Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, has added teams from Italy and more recently South Africa. The U.S.-based NFL has been laying groundwork for a potential franchise in the UK, with a target date some time in the early to mid-2020s. Expansion teams in North America Major League Baseball (MLB) The National League had an eight-team lineup established in 1900, mirrored by the eight charter franchises of the American League in 1901. This list enumerates franchises added since this "Classic Eight" era. 1961: Los Angeles Angels; Washington Senators (now Texas Rangers) 1962: Houston Colt .45s (now Houston Astros); New York Mets 1969: Kansas City Royals; Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals); San Diego Padres; Seattle Pilots (now Milwaukee Brewers) 1977: Seattle Mariners; Toronto Blue Jays 1993: Colorado Rockies; Florida Marlins (now Miami Marlins) 1998: Arizona Diamondbacks; Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now Tampa Bay Rays) National Basketball Association (NBA) Eight charter franchises of the NBA (founded in 1950 via merger of the BAA and NBL) are still active. 1961: Chicago Packers (later Chicago Zephyrs, then Baltimore Bullets, then Capital Bullets, then Washington Bullets, now Washington Wizards) 1966: Chicago Bulls 1967: San Diego Rockets (now Houston Rockets); Seattle SuperSonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder) 1968: Milwaukee Bucks; Phoenix Suns 1970: Cleveland Cavaliers; Buffalo Braves (later San Diego Clippers, now Los Angeles Clippers); Portland Trail Blazers 1974: New Orleans Jazz (now Utah Jazz) 1976: New York Nets (later New Jersey Nets, now Brooklyn Nets), Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs join NBA after merger with American Basketball Association (ABA). 1980: Dallas Mavericks 1988: Miami Heat; Charlotte Hornets 1989: Minnesota Timberwolves; Orlando Magic 1995: Vancouver Grizzlies (now Memphis Grizzlies); Toronto Raptors 2002: New Orleans Hornets (now New Orleans Pelicans) – The Charlotte Hornets relocated to New Orleans in 2002 and in 2013 renamed themselves the New Orleans Pelicans. Subsequently, the original Charlotte Hornets' history was assumed by the revived Charlotte Hornets (previously Charlotte Bobcats; see below). Hence, the Pelicans are retrospectively considered to be an expansion team that began play in the 2002–03 season, while the Charlotte Hornets are considered to have suspended operations from 2002 until 2004. 2004: Charlotte Bobcats enter the league and hold an expansion draft. In 2014 the team was renamed the Charlotte Hornets (see above) and received possession of the history and records of the Charlotte Hornets prior to 2002. Hence, the Bobcats are retrospectively considered to be a revival of