NFL Off Topic

[Cyros]

Re: NFL Off Topic

As a Raiders fan living in Texas, I'm all for the move to San Antonio.

[elgreazy1]

Re: NFL Off Topic

Raiders to SA? Never going to happen. Jerry Jones himself will block this. The Raiders & Cowboys are two franchises that have mass global appeal and there is no way a man like JJ is going to allow a team to come into his state, take away the Mexico market and steal away his fan base.

This is all just a show for the Raiders to get public funding for a stadium in Oakland/LA.

[Boltman]

Re: NFL Off Topic

Raiders to SA? Never going to happen. Jerry Jones himself will block this. The Raiders & Cowboys are two franchises that have mass global appeal and there is no way a man like JJ is going to allow a team to come into his state, take away the Mexico market and steal away his fan base.

This is all just a show for the Raiders to get public funding for a stadium in Oakland/LA.

I actually agree with this take on the situation the most, it's just a ruse.

[wco81]

Re: NFL Off Topic

Really doubtful Bay Area could support two new billion-dollar stadiums.

The PSL base and the luxury box base may not be big enough.

Plus the East Bay is just in decline. The Warriors are moving to SF and the A's would like to move to San Jose, if the Giants yielded on their territorial rights.

Smart thing would have been to do the joint stadium thing like the Jets and the Giants

[jmillhimes]

Re: NFL Off Topic

I would love to see a move to Texas for the Raiders. San Antonio has long been used as a "verbal Threat" for lots of sports teams if there contemplating moving. I think there market could support a team but I also feel you guys above are correct. Jerry jones would fight this til the end. As well as Bob McNair. Those two teams control the entire state for football and having another team come in could hamper there markets in Mexico, South Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas

[Majingir]

Re: NFL Off Topic

Bills have 3 bidders for the team as of now. Sounds like all 3 bids keep them in Buffalo but 1 has a chance to move then in several years from now possibly.

I'm starting to hope the Bills(or really just any NFL team) doesn't come to Toronto. The amount it'd cost to bring a team here, not to mention extra money spent on building a stadium.....not gonna be worth it. They'd be so much better off getting a 2nd NHL franchise instead. It'd cost like a quarter of the price it'd cost to get a NFL team, not to mention much cheaper to build the arena and alot easier to sell out tickets.

Plus, if the Toronto NFL team is run by MLSE(regardless if they get the Bills,another team,or just an expansion team), they'll be no better off than the Bills of the past 20 years

[TheTruth437]

Re: NFL Off Topic

Smart thing would have been to do the joint stadium thing like the Jets and the Giants

The Rams are on a year-to-year stadium lease just like the Raiders. Neither team is content with their respective stadium's.

If it's still possible, I think a joint stadium venture in this stadium is the best option for each team's long term future. Mark Davis was willing to contribute 400 million to a new stadium, and I'm sure the Rams would be willing to pitch-in a few hundred million as well, which would lessen the financial burden on Los Angeles.

[rangerrick012]

Re: NFL Off Topic

MD doesn't want to share a stadium though. He wants a new stadium for the raiders only, and Oakland ain't budging. L.A. still seems most realistic, but San Antonio and Portland are options too. But Davis is playing the cards he's dealt and not rolling over to Oakland.

[rangerrick012]

Re: NFL Off Topic

The Alamodome is antiquated and entirely inadequate by NFL standards.

The same can be said about the Raiders for the past two decades.

(Sorry I'm a Raiders fan but I gotta get the shots in before others do)

And the same can be said about O.co.

[wco81]

Re: NFL Off Topic

Raiders just started selling out games in the last year or two, to avoid the blackouts.

If they move to a new stadium, it will leave a lot of fans behind, with the ridiculous prices being set for PSLs now.

More blackouts then.

NFL is having some difficulty getting fans to come to games (one of the reasons fans watch on TV is for fantasy football). So they need new stadiums with fancy Wifi networks and apps, to replicate the experience people have at home, watching games while having iPads handy.

But new stadiums cost money and require raising ticket prices, parking prices, PSLs, etc., all of which makes it difficult for a lot of fans to attend games.

[TheTruth437]

Re: NFL Off Topic

MD doesn't want to share a stadium though. He wants a new stadium for the raiders only, and Oakland ain't budging. L.A. still seems most realistic, but San Antonio and Portland are options too. But Davis is playing the cards he's dealt and not rolling over to Oakland.

If the Raiders, unfortunately, don't move to L.A., I think relocating to Portland is the second best option. Portland is the 22nd t.v. market and San Antonio is 36th, and I think there would be more potential fan interest and support in Portland than San Antonio.

[Bellsprout]

NFL Off Topic

I want the Raiders to go to Portland.

Move them there, have them trade divisions with St. Louis, boom. You've created a mega rivalry with Portland and Seattle (just watch any of their MLS matches, those cities have a fantastic rivalry) AND you get another new awesome rivalry between St. Louis and Kansas City.

Makes sense to me.

[TripleCrown9]

Re: NFL Off Topic

I want the Raiders to go to Portland.

Move them there, have them trade divisions with St. Louis, boom. You've created a mega rivalry with Portland and Seattle (just watch any of their MLS matches, those cities have a fantastic rivalry) AND you get another new awesome rivalry between St. Louis and Kansas City.

Makes sense to me.

That does make sense. But it would be damn weird to see the Raiders in the NFC and the Rams in the AFC.

[Raiders Man]

Re: NFL Off Topic

Whats Up OP Nation

I know that many of you guys could care less about the Raiders but this could be HUGE for the NFL and especially Austin and San Antonio. Below are some reason why moving to SA WOULD work. I lived in the Bay Area and know the inner workings of the city and its business fairly well. The case study below is just MY OPINION. However, I feel that this could happen sooner or later depending on Jerry Jones and Bob McNair's influence on other owners.


• TV Market size of San Antonio is 36th in the US
- Current NFL teams in market size between 25-50;
Indianapolis (25- hosted a Super Bowl)
Baltimore (26)
San Diego (28)
Kansas City (31)
Jacksonville (47)
Nashville (29)
Buffalo (51)
New Orleans (53 – Host Super Bowls often)
Green Bay (70)

• Alamodome is not adequate to host NFL team
- Current team could play there for 3 years until new stadium and facilities are completed. Potential for future Super Bowl which would increase revenue for the greater San Antonio-Austin area.

• Not a large market with enough Fortune 500 companies.
- Look to Austin. Computer technology, oil and gas. Similar to bay area and close to capital of Texas (as similar to bay area being in close proximity to Sacramento). Besides the 49ers are the “darlings” of the bay area. Most corporate sponsors (both east bay and the SF peninsula) supported the 49ers financially better than the Raiders.

• San Antonio is Cowboys and Texans territory.
- San Antonio use to host Cowboys training camps in addition to Oxnard, CA. Dallas has new palatial facilities in Plano, TX. Texans really don’t have a very strong footprint in SA anyway. SA also boosts a very large Hispanic influence in which the Raiders were and still have been successful in engaging the Hispanic community and culture.

• According to Forbes the Raiders are “only” worth an estimated $850 million. Ranked in the lower 3rd of NFL teams.
- Miami Dolphins sold for over a billion dollars in 2008 and the Buffalo Bills are in line to fetch as much or more when the sale of the team is complete.

• Would the NFL want 3 teams in Texas?
- Why not? New York and Florida has 3 teams each. Texas is a huge football state. The same goes for Florida.
o Market size (NY state): New York is #1 and Buffalo is #51.
o Market size (Florida): Tampa is #13, Miami is #16, and Jacksonville is #47
o Market size (Texas): Dallas-Ft. Worth is #5, Houston is #10, and San Antonio is #37

• The Raiders don’t have any money to build a new stadium.
- Mark Davis stated that he has $400 million to put towards new stadium. That is adequate to start the process in a state that is less expensive than California. Cost of materials and labor will be a lot better than the current situation in California. He also desires a "smaller and intimate" stadium which would cost an estimated $600-$800 million. That is a lot more attainable that $1 billion plus

• Why not LA?
- Why LA? Although it is the 2nd largest TV market there is a reason that 3 NFL teams have left LA. The Davis family name and legacy would be detached from the Raiders in which Al Davis rebranded. Love him or hate him he has created one of the most iconic brands in sports history. Rumor is that current NFL power brokers “prefer” another ownership group to lead the proposed LA team.

• What about the threat the Raiders and NFL have on local universities (Texas and UT-SA)?
- The Raiders and 49ers have occupied the bay area for the better part of 50 years. Stanford and Cal-Berkeley have held their own as well. Both schools are Pac -12 schools while UT would be the bigger of 2 schools in south-central Texas.

• The biggest threat to not get this done would be the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans vote for relocation.

• Interesting notes:
- Commissioners Goodell’s and Robert Kraft opinion on getting a team in London by the end of the decade and a team or 2 in LA within 3-5 years.
- The NFL strongly considering owning a stadium in LA
- Mark Davis having first hand knowledge and experience of what his father dealt with in years past with LA and keeping the Raiders mystique (i.e. keeping the team in the Davis family)

[SPTO]

Re: NFL Off Topic

Plus, if the Toronto NFL team is run by MLSE(regardless if they get the Bills,another team,or just an expansion team), they'll be no better off than the Bills of the past 20 years

I'm on your side on this but let me clarify what you say here. Under NFL rules a corporation CAN'T own the team. A private owner would have to hold 75% ownership of the team so the ownership structure would have to be a lot different then the lah de dah corporate style of MLSE. From what I gather it would be a partnership between Larry Tanenbaum and Edward Rogers.

Anywho, at least one of the bids is at over a billion dollars...Who knew the Bills could fetch that kind of money?!