Tampa landed in a strong spot in WalletHub’s latest look at the best sports cities, checking in at No. 25 among Large Cities and No. 27 overall across the 399 markets examined.
That ranking was built on the kind of sports profile that plays well with fans: football and hockey. Tampa finished 16th in hockey and 26th in football, a boost tied to the championship presence of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The city also got credit for affordable tickets across major events, though weaker basketball results kept it from climbing higher against bigger multi-team markets.
WalletHub said it compared cities across more than 50 metrics tied to the five biggest U.S. sports - football, baseball, basketball, soccer and hockey - in an effort to find the best places from a fan’s point of view.
“Sports can cause rivalries between cities, but can also give people a deep appreciation for places other than their hometown. The best sports cities overall tend to be those with the highest-performing, most-popular professional teams, like Los Angeles, Boston, New York and Pittsburgh.
When you filter by city size, though, there are a ton of amazing local sports scenes to discover. For example, Green Bay, WI, is a midsize city with one of the richest football cultures in America, and Clemson, SC, is a small city with high-level, affordable games across multiple sports at the collegiate level,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst.
At the top of the national rankings, Los Angeles took the No. 1 spot overall and the top Large City honor. WalletHub pointed to the city’s broad sports reach, its many professional teams and its close access to major venues such as Dodger Stadium, SoFi Stadium, Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Bowl. Los Angeles has two teams each in the NBA, MLB, MLS and NFL.
The city also finished first for basketball fans, helped by the depth of Division 1 college basketball in the area. It was also ranked No. 1 for soccer, with the LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC giving the city more MLS Cup titles than any other. Los Angeles came in second for baseball and sixth for football.
Green Bay, WI, was the clear winner in the Midsize City category. The city’s sports identity is tightly tied to the Packers, and WalletHub ranked Green Bay third among football cities nationwide. The Packers’ history helped drive that result, with the team owning the 10th-highest win percentage, 19 division championships and four Super Bowl titles.
Green Bay also benefits from ticket prices that can be lower than in many larger markets, thanks in part to the Packers’ nonprofit ownership structure. The team’s popularity and fan engagement on social media also helped its case.
Still, Green Bay’s sports appeal is heavily tilted toward football. WalletHub ranked it 129th among the 300 cities in the study for soccer fans, and the city did not land in the top half of the country for any other sport.
Clemson, SC, took the top spot among Small Cities, and its college sports scene did most of the work. Clemson University’s athletic programs, especially football, powered the city’s ranking. The Tigers have won 16 ACC conference championships since 1978 and three national titles, and their large stadium capacity and passionate fan base helped Clemson rank 30th overall for football despite not having an NFL team.
Clemson also placed 44th for soccer, even without a professional club, thanks to the performance of its men’s college team and its four championship wins. In some cases, tickets to men’s and women’s soccer games can be free. The city was 43rd for basketball and 51st for baseball, with college success, affordability, stadium size and fan engagement all factoring into those marks.
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