OT: NFL team in Utah?

[Reckless]

Do you guys think Utah will ever get a NFL team?

[bleu]

Don't get me wrong, I would love it to have an NFL team in Utah, but it will never happen. The NFL will never expand again. They are plenty strong right now and don't need to expand. IMO they have perfect sized conferences, perfect amount of games, and a perfect sized league and they know that too. Besides that, if they ever do expand it's not gonna be to Utah. There are other places like L.A. and San Antonio that they would most likely go to first.

[hoops4life]

http://www.reuters.com/article/sportsNe ... dChannel=0

The article says:

Huyghue, a former executive at several NFL teams, declined to reveal other owner names, but said "they're well known, very financially strong people who either have some (ownership) interest in soccer or football or baseball primarily."

Huyghue said markets would also likely include San Francisco and Salt Lake City, Utah

He said the UFL is talking with Major League Soccer teams about using their stadiums in deals under which the UFL would pay a facility fee and share revenue generated on football game days.

Side note:

LHM has said that it is much more likely for SLC to get an MLB team. His surveys also show that more people want an MLB team than NFL team.

[fivas14]

Until Utah isn't a Mormon based state, it'll never happen.

It's annoying how people say that we wouldn't be able to sell out games and that's bull ****.

People would come from St. George, Mesquite, Las Vegas, all states around Utah would come to the games and would sell out every game.

[Fido]

They don't have trouble selling out Jazz games--even on Sunday so I don't think the predominant religion in the area is a problem.

The bigger issue would be stadium size.

The average NFL stadium built in the past decade averages 68,300 seats. League rules prevent local TV broadcast of games unless the games sell out so weekly sellouts would be hugely important to the ability to keep the team in front of the fans.

By comparison to existing stadiums in the greater Salt Lake City area:
Lavell Edwards Stadium capacity is 64,045 seats.
Rice-Eccles Stadium capacity is 46,414 seats.
Real Salt Lake's new stadium will have 20,000 seats.
Energy Solutions Arena capacity is 19,911 seats.

I agree if there was a NFL team that the tickets would be in demand far more due to the limited home game schedule and general interest in the NFL. And there is evidence of other small markets that support major league teams:
Market Size City Teams
1,607,486 Indianapolis, IN (NBA, NFL)
1,499,293 Charlotte, NC (NBA, NFL)
1,337,726 New Orleans, LA (NBA, NFL)
1,333,914 Salt Lake City, UT (NBA)
1,231,311 Nashville, TN (NFL, NHL)
1,170,111 Buffalo, NY (NFL, NHL)
1,100,491 Jacksonville, FL (NFL)
599,671 Green Bay, WI (NFL)

Finally entry cost would be a huge gating factor. A stadium would need to be built (hundreds of millions of dollars--Real Salt Lake's stadium is costing around $110 million) not to mention the franchise fee and ongoing operation until the team can get on solid financial footing.

[carrottop12]

I'd rather have an MLB team personally, and with the MLB struggling right now might be the perfect time to get a team.

[SaltyDawg]

If BYU can get 64,000 people at a football game, and the Utes get 50,000 at theirs often on the same day, then there is no question about it- SLC is a big enough market to support the NFL.

The only reason anyone would say any different is because of the mormon factor. Either they don't want to support a team that plays on Sundays, or they don't think there would be enough support on a Sunday.

I personally think it would be fine. As has been pointed out- the Jazz have no trouble selling out on Sundays. There are always season ticket holders who refuse to go, but there is never a shortage of people trying to buy the tickets from them.

Unfortunately, the people with the money to make it happen here are all mostly mormons (and the type who skip the Sunday Jazz games) so it will probably never happen.

[fivas14]

And one of the biggest reason is that the NFL doesn't want Larry H. Miller to own the NFL team. And he's one of the only people rich enough to get a team here.

[hoops4life]

Why doesn't the nfl want lhm to own a team? Because their owners can only own one US pro team?

Jazz can sell out home games on Sunday but they only play those once every 5-10 years?

Can they do it every other Sunday for 18 weeks?

[DelaneyRudd]

The NFL has a real problem with talent dilution. There are 32 teams, and almost all the players are American and they have huge rosters. I think it would go over well, but I don't think the market size is good enough yet. All of the other small markets have smaller satellite markets to draw from. Salt Lake just doesn't have it. It's a metropolitan-oasis.

[Pai Gow]

Why doesn't the nfl want lhm to own a team? Because their owners can only own one US pro team?

Jazz can sell out home games on Sunday but they only play those once every 5-10 years?

Can they do it every other Sunday for 18 weeks?

You mean 9 weeks?

Honestly, if you think about it, selling out a stadium only 9 times (maybe less because of monday night football, thursday night football) wouldn't be that difficult to do even with the amount of Mormons who wouldn't go to the games.

[fivas14]

Plus I think the mormons would actually like it. The ones who don't go every sunday.

[Reckless]

I don't think it's a question of do we have football fans here that would go to the games on sunday because I believe we do. Has been stated Utah and BYU football is big here. The arena team the Utah Blaze had the best attendance in the AFL their first year.

if it's true that LHM doesn't want a NFL team that really hurts the possibility of it ever happening. the costs to build a NFL stadium like the 352 million dollar Houston Texan stadium are way up there.

[ColdBlue]

LHM doesn't want the competition. Football and Basketball play at the same time. MLB/MLS does not.

The last person I would listen to when it comes to NFL to SLC would be LHM.

[fivas14]

I said that the NFL doesn't want LHM owning a team. LHM would be garbage as an NFL owner anyways.

[HammerDunk]

If I had to choose over watching the Jazz and some crappy Utah NFL team, that wouldn't be a hard choice... I don't think it will ever happen. Bring on the boys of summer though, that would be awesome!

[MeestR]

considering the nfl potentially plays every night between thursday and monday, i think the likelyhood of all the 9 home games being on sunday is quite slim. If i had the money to afford season tickets, i think i could justify quite easily missing church 5 or 6 sunday's, out of 52 in a year, to support my team.

[El Turco]

there would be a riot if NFL gives SLC a team before LA.

[hoops4life]

How many chances has LA had and screwed things up? Rumor has it that both 49ers and Raiders may be headed to LA. They don't deserve a team anymore.

[DelaneyRudd]

If I was a billionaire I would put a team in Ontario, CA. Vegas and San Antonio have he same problems as SLC, no satellite markets. (SA has Austin, but they are competing with established instate alliances).