What is sports team relocation, and how do teams manage it?
When a professional sports team relocates, it is more than just moving to a new city. Professional sports teams have relocated since 1921 and have continued to do so ever since.
Although relocation has become easier throughout the years, many teams still struggle. These struggles include maintaining and building brand identity in their new city. Team relocation changes how fans view the team, the team’s brand identity, and fan identification.
These professional teams must manage two large factors. Rebuilding their identity and allowing new fans to connect with the new team in their city, and also honoring their history to try to ensure that old fans feel appreciated and seen.
The most successful relocated teams find ways to honor their past, connect with their new city, and build strong relationships with fans.
Quick Highlights
- Following the Rams relocation back to Los Angeles, their estimated franchise value jumped from $2.9 billion (Las Vegas) in 2016 to $10.5 billion by 2025.
- The Raiders move to Las Vegas from Oakland led to $128 million in tax revenue, 1.52 million tourists, and a $2.29 billion economic impact.
- 56% of MLB fans say that proximity to a team is important to their fandom, and 37% of MLB fans say that if their team relocated it was unlikely they would continue to support that team.
- The Athletic’s move to Las Vegas required $380 million in public funding, with $180 million being sourced from transferable tax credits.
@mlbonfox The Athletics have officially broken ground in Las Vegas 📸: Mick Akers #LasVegas #Vegas #Athletics #mlb #baseball ♬ original sound – MLBonFOX
Professional Sports Team Relocation
Teams relocate for a plethora of reasons. This can include stronger partnership chances, market growth and space, media opportunities, and new facilities.
The Oakland A’s are one current example of how difficult relocation can be for a team. They have officially left Oakland, however, they are in a transitional period while their new stadium in Las Vegas gets finished.
They are temporarily playing in West Sacramento as the Athletics until they can officially move to Las Vegas in 2028. This middle stage between relocation shows just how hard it can be to maintain a strong brand identity during a move.
The A’s situation shows that relocation is not just about changing locations. It’s about preserving history, building new community connections, and earning fan affinity in a different market.
What Stays From the Old Brand
Many times when teams decide to relocate to a new city, they are completely striping away a major part of their identity.
This is why teams often keep their colors, logo, and any team traditions they are associated with. Familiarity keeps the franchise recognizable to fans.
Strong examples of this concept include: Oakland Raiders to the Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams to St. Louis Rams and then back, and San Diego Chargers to Los Angeles Chargers. All of these teams maintained either brand logo, colors, and traditions, which allowed them to keep part of the old identity.
The A’s are maintaining the Athletics/A’s identity instead of entirely rebranding their team name. They dropped the city name, but the franchise is doing their best to maintain brand identity by keeping the core name and using familiar visual identity. Keeping the A’s name anchors the team in stability during transition.
A complete full rebrand is a risk because it can threaten brand equity, current fan affinity, possible alienation, and also financial burdens. A YouGov survey gauging fan sentiment surrounding relocation found that 37% of MLB fans feel that if their team relocated, it would be unlikely they would continue supporting them.
The Challenge of the In-Between
During this “in-between” phase, teams may feel unfinished. This leaves their brand identity hazy until they can fully claim their new city.
The A’s are in this position currently. They are no longer in Oakland, however they can’t move to Las Vegas until their stadium is built in 2028. Right now, they are just known as the Athletic’s while they continue to attempt to trademark their team name in Las Vegas.
This prohibits Oakland fans from aligning themselves with the team. It also may prohibit them from starting to identify with the Las Vegas market.
Building a brand identity isn’t just emotional or cultural. It’s also a legal and strategic play. In moments like relocation, that balance becomes everything. The teams that get it right aren’t just moving cities. They’re laying the groundwork for long-term loyalty before they ever take the field.
The New Connection With the New City
Relocation succeeds when a team establishes comfort and a sense of belonging in its new city before it even arrives. Teams need to introduce themselves early, so by the time they arrive, the fan base already feels a connection.
These new local fans have likely already had to contribute to the team’s move to their city, whether that is via tax dollars or business relocations. The Athletic’s move to Las Vegas required $380 million in public funding. $180 million of that funding was sourced from transferable tax credits from the community.
Community engagement is also critical to fostering connection between teams and new cities. This allows for teams to build their brand image and fan loyalty while also showing their commitment to the community.
In 2026, the A’s will have 6 homestand games in Las Vegas. This gives the franchise the opportunity to gauge fan interests, increase awareness, and build community.
A survey gauging fan sentiment surrounding relocation found that 56% of MLB fans support teams based on proximity. This again opens doors for community engagement opportunties.
@espn Farewell Oakland 🥲💔 #oaklandathletics #mlb #baseball #oaklandcoliseum ♬ original sound – ESPN
Relocation Is Not a Clean Reset
The A’s show that relocation takes time, effort, and well-executed strategy in order to be able to successfully overcome the struggles of relocation.
Teams must manage what parts of their brand identity are pillars that they must maintain, what aspects they need to change, and how to build themselves as community members of their new city.
The A’s relocation, along with every other sports team that has relocated, proves that brand identity is not tied only to a location. It also is dependent upon whether fans believe the team’s story still means something in its new home.
FAQ:
- What is a sports team relocation? Sports team relocation is when a professional or amateur team moves from one city to another. This means that the team will have a new location to play their home games and will begin building a presence in said new city.
- Why do sports teams relocate? There are many reasons that a sports team may relocate. Most commonly, teams relocate due to wanting a new stadium/arena/pitch, increasing revenue, reaching a larger market, better sponsorship opportunities, or receiving more support from local government and/or investors.
- What makes a team relocation successful? A relocation is deemed most successful when the team is able to maintain recognizable parts of their brand identity, connects the brand to the culture of their new city, and invests in building real relationships with the community.
- Does a team have to rebrand their team name after relocating? It depends on the team. Some teams keep the same name, colors, and overall branding in order to stay recognizable to their previous and current fans. While others will adapt parts of their brand identity to better align with their new city.
- Why is fan loyalty such a big issue during relocation? Fans often feel emotionally attached to a team because of memories, community, and tradition. When a team moves, longtime fans can feel a sense of betrayal, while new fans may be hesitant to accept the team into their community.
- Is relocation only about the money? Money is typically a major factor, but not the only factor. Relocation also involves wanting better stadium quality, long-term growth strategies, media exposure/opportunities, and the chance to build a stronger future in a different market.
- Why do some relocations get criticized more than others? When fans view a relocation was driven by profit or feel completely neglected during the relocation process they have a very emotional response. Typically, when teams are deeply rooted into a community/city and then decide to relocate, they receive stronger and more controversial reactions amongst fans.
- What does sports team relocation teach us about branding? It shows that branding is not just logos and uniforms. That a valuable sports brand is built through history, community connection, fan trust, and the meaning people attach to the team.