In ranking the most successful professional sports cities in the nation, ESPN.com ranked Indianapolis first out of 33 major league cities in North America. ESPN.com devised a scoring method to determine which city had the best seasons:

Averaged the winning percentage for all teams in the four major sports for cities that have at least two franchises (thus, one-sport cities such as Green Bay, San Jose and Portland were not included).
Added 50 points for winning the championship, 25 points for reaching the title game and 10 points for making the playoffs.
Added five points for each player who made the NBA All-Star Game, four points for making the NHL or MLB All-Star Game and three points if named to the 2003 Pro Bowl.
Subtracted 10 points if a team finished in last place and 50 points if the franchise relocated to another city.
Used the 2003 Super Bowl result, but playoff teams from the 2003 season; NHL and NBA standings from the 2002-03 season.
2003 City Rankings

City Total
Indianapolis 724
Kansas City 719
Boston 683
St. Louis 683
Philadelphia 662
Dallas 657
Nashville 630
Minneapolis 614
Seattle 599
Anaheim 595

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Media Contact:
Bob Schultz
+1 317-639-4772
bschultz@indianapolis.org