# Top 5 Cities in the world for sports?



## Blackpool88 (Nov 15, 2007)

krnboy1009 said:


> No other cities in the world can make EVERY sports teams profitable, except New York.
> 
> New York has to be number one.


What the hell are you talking about?


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## I am he (Oct 10, 2011)

isaidso said:


> I agree. Being a great city for 1 sport is nowhere near good enough to qualify for a 'top city in the world for sports' list. How are Manchester and Liverpool for swimming, auto racing, cricket, rugby, athletics, tennis, etc.?


The fact that Manchester has United massively puts it ahead...I'm sorry but these 'little' sports such as tennis, swimming etc are not in the league as football, Manchester united has 650 million fans - that's 10% of the world's population support Manchester united surely that puts M'cr up there?


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## I am he (Oct 10, 2011)

krnboy1009 said:


> No other cities in the world can make EVERY sports teams profitable, except New York.
> 
> New York has to be number one.


New York is definitely not number 1, It does not have a major football (soccer) team so it can not be number 1, as football is by far the worlds largest sport


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## I am he (Oct 10, 2011)

isaidso said:


> Isn't Manchester hugely skewed towards 1 sport: soccer? I'd also give an edge to Melbourne over London. I don't think any city can touch Melbourne. It's in a class by itself. I'd also put about 100+ US cities ahead of NYC. New Yorkers have tons of other entertainment options and their attention is split. That's just not the case in most other US cities.


Yes, Manchester is hugely skewed towards soccer, but the huge presence is undeniable...Manchester utd is the biggest sports brand and team in the world, and M City is one of the best teams in the world at the moment...

How can you put Melbourne over London?? IMO London is absolutely untouchable, 3 of the world's largest soccer teams (Melbourne has no big soccer teams) 
London olympics 3 times!? Wembley home of football, wimbledon etc I dont see how any city can match London.

Also people should not mention these small US cities that may seem sporty to them, but in reality don't make a dent on the world of sport. 
US sports are only watched in the US, not worldwide and we are looking for the best worldwide cities


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## I am he (Oct 10, 2011)

isaidso said:


> I agree. Being a great city for 1 sport is nowhere near good enough to qualify for a 'top city in the world for sports' list. How are Manchester and Liverpool for swimming, auto racing, cricket, rugby, athletics, tennis, etc.?


Who cares about those sports? The premier league has about 900 million viewers worldwde, that is probably 20x what those sports get together


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

I am he said:


> The fact that Manchester has United massively puts it ahead...I'm sorry but these 'little' sports such as tennis, swimming etc are not in the league as football, Manchester united has 650 million fans - that's 10% of the world's population support Manchester united surely that puts M'cr up there?


And to cultures that have little interest in soccer, it does the complete opposite. Manchester barely registers when one thinks of sports on this side of the pond. What matters in ranking a city isn't the sport, but its devotion to sport. The thread did ask for good soccer cities.

If soccer's all a city has, you've just made an argument for it not being on the list. One thing remains a constant: the condescending arrogant nature of soccer people.


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## I am he (Oct 10, 2011)

Jonesy55 said:


> Manchestert has an international cricket stadium which is also home to a top domestic team, has hosted European (and world?) swimming championships at the swimming centre, cycling championships at the velodrome, has top division rugby teams in both league and union. Horse and auto racing at tracks just outside the urban area though not at the top level...


Is it Manchester or London at No.1?? I have seen many different unofficial rankings that place both Manchester and London at Number 1 so it's a close tie between the two cities.


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## I am he (Oct 10, 2011)

isaidso said:


> And to cultures that have little interest in soccer, it does the complete opposite. Manchester barely registers when one thinks of sports on this side of the pond. What matters in ranking a city isn't the sport, but its devotion to sport.
> 
> You just made an argument for Manchester not being on the list.


Yes, but you are an exception, to the rest of the world Manchester is hugely significant...Just like all US cities are insignificant compared to the rest of the world, Manchester is not significant to a mere 300 million people...Manchester Utd has a bigger fanbase than double the population of the US, that is about 30x the amount of fans as the most popular US sports team


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## I am he (Oct 10, 2011)

isaidso said:


> If soccer's all this city has, you've just made an argument for Manchester not being on the list. One thing remains a constant: the condescending arrogant nature of soccer people.


As pointed out earlier, soccer is not all M'cr has, and if we are talking about majorities of opinion here worldwide, then Manchester surely wins 1st place, however if we are talking about the best all round sports city then it is definitely London without a doubt


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

Well I went with Melbourne.


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## I am he (Oct 10, 2011)

isaidso said:


> Well I went with Melbourne.


I'm asking for your reasons?? I really don't see how melbourne can touch London please explain?


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## onosqaciw (Feb 13, 2011)

well if it's just for football maybe buenos aires or sao paulo could be there, but i intrigue with singapore on the list


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## city_thing (May 25, 2006)

I am he said:


> I'm asking for your reasons?? I really don't see how melbourne can touch London please explain?


No need to be so anglocentric or pissed off when people's opinions don't reflect your own.


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## Fitzrovian (Oct 12, 2011)

I am he said:


> I'm asking for your reasons?? I really don't see how melbourne can touch London please explain?


You sound like a clueless Brit who can't grasp that football is not the only massively followed sport in the world. Melbourne has 9 AFL teams that *average* roughly 40,000 per game (total average attendance of 200,000 a week). If thats not impressive enough for a city of less than 4 million, it is also home to 3 cricket teams, 2 rugby teams, 2 soccer teams, 1 basketball team, the AFL Grand Final, Aussie Open tennis, a Formula One race and Melbourne Cup. Here, read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne#Sport

Even for soccer, which I am guessing is only the 4th or 5th most popular sport in Australia, Melbourne turns out big crowds. Its top soccer team averages over 20,000 per game. Astonishing.

Does that answer your question?


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## Fitzrovian (Oct 12, 2011)

onosqaciw said:


> well if it's just for football maybe buenos aires or sao paulo could be there, but i intrigue with singapore on the list


I agree, if we are gonna put such heavy emphasis on football Buenos Aires must be in the conversation. It's got as many football teams as London (if not more).


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## Chris Takagi (Mar 25, 2006)

I'm guessing out of those alleged 600 million fans of Man U, outside of the UK 90% of them are bandwagon fans.


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## Diggerdog (Sep 24, 2008)

I would go London on this - the Heineken cup and other rugby teams like Saracens haven't even been mentioned, along with the Marathon, football and cricket, Wimbledon...it just ticks all the boxes. 
I don't think though that just because football is the most popular sport in terms of numbers that it should determine which city is best for sport, but on the other hand, things like afl are of no interest to anyone except the locals, so that has to count for a lot less.


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## BringMe (May 7, 2011)

Some don't even deserve to be there what about Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Mexico City? on of this cities must be the best one in Latin America probably Sao Paulo


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

I am he said:


> Who cares about those sports? The premier league has about 900 million viewers worldwde, that is probably 20x what those sports get together


Well, many people care about those sports, and if you want to be an all-round sports city you need to cater for minority sports too imo, I think you are being a bit anglocentric.

I wouldn't say that Manchester is near the top globally though it does do well for a city of its size, it even used to have relatively well-supported ice hockey and basketball teams by UK standards where those are very minor sports.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Storm

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Giants


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

I am he said:


> I'm asking for your reasons?? I really don't see how melbourne can touch London please explain?


Melbourne is a great sporting city, nothing wrong with choosing it at all...


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## Dr_Cosmo (Nov 8, 2010)

- edit


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## Dimethyltryptamine (Aug 22, 2009)

lol at that last photo


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## Fitzrovian (Oct 12, 2011)

Diggerdog said:


> I would go London on this - the Heineken cup and other rugby teams like Saracens haven't even been mentioned, along with the Marathon, football and cricket, Wimbledon...it just ticks all the boxes.
> I don't think though that just because football is the most popular sport in terms of numbers that it should determine which city is best for sport, _*but on the other hand, things like afl are of no interest to anyone except the locals, so that has to count for a lot less*_.


And yet the AFL averages bigger crowds than the English Premier League. Not bad for a country of 20 million people and a sport that nobody else cares about. What does that tell you about how sports obsessed Australia is?


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## I am he (Oct 10, 2011)

Fitzrovian said:


> And yet the AFL averages bigger crowds than the English Premier League. Not bad for a country of 20 million people and a sport that nobody else cares about. What does that tell you about how sports obsessed Australia is?


Premier league games are hosted in stadiums with a capacity of 50,000 usually, so it does not supprise me that there may be bigger crowds elsewhere, however, it is the worldwide prominance of the premier league that makes it the best, the AFL or NFL may have bigger crowds, but i'm sure the extra 800 million people who follow the EPL and watch it on TV more than make up for smaller crowds.


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## I am he (Oct 10, 2011)

Fitzrovian said:


> I agree, if we are gonna put such heavy emphasis on football Buenos Aires must be in the conversation. It's got as many football teams as London (if not more).


How many football teams is irrelevant, it is the size and popularity of the teams, any city could have hundreds of small teams that no one has heard of, the football teams in Buenos Aires are not close in size to the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham etc


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## I am he (Oct 10, 2011)

Fitzrovian said:


> If thats not impressive enough for a city of less than 4 million


Manchester's population is about 500,000 and it has the biggest sports team on the planet


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## Fitzrovian (Oct 12, 2011)

I am he said:


> How many football teams is irrelevant, it is the size and popularity of the teams, any city could have hundreds of small teams that no one has heard of, the football teams in Buenos Aires are not close in size to the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham etc


Yeah Buenos Aires has very small teams that no one has heard of... Boca Juniors (3 Intercontinental Cups), Independiente (2 Intercontinental Cups), River Plate (1 Intercontinental Cup), Estudiantes (1 Intercontinental Cup), Velez Sarsfield (1 Intercontinental Cup), Argentinos Juniors (of Maradona fame)... yeah small teams indeed. 

How many Intercontinental Cups have the London teams won? (Let me know if you need help).

Again you are showing your ignorance.


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## Fitzrovian (Oct 12, 2011)

I am he said:


> Premier league games are hosted in stadiums with a capacity of 50,000 usually, so it does not supprise me that there may be bigger crowds elsewhere, however, it is the worldwide prominance of the premier league that makes it the best, the AFL or NFL may have bigger crowds, but i'm sure the extra 800 million people who follow the EPL and watch it on TV more than make up for smaller crowds.


So 20 years ago when no one gave a crap about English football its cities were sh*t for sports, but now that you have 500 million teenagers in Southeast Asia wearing ManUtd jerseys its got the best sports cities in the world. 

Is that your logic?


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

I am he said:


> Manchester's population is about 500,000 and it has the biggest sports team on the planet


But Greater Manchester is 2.5m and the metro area by US measurements probably more like 3.5m

If we are only counting the city itself then we can't count Man U as they are based in Trafford not Manchester


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## Fitzrovian (Oct 12, 2011)

I am he said:


> Manchester's population is about 500,000 and it has the biggest sports team on the planet


Yes it does. But that doesn't make it the best or even one of the best sport cities in the world. It's about a lot more than having one successful team.


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## I am he (Oct 10, 2011)

Fitzrovian said:


> Yes it does. But that doesn't make it the best or even one of the best sport cities in the world. It's about a lot more than having one successful team.


Manchester does not have 1 sucessful team, it has 2! Manchester city is probably a better team than United!


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## I am he (Oct 10, 2011)

Fitzrovian said:


> So 20 years ago when no one gave a crap about English football its cities were sh*t for sports, but now that you have 500 million teenagers in Southeast Asia wearing ManUtd jerseys its got the best sports cities in the world.
> 
> Is that your logic?


English football has always been the no1 sport, even 20 years ago it had more fans and followers than any other league in the world, and it still does...Football is not my only argument! London is the worlds only city to host the olympic games 3 times, and it is a major Rugby city to (Twickenham)


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## I am he (Oct 10, 2011)

Fitzrovian said:


> Yeah Buenos Aires has very small teams that no one has heard of... Boca Juniors (3 Intercontinental Cups), Independiente (2 Intercontinental Cups), River Plate (1 Intercontinental Cup), Estudiantes (1 Intercontinental Cup), Velez Sarsfield (1 Intercontinental Cup), Argentinos Juniors (of Maradona fame)... yeah small teams indeed.
> 
> How many Intercontinental Cups have the London teams won? (Let me know if you need help).
> 
> Again you are showing your ignorance.


London teams don't compete for intercontinental cups...I'm sorry, for the hard of understanding I will explain this: The Champions league is the world's most prestigious soccer cup, and who won it this year? Chelsea?? Yeah, lets compare those Buenos Aires teams with London teams in terms of fans, money and ability of the players, I would bet my bottom dollar the London teams are considerably ahead, thus them being the biggest teams in the world with the exception of Manchester Utd


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## RobH (Mar 9, 2007)

London or Melbourne for me, though in this Olympic year London edges it (and the SportBusiness awards agree I see).

To be frank though, that a city the size of Melbourne can compete with London is remarkable. Would love to see the next Aussie Olympics there!


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## LosAngelesSportsFan (Oct 20, 2004)

Its very hard to distinguish the top 5 sports cities in the world as every country has different sports they love and hate.

My top 5 Sports Markets for the US with a brief description..

1) Los Angeles - Four of the most iconic brands in sports history with the Lakers, Dodgers, USC and UCLA. The flagship MLS team in the Galaxy, the Stanley Cup Champion LA Kings, and multiple other franchises that all have great attendance (other than Chivas and the Ducks, which are in the middle of the pack.) The birthplace of snowboarding, skating, and extreme sports. An environment that allows for sports to be played every day of the year. UCLA and USC are numbers 1 and 3 in terms of the number of NCAA championships won. UCLA has more by its self than almost every other conference. If Los Angeles was its own country, it would have the second most Olympic medals... only behind the USA. Pete Sampras and Tiger Woods are from the LA area... Hosted 2 profitable Olympics with the 84 Olympics pretty much saving the Olympics. More NBA, MLB and NFL players are from the LA area than any other area in the US. Iconic Venues such as the Colosseum, Rose Bowl, Dodger Stadium and Staples Center. Only city in the US with Champions in all of the following: NHL (2), MLB (7), NBA(16), NFL(2), MLS(3), WNBA(2), NCAAF(12), NCAAB(11)

2) Boston - As much as i hate Boston area teams, you cant dismiss the greatness that has come out of that city in regards to sports. The Celtics and Red Sox are ingrained in US Sports History with multiple championship and loads of great players, and the Patriots have been extremely successful this past decade. Also, the teams have been very successful in the recent past, with championships in all 4 of the major US Sports in the last 5 years. Add in the passion, historic venues such as Fenway, rabid support and you get a great sports city.

3) NYC - You have 10 pro teams to choose from, as well as several successful sports universities. The Yankees are a top 5 sports brand in all of the world and not to mention that they have more history than about 20 other MLB teams combined. The beauty of NYC sports is that the success has been spread around the city with all its teams enjoying success at one point. The city also hosts multiple NCAA basketball tournaments and championships, has plenty of players in the leagues from the city and most of the teams enjoy tremendous support. It also has a great mix of new and historic venues. 

4) Philadelphia
5) Chicago

Honorable Mention - San Francisco


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

I am he said:


> I'm asking for your reasons?? I really don't see how melbourne can touch London please explain?


London has 3 times the population of Melbourne. When London gets 27 top flight soccer teams, 3 Formula One races, and 3 Grand Slam tennis tournaments it will *start* getting to Melbourne's level, but still have a ways to go to rival it when it comes to sports.


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

RobH said:


> To be frank though, that a city the size of Melbourne can compete with London is remarkable. Would love to see the next Aussie Olympics there!


A country the size of Canada getting the summer Olympics in 2024 would be unprecedented in the modern era according to you because we had them in 1976, but smaller Australia had it in 1956, 2000, and you're already itching for another one?


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## Fitzrovian (Oct 12, 2011)

I am he said:


> London teams don't compete for intercontinental cups...I'm sorry, for the hard of understanding I will explain this: The Champions league is the world's most prestigious soccer cup, and who won it this year? Chelsea?? Yeah, lets compare those Buenos Aires teams with London teams in terms of fans, money and ability of the players, I would bet my bottom dollar the London teams are considerably ahead, thus them being the biggest teams in the world with the exception of Manchester Utd


"intercontinental cups"? It's called the Intercontinental Cup. Do you know what it is? London teams don't compete for it because they have never been good enough to qualify for it as they've never won the Champions League (until this year). Whereas Buenos Aires teams have won the South American version of champions league almost 20 times. You can argue that European Champions League is more difficult to win, and that may be true, but that's not the point. The point is that "small teams" don't win competitions of that caliber and then go on to beat the best European teams.

All that is to say that you shouldn't be judging who is a small team and big team when you clearly know very little about sports outside your own shores.


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## Fitzrovian (Oct 12, 2011)

isaidso said:


> London has 3 times the population of Melbourne. When London gets 27 top flight soccer teams, 3 Formula One races, and 3 Grand Slam tennis tournaments it will *start* getting to Melbourne's level, but still have a ways to go to rival it when it comes to sports.


Ha... Not to mention 9 cricket teams, 6 rugby teams, 3 basketball teams etc... all getting the kind of crowds that most English teams in any sport not called football can only dream about.

Nothing against London though. It _is_ a terrific sports town and I would have no problem placing it 2 or 3 in the world. Melbourne is tough to beat though.


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## Dr_Cosmo (Nov 8, 2010)

It is pretty hard for the US and Australian cities to compete in sports on a global scale as these regions don´t have any relations to the worlds most popular and most performed sport, that being football (soccer).

The US at least has one relevant team sport, basketball, which is globally important and where the league and the athletes are among the most talented. The other being ice hockey.

Australia can compete in annual events like Formula One and the Tennis Grand Slam in Melbourne.

*Berlin* has several unique characteristics as a sport city. It´s Olympic stadium was the venue for both, the Olympics and the World Cup final, the 2 most important sport events on an international level. 

It frequently draws several hundredthousands, all in all millions of spectators to one place during Euro/ World Cup Championships. The largest sport related crowd gathering in history.

It is home to the fastest and one of the largest annual marathons. As the homebase for most of the German Olympic athletes it frequently collects gold medals. Professional teams of Europes most watched team sports (football, ice hockey, basketball, handball, volleyball) are based in Berlin.


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