Relocation of professional sports teams in the United Kingdom is a practice which involves a sports team moving from one metropolitan area to another, although occasionally moves between municipalities in the same conurbation are also included. For relocations in other part of the world see Relocation of professional sports teams.
In British sport, the relocation of teams away from their traditional districts is unusual because of the nature of the relationship between clubs and their fans: the local football club is regarded by most English football supporters as part of the local identity and social fabric rather than as a business that can be transplanted by its owners at will. As a result, any relocation plan would be strongly opposed by fans in the club's original area, and unlikely to succeed in most new locations due to the existence of established teams in most towns and cities that would already have secured the loyalty of native supporters. John Bale, summarising a study published in 1974, writes that, in the view of most fans, "Chelsea would simply not be Chelsea" were that club to move a few miles within the same borough to Wormwood Scrubs.
However, there have been examples of club relocations, primarily motivated by difficult financial situations or problems with the home ground. So far, excluding association football teams, this article lists 48 relocated teams and 84 changes in identity in total.
Association Football
Association Football (men's)
Association Football (women's)
Basketball
England
Bolton & Bury Giants → Olympic City Giants
Olympic City Giants were a professional basketball team based in Oldham. Previously based in Bolton and Bury, the team were known as Bolton & Bury Hawks and then Bolton & Bury Giants, the team were founder members of the British Basketball League in 1987. In 1989 after encountering several financial difficulties, Olympic City Giants formally merged with Manchester Eagles (formerly Manchester United) to become Manchester Giants, marking a return of the famous name after a three-year absence, following a merger between the original Manchester Giants and Manchester United in 1986.
Brighton Bears → Worthing Bears → Brighton Bears
The Brighton Bears founded in 1973, were rocked by financial instability by the early 1980s. High rents at the Brighton Centre combined with dwindling crowds meant that it was no longer financially viable for the team to operate out of Brighton, and the search for a new home began. The second half of the season saw home games being played in arenas all over the south, including Bognor Regis, Eastleigh and Hastings.
The Bears' first game at Worthing was against the Birmingham Bullets in December 1983. A crowd of 400 curious onlookers turned up to watch the game, and the passion and excitement generated made the directors choose Worthing as the new permanent home for the Bears. The rent of the Leisure Centre was agreed with Worthing Borough Council and fans decided to stick with the Bears name. The club began the 1984–85 season as the Worthing Bears.
Several years later, after finishing rock-bottom of the league in the 1998–99 season, with only 4 wins out of 36 starts, late in the season Bob Wood sold his share of the club to Romek Kriwald, and as the season drew to a close the announcement was made that the Bears were to leave Worthing and head back to Brighton. The increased revenue and TV exposure that a venue such as the Brighton Centre could bring were seen as the only route back to success for the Bears. The club's first year back in Brighton was a marked improvement on the previous years' decline. The club returned to the Brighton Bears name in 1999 and home games were once again held at the Brighton Centre, as well as at the Burgess Hill Triangle, and attendances peaked at close to 3,000. The Worthing Rebels filled the void left by the Bears back in Worthing.
Brixton TopCats → Lambeth TopCats → Brixton TopCats
The Brixton TopCats, based in Brixton, London, briefly relocated for one season, 1986–87 season, to nearby Lambeth changing their name accordingly.
Derbyshire Arrows → City of Sheffield Arrows → Derbyshire Arrows
The Derbyshire Arrows water founded in Killamarsh, Derbyshire. In 2003 to allow the club to advance further, they moved to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, Yorkshire, changing their name to the City of Sheffield Arrows. The move proved successful trophy-wise, but since winning their last title in 2005, the club began a gradual decline. With the drop to a more modest league, the club returned to their original Killamarsh home and reclaimed their former name in 2011.