News from the 2016 March NFL Owners Meetings
Houston Strikes Oil Again, Gets Second Team
Orlando, FL - The Oilers are back! The league has officially expanded to 32 teams. On day two of the annual owners meetings, 30 of the 31 owners voted in favor of awarding a second NFL franchise to the city of Houston. At this time it is unclear which owner voted against the expansion. The Voyagers, an ode to the space shuttle program in Houston, and the Gunners were both rumored to be in the running for team name. Ultimately, with a 'blessing' from the Adams family and approval from the NFL, the Oilers name was unretired and granted to the newest expansion team.
The key people responsible for this expansion include Spencer Strasmore of Anderson Financial and the venture capitalist duo of Dale Doback and Brennan Huff at Prestige Worldwide. It is unclear if Mr. Strasmore and Anderson Financial will have a role in the new organization, but Mr. Doback and Mr. Huff represent the majority shareholders in the new Oilers ownership, which came at the price of a reported $1.1 billion expansion fee.
On day three of the owners meeting it was decided that the expansion draft will be held sometime before the 2020 NFL Draft, some three years away. In the meantime the team must find a location to play their inaugural season in. It is believed that the Oilers ownership will seek investment help to open their own stadium. Until then, they'll be looking at either sharing the newly renamed NRG Stadium with the Texans or BBVA Compass Stadium, the home of the MLS' Houston Dynamo.
BBVA Compass Stadium Information
Opened - May 2012
Capacity - 22,000
Pro Teams - Dynamo (MLS)
When the Houston Oilers take the field in 2020 they will be playing in front of the smallest crowd in the NFL. BBVA, home to the Houston Dynamos, seats just over 22,000. In comparison, NRG Stadium (Texans) seats 72,000 and AT&T Stadium (Cowboys) seats 80,000. The only other NFL stadium with seating under 50,000 is the StubHub Center (26,000) which will be temporarily used by the Chargers.
BBVA Compass Stadium is not only home to a MLS team, but also home to the Texas Southern Tigers football team. The Oilers will be the first professional football team to play there and plan to play there until the team either moves to another shared venue, or builds its own stadium.
2020 Conference Realignments Announced
*denotes a new division
National Football Conference- *NFC North - The Bears, Packers, Vikings, and Lions from the former NFC Central
- NFC East - The Eagles, Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys stay put
- *NFC South - The NFC East Buccaneers join the NFC West' Falcons, and Saints, and welcome the Oilers to create the NFC South
- NFC West - The Rams and 49ers welcome the NFC East's Cardinals and the AFC West's Seahawks
American Football Conference- *AFC North - The ex-AFC Central's Steelers, Ravens, Browns and Bengals create this new division
- AFC East - The Patriots, Dolphins, Bills, and Jets stay put
- *AFC South - The Jaguars and Titans of the NFC Central and Texans and Colts of the AFC East combine to form the new AFC South
- AFC West - The Raiders, Broncos, Chiefs, and Chargers stay in the west