Los Angeles and San Francisco have already experimented and failed. While the economy certainly didn't help in '08 and '09, the dissolution of the Dragons and Riptide will make any potential investor wary.

San Diego could be the place. Beautiful weather year round (the San Diego meme) makes it perpetually attractive. A strong and established lacrosse community is also inviting. However, San Diego sports fans can be known to be fickle, ahem Padres and Chargers fans....

Reply to @TheBearcatHimself: I believe that it might still be a few years off before we start discussing another professional team on the West Coast. I do believe that if placed in the right market it could do extremely well. The riptide were based in Carson, California which made it a logistical nightmare getting to the games with traffic along the 405 freeway. Obviously, my opinion would be skewed if I said that they should look in San Diego because I would love to roll out of the lax store right onto the field to support our local team. I do think Will is right on when saying that San Diego can be a tough market for a new sports team. I am just getting over my disappointment in loosing the Clippers to LA back in 82.

With the right marketing, players from across the country would make the move to Southern California to play their games without a complaint. We could even have a local taco truck sponsor the post game meal.

I say Seattle or Portland and San Diego would be the best spots..

Not exactly on the West Coast but.... LAS VEGAS would be a pretty nice home for a new lacrosse team. The Vegas tourney always seems to have a good draw, and there are definitely enough locals and tourists coming through to help sustain some home games.

Off the top of my head, I could see an MLL team at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California. Solid suburban area with lots of wealthy lacrosse families, and a sports game closer to the Peninsula without the hassle of going into SF for a Giants game could be a competitive idea.

It really racks my brain to think about what makes a pro lacrosse team successful, given the rampant failure and constant moves. Which teams around the NLL and MLL are the most successful anyway? I always thought the Bandits, Knighthawks, Mammoth and Outlawz were the only teams that successfully operated as a business, but I could be wrong.

Reply to @aklett: my mistake! I thought they always played at Kezar in Golden Gate Park in the city. Perhaps with the growth of the game, it could work again.

Great point about Phoenix, I hadn't thought about them.

A little along that note, what about Las Vegas? A sport that is not as mainstream as the Big 4 may be more willing to move into Vegas for a marketing edge...

Reply to @TheBearcatHimself: Lacrosse is already popular in Las Vegas too. The high school talent is pretty good for a relatively league, and I'm sure it would only be a year or two before they could field a hometown player. 110 degree weather might be a good home field advantage as well. Where did their XFL and UFL teams play at? Maybe they have a good option for a stadium.

is it impossible to think that the LXM could someday expand to 4 teams, with a season and champion, and a rotating SET of cities???? That could be kind of intersting.

I get that people want a hometown team, but as more fans of sports follow players and not teams, could it happen? hmmm? Would it be of any interest to anyone?

yeah, that's definitely true... but the MLL needed a good number of years to solidify a fan base. Could the LXM just need the same thing?