of trying to convert Falcons fans to Panthers fans. For many in the southeast, the Falcons were the "home team" for many years. If the Panthers only targeted Charlotte, they would miss out on a lot of fans. I'm not saying Richardson doesn't care at all about SC, but come on, this was a business move (and obviously a good one, as the Panthers have a pretty faithful following).

[Jerseyman4]

For many in the southeast, the Falcons were the "home team" for many years.

Most NC football fans before the panthers were Redskin fans more so than the Falcons. Likely west of Charlotte and southwest of Asheville were mostly Falcon fans there.

I do remember that when the panthers came into existence, many "skin" fans were pissed that the panthers were on tv over the skins in most of the state. Whenever the panthers had a bye, monday night or sunday night game, even then the redskins would not always be on first priority, it would sometimes be the best matchup or matchup affecting the panthers chances of making the playoffs.

As soon as you cross into Virginia, the Roanoke/Richmond/Hampton Roads FOX/CBS affliates favored the Skins and Ravens. I did remember being in South Hill, VA (north of the NC border) about 10 years ago and the only VA tv station on cable was Fox 35 from Richmond. Everything else came from Raleigh (including Fox 50/WRAZ).

[803metlife]

I think a lot of people are victims of some sly and effective promotional work by the Carolina Panthers. The reason they have said so much about the team being for "both Carolinas" is obviously so they can draw fans from both states. Remember, they had the arduous task of trying to convert Falcons fans to Panthers fans. For many in the southeast, the Falcons were the "home team" for many years. If the Panthers only targeted Charlotte, they would miss out on a lot of fans. I'm not saying Richardson doesn't care at all about SC, but come on, this was a business move (and obviously a good one, as the Panthers have a pretty faithful following).

I'm glad i wasn't the only one seeing this. It's really the market. Just like the S.C. lottery officals knew they could market to N.C. and generate huge profits from that state alone. But now N.C. has pass a law to get a lottery in aug. Do the people of nc really want to feel dependent of s.c. , when they have all the pro teams, and bigger city. No, they pushed even harder when s.c. got the lottery.I'm cool with riding for the panthers for now, but if s.c. ever get there own nfl team, the panthers will lose a fan

[Charleston native]

I think a lot of people are victims of some sly and effective promotional work by the Carolina Panthers. The reason they have said so much about the team being for "both Carolinas" is obviously so they can draw fans from both states. Remember, they had the arduous task of trying to convert Falcons fans to Panthers fans. For many in the southeast, the Falcons were the "home team" for many years. If the Panthers only targeted Charlotte, they would miss out on a lot of fans. I'm not saying Richardson doesn't care at all about SC, but come on, this was a business move (and obviously a good one, as the Panthers have a pretty faithful following).

That is why I think if the NFL gives a team to a SC city, it will probably be Charleston. Of the Big Three, Chas has the lowest following for the Panthers (don't get me wrong...it is strong, but not near the following in Cola and G'ville). As the population grows on the coast with Savannah, Hilton Head, Chas, and Myrtle Beach areas, this demographic will possibly want their own identity represented in the NFL.

However, a good business plan will need to be implemented such as the one in Charlotte. In Chas, they would have to convert Cowboys, Falcons, Jaguars, and even Dolphins fans (I'm included in the latter! ) In Savannah, there is a strong following for the Jags. If awarding the team to Chas happened, it would be very interesting to see how they bring in the fans.

[krazeeboi]

Even the Carolina Panthers has not managed to win over die-hard Cowboys fans. Although I root for the Bobcats, when the Lakers come into town, it's all about L.A.!

[NcSc74]

I was a skins fan pre-panthers days. When we got the team I had no problem being a die-hard panthers fan. It was all about having something to identify with. So no longer did I have to listen to my cousins from Georgia brag about having a team and we didn't. Now if we can only beat Vick I can really rub it in. I think it is about tradition and it takes time to build that. Making the playoffs and being a contender every year will help convert those caught in the middle. More exposure=more fans.

I was never a huge NBA fan but the Hornetts made one out of me. Now I am a proud owner of a Raymond Felton jersey (thanks SC) and will follow their growth. I know pre-FSU days Clemson and NC State had the best (football) rivalry in the ACC. I cringed when Clemson won the national title but hey the Wolfpack always looks forward the Tigers...