"Poll question: Do you see the NFL expanding in the near future?"
Andy Dolich was on 95.7 in the Bay Area this morning talking about the Oakland stadium situation and made an interesting point.. He said it's more likely we'll see an expansion team come to LA rather than the relocation of an existing one. He said the recent Dodger sale has set the market so high the owners are going to have a hard time settling for a relocation fee when billions could be had with expansion rights.. or as he put it "If you were an owner what would you rather have? 1/32 of 200 million or 1/32 of 2.5 billion"? When it's put that way it seems expansion is a very real possibility.
And if you don't know who Dolich is, rest assured he's no media hack just talking out his ass... dude has served in the front offices of all 4 major sports leagues.. his positions include Executive Vice President of the Oakland A's, Memphis Grizzlies President of Business Operations & the 49ers Chief Operating Officer. So the man knows the business of sports.
So the question is.. do you see the league expanding or not? And if so what city other than LA would you pick... seeing as they usually do these expansions in twos.
5. "I think going overseas would be a mistake" In response to Reply # 2 Fri Feb-08-13 12:56 PM by OldPro
right now it's a novelty but I'd be really worried what would happen beyond one game a year... especially an expansion team that goes through 4-6 years of really bad football. Putting a team in that market and having it fail would be a black eye on the league. _________________________________ Reunion Radio Podcasts http://reunionradio.blogspot.com/ Twitter @therealoldpro
13. "London makes zero sense for an international team" In response to Reply # 2
If the NFL were smart they would have continued having a game in Mexico City each year and focus their efforts in expanding the brand in Latin America.
If they want to put a team in another country put it in Mexico City.
30. "Seriously - the 2 biggest cities in South America are basically on EST" In response to Reply # 13
Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo Brazil, during September and October, are 1 only 1 hour ahead of the east coast. It's a real easy flight - 9 hours. Meaning, the players go to sleep on the plane and wake up the next morning with a full night of sleep.
There's a lot of rich folks down here, a lot of people interested in English and American culture, and a few stadiums that seat upwards of 100K people.
It should also be much more mild weather during August and September, and the weather during October, November, and December is summer weather compared to winter in the US.
Seems like a no-brainer, but that's probably why they haven't done it. I think the only potential detractor is the violence and kidnapping, but there's plenty of rich athletes that do just fine down here.
8. "a London team would be at a huge disadvantage" In response to Reply # 1
-The travel and time zone issues would be brutal. -Much higher British taxes would deter free agents. -Even if they sell out for a few seasons, half the fan base will be there to see the stars from the opposing team
6. "Yeah I think we're in for some form of realignment either way" In response to Reply # 3
If the Rams, Chargers or Raiders move down there the current alignment works.. but you relocate a Jacksonville, Minnesota or Atlanta franchise and your divisions will look crazy. How ironic would it be for the Falcons to play on the west coast but be in the 'South' division after decades in the NFC West. _________________________________ Reunion Radio Podcasts http://reunionradio.blogspot.com/ Twitter @therealoldpro
The league has good balance now with 4 team divisions in each conference... I'd like to see the Rams or Chargers come home to LA, or the Raiders return so they can just leave the divisions as is.
But as you said, I expect them to make the decision based on money more than whats best for the game. _________________________________ Reunion Radio Podcasts http://reunionradio.blogspot.com/ Twitter @therealoldpro
14. "They could have had one 12 years ago..." In response to Reply # 0
if their ownership situation wasn't so shaky again and again...the NFL giftwrapped the damn franchise and allowed them to get their package together and they STILL couldn't do it. Viola! You were given the Houston Texans.
The NFL expansion process is rigged...look at how in '93 Baltimore, Memphis', and St. Louis' bids - arguably the best on the table were spurned in favor of Charlotte and Jacksonville (WTF?) only to have existing franchises move to the rejected cities immediately after.
Just get the Jags to LA and get this nonsense over with.
>The NFL expansion process is rigged...look at how in '93 >Baltimore, Memphis', and St. Louis' bids - arguably the best >on the table were spurned in favor of Charlotte and >Jacksonville (WTF?) only to have existing franchises move to >the rejected cities immediately after.
Charlotte had the BEST presentation and already shown that interest in a Franchise in Carolina...they even sold alot of PSLs before the team even was approved to be in Charlotte...now Jacksonville on the other hand was the 2nd best team which at the time wasn't saying much...Baltimore, Memphis, and St. Louis didn't have the interest at that time compared to the Carolinas and Jacksonville...its not an accident that Carolina was the 29th franchise...nobody was more ready than Richardson at the time...
Why does LA deserve a team again? The city has had a team on multiple occasions and it's been proven that they don't support the team...bringing the Jags to LA won't solve the problem either because LA obviously needs a good team to go there to keep the fans interested...the Panthers have only had one game that hasn't sold out...and there were rumblings of sending them to LA...but it won't happen...they just signed a 15 year deal to stay in Charlotte...
23. "Ummm...where did you get this info?" In response to Reply # 15
>Charlotte had the BEST presentation and already shown that >interest in a Franchise in Carolina...they even sold alot of >PSLs before the team even was approved to be in >Charlotte...now Jacksonville on the other hand was the 2nd >best team which at the time wasn't saying much...Baltimore, >Memphis, and St. Louis didn't have the interest at that time >compared to the Carolinas and Jacksonville...
Your memory has failed you. The reason Jacksonville has a franchise is because Tagliabue wanted one there as part of his "sunbelt strategy". The front runners at the time were Carolina and Baltimore. True Carolina sold out their PSLs, but Baltimore already had the money on hand from a lottery to fund the stadium as well as PSLs as well as THREE ownership groups on the table. They also sold out an exhibition game at Memorial Stadium between New Orleans and Miami to prove their interest to the NFL. They should have been a lock.
Once awarding Carolina, the league rigged the process by giving Jacksonville extra time to get their bid together AFTER they dropped out.
It was a complete shock for them to award Jacksonville. They were the 56 TV market (lowest among the bidding cities) and also offered up the dilapidated Gator Bowl for the new franchise to play in.
The reason they kept the NFL out of Baltimore, Memphis, and St. Louis was to save those markets or provide leverage for owners who had designs on moving (like what is currently happening with LA). In the particular case of Baltimore, it was also so Jack Kent Cooke could continue to claim Baltimore as Redskins territory in the years since the Colts departure.
To say that there was no interest on behalf of the declined cities (especially Baltimore) and that Jax had one of the best bids on the table is laughable. That team should have never existed.
Tiger Woods Member since Feb 15th 2004 18386 posts
Sat Feb-09-13 06:05 PM
17. "No, but I'd like to see teams in Vegas and LA" In response to Reply # 0
If I had my way, you'd move the Bolts to LA and the Jags to Vegas. The Vegas team replaces the Chiefs in that division and the Chiefs pretty easily slide into the AFC South. I care not for your "what about tradition!?!?" gripes. There's no tradition or even current interest in San Diego right now and the AFC West has been a joke for far too long. Furthermore, how great does "LVJ" (Las Vegas Jags) sound?
18. "Fuck that, move one of these new teams...." In response to Reply # 17
the Chiefs are an original AFL team, no way we get moved out of the AFC West, move the Chargers since they're the only team in the division no one really has a rivalry with or gives a shit about....
You gon' live forever Whether you want to or not Some of us gon' end up holy Some of us gon' end up hot.....
26. "Fuck Modell, that move should have never happened" In response to Reply # 19 Sun Feb-10-13 11:52 PM by Dr Claw
Baltimore should have gotten a team in '93 as payback for their OWN team getting yanked from them.
Granted, every city I can remember in my lifetime getting jacked over some Modell-type bullshit found a new team in its place except for LA. And honestly I don't think LA would even care if the NFL were back there UNLESS it was the Rams.
The league is perfect as it is. 2 conferences, 8 divisions with 4 teams each. They don't need to expand, anything past this point is just pure greed and oversaturation ala the NBA IMO.
20. "Too many current teams you can relocate" In response to Reply # 0
Vikings, Chargers, Raiders, Jaguars, Bills, Rams can all be moved to other locations at this point so there's cities you can squeeze in that sense already. Plus I think the NFL is more concerned about CTE and about a possible backlash to building new stadiums at this point to be concerned about expansion.
the nfl is not going to let some demon deacon about its future get in the way of its money. if anything, that would make them more likely to cash in now, including expanson.
minnesota is not moving, they got a new stadium deal. the chargers will get one, the city has money and they won't risk losing another franchise, let alone to los angeles. jags and panthers are both staying put for the foreseeable future. the bills just signed a ten-year stadium deal not two months ago.
the rams are an interesting case but they are mounting pressure to get their $700M or so in renovations now. the city will have to come up with the money or face losing them in a season or three. i think they will come up with the money. they have a lot invested in the team as it is and it would be a major blow to lose them.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
-The Knicks’ coaching search still includes a lone frontrunner, Kurt Rambis, whose qualifications for the position include a strong relationship with Jackson and a willingness to take the job.
31. "They're idiots for even thinking about shit like this" In response to Reply # 28
As a 9er fan I should love this... it would make Kaepernick even harder to contain... problem is its dumb ass idea _________________________________ Reunion Radio Podcasts http://reunionradio.blogspot.com/ Twitter @therealoldpro
i will send you a check for $1000 if you can explain to me why linemen are 100 pounds heavier than they were 40 years ago yet we are still using the exact same size field.
in both the NFL and the NBA, the playing surface dimensions need serious re-examination. the nba maybe even more so. i don't get why we still have the same ten-foot hoop Tarzan Cooper and them were shooting on when centers were 6'2". why is the court so fucking narrow? spread it out. same thing with the NFL, although there we have a test case with a wider, longer field (CFL).
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
32. "He is right but it's not imminent IMO" In response to Reply # 0
I have said for years that no team is relocating to Los Angeles, it will be the ongoing leverage for teams needing new stadium deals.
I don't see the NFL expanding *soon* but eventually, yes. They might fuck around and put TWO teams in LA to make it worth the struggle. That said, I still think even with an expansion team there are logistical issues. It's a city with too many venues, for openers, which means the typical benefit of a new state of the art facility is not there.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
Printer-friendly copy 
Email this topic to a friend
Okay Sports
(3 votes)
(6 votes)
