There are several professional minor-league sports teams as well as college sports teams in the

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

area.

Teams

Baseball

In April 1993, the 12,067-seat Harbor Park baseball stadium opened, hosting the Norfolk Tides Triple-A minor league baseball team. It received the honor of best minor league park in 1995 by ''Baseball America''.

Basketball

From 1970 to 1976,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

served as home court (along with Hampton,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and Roanoke) for the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

regional professional basketball franchise of the now-defunct

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(ABA). From 1970 to 1971, the Squires played their Norfolk home games at the

Old Dominion University Fieldhouse Old Dominion University Fieldhouse was a 5,200-seat multi-purpose arena located on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Opened in 1970, it was home to the Old Dominion Monarchs and Lady Monarchs college basketball teams un ...

. In November 1971, the Virginia Squires played their Norfolk home games at the new Norfolk Scope arena, until the team and the ABA league folded in May 1976.

On January 30, 1974, the city hosted its first professional basketball all-star game, courtesy of the American Basketball Association, at the Norfolk Scope. 10,624 spectators were in attendance, as Artis Gilmore won Most Valuable Player of the

1974 ABA All-Star Game The seventh American Basketball Association All-Star Game was played January 30, 1974 at Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia before an audience at 10,624. Babe McCarthy of the Kentucky Colonels coached the East, while Joe Mullaney of the Utah Stars ...

Ice hockey

In 1997, the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

rejected a bid for the proposed

Hampton Roads Rhinos The Hampton Roads Rhinos were a potential National Hockey League expansion team that was to begin play in the late-1990s in Norfolk, Virginia. The franchise would have been under the ownership of George Shinn and play in a proposed $142 million a ...

to enter the league as an expansion franchise. The former

Hampton Roads Admirals The Hampton Roads Admirals were a professional ice hockey team in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). They played in Norfolk, Virginia at the Norfolk Scope Arena from 1989 until 2000, when the owners purchased an expansion American Hockey Le ...

won three championships in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

while it played from 1989 until 2000. The Admirals' ownership then acquired an expansion franchise in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

and called it the

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: *Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hocke ...

. In 2015, the AHL Admirals were purchased and relocated. Norfolk would then receive another ECHL team that would share that same name for the 2015–16 season.

College sports

Old Dominion Monarchs and the Norfolk State University, Norfolk State Spartans play in NCAA Division I while the Virginia Wesleyan College's Marlins play in NCAA Division III. On March 29, 1982, Norfolk hosted the first NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship (also known as the Women's Final Four). The Norfolk Scope served as the chief venue for the event. 9,531 spectators were in attendance at this inaugural event. On April 3, 1983, Norfolk hosted the second NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship at the Norfolk Scope. 7,837 spectators were in attendance.

Professional wrestling

The Norfolk Scope has served as the site of many professional wrestling events, including Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Destination X (2008), Destination X and World Championship Wrestling's World War III. Norfolk Scope was also the site of an episode of WCW Monday Nitro, where several World Wrestling Entertainment, World Wrestling Federation wrestlers drove a tank to the entryway of the Scope, thus "invading" the competition.

Venues

In 1971, Norfolk built the region's first entertainment and sports complex, featuring Chrysler Hall and the 13,800-seat Norfolk Scope indoor arena, located in the northern section of downtown. Norfolk Scope has served as a venue for major events.

References

{{Norfolk, Virginia Sports in Norfolk, Virginia, Economy of Norfolk, Virginia