metro areas in the Top 40, last I checked. Tampa is the largest metro area without a team. All growth factors indicate long-term sustained growth as more and more Fortune 500 companies are moving their HQ's to these three cities, which allows for strong corporate sponsorship. All three have well-supported NHL teams and NBA-ready arenas.

STL, Louisville, Pitt, and KC are all currently larger than Nashville or Raleigh, but I believe Nashville and Raleigh will pass all four of them in the next decade.

Austin would be another strong city to consider, but with three other Texas teams, it would be a hard push. Same story for Columbus, with Cleveland and Detroit being so close.

Vegas would be interesting, as the Knights have had a strong initial following, but with the Raiders coming to town and the Knights having been so successful, it's really hard to guess how the following would be for a 3rd professional team.

San Diego would be an interesting debate, as they are the same size as Tampa, but there are already two teams in So Cal.