America’s Most Valuable Sporting Cities

Major league sport has grown astronomically in America over the last century, with the NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB and MLS taking the entire country by storm, and for good reason! The pedigree of athletes, the quality of the games and the excitement generated by the franchises has given each of these leagues a significant place in sporting history. 

But how much have each of these leagues affected the cities across America, particularly the cities that play host to the biggest teams in each of the leagues? We wanted to take a deep dive into how much money each of these cities was making from their major league sports teams and predict how much revenue they could be making by 2030. Let’s jump right in! 

Predicted 2030 revenue for America’s sporting cities

To conduct this research, we gathered revenue data for each major league sporting team in the top five highest earning sporting leagues – the NFL, NBA, MLS, MLB and MLS – and found the top 10 cities that are making the most money from their sports teams.

1. New York City, New York - $2.49B

New York City rockets into first place with a predicted revenue for 2030 of $2,487,000,000, which is 56% higher than the revenue generated in 2022 of $1,588,000,000. The New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets bring in significant revenue in the NBA, as well as the New York Yankees and New York Mets for the MLB. These world-renowned teams not only generate revenue from Americans, but globally for the city of New York. 

2. Chicago, Illinois - $2.34B

The Windy City in Illinois blows into second place in our table, with a 40% increase predicted for their city revenue from their sports teams, which brings their grand predicted total for 2030 to $2,339,000,000. The Bears, Bulls, Cubs and Blackhawks generate a consistently large sum of money for the city from visitors and fans alike. 

3. Los Angeles, California - $2.28B

Los Angeles is a huge tourist destination, drawing crowds from all over the world to Hollywood Boulevard and Beverly Hills, but their sports teams also help to generate a lot of money for the city. The Los Angeles Kings draw the largest amount of money per city in the NHL and the Los Angeles Lakers do the same for the NBA. They are predicted to bring in around $2,281,000,000, a forecasted percentage increase of over 60% from 2022. 

4. Arlington, Texas - $1.96B

While not as well-known as the other cities in our top five, Arlington in Texas is home to the iconic NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys, who draw crowds from around the country and the world with their incredible games and performances. $1,963,000,000 is Arlington’s forecasted revenue for 2030, a 33% increase from their 2022 revenue of $1,474,000,000. 

5. Houston, Texas - $1.83B

The city of Houston in the state of Texas plays host to the Houston Texans in the NFL, and the Houston Astros in the MLB, and earned as much as $1,210,000,000 in 2022 from their sports teams. They’re predicted to earn up to $1,827,000,000 by 2030, a forecasted growth of 51.0%. 

6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - $1.83B

The Philadelphia Eagles, the 76ers, and the Phillies all call Philadelphia their hometown, and have drawn in crowds from all over the globe to the city in Pennsylvania. They’ve brought in up to $1,296,000,000 in 2022 and are forecasted to bring in as much as $1,826,000,000 by 2030, an increase of 40.9% for the proud Philadelphians. 

7. Denver, Colorado - $1.59B

Denver, Colorado sportsbooks has one of the highest concentrations of well-performing major league sports teams, including the Colorado Rockies, Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, and Colorado Rapids across all the leagues. These teams brought in around $1,159,000,000 of revenue for the city in 2022 and are predicted to bring in approximately $1,591,000,000 by 2030, a percentage growth of 37.3%. 

8. Detroit, Michigan - $1.53B

With four World Series championships under their belt, the Detroit Tigers are a big draw for people to visit Detroit in Michigan and the Detroit Lions who are second in the NFC North. These teams, as well as the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings, could draw in as much as $1,189,000,000 for their home city in 2022. And this number is only expected to go up, with a predicted increase of 29% to bring in up to $1,534,000,000 by 2030. 

9. Cleveland, Ohio - $1.42B

The Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA and the Cleveland Browns in the NFL are both 4^th in their respective conferences and draw in huge crowds for their games. They also made the city of Cleveland in the state of Ohio around $988,000,000 in 2022 and are forecasted to see this grow by 44% to $1,423,000,000 by 2030. 

10. Inglewood, California – $1.42B

The Los Angeles Rams rule the roost in Inglewood, California and are the team drawing in the largest amount of money for their city, with Inglewood receiving upwards of $1,119,000,000 from their major sporting league teams in 2022. This is expected to grow by 26.6% by the year 2030 to a total sum of $1,417,000,000. 

Sporting states 2030 revenue growth predictions

Not only are there cities in the US that are making a lot of money from their major league sports teams, but these are the top 15 states that are predicted to make the most money from their sports teams by 2030: 

*Predicted based on historical revenue data

With so much expected revenue for these cities and states from the major sporting leagues, could we expect to see an even bigger growth in their fan bases, or even more money spent on each of the players? 

Methodology

To discover America’s most valuable sporting cities, revenue data was acquired from each team in the top five highest earning sporting leagues (NFL, NBA, MLS, NHL and MLS). In order to predict figures for 2030, historical revenue data from all major league sports teams were ran through a linear forecast regression model, which calculated future values. To predict the 2030 revenues for new teams with limited data, and overall league average was calculated and applied.

Please note, these figures do not consider new teams entering a league between 2023 and 2030. Data accurate as of 3^rd January 2023.