5 Pro Sports Towns Doing Just Fine Without the NFL

[thelakelander]

This article lists LA, Columbus, OH, Salt Lake City, Orlando and Portland as five sports towns that are doing just fine without the NFL. It includes a couple of backhanded references to Jax and the Jags.

Can a city consider itself major league when the biggest game in the country isn't played in its metro area?

A National Football League franchise is not only a civic status symbol, but a way of grabbing your town some air time and -- potentially -- some cash. Last year alone, the NFL produced $9.5 billion in revenue. That's $2 billion more than the $7.5 billion produced by Major League Baseball over the same span and more than the revenue produced by the NCAA ($5.3 billion) and NASCAR ($4.1 billion) combined. Its television revenue is slated to rise from an average of $4 billion a year to $5 billion annually as new contracts kick in. The networks are more than happy to pay after 31 of the 32 most-watched television shows in the fall of 2012 were NFL games.

A spot in the NFL's big game comes at a cost, though. Ask Bills fans in Buffalo, whose team ships one home game a year to Toronto and forced local government to shell out $200 million for stadium renovations just to get the team to stay in town for eight more years. Ask fans in Minnesota how psyched they felt at this time roughly two years ago, when Vikings management was threatening to move the team to Los Angeles before finally getting the state to fund a new stadium.

Ask Buccaneers fans in Tampa, who have their team's home games regularly pulled from television. Ask Jaguars fans in Jacksonville, who are about to lose a home game per season to exhibition games in London. Ask Falcons fans in Atlanta, who just had their team owner ask them to replace the team's stadium -- built less than 20 years ago and renovated less than a decade ago for more than $200 million -- with another building paid for with $200 million to $300 million in tax dollars. Ask Chargers fans in San Diego, who are not only being asked to shell out for a new stadium under threat that the team will move to L.A., but who just saw the mayor they elected to take on Chargers management become embroiled in sexual harassment allegations.

Ask Bengals fans in Cincinnati, where the surrounding country put itself in debt up to its eyelids building a stadium for an owner who wants even more renovations.

full article: http://www.thestreet.com/story/12011476/1/5-pro-sports-towns-doing-just-fine-without-the-nfl.html?utm_source=Outbrain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=tstoutbrain&cm_ven=outbrain

[spuwho]

It's a mixed bag.

When Seattle told the NBA to go jump before they would spend millions on a new arena (they had just spent millions fixing up Key Arena), the NBA did just that.



Now, what did Seattle do? Enraged that the NBA called the bluff and moved them to OKC, they passed yet another referendum (a third, after Safeco Field for MLB and CenturyLink for NFL/NASL) for a mixed private/public area for NBA/NHL.



The Portland Breakers in the USFL drew an average of 19k a game for what was a pretty average team. These days, there are very little efforts to bring anymore football teams there. They are well inside the Seattle TV market and they would rather subsidize streetcars and trolleys than an NFL owner.



LA hasn't had the NFL in how long? (1995) TV's second largest market and they and the NFL are doing just fine without each other. Farmers Insurance has agreed to provide naming rights to the new gig, but they can't get financing, municipal or private.



Ed Roski of Staples Arena fame has been working on it. Can't get financing if you don't have a team, right Ed?

http://www.losangelesfootballstadium.com/

[Keith-N-Jax]

I'm sure there are plenty of cities doing ok w/o the NFL, but do we keep the FLA/GA game if the stadium is not renovated. Tell this to all the people who benefit when major sporting events are in town.

[BridgeTroll]

And yet... if the NFL announced an expansion... these cities would slit each others throats to land a team. 

[thelakelander]

So true, so true.

[SunKing]

depends on the size of the city as well.  LA is LA without a team but what about Green Bay or Pittsburgh?  There is no question that the NFL puts a city the size of Jacksonville on the map.  Aside from the marketing benefits (yes the London games are a big deal for Jacksonville). 

The article doesnt even take into account an approx. $100mm payroll.  Losing an NFL team for Jacksonville would be the equivalent of losing a Fortune 500 employer or 2.  Would it matter to LA? not really.  does it matter to Jacksonville?  you bet your ass it does.

[fsquid]

depends on the size of the city as well.  LA is LA without a team but what about Green Bay or Pittsburgh?  There is no question that the NFL puts a city the size of Jacksonville on the map.  Aside from the marketing benefits (yes the London games are a big deal for Jacksonville). 

The article doesnt even take into account an approx. $100mm payroll.  Losing an NFL team for Jacksonville would be the equivalent of losing a Fortune 500 employer or 2.  Would it matter to LA? not really.  does it matter to Jacksonville?  you bet your ass it does.

i agree