Toronto tops North American cities for liveliest sports fans: Study

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Toronto reigns supreme for sports fans taking in a game in all of North America, according to a new study.

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The folks at Betting.com looked at all 130 unique stadiums and arenas across North America’s five major sporting leagues — the NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL and MLS.

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They then used Yelp to compile a list of more than 75,000 restaurants and bars within a two-kilometre radius of the venues, and examined available price data to determine an affordability factor for each location as well as the best availability of sporting nightlife.

Toronto came in at No. 1 as the liveliest sporting city in North America, with an index score of 8.74, thanks to fans of the Maple Leafs, Blue Jays, Raptors and Toronto FC.

The city boasts more than 643 sports bars where fans celebrate a win — or bemoan a loss.

Most revelers gravitate towards The Loose Moose on Front St., due to its proximity to Scotiabank Arena — and it’s not too far from Rogers Centre either.

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Chicago placed second with a score of 8.48, as fans of the Bears, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, and Fire have 446 places to partake in some food and a beverage before or after games.

Parlay Lincoln Park, McGee’s Tavern and family-owned Glascott’s are favourites in the Windy City.

In a close third with a score of 8.45, New York City is undoubtedly one of the liveliest cities for sports fans, with too many places to mention.

Of course, there are the die-hards who love their Yankees, Mets, Knicks, Nets, Rangers, Islanders, Giants, Jets and New York City FC, but the Big Apple is also host to millions of tourists each year — who may want to watch their own teams.

Unsurprisingly, NYC offers the most sports bars and pubs with 1,206.

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What may be surprising to some is the city that took the fourth spot: Minneapolis, home to the Twins, Vikings, Wild, United FC and Timberwolves.

The city had an index score of 8.39 and ranked best as far as affordability is concerned.

Another Canadian city, Vancouver, rounds out the top five with a score of 8.22.

Vancouver only has two teams in the five leagues analyzed — the Canucks and the Whitecaps FC — but their fanbases have options when it comes to drowning their sorrows — or cheering on big wins.

On the flip side, San Antonio — which only has one major league pro sports team, the Spurs — scored the lowest for liveliness with a dismal 0.29. Oakland and Kansas City were also in the bottom three with 0.63 and 0.83, respectively.

The cities that break the bank — and, depending on which teams you follow, your hearts — are Los Angeles with an unaffordability index of 93.87%, Salt Lake City, Miami, Montreal and Denver.

For the complete study, click here.

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