List of professional sports teams in Virginia
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of professional sports teams in Virginia. Virginia
is by far the most populous U.S. state without a major professional sports league franchise playing within its borders, although two of the major-league teams representing Washington, D.C.
—the NFL's
Washington Redskins
and NHL's
Washington Capitals
—have their practice facilities and operational headquarters in Northern Virginia
.
There have been proposals to locate stadiums for Washington teams in Northern Virginia or to locate teams in the Hampton Roads
metro area surrounding Norfolk
, but none have come to fruition. When Jack Kent Cooke
decided to build a replacement for the aging RFK Stadium
as home of the Washington Redskins, he considered a site in Alexandria until public opposition developed. An attempt to bring a National Hockey League
expansion franchise to Norfolk in the 1990s was rejected by the NHL. The Houston Astros
were nearly sold and relocated to Northern Virginia in 1996, but Major League Baseball
owners stepped in and scuttled the proposed transaction in order to give Houston time to approve a new stadium deal. A proposal to relocate the Montreal Expos
to Norfolk was considered by Major League Baseball in 2004. MLB had also considered a site near Washington Dulles International Airport in Loudoun County as a possible new home for the Expos. However, a reluctance by state officials to dedicate funds to the project along with concern about traffic helped lead MLB to select Washington as the Expos' new home. The ownership of the Florida Marlins
had mentioned Norfolk as one of the cities to which it could relocate the team, but the Marlins will now remain in South Florida
for the foreseeable future since they will get a new park in Miami in about 2012.
The Virginia Squires
played in the American Basketball Association
from 1970 to 1976; the team was left out of that league's partial merger with the NBA
after the 1975–76 season.
The Virginia Destroyers are to start play in the United Football League in 2011
.
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
is by far the most populous U.S. state without a major professional sports league franchise playing within its borders, although two of the major-league teams representing Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
—the NFL's
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
and NHL's
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
—have their practice facilities and operational headquarters in Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
.
There have been proposals to locate stadiums for Washington teams in Northern Virginia or to locate teams in the Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
metro area surrounding Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, but none have come to fruition. When Jack Kent Cooke
Jack Kent Cooke
Jack Kent Cooke was a Canadian entrepreneur and former owner of the Washington Redskins , the Los Angeles Lakers , and the Los Angeles Kings , and built The Forum in Inglewood, California and FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.-Early career:Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Cooke moved with his family to...
decided to build a replacement for the aging RFK Stadium
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Washington, D.C., United States, and the current home of MLS's D.C. United....
as home of the Washington Redskins, he considered a site in Alexandria until public opposition developed. An attempt to bring a National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
expansion franchise to Norfolk in the 1990s was rejected by the NHL. The Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
were nearly sold and relocated to Northern Virginia in 1996, but Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
owners stepped in and scuttled the proposed transaction in order to give Houston time to approve a new stadium deal. A proposal to relocate the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
to Norfolk was considered by Major League Baseball in 2004. MLB had also considered a site near Washington Dulles International Airport in Loudoun County as a possible new home for the Expos. However, a reluctance by state officials to dedicate funds to the project along with concern about traffic helped lead MLB to select Washington as the Expos' new home. The ownership of the Florida Marlins
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
had mentioned Norfolk as one of the cities to which it could relocate the team, but the Marlins will now remain in South Florida
South Florida metropolitan area
The South Florida metropolitan area, also known as the Miami metropolitan area, and designated the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area by the U.S...
for the foreseeable future since they will get a new park in Miami in about 2012.
The Virginia Squires
Virginia Squires
The Virginia Squires were a basketball franchise in the former American Basketball Association from 1970 until just before the ABA-NBA merger in 1976.-In Oakland :...
played in the American Basketball Association
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...
from 1970 to 1976; the team was left out of that league's partial merger with the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
after the 1975–76 season.
The Virginia Destroyers are to start play in the United Football League in 2011
2011 UFL season
The 2011 UFL season was the third season of the United Football League. The season, which was affected by franchise shifts and schedule delays due in part to the UFL's lingering financial issues , began on September 15, 2011 and would have run through October 28, with a championship game set for the...
.
| Club | Sport | League |
|---|---|---|
| Bluefield Orioles Bluefield Orioles The Bluefield Blue Jays are a minor league baseball team of the Rookie Appalachian League representing the twin cities of Bluefield, West Virginia, and Bluefield, Virginia. Beginning in 2011, Bluefield will be affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The team plays their home games at Bowen Field, a... |
Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond... |
Appalachian League Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Rookie-class minor league that began play in 1937 with one year of inactivity in 1956. From 1937 to 1962, it was a Class D League. Teams are located in the Appalachian regions of Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee... |
| Bristol White Sox Bristol White Sox The Bristol White Sox are a minor league baseball team in Bristol, Virginia, USA. They are a Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1995. The White Sox play home games at Devault Memorial Stadium. Opened in 1969, Devault Memorial Stadium... |
Baseball | Appalachian League |
| Danville Braves Danville Braves The Danville Braves are a minor league baseball team in Danville, Virginia, USA. They are an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and have been a farm team of the Atlanta Braves since 1993. The Braves play home games at American Legion Post 325 Field... |
Baseball | Appalachian League |
| Lynchburg Hillcats Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a minor league baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia. They are a Class High-A team in the Carolina League, and currently are a farm team of the Atlanta Braves. They had been a farm team of the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1995, with the Cincinnati Reds fulfilling the final... |
Baseball | Carolina League Carolina League The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth... |
| Norfolk Tides Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a minor league baseball team in the Triple-A International League. They play at Harbor Park in Norfolk, Virginia. Since 2007 they have been a farm team of the Baltimore Orioles; prior to that, they had a 38-year affiliation with the New York Mets.-Franchise history:The... |
Baseball | International League International League The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States... |
| Potomac Nationals Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals are a Minor League Baseball team located in Woodbridge, Virginia. The Nationals play in the Class A Advanced Carolina League, and are an affiliate of the Washington Nationals.-History:... |
Baseball | Carolina League |
| Pulaski Mariners Pulaski Mariners The Pulaski Mariners are a minor league baseball team based in Pulaski, Virginia, United States. They are an Advanced Rookie League team in the Appalachian League, and a farm team of the Seattle Mariners. The team plays its home games at Calfee Park. They have previously been affiliated with... |
Baseball | Appalachian League |
| Richmond Flying Squirrels Richmond Flying Squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a minor league baseball team in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond... |
Baseball | Eastern League |
| Salem Red Sox | Baseball | Carolina League |
| Virginia Destroyers | Football American football American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by... |
United Football League |
| Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals The Norfolk Admirals are a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Admirals play in Norfolk, Virginia, at the Norfolk Scope.-History:... |
Ice hockey Ice hockey Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take... |
American Hockey League American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
| Richmond Renegades Richmond Renegades The Richmond Renegades was a SPHL ice hockey team in Richmond, Virginia. The team, owned by Allan B. Harvie Jr., the founder of the former ECHL Renegades franchise, began play in October 2006 at the Richmond Coliseum. The team's first head coach was John Brophy... |
Ice hockey | Southern Professional Hockey League Southern Professional Hockey League The Southern Professional Hockey League is a low-level professional ice hockey league based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with teams located in the southeastern United States.- History :... |
| Fredericksburg Gunners Fredericksburg Gunners Fredericksburg Gunners was an American soccer team based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after which the franchise folded and the team left the league.The... |
Soccer Football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball... |
USL Premier Development League USL Premier Development League The USL Premier Development League is the amateur league of the United Soccer Leagues in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda, forming part of the American Soccer Pyramid... |
| Fredericksburg Lady Gunners Fredericksburg Lady Gunners Fredericksburg Lady Gunners was an American women’s soccer team, founded in 2006. The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, and played in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference... |
Soccer | W-League W-League The USL W-League is a national women's soccer league in the United States on the 2nd level of women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, alongside the Women's Premier Soccer League and below Women's Professional Soccer.... |
| Hampton Roads Piranhas | Soccer | USL Premier Development League |
| Hampton Roads Piranhas Hampton Roads Piranhas Hampton Roads Piranhas is an American women’s soccer team, founded in 1995. The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada... |
Soccer | W-League |
| Northern Virginia Majestics Northern Virginia Majestics Northern Virginia Majestics is an American women’s soccer team, founded in 1998. The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada... |
Soccer | W-League |
| Northern Virginia Royals Northern Virginia Royals Northern Virginia Royals is an American soccer team based in Woodbridge, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1998, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the South Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.The team plays its home... |
Soccer | USL Premier Development League |
| Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers The Richmond Kickers are an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in the American Division of the USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid... |
Soccer | USL Professional Division |
| Richmond Kickers Destiny Richmond Kickers The Richmond Kickers are an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in the American Division of the USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid... |
Soccer | W-League |
| Richmond Kickers Future Richmond Kickers Future Richmond Kickers Future was an American soccer team based in Richmond, Virginia, United States. Founded in 2002 as part of the development system of the Richmond Kickers USL Second Division franchise, the team played in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer... |
Soccer | USL Premier Development League |
| Virginia Legacy | Soccer | USL Premier Development League |