Rugrat wrote:

I’m sorry Edgeworth and ZO82 I’ve just been having a bad day.

No Prob, It's all in the name fun rivalry. Sorry to hear about your MOM, Been experiencing a lot of people having that issue working at a hospital.

Welcome, one and all, to the 2026 National Dashball League Expansion Board. This board will determine the locations of the four expansion teams that will enter the league for the 2028 and 2029 seasons. A few ground rules before we begin:

- Each member will cast three ranked votes for three unique cities. A first place vote will be worth 3 points, a second place vote will be worth 2 points, and a third place vote will be worth 1 point. Keep in mind that while there will be four expansion teams, you may only vote for three of these expansion bids.

- You may optionally vote with a persona. As the NDL universe is only recently deviated from this universe, you may vote as a real person. If you choose to create a fictional character, you may submit a short bio along with your votes. If you participated in the 2019 Expansion Board, you may vote with the same character as before. If you do choose to vote as a person, real or fictional, that person should be influential and important, and should not be affiliated with any of the expansion cities in any way.

With that in mind, here are the ten expansion bids which made it through to the final round of voting:

​Boston, MA
Metro Population (2026 Estimate): 5,466,858
Major League Presence: Red Sox (MLB), Celtics (NBA), Patriots (NFL), Bruins (NHL), Revolution (MLS)
Arena: TD Garden (capacity 17,565), currently home to the Celtics and Bruins
 
Boston is a bit of a double-edged sword here. It famously has very numerous and passionate fans, and surely, some of them would support a dashball team. On the other hand, the way Boston sports have been for the past 25 years, fans will expect success. One need only look at the Revs to see that a new team in a less-popular sport which doesn’t win championships may well be ignored.
 
Denver, CO
Metro Population (2026 Estimate): 4,407,455
Major League Presence: Rockies (MLB), Nuggets (NBA), Broncos (NFL), Avalanche (NHL), Rapids (MLS)
Arena: Pepsi Center (capacity 17,809), currently home to the Nuggets, Avalanche, and NLL Mammoth
 
Denver, of course, has already had a taste of dashball, and it wasn’t so hot. The Pinnacles did initially draw some fans, but lost interest when the team started losing every game, and there’s reason to believe it left a sour taste in Coloradans’ mouths. That said, any established fanbase at all is still better than most other cities on this list.
 
Kansas City, MO
Metro Population (2026 Estimate): 2,227,766
Major League Presence: Royals (MLB), Chiefs (NFL), Sporting (MLS)
Arena: Sprint Center (capacity 17,544), currently home to the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament
 
Kansas City hosts three major league sports teams, but none of them, and in fact no professional sports whatsoever, currently calls the Sprint Center home, so a KC team would be the first to have an arena all to itself. The main downside is that Kansas City is the smallest market on the table by a decent amount, but the fans seem ready for indoor sports again.
 
Las Vegas, NV
Metro Population (2026 Estimate): 2,690,639
Major League Presence: Raiders (NFL), Golden Knights (NHL)
Arena: T-Mobile Arena (capacity 17,500), currently home to the Golden Knights and UFC
 
Vegas is an interesting case. The Knights and Raiders have proven that major league sports can absolutely work there, but the Raiders are one of the biggest brands in sports and the Knights made it incredibly easy to support them by making a Stanley Cup run in their inaugural season. An NDL team which doesn’t have that success or longevity may end up by the wayside, but on the other hand, it may be able to find footing anyway with only two other teams to compete with.
 
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
Metro Population (2026 Estimate): 3,681,570
Major League Presence: Twins (MLB), Timberwolves (NBA), Vikings (NFL), Wild (NHL), United (MLS)
Arena: Xcel Energy Center (capacity 17,954), currently home to the Wild
 
The Twin Cities are the smallest five-sport market on the list, but they’re a five-sport market for a reason. Minnesota teams have a lot of reach, far beyond Minnesota, and there’s certainly a lot of potential fans that would root for a team in St. Paul. That said, any team which has to compete with five other more established teams is at an immediate disadvantage.
 
Montréal, QC
Metro Population (2026 Estimate): 5,297,560
Major League Presence: Expos (MLB), Alouettes (CFL), Canadiens (NHL), Impact (MLS)
Arena: Bell Centre (capacity 21,273), currently home to the Canadiens
 
Montréal recently welcomed the return of the Expos, and while the Expos have precedent and nostalgia on their side, Montréalers have poured their support into a not very good team. A Montréal team would encroach on Toronto’s claim of being Canada’s team, but would also undoubtedly bring in more fans, especially French-Canadian ones. Montréal also has the biggest arena on this list by a significant margin, which is a bonus.
 
Phoenix, AZ
Metro Population (2026 Estimate): 5,704,490
Major League Presence: Diamondbacks (MLB), Suns (NBA), Cardinals (NFL), Coyotes (NHL)
Arena: Gila River Arena (capacity 17,125), currently home to the Coyotes
 
Phoenix, like Denver, is looking for a return to the NDL after the Palms moved to Florida. There is an established fanbase, and while it’s one that wasn’t the most enthusiastic, the Palms were not the most exciting franchise to watch. The ownership may not be the most stable either, given that just three years ago, nobody was interested in buying the Palms and keeping them in Arizona. That said, there are certainly dashball fans in the area that the NDL would like to get back.
 
Raleigh, NC
Metro Population (2026 Estimate): 2,899,866
Major League Presence: Hurricanes (NHL)
Arena: PNC Arena (capacity 18,680), currently home to the Hurricanes and NC State men’s basketball
 
Raleigh did surprisingly well in the 2019 Expansion Board, and that’s earned them another shot at a team. There are more teams nearby at this point, but a team in Raleigh would certainly bring in local fans and would be competing with only one professional sports team in the Hurricanes. It’s still a rather small market, but it’s not the smallest, and it’s got a lot of potential.
 
Salt Lake City, UT
Metro Population (2026 Estimate): 3,396,113
Major League Presence: Jazz (NBA), Real (MLS)
Arena: Vivint Smart Home Arena (capacity 14,000), currently home to the Jazz
 
Once again, SLC is the non-Denver option for a team in the Rockies. Utah doesn’t have the negative history that Colorado does, and with only two teams in the market, that might be able to bring more fans in. The one major drawback with Salt Lake is that Vivint Smart Home Arena is the only arena up for consideration that wasn’t built with hockey in mind, which will mean a worse dashball configuration and a smaller capacity than the rest.
 
Washington, DC
Metro Population (2026 Estimate): 7,377,975
Major League Presence: Nationals (MLB), Wizards (NBA), Americans (NFL), Capitals (NHL), United (MLS)
Arena: Capital One Arena (capacity 18,573), currently home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown men’s basketball
 
The nation’s capital is the largest market on the list by a rather significant margin. Its sports fans are also some of the most passionate, enduring years of heartbreak and disappointment, though less so recently. Washington is another five-sport market already, and it is the closest city to an existing NDL team (Philadelphia), but it’s fair to say that DC is a very strong option for expansion.

With all that out of the way, I now declare expansion voting open! I'll be back in a few days to announce the results.

Minnesota
Washington
Boston
 

1. Phoenix
2. Kansas City
3. Washington DC
I encourage you all VOTE PHOENIX!!!!!!

Last edited by Rugrat (6/19/2020 6:58 pm)

Kevin Reiser

Age 24

Rising marketing agent with NexLevel Marketing. Originally from Emporia, KS, residing in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Votes

1) Kansas City, the rally call for local sports teams is always heard by the city and states the city resides in.
2) Boston, feels strange that Boston still doesn’t have a team yet, let’s change that!
3) Minneapolis-St. Paul, the fans in the north US need a team and give Chicago a better traveling look.

Last edited by ProsecutorMilesEdgeworth (6/19/2020 8:32 pm)