On the list, its a no brainer that the Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL need to dip the desert. I mean in the 16 years that they have played, they have had some good teams here and there and a modernized arena built in Glendale. However, hardly anybody goes to the rink unless your talking about playoffs. What does that say about a fan base? Don't most teams fans support their team when they have their bad moments. Don't they also support a winning team who was fresh off winning the Pacific Division. All I have to say is the experiment in Phoenix was a bust and whoever decides to buy the team with the best intentions is going to inherit a debt similar to Montreal's Olympic Stadium.
Another team that has to leave which was not on the list are the Miami Marlins. I have a debate on this with my dad stating that if the Expos had in fact won the 1994 World Series, they would of stayed put and had the new stadium. That obviously did not happen. The Marlins have been in the league for 20 years, they have won two World Series and managed to get a brand new stadium. The result is still the same. Nobody goes to watch baseball in the heart of Florida. Doesn't that tell you something.
On the other hand Florida's other team the Rays were mentioned but I believe they should not consider relocation. Yes they were not as successful in their first decade but they have evolved out of the AL East. The problem now is similar to what's going on in Phoenix. The only difference is they are a small market team playing in a league without a salary cap. The other aspect that they are missing is a beautiful brand new stadium. It will take some time but should talks between the team and city officials fail, they will join the same fate as Florida's other baseball team.
To draw a conclusion from this, it is obviously a thrill to have professional sport teams in respective cities but once it has lost its luster or if they stadium becomes decrepit, are people still going to care or will they not bother on how the team performs. Only time will time
