Effect On Teams in Other Sports Leagues
The NFL's deal with Cleveland set a legal precedent with other sports teams. The Minnesota Twins, when they signed their deal with Hennepin County, Minnesota for Target Field in 2006, agreed to a provision that was signed into law that allows the state of Minnesota the right of first refusal to buy the team if it is ever sold, and requires that the name, colors, World Series trophies and history of the team remain in Minnesota if the Twins are ever moved out of state, a deal similar to what Modell agreed to with the city of Cleveland during the move.
In December 2005, the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer moved to Houston, Texas to become the Houston Dynamo. At the time, it was announced by the league that while players and staff would move with the team, the team name, colors, logo, and records (including two championship trophies) would stay in San Jose for when a new expansion team arrives. In 2008, the Earthquakes returned under the ownership of Lew Wolff.
When the Seattle SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 2008, it was agreed that the 'SuperSonics' name, logo, colors, and history would all be left in Seattle. This also includes banners and trophies, which would be displayed in a museum until a new franchise is brought to Seattle to be hung from the rafters of its arena. The original Sonics, now the Oklahoma City Thunder, will continue to keep the Sonics tie-ins including records, championships, and retired numbers until a new NBA franchise is brought to Seattle. Both the Thunder and a potential Seattle franchise would "share" the SuperSonics history.
In the most recent professional sports franchise relocation scenario, a team retook the name of the city's previous team that bore that name (as the relocated Baltimore Stallions did when the Ravens forced their move to Montreal). The National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets announced in 1996 that they would be leaving Manitoba for Phoenix, Arizona and become the Phoenix Coyotes. After the Coyotes went bankrupt in 2010, an ownership group called True North Sports & Entertainment tried to buy the team and return it to Canada, where it would have reassumed the Jets' name and history in Winnipeg. The group failed to do so, but when the Atlanta Thrashers came up for sale a year later, True North purchased them instead and moved them north. Since the NHL had taken control of the Coyotes after their bankruptcy, they had the right to decide if the new Winnipeg team could assume both the name and the history. The league elected to let True North use the name, but the new Jets were not able to use the old Jets' history as that would remain in Phoenix with the Coyotes.
Read more about this topic: Cleveland Browns Relocation Controversy
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