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Could Raleigh eventually host a Franchise?


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This "Panthers to Raleigh" idea makes for an interesting mental exercise. 

Here's the real reason why it seems feasible: https://www.lyonspr.com/latest-nielsen-dma-rankings/ (Rankings of the Nielsen TV market DMAs for 2017)

Here's the pertinent part to us:

22 Charlotte 1,189,950 1.038
  23 Pittsburgh 1,160,220 1.012
24 Raleigh-Durham (Fayetvlle) 1,153,580 1.006

 

... but read the whole list when y'all get a minute (and you'll understand why the Panthers won't be moving anywhere else in the US ... every other TV market above us but Sacramento has a team but that's too close to San Francisco) London, Toronto & Mexico City are all interesting non-US ideas in my opinion, though).

The Raleigh TV market is only slightly smaller, and it actually ranked higher for a time about 5 years ago ... Charlotte took a hit in the Nielsen rankings after the 2008-9 recession. So, at least on first thought, you'd think the Raleigh area could support a team if Charlotte can. I'd venture to say that if neither market had an NFL franchise, and were completing for one, it would be a heck of a fight. That Raleigh was well up the list back in the early 1990s ... and that the GSP - Asheville, Greensboro, Columbia and Charleston markets were in the top half and rising ... were strong selling points for the Big Cat back in the day.

Now, for the reality of why, with the Panthers in Charlotte, that they aren't going to move to Raleigh. Most of these have been brought up or hinted at already, but I have a couple of new ideas:

1 - If you move the Panthers to Raleigh,  you lose more SC support from the Upstate than you gain from the Pee Dee. Way more, actually. Upstate SC is more affluent and densely populated. Sorry, Raleigh folks, but you're tacking on a lot of drive time to what's now 1-2 hours, even less from Rock Hill and vicinity. The team has some pretty substantial support in Greenville and Spartanburg. I'm one of those SC guys ... yeah, I live in PA right now, but if I lived in my hometown I'd probably be a season ticket holder, plus maybe drive to Atlanta for an away game every year. Not so if the team's in Raleigh. I'd still support the team, probably, but I'm not driving all the way to Raleigh 8 times a year. My son does live in Upstate SC and he does have season tickets and, while I'll let him speak for himself (he will probably, he's active here), I strongly doubt he'd drive all the way to Raleigh for season tickets.

2 - You're going to lose a lot of Charlotte folks but you're not going to pull much from Virginia. The other side of the NC-VA line is Redskins country, that's how they like it and that's how the NFL likes it. Meanwhile, as y'all can see from the earlier posts in this thread, the Raleigh-Charlotte rivalry is strong enough that Charlotte people probably will by and large just take their marbles and stay home. Heck, a bunch would probably pull for the Eagles instead, it seems to me that Charlotte is trying to copy Philly in so many other ways. That would be a lot to make up and I don't see that happening. 

3 - Poor Hurricanes attendance in recent times ... that is what it is. I don't blame Canes fans for not being willing to spend money on a perpetual loser. I'd be reluctant to spend time and money on what's turned into a perennial loser. But, those empty seats are how teams get moved and it catches the eye of anyone thinking of moving a team to your market. Here's hoping the Canes can generate some enthusiasm and get more butts in seats before another suitor comes along with a great offer.

4 - The college sports scene. As said before, the team would be competing for resources from the local universities. There's no need for me to rehash that.

5 - Good support from the community in Charlotte and the local government. Not that they wouldn't get that from Raleigh or any other city, for that matter, but the Panthers have a good relationship with Charlotte and all involved want that to continue.

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4 minutes ago, Superadiabatic said:

This "Panthers to Raleigh" idea makes for an interesting mental exercise. 

Here's the real reason why it seems feasible: https://www.lyonspr.com/latest-nielsen-dma-rankings/ (Rankings of the Nielsen TV market DMAs for 2017)

Here's the pertinent part to us:

22 Charlotte 1,189,950 1.038
  23 Pittsburgh 1,160,220 1.012
24 Raleigh-Durham (Fayetvlle) 1,153,580 1.006

 

... but read the whole list when y'all get a minute (and you'll understand why the Panthers won't be moving anywhere else in the US ... every other TV market above us but Sacramento has a team but that's too close to San Francisco) London, Toronto & Mexico City are all interesting non-US ideas in my opinion, though).

The Raleigh TV market is only slightly smaller, and it actually ranked higher for a time about 5 years ago ... Charlotte took a hit in the Nielsen rankings after the 2008-9 recession. So, at least on first thought, you'd think the Raleigh area could support a team if Charlotte can. I'd venture to say that if neither market had an NFL franchise, and were completing for one, it would be a heck of a fight. That Raleigh was well up the list back in the early 1990s ... and that the GSP - Asheville, Greensboro, Columbia and Charleston markets were in the top half and rising ... were strong selling points for the Big Cat back in the day.

Now, for the reality of why, with the Panthers in Charlotte, that they aren't going to move to Raleigh. Most of these have been brought up or hinted at already, but I have a couple of new ideas:

1 - If you move the Panthers to Raleigh,  you lose more SC support from the Upstate than you gain from the Pee Dee. Way more, actually. Upstate SC is more affluent and densely populated. Sorry, Raleigh folks, but you're tacking on a lot of drive time to what's now 1-2 hours, even less from Rock Hill and vicinity. The team has some pretty substantial support in Greenville and Spartanburg. I'm one of those SC guys ... yeah, I live in PA right now, but if I lived in my hometown I'd probably be a season ticket holder, plus maybe drive to Atlanta for an away game every year. Not so if the team's in Raleigh. I'd still support the team, probably, but I'm not driving all the way to Raleigh 8 times a year. My son does live in Upstate SC and he does have season tickets and, while I'll let him speak for himself (he will probably, he's active here), I strongly doubt he'd drive all the way to Raleigh for season tickets.

2 - You're going to lose a lot of Charlotte folks but you're not going to pull much from Virginia. The other side of the NC-VA line is Redskins country, that's how they like it and that's how the NFL likes it. Meanwhile, as y'all can see from the earlier posts in this thread, the Raleigh-Charlotte rivalry is strong enough that Charlotte people probably will by and large just take their marbles and stay home. Heck, a bunch would probably pull for the Eagles instead, it seems to me that Charlotte is trying to copy Philly in so many other ways. That would be a lot to make up and I don't see that happening. 

3 - Poor Hurricanes attendance in recent times ... that is what it is. I don't blame Canes fans for not being willing to spend money on a perpetual loser. I'd be reluctant to spend time and money on what's turned into a perennial loser. But, those empty seats are how teams get moved and it catches the eye of anyone thinking of moving a team to your market. Here's hoping the Canes can generate some enthusiasm and get more butts in seats before another suitor comes along with a great offer.

4 - The college sports scene. As said before, the team would be competing for resources from the local universities. There's no need for me to rehash that.

5 - Good support from the community in Charlotte and the local government. Not that they wouldn't get that from Raleigh or any other city, for that matter, but the Panthers have a good relationship with Charlotte and all involved want that to continue.

Well done. If you didn't have diabeetus you could post more like this.

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