What makes a great sports town? The venues? The fans? The food? The bars? The options? The energy?
WalletHub claims to have found the answer in its list of 2022’s Best Sports Cities. The finance website compared 392 cities across more than 50 key metrics related to the 5 largest sports in America: football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and soccer.
Click here to learn more about its methodology.
Here’s where 5 Wisconsin cities landed:
#17. Green Bay
The highest-ranking Wisconsin sports city, and the only one to make the top 100, is the Packers’ home turf. Boosted by its obviously excellent football score, Green Bay also ranked as the third best place to enjoy an NFL game in the country.
#190. Milwaukee
The Bucks and Brewers helped Milwaukee rank as the 13th best place to watch an NBA game and the 15th best to enjoy some baseball.
#215. Madison
Soccer was the Capitol City’s main selling point. With the addition of Forward Madison FC in 2019, Madison ranked as the 39th best place to enjoy “fútbol.”
#316. Appleton
Baseball is Appleton’s main athletic draw, thanks to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, the High-A affiliate of the Brewers. (However, the team’s stadium is technically in Grand Chute, on Appleton’s outskirts.)
#368. Beloit
Another High-A ball club, the Sky Carp, helped Beloit make the list as Wisconsin’s lowest ranking sports town. The Sky Carp, formerly the Snappers until 2021, are a Marlins affiliate.
The Best of the Rest
Los Angeles landed in the #1 position on WalletHub’s 2022 list, while Boston, New York City, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta rounded out the top 10. Chicago was the Midwest’s highest-ranking city at #14. Click here for the full list.
Christina Lorey A former producer, reporter, and anchor for TV stations in Madison and Moline, Illinois, Christina has been a coach and mentor for Girls on the Run and has organized events for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
