NFL to London? What do you think.

[tomahawk]

This is mainly aimed at the European members, but what is your opinions on the NFL playing games in London three times a year (currently) and the possibility of relocating or expanding there?

For me personally, I hate the idea. ESPECIALLY the talk of a Super Bowl in London. I'm basically in the minority it seems, as I don't even think LA deserves a team since the fan base is so ****. If they were to expand, there needs to be another team in that part of the world. San Diego traveling that far for one game is insane. Average fans wouldn't be able to afford to travel there either. The list can go on, but I want to see others opinions.

 

[ATTACKHAMMER]

I don't mind it as long as no games are played anywhere near upcoming football matches to keep the Wembley pitch in the best possible condition. I would however never go to watch it. I can see why oppose it because I wouldn't like the idea of a Premier League game played abroad.

 

[Smithy]

Franchise over here is a stupid idea.

Regular season games is, as has been proven, brilliant. Fans love it, players love it, always sells out (something that an awful lot of teams can't even manage at home), is proving more and more popular and if the NFL truly wants to market itself as a global game it would struggle to do better than establishing itself in the congested UK market.

Superbowl will never happen. Ever. Rightly so. I'd never want the FA Cup to take place in another country. Even Wales......

 

[tomahawk]

Goodell (commissioner) keeps saying he wants to put it there, but I hope you are right.

If the NFL went to a 17 game schedule, I think they should do that week abroad, or in a non NFL market. So for those games you would see them in say London, Beijing, Toronto, Mexico City, Berlin, Paris, basically any city that would want them. I'm ok if Londonnwere to get 16 games, with each team playing there once during the year as it would broaden the fan base to see more teams other than the Jaguars.

There are people much smarter than me who claim that a team needs to be there though.

 

[rtotheizzo17]

Not sure a team in London would work based on travel. I dont mind the games there, and wouldnt mind the superbowl. As it is less than 1% of real fans can even get tickets with the price and corporate sponsors buying them out.

 

[Pierre]

The Superbowl will never take place outside of America. Same as Wrestlemania. It just wouldn't happen.

 

[Ian]

For me personally, I hate the idea. ESPECIALLY the talk of a Super Bowl in London.

Same. You keep your dull, drawn out games and we'll keep ours, like cricket.

 

[DelPiero]

There is talk that the deal signed between Tottenham Hotspur and the MLSE could potentially mean that a few NFL games could be played at the stadium we are building. There's nothing formally in place but we do know that the games already here sell out so adding a couple more would be profitable.

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soc ... ice=mobile
(URL won't link soz)

Main interesting point is;
"Now it seems the ties are tight with Leiweke calling Levy a friend and saying MLSE has offered to help Tottenham with its new stadium in London — “That’s something I think we do well” — as part of what he called an ongoing friendship, partnership and relationship."

Personally, I don't care for the sport, played it when I was young but never really became a fan.

 

[spacebum]

The idea of there actually being a franchise over here is interesting. But with the traveling and all the BLAH BLAH about the LA teams etc. along with all the hate from alot of american fans. If it ever happens yes it would bring in alot of money but thats all it is. Just a big fat cash grab.

I do enjoy watching the games on tv but the problems with the late games on C4 mainly as they are on at 1:15 am most of the time.

I dont really know if a stadium around 55,000-65,000 is what Goodell wants. I think he would rather keep it in Wembley as it can easy get the 85,000 that he craves.

But TBH the NFL needs to look in house first like getting in some states/ citys that can easy host a big team with plenty of home money. Rather than try a cash grab here.

There are afew British born players in the league but only 4 or 5. no big names as of yet due to it still being a minority sport in most parts of the uk.

 

[Hyde]

Having a few regular season games across the pond each year is a cool idea that have proven to be popular. On the college football side, the Notre Dame - Navy game in Dublin every few years is fantastic, and I would fully support the creation of a new International Bowl that would be held outside the U.S. (The old Toronto International Bowl was hardly outside the U.S.).

As for the SuperBowl being held abroad, that will never happen. It is simply not feasibly built into the current bidding system for SuperBowl hosts, let alone it would need to be a VERY compelling case to choose a venue outside the U.S.

I do not see these abroad games as a major distraction, nor as giving unfair advantage/disadvantage compared to other teams throughout the season. It is a fun novelty that draws some of the largest crowds throughout the NFL season.

On an NFL team going to London, the time difference wouldn't be too great an issue. America already plays across 4 time zones in NFL (New York to LA), and in college covers 7 time zones when you consider Hawaii. A schedule could be carefully crafted that would allow for games played in London while minimizing jet lag - as this scheduling consideration is already in play.

However, the driving question for any NFL franchise is would it be [strike]commercially viable[/strike] make dat money$. I would be inclined to say it would be a success, though to get a team owner to bite on relocating is an entirely different matter.

 

[DelPiero]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...tenham-hotspur-ink-10year-stadium-partnership

The NFL and Tottenham Hotspur announced on Wednesday they have reached agreement for a minimum of two games per year to be played during a 10-year partnership at the English Premier League team's new stadium in London.

The state-of-the-art stadium, due to open in the summer of 2018, will feature a retractable grass field with an artificial surface underneath that would be used for NFL games. This innovative field will add greater flexibility in the scheduling of games, with the NFL having its own playing surface for games held at this venue. This field will be multi-use and capable of hosting other sporting, entertainment and community events.

Both sports will have dedicated facilities ensuring that the new stadium, designed with a focus on atmosphere, will deliver the optimum experience for both teams and fans. It will be one of the most environmentally sustainable in the UK and also include a clear focus on accessibility via public transportation.


(NFL.com)
"With growing enthusiasm for the NFL in the United Kingdom, we are committed to hosting NFL games in world-class venues and are excited to partner with Tottenham Hotspur to play games at their future stadium," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. "We share a vision and commitment to creating the best experience for our teams, fans and the local community."

The stadium is part of the Northumberland Development Project that spans more than 20 acres, sits at the heart and is the flagship scheme and catalyst for world-class regeneration in North Tottenham, delivering significant benefits for the local community.

Tottenham Hotspur will shortly be releasing images and details of the updated designs it has made to both the stadium and the wider scheme.

In addition to the minimum of two games per year at the new Tottenham site, other NFL games may take place at different venues in the UK during the span of the 10-year agreement.

"We have an opportunity now to deliver one of the most unique sporting and entertainment venues in the world, bringing together the EPL and NFL for the first time," said Daniel Levy, chairman of Tottenham Hotspur. "The socio-economic benefits this will bring to the area will be immense and demonstrates our commitment to the regeneration of this priority borough in London."

"We have always underlined the importance of public sector support for the long-term regeneration of the area. This support is now clearly in evidence in the master plans that have been brought forward by the London Borough of Haringey, both through the Northumberland Park project to the east of the stadium and the High Road West scheme. These plans, alongside the commitments made by the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority to infrastructure and public realm investment, and with the support of Central Government, demonstrate that there is now a collective public and private sector desire to deliver lasting change to the area."

"This was an important factor for the NFL when they agreed to bring their hugely popular sport to Tottenham. I am delighted that we have succeeded in attracting them. We have a compelling and exciting partnership that will play its part as we begin transforming this area of Tottenham."

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, welcomed the agreement.
"Anyone who has seen American Football at Wembley Stadium cannot fail to have been thrilled by the spectacle, and the wise heads that run the NFL have clearly not missed the fact that Londoners are going absolutely gangbusters for Gridiron," Johnson said.

"We are already working very closely with the NFL, including on plans to get more Londoners involved in the sport, and we believe that building on the success of NFL at Wembley by staging more games in an area of the city that has been earmarked for a massive program of economic regeneration and investment makes perfect sense."

"Touchdowns in Tottenham can only add to our reputation as a global sporting powerhouse, and help us take another step towards our goal of having a permanent NFL franchise here in London."

Claire Kober, Leader, Haringey Council, added, "It's tremendous news that the NFL wants to come to Tottenham, joining Spurs in bolstering our borough's reputation for world-class sport."

"This huge vote of confidence further underlines Tottenham's future as London's next great destination, and shows real progress in our dedicated plan to bring economic growth to Haringey -- with thousands of fans spending money in local businesses and creating new jobs for our residents."

"In addition to bringing thousands more visitors to Tottenham, having millions of viewers from around the world tuning into live sports from the new Spurs stadium will undoubtedly put our borough on the international stage."