The four London games per year all sell out. It's not every day that your milestones go viral because of your biggest fan. 2. The most recent NFL game in Canada took place in Toronto back in 2013 when the Atlanta Falcons beat the Buffalo Bills after overtime at the Rogers Centre. For the first time in 2021, we have a change on our projected field's top line. Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca welcomed the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers in November 2019 and has hosted four regular season games and six exhibition matches in total over the years. I can help you out with NFL expansion and provide just a little education at the same time. Mexico has a few advantages over other potential expansion options. Other potential destinations in the US include San Antonio, Texas, and Memphis, Tennessee. The market is certainly big enough to support a move. Where should be next: Mexico City. St. Louis Stallions (NFL, 1993) St. Louis was the third city that came oh-so-close to being awarded … The NFL can also continue to spread its wings domestically. Population: 1,109,171. Right now, Rhine would be one of the top 10 market sizes in the NFL. All Signs Point to Mexico City Getting an NFL Team by Madilyn Zeegers on March 4, 2020 While NFL fans speculate about the site of the next NFL franchise — via expansion or relocation — one logical location emerged in recent years: Mexico City. What the NFL found was the travel time for teams to go to Europe or Japan was so extensive they would need multiple games or at least a bye week in order for teams to adjust to multiple time zones and practice conditions. They also say three strikes and you’re out. Growing hotbed? If the NFL were to add a 33rd team via expansion, I’ll tell you where they should go. An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. We received plenty of feedback on last week’s post in which MMQB staffers suggested potential locations for an NFL expansion team. Portland, OR. Toronto would seem to be the go-to option, but the Buffalo Bills were only able to attract around 47,000 on average during six regular season games over five years from 2008. It is blessed with a more favorable time zone than London and is in very close proximity to teams in large states like Florida and Texas. We have a team in the far western part of the state (Pittsburgh) and the far eastern part (Philadelphia). Pennsylvania is the fifth-most populous state in the country and certainly sizable enough to accommodate another NFL team. International flair? There’s a ready-made market. I loved all of your selections, but I would also think that Omaha, Neb., would be an ideal choice, as the fervent fan base of the Nebraska Cornhuskers are proof that a team in this area would definitely work! Orlando needs a NFL team. The NFL has been expanding into the Mexican market of late, with regular season games being played at the iconic Azteca Stadium for the last two years. That suggests the NFL could take off quickly if it were to expand into Mexico. More suggestions for expansion NFL locales, this time straight from the readers. London seems like a natural home for NFL expansion. Market size: Huge. Expansion? It has now hosted 28 regular season NFL games, a number that dwarfs other cities around the world. The NFL is the only major sports league in America without a team based in Canada. The NBA is by far the best-run professional sports league in the U.S. An NFL team has never resided outside the U.S., but this could change. Here are some of the responses: Albert Breer’s research [supporting an Austin-San Antonio franchise] is only missing one thing. They say the third time’s the charm. Even though it was in an empty arena, Belair says her big win “felt like I was in front of thousands of people.”. Every game in London is also well supported. Question or comment? Spain: Las Rozas Black Demons sign Florida State TE Mavin Saunders, 13 returning Global players under contract ahead of CFL free agency, Goodell: Many lessons NFL learned in 2020 will carry forward, What’s scheduled on the upcoming CFL off-season calendar, Thanks, WLAF! St. Louis. Now, where did I leave my billions to bring to reality the London Towers/Knights/Ravens (no, Baltimore, London had them first)/Royals/Afternoon Tea Drinkers/Fish and Chips ... ? I say we … West coast teams, in particular, are likely to need an east coast game before heading to Europe to negate some of the adverse effects of a 10-hour flight. Mexico City. Is the obvious answer not London? PROS: Portland is the 4th largest TV market without an NFL franchise and is regularly … One potential issue could be that London would be a lot of British (and Irish, and a lot of European) fans’ second-choice team—I’m not changing allegiance from the 49ers, but then I would need a plane journey and a hotel to watch the NFL in London, which I’ve done both times the Niners played at Wembley. Should the league establish a team in London, it would become the first of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada to … Tokyo. Any team will get more local support in San Antonio. With so many expansion options and its rich history of relocations and moves, the NFL will surely venture into new regions and markets in the near future. Baseball author and historian Adrian Burgos believes placing an MLB franchise in Mexico City would be a huge gamble for myriad reasons. Certainly over Bismarck, Iowa, Anchorage and OKC. Penn State is approximately two hours northwest of Harrisburg, the state capitol. Geopolitical and logistical factors could make the Mexican capital the strongest candidate for expansion. 41 TV market is also a hotbed for football and consists of Harrisburg, York, Lancaster, Lebanon and Carlisle. Mark my words, if we get one it’s over for every NFL team in the league. The NFL already has been playing games regularly in the U.K. and Mexico, and has been eyeing possible games in Canada, China, Japan, Germany and Brazil. Don't expect the NFL to stick around Mexico very long after tonight's game between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers, the first regular-season game played outside the United States. However, the Oakland Raiders did edge out the Green Bay Packers 22-21 in a pre-season game in Winnipeg in August 2019. Email us at talkback@themmqb.com. 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