Could Knoxville be the Next Tennessee Market to Add Another Pro Sports Team?

While Knoxville is not known as a pro sports hotbed, it has gained more attention in the space over the past few years. As the third-largest market in Tennessee, trailing only Nashville and Memphis, might this lead to pro-sports expansion in the not-too-distant future?

The answer for many is “no.” Despite being the third-largest market in the state, Knoxville’s general population is roughly three times lower than that of the second-biggest market in Memphis.

Still, Marble City does have a couple of things going for it. For starters, it is already home to One Knoxville SC of USL League One, the third-highest tier of American soccer leagues. The city is also about to welcome a professional women’s softball team into the fold by 2027.

Though the franchise doesn’t yet have a name, it will be a member of the Professional Softball League (PSL). Beyond that, Knoxville is also home to the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, any mid-major market in a state with legalized sports betting can offer some appeal to prospective leagues and team owners. Tennessee at large is a major hub for users of online sportsbooks like Bovada LV and many others, according to VegasBetting.net.

Sure, it might be hard to envision the NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL landing in Knoxville at any point. Then again, if it continues to be a growth market, we can’t actually rule it out.

Knoxville’s Best Shot at Another Pro Sports Team Is…

Now this is a topic worth discussing.

Right off the bat, we can probably rule out the NFL. Rumors of further expansion are nil at the moment, and the Tennessee Titans already play in Nashville. Unlike other states, Tennessee doesn’t seem well equipped to deal with pro-franchise overlap. And if it was, many believe Memphis would be the next market of choice.

Getting a Major League Soccer team feels semi-plausible if One Knoxville SC proves to be popular enough. But MLS expansion is tricky and needs to be more calculated. Markets outside of Texas, California and New York don’t appear ready to support multiple teams.

The NBA feels like a long shot. But…should it? There is no way the Association is adding a second team to the state after already having one in the Memphis Grizzlies. In fact, many have the Grizzlies pegged as a relocation candidate because the ownership group apparently isn’t thrilled with how the franchise is faring.

This could technically open the door for one of the premier in-state markets, Knoxville or Nashville, to serve as a contingency. Nashville would of course be the odds-on favorite, but if Knoxville were to offer the right new-arena package, perhaps that entices Grizzlies majority owner Robert Pera—or whomever buys his stake from him.

To that end, there could also be multiple relocation opportunities in the NBA on the table. Bill Oram of The Oregonian recently penned an opinion piece in which he wrote that he believes new Portland Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon would be willing to move the team just about anywhere if a new arena deal does not get done. Dundon has refuted this stance, but he is known as a ruthless bottom-line owner, as evidenced by the way he ran the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes after taking control of them.

The New Orleans Pelicans are considered yet another NBA relocation candidate. It just so happens The Big Easy’s market size is similar to that of Knoxville. Despite the Pelicans failing to gain traction within it, the New Orleans Saints of the NFL are faring perfectly fine.

Through it all, though, we keep coming back to Major League Baseball. Not just because MLB doesn’t have a team in Tennessee, either. But because baseball is wildly popular in The Volunteer State, and specifically, Knoxville.

Like other leagues, MLB would almost assuredly look at Memphis or Nashville above Knoxville. As a top-three market in the state, however, it would have to at least crack the list of cities worth exploring if MLB ever expands beyond its current franchises.

Knoxville may have an easier time selling them than anyone. The Knoxville Smokies of MiLB are the Cubs’ Double-A affiliate and routinely draw a ton of local attention.

Everything, of course, comes back to whether Marble City’s local economy is large enough to prop up a pro franchise in one of the major North American leagues. The answer right now appears to be a universal “no.” But as they continue to expand their pro-sports footprint on the peripherals of the industry, we should not necessarily rule out the possibility this changes down the line.