Hypothetical: where would you base a new team?

[ioppolo]

Something I've always liked doing on NBA2K over the years is make completely new teams. I've made teams over the years such as Virginia Vipers (inc. West Virginia), Dakota Dynamo (North & South), Albuquerque Isotopes, and even chucked a second team in Tennessee (Nashville) and more.

But I've wondered, which of these could be sustainable in real life? Could a Las Vegas team actually work? Could a low budget area (Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, St. Louis Missouri etc) actually last?

For arguments sake, Seattle doesn't count. They'd support a team easily even if it wasn't the Supersonics.

 

[fidstar]

Las Vegas - Get Kobe to come back and that would draw a crowd. s**t Celine Dion and Elton John gets a packed house every night in Las Vegas and Kobe's only a little older than them.

 

[Bostonian]

Kansas City, Missouri for mine.

 

[LB#16]

Louisville, Kentucky. I've always thought they could get an expansion team with Seattle to make 32 teams. KFC Yum! Center opened in 2010, home to the Louisville Cardinals in college basketball and hosts the Heat for pre-season games every year. Would be an excellent addition to the league, I'd imagine they'd have a loud, OKC-like fan base. They also fit the NBA model of having no other professional sporting teams.

 

[ioppolo]

KFC Yum! Centre...

 

[LB#16]

KFC Yum! Centre...

Up there with "Smoothie King Center" in New Orleans. Speaking of which, Kentucky would be a bigger market than New Orleans.

 

[kozi]

Bring back Seattle Supersonics.

 

[Superstar swan]

Vegas would be sold out every night, may have a lot of tourists there however so not sure how the atmosphere would be and how much of a genuine following they would have

 

[IronMike]

Vegas would be sold out every night, may have a lot of tourists there however so not sure how the atmosphere would be and how much of a genuine following they would have

Tourists would probably only attend if the team is winning. Die hard fans are needed to keep a franchise going and Vegas fairweather fans will jump straight onto the next bandwagon (boxing, UFC, concerts/events) as soon as the team starts losing.

 

[fidstar]

Vegas would need a superstar there otherwise they'd get a terrible turnout. It's not that big a city.

 

[Kakkle]

Vegas makes sense now that there is a NHL team there.

 

[LB#16]

Vegas makes sense now that there is a NHL team there.

NHL are batshit crazy, hockey is a die-hard sport. Basketball is a game to casually follow for a lot of people so surely it's more suited to Vegas than hockey?

 

[ioppolo]

Hawaii/Honolulu would be as successful as Vegas