Your Hometown Sports Team Might Be Skipping Town — If Your Tax Dollars Don’t Pay for a New Stadium and Tax Breaks for Billionaires

You might love your hometown team — it might not love you back.

In recent years, major leagues have undergone seismic shifts. Some, like the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer, have expanded — adding new teams to their footprint. Others, like the NFL, have mostly stayed put.

Either way, the result feels like sports-themed musical chairs. Cities such as Phoenix, AZ, Oakland, CA, and St. Louis, MO have lost teams that were once central to their local identity. And soon, Chicago might join the list.

But why?

Moving for sport: Despite being pillars of community pride, most pro teams are owned by billionaires (with exceptions like the Green Bay Packers, which are fan-owned and run as a nonprofit). That means decisions often center on profit — not loyalty. When owners can find bigger subsidies, better tax deals, or wealthier fan bases elsewhere, they tend to pack up.

• Political fights: Between 2019 and 2024, Oakland lost its MLB, NBA, and NFL teams to other markets; among the most frequently cited reasons was the state’s refusal to spend public money on new stadium deals.
• Investment opportunity: The Chicago Bears are now considering leaving Chicago after officials declined to help fund a new stadium, evaluating Northwest Indiana — a spot with cheaper land and lower taxes.
• Follow the money: That same profit chase is why the NFL has two teams in Los Angeles (the Rams moved from St. Louis in 2016 and the Chargers from San Diego in 2017), and why Las Vegas quickly added NHL and NFL teams in short succession.

Some Win, Everyone Else Loses

Relocating might boost certain markets, but they set a precedent — your sports team is a suggestion, not a necessity. What’s here now might not be next year.

• The fan experience keeps getting worse, with ticket and concession prices at outrageous highs, even as local governments chip in to build the arenas and provide tax benefits.
• Adding insult to injury, sports betting has become unmistakably intertwined with the games themselves; it’s actively encouraged and advertised — even as new scandals over cheating and point-shaving keep coming.

Taking the over: In a few years, the fear is that pro sports could become borderline unwatchable, drowned out by the intermingling of monetary incentives, gambling, and sportslop that’s ruining the spectacle of one of America’s cultural cornerstones.