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Changing venues

Splendid Splinter

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2020
Messages
1,776
What are some examples of sports teams moving to new stadiums and there being a change in their fortunes. I am not suggesting causality though...

Steelers fortunes changed when they moved to Three Rivers.

Dolphins haven't quite been the same since they left the Orange Bowl.
 
UCLA football improved considerably when it moved from the Coliseum to the Rose Bowl. Terry Donahue stated that emphatically at the time he was winning 8 bowl games in a row.
 
Red Sox ended a short title drought by winning their first year at Fenway, then three other titles in that decade before selling the Babe.

Yankees had won two AL pennants in a row, but only won their first Series after they moved to Yankee Stadium. From there, their dynasty took off.

A's had done nothing for their last 20 years in Philly, did nothing in KC, then started winning when they moved to Oakland.
 
I will say the old saw about a new stadium opening up new revenue streams for teams and suddenly making them more competitive is a lot of bunk. Cowboys haven't done squat in Jerry World. I do think the weather at the SF Giants stadium has done a lot for that team. It doesn't feel as distant or as much of a chore to go to a Giants game anymore, you can zip in, zip out. The team still tries to claim they are a "small market" team, but that stadium is already paid for, they rank fifth among all MLB teams in revenue and and are tops in MLB in revenue per fan.
And yet, they still haven't been able to develop an outfielder in their farm system to save their life, or be a top destination for free agents since Bonds.
 
The WFT has been largely irrelevant since moving from RFK out to FedEx Field in the Maryland suburbs.
 
The Phillies had not won anything since 1915 when they left Connie Mack Stadium for Veteran's Stadium in 1971. It took several years but they were regularly challenging for NL pennants in the mid-1970s and finally won it all in 1980.

The Bills improved considerably when they moved from War Memorial Stadium to (then) Rich Stadium in 1973.
 
The Phillies had not won anything since 1915 when they left Connie Mack Stadium for Veteran's Stadium in 1971. It took several years but they were regularly challenging for NL pennants in the mid-1970s and finally won it all in 1980.

The Bills improved considerably when they moved from War Memorial Stadium to (then) Rich Stadium in 1973.
Bills won the 64 & 65 AFL Championship and lost the 66 championship. That's 2 more championships than they've won since. .
 

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