Best cities for sports in Alabama

BookrGo Best Sport Cities ranking: we rank the cities of Alabama by their 0-10 sports score, which combines density of centers per resident, variety of sports, listing quality and real activity. To keep the comparison fair, we measure every city's offering with the same sources of national coverage. An honest way to see where it's easiest (and hardest) to find somewhere to play.

205 scorable cities in Alabama.

#	City	Score /10	Centers
1	Pelham	8.3	98
2	Foley	8.2	68
3	Gulf Shores	8.0	128
4	Moulton	8.0	21
5	Orange Beach	7.6	117
6	Guntersville	7.5	56
7	Mobile	7.4	359
8	Decatur	7.4	102
9	Dothan	7.3	165
10	Opelika	7.3	56
11	Daphne	7.2	104
12	Vestavia Hills	7.2	88
13	Irondale	7.2	29
14	Auburn	7.1	211
15	Florence	7.1	116
16	Trussville	7.1	83
17	Athens	7.1	74
18	Enterprise	7.1	69
19	Fairhope	7.1	59
20	Huntsville	7.0	544
21	Anniston	7.0	61
22	Jasper	7.0	40
23	Homewood	6.9	86
24	Pell City	6.9	44
25	Cullman	6.8	70
26	Boaz	6.8	31
27	Montgomery	6.7	329
28	Madison	6.7	209
29	Wetumpka	6.7	51
30	Eufaula	6.7	31
31	Rainbow City	6.7	27
32	Springville	6.7	24
33	Tuscumbia	6.7	23
34	Montevallo	6.7	20
35	Winfield	6.7	11
36	Killen	6.7	10
37	Birmingham	6.6	623
38	Hoover	6.6	187
39	Gadsden	6.6	89
40	Scottsboro	6.6	43
41	Hazel Green	6.6	20
42	Tuscaloosa	6.5	249
43	Oxford	6.5	45
44	Clanton	6.5	25
45	Northport	6.4	52
46	Bay Minette	6.4	17
47	Rogersville	6.4	9
48	Prattville	6.3	94
49	Muscle Shoals	6.3	47
50	Jacksonville	6.3	41
51	Andalusia	6.3	21
52	Greenville	6.3	18
53	Saraland	6.2	26
54	Oneonta	6.2	26
55	Robertsdale	6.2	20
56	Livingston	6.2	10
57	Phenix City	6.1	58
58	Alexander City	6.1	30
59	Arab	6.1	24
60	Atmore	6.1	13
61	Dauphin Island	6.1	13
62	New Market	6.1	12
63	Hartselle	6.0	32
64	Fort Payne	6.0	31
65	Ozark	6.0	17
66	Dora	6.0	17
67	Opp	6.0	16
68	Haleyville	6.0	13
69	Cleveland	6.0	5
70	Gardendale	5.9	44
71	Leeds	5.9	30
72	Owens Cross Roads	5.9	26
73	Rainsville	5.9	15
74	Bessemer	5.8	68
75	Sylacauga	5.8	29
76	Talladega	5.8	26
77	Heflin	5.8	12
78	Fayette	5.8	8
79	Troy	5.7	35
80	Helena	5.7	20
81	Demopolis	5.7	14
82	Grand Bay	5.7	8
83	Vernon	5.7	7
84	Spanish Fort	5.6	33
85	Albertville	5.6	27
86	Valley	5.6	14
87	Brewton	5.6	13
88	Millbrook	5.5	32
89	Centre	5.5	18
90	Harvest	5.5	17
91	Thomasville	5.5	12
92	Alabaster	5.4	46
93	Chelsea	5.4	27
94	Warrior	5.4	12
95	Ashville	5.4	8
96	Headland	5.2	15
97	Piedmont	5.2	12
98	Monroeville	5.2	10
99	Jackson	5.0	15
100	Alexandria	5.0	10

How do we calculate the score?

Variety (25%) — how many different sports the city covers.
Quality (20%) — richness of each center's information.
Activity (20%) — real user interest over the last 30 days.
Scale (15%) — number of centers in the city.
Density (10%) — centers per resident (dampened).
Courts (10%) — total capacity: number of courts.

Each section is measured as a percentile against the other cities in the United States and combined into the final score, on a 0-10 scale. Variety and density are measured with a uniform instrument (only sources with homogeneous national coverage) so that no city is favored by having a more complete open catalog. We only score cities with population data and a presence in those sources.