Washington D.C. Named Seventh Best Sports City in the Country

As a D.C. suburb, Montgomery County plays a big role in helping make Washington D.C the 7th ranked “large sports city” in the country, according to a new report. While many have jumped ship on the Football Team, the Wizards fast start this season, and the recent success of the Capitals and Nationals has likely been helpful.

With NCAA athletes now able to make money from sponsorships using their name, likeness and image, potentially earning them thousands of dollars per year, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2021’s Best Sports Cities.

To determine the cities where the game is always on regardless of season, WalletHub compared 392 small to large cities across the five largest sports in the U.S.: football, basketball, baseball, hockey and soccer.

D.C. ranks 19th in terms of football and 24th when it comes to baseball, but is in the top ten for basketball (9th) and soccer (8th), while coming in 13th for hockey.

Best Large Sports Cities

1. Boston, MA

2. Los Angeles, CA

3. New York, NY

4. Pittsburgh, PA

5. Philadelphia, PA

6. Denver, CO

7. Washington, DC

8. Dallas, TX

9. Chicago, IL

10. Miami, FL

 

Best Midsize Sports Cities

1. Buffalo, NY

2. Green Bay, WI

3. Salt Lake City, UT

4. Orlando, FL

5. Glendale, AZ

6. Durham, NC

7. Ann Arbor, MI

8. Baton Rouge, LA

9. South Bend, IN

10. Norman, OK

 

Best Small Sports Cities

1. Clemson, SC

2. West Point, NY

3. Fayette, MS

4. East Lansing, MI

5. Tuscaloosa, AL

6. Hanover, NH

7. State College, PA

8. Buies Creek, NC

9. Stanford, CA

10. Morgantown, WV

Best vs. Worst

• Cookeville, Tennessee, has the lowest minimum season-ticket price for a college football (FBS and FCS) game, $36.00, which is 31.9 times lower than in South Bend, Indiana, the city with the highest at $1,150.00.
• Charlotte, North Carolina, has the lowest average ticket price for an NBA game, $32.05, which is 3.9 times lower than in San Francisco, the city with the highest at $125.43.
• NHL fans in Pittsburgh are 28.1 times friendlier and more engaged than their New York counterparts.
• Pittsburgh has the lowest average MLB ticket price, $20.75, which is 2.9 times lower than in Boston, the city with the highest at $60.09.
• Atlanta has the highest attendance rate for MLS games, 163.06 percent, which is 8.1 times higher than in Chicago, the city with the lowest at 20.04 percent.

To view the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-sports-cities/15179