Each student (or partners) will be responsible for developing a new professional sports franchise. This fictional team could be from a number of professional leagues, including major (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA) and minor leagues (baseball, hockey, arena football, etc.) …

Students will choose a host city for the franchise, proposing a stadium/location, naming the team, designing logos and uniforms, choosing colors, and of course, proposing how to market the franchise. In other words, explain how you will generate interest, attendance, involvement and identification with the new sports team. It could be an “expansion” team (addition to an existing league) or a relocation of an existing team (but you must justify your move to the new location and reasons for leaving the old one).

The grade (worth up to 150 points) will be assigned by the instructor. Everyone should be willing and able to contribute to the project.

The following list of questions/guidelines should guide you, but are not inclusive.

Location

• In which U.S. city will the franchise be located?
• Why was this city chosen? Justify.
• Why do you think a team will be successful here?
• What are some of the biggest threats to starting a team in this city?
• Does the city have a history of supporting/abandoning professional sports?
• How could the city benefit from a team?
• Who/what will be the largest competitors for your team?
• Provide a SWOT analysis of the proposed city.
• In what conference/league/division will the team play?

Team Name

• Appropriate
• Memorable
• Should tie-in to the city and those who live nearby
• Will it be marketable?
• Will it sell merchandise?
• Why did you choose this name? Justify.

Logo

• What will it look like?
• Will it be marketable?
• Will it sell merchandise?
• How will it look on a uniform?
• What makes it eye-catching?

Colors

• What will the primary team colors be?
• Why were these colors chosen?
• What do these colors mean?

Uniforms

• What will the uniforms look like?
• Will you be able to sell jerseys and hats?
• What colors will the uniforms be for home and away games? Why?

Stadium

• Where will the team play?
• Will an existing stadium be utilized or will new facilities have to be built?
• Where will the stadium be located?
• How will parking affect attendance?
• How will this decision impact the community?

Marketing

• Who is your primary target market? Secondary?
• How will you reach your target market(s)?
• How will you create awareness about the team?
• How will you generate enthusiasm, excitement, and identification with your team?
• What will you do to get fans into the stands?
• What promotions will you execute?
• How will you generate positive publicity?
• What will be your campaign theme?

Budget

• Without an unlimited budget, where will you choose to focus your efforts?
• What are the main revenue streams for your team?

Objectives

• Identify in measurable terms, the objectives of the campaign. Be very specific!
• You are encouraged to, and should, state more than one objective. (e.g. attendance goals, merchandising goals, etc.).