Can New Sports Teams Survive in Atlanta/Metro Area ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - It's been a long time since Atlanta celebrated a world champion among the four major sports teams:

((swung fly ball deep left center, Grissom on the run yes yes yes, the Atlanta Braves have given you a championship crowd fade out))

The Braves won the World Series in 1995 and since several teams in various sports have come and gone such as the Atlanta Glory in Women's B-Ball and
The Arena Football team the Georgia Force.
Now there's a new women's fast pitch softball team and men's soccer will return.
But can these teams attract and keep a loyal fan base in a major market like Atlanta:

((I think there's a very small chance any of these leagues are around in a few years))

Sports economists J.C. Bradbury is an associate professor at Kennesaw State.
He says over the last decade, minor league teams and mid major sports like soccer tend-- to struggle in generating interest and revenue:

((with the rise of the broadcasting especially over the internet it's now very easy to sit in your living room and you can surf the internet and you can surf the internet it's easy and cheap access and it's the minor league sports that have really suffered))
That doesn't' seem to bother Preston Delashmit. He's hopeful that a new women's softball team will defy that trend:

((I think we're going to surprise people the amount of passion of the community for this sport and for this women's sports in particular))
Pending league approval, the Rockford Thunder will relocate to Atlanta from Illinois.
But technically the team will play in Kennesaw and that may be just the key to their survival.

Again Professor Bradbury:

((if you can keep it local, keep your travel costs down, you have players who don't want to make much you can serve a small audience but in terms of a small audience I think it's going to be very difficult.

The Thunder are the 2009 National Pro Fastpitch champions.
And they're not the only team heading to a new field the men's soccer team; the Atlanta SilverBacks are joining a new league and will return to action next
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