# Teams that are allowed to keep their city names but are farthest away from that city? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 21, 2019, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272 "2019-05-21T06:23:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/1 "2019-05-21T06:23:06Z")
I think the most blatant example are the San Francisco 49ers moving 50 miles south of San Francisco to a city right next to San Jose, with about 2-3 times the population of San Fran, yet the Niners retain their “San Francisco” heritage. I hate to say this as I’m no fan of franchise chess, but since San Francisco didn’t at least land a stadium at least within moonshot of the city doesn’t the franchise at least owe it to Santa Clara to name the team the California, Golden Bay or Bay Area 49ers??? Or out of deference to one of the largest cities in America the next row over, the San Jose 49ers??? This issue came up with the New York Giants and Jets playing in a stadium in New Jersey, but Met Life Stadium and it’s earlier counterpart were 5 miles from Manhattan. Many New Jersey politicians were not happy that the two teams were taking NJ tax breaks but still naming themselves “New York”. Finally there the Angels. Originally the Los Angeles Angels playing out of Dodger Stadium, they finally got their own abobe in Anaheim and became the California Angels, then the Anaheim Angels, and are now the Los Angeles Angels once again: despite being about 20 miles outside Los Angeles city limits, or even on LA county! I know for a fact the city of Anaheim was not happy with the name change either, just like the state of NJ. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/2 "2019-05-21T07:31:54Z")
For 30 years, the Detroit Pistons played their home games at The Palace of Auburn Hills, 30 miles north of Detroit. In 1973-74, the NY Giants played their home games in New Haven, CT, some 80 miles from their previous home of Yankee Stadium. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/3 "2019-05-21T08:04:55Z")
This thread belongs in The Game Room. That said, didn’t the Cleveland Cavaliers used to play in an arena that was actually closer to Akron than it was to Cleveland? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/4 "2019-05-21T10:54:18Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > doesn’t the franchise at least owe it to Santa Clara They would owe it had Santa Clara successfully negotiated it in the contract. That’s how Miami got the Marlins to change their name. > [@](#): > > I know for a fact the city of Anaheim was not happy with the name change either, just like the state of NJ. The city of Anaheim had a contract, but they failed to write it specifically enough to stop the name change. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/5 "2019-05-21T11:01:30Z")
[List of MLB stadiums](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_Major_League_Baseball_stadiums). Most MLB teams that are named for cities play their home games inside the city limits. Other than those mentioned already, SunTrust Park is about 10 miles from downtown Atlanta but only one or two miles outside the city limits. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/6 "2019-05-21T11:36:48Z")
Are the New England Patriots just playing it safe? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/7 "2019-05-21T11:52:44Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Are the New England Patriots just playing it safe? When they moved from Boston to Foxboro they wanted to change the name to the Bay State Patriots but the NFL rejected that. They settled on New England instead. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/8 "2019-05-21T11:54:06Z")
According to Google, it is just over 20 miles from Dallas to Arlington, where the Cowboys play. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/9 "2019-05-21T12:08:10Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > This issue came up with the New York Giants and Jets playing in a stadium in New Jersey, but Met Life Stadium and it’s earlier counterpart were 5 miles from Manhattan. Many New Jersey politicians were not happy that the two teams were taking NJ tax breaks but still naming themselves “New York”. Also the reverse: The NY Mayor at the time (Ed Koch, IIRC) was such a dick about it that he didn’t let the 80s Giants teams have a parade when they won their Superbowls. They ended up just having what amounted to a party in Giants Stadium. That made the 2007 parade particularly satisfying. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/10 "2019-05-21T12:23:10Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Finally there the Angels. Originally the Los Angeles Angels playing out of Dodger Stadium, they finally got their own abobe in Anaheim and became the California Angels, then the Anaheim Angels, and are now the Los Angeles Angels once again: despite being about 20 miles outside Los Angeles city limits, or even on LA county! Ahem, they are officially the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim although that has been rarely used in the last couple years. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/11 "2019-05-21T14:03:58Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Ahem, they are officially the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim although that has been rarely used in the last couple years. It is not actually super clear if that is still the team’s official name. While they have never formally changed it so far as I can tell, all “of Anaheim” branding has been dropped. The team’s legal name is simply “Angels Baseball LLC” and the official MLB style guides call them just “Los Angeles Angels.” Of course, the other misnamed team is, I guess, the Tampa Bay Rays, who are not in fact located in Tampa Bay, which is a body of water. I can think of two misnamed NHL teams and one that used to be: The Ottawa Senators used to play outside Ottawa in the city of Kanata. They still play in Kanata, but it was merged with Ottawa in 2001. The Phoenix Coyotes are in Glendale, not Phoenix. The Vegas Golden Knights are technically not in Las Vegas; they are in Paradise, an unincorporated part of Clark County. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/12 "2019-05-21T14:04:46Z")
Granted they’re eventually going to move closer to Tampa (Ybor City), but the Tampa Bay Rays play in St. Pete which is a handful of miles away from the city limits Edit: Ha. Ninja’d by RickJay ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/13 "2019-05-21T14:09:29Z")
The Dallas Cowboys play in Arlington, which is about 19 miles from downtown Dallas, and they practice in Frisco, which is about 32 miles from downtown Dallas, and more strangely, is about 35 miles from AT&T Stadium where they play. You don’t even drive \*\*\*through \*\*\*Dallas to go between them… ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/14 "2019-05-21T14:09:44Z")
I’m not sure what the OP is all upset about. If a team plays in Santa Clarita, but insists on calling itself Throatwobbler Mangrove, who are we to complain? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/15 "2019-05-21T14:13:31Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > That said, didn’t the Cleveland Cavaliers used to play in an arena that was actually closer to Akron than it was to Cleveland? It was about 20 miles from both Cleveland and Akron. But yeah, in the same county as Akron and for the people coming from Cleveland it must have seemed like going to Iowa. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/16 "2019-05-21T14:31:49Z")
I assume that temporary moves aren’t under consideration? Otherwise the Chicago Bears played in Champaign, IL for a season. The distance between the two stadiums is 138 miles according to Google. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/17 "2019-05-21T14:47:33Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The Phoenix Coyotes are in Glendale, not Phoenix. They’ve been the Arizona Coyotes since 2014, but you are correct from 2003-2014. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/18 "2019-05-21T15:06:26Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It is not actually super clear if that is still the team’s official name. While they have never formally changed it so far as I can tell, all “of Anaheim” branding has been dropped. The team’s legal name is simply “Angels Baseball LLC” and the official MLB style guides call them just “Los Angeles Angels.” This is probably outside the scope of this thread, because you’re getting close to questions about the nature of reality. If the Baltimore Ravens can “officially” be considered a new franchise instead of a relocated Cleveland Browns, then a team’s official name can be “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim,” even if that name is never actually used in any context. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/19 "2019-05-21T15:10:52Z")
here’s what Wikipedia has to say about it – > [@](#): > > In 2013, the team was to officially drop “of Anaheim” from its name, as part of a new Angel Stadium lease negotiated with the Anaheim city government.[8][9][10][11] The deal was never finalized, though as of 2019, most official sources omit the “of Anaheim” suffix and the official MLB Style Guide has referred to the team as simply the Los Angeles Angels since the 2016 season.[12][13][14][15] ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272/20 "2019-05-21T15:24:00Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > This is probably outside the scope of this thread, because you’re getting close to questions about the nature of reality. If the Baltimore Ravens can “officially” be considered a new franchise instead of a relocated Cleveland Browns, then a team’s official name can be “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim,” even if that name is never actually used in any context. That’s a good point. For a long time MLB maintained the fiction that the Minnesota Twins had nothing to do with the old Washington Senators, despite a curiously large number of 1960 Senators being 1961 Twins. It’s all nomenclature. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teams-that-are-allowed-to-keep-their-city-names-but-are-farthest-away-from-that-city/834272.md?page=2)