A Nomad Football Franchise?
For decades we have heard both complaints and frustrations among fans and commentators about how professional sports franchises play musical chairs with cities all across the United States. Team lobby for taxpayer funded stadiums only to leave once the fan support dries up or greater riches and promises come from other cities. This can be caused by bad stadiums, greedy owners, poor marketing, poor play, and so many other factors. But, just hear me out, what if a team’s short stint in a city was by design?
Part of the XFL 2.0 that stuck were the teams in cities either rejected or longing for professional football were the most successful. Naturally any league is going to need the big markets like New York, Los Angeles, Texas, and Seattle. However, the romantic and unique appeal were the teams from places that were different. By having a team that will only be in town for a certain amount of time, there will be a regular new stream of fans, venues, viewers, merchandise, and intrigue for the league. There will also be a great sense of urgency and duty from the players to try and win the XFL championship during their only season there. After all, they’ll only have that one season to make it happen.
Several other benefits can come of this for both the league and the cities. For the league this can be a beta-test of sorts to test a city’s viability as an expansion candidate before making a total commitment if there’s doubt about the city. It also works to put a little more on the fans to show up and buy tickets, concessions and merchandise. The league also gets a great new wave of promotion and hype in new areas of the country each season and will have people talking about what’s next on a constant basis. Lets not forget the easily built in annual TV series this creates. Each season features the franchises preparations for the new city, the player prep, the fanbase getting excited, that season’s setting, and the journey to try and win it all that one season.
Where could this be done? We will examine a few good candidates that make the list of being good sports cities, just not quite big enough. They’ll range from coast to coast, everyone deserves a chance to have a team. Right?
Honolulu
When most people think of the Aloha State they think of fresh seafood, incredible scenery, blue ass water, surfing, and hula. Not many think of football. Perhaps they should! Iconic players like Marcus Mariotta, Tua Tagovailoa, DeForest Buckner, and Manti Te’o hail from there. The University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football programs has produced coaches like June Jones, Dino Babers, and Jeff Monken. Players like Colt Brennan, Timmy Chang, Larry Cole, Jesse Sapolu, Jason Elam, Adrian Klemm, Maa Tanuvasa, and Dan Audick would shatter college football records, be named to Pro-Bowl teams, and win Super Bowl rings.
They’ll also have the benefit of playing in a brand new venue and stadium neighborhood. Aloha Stadium, the home to the UH football team since 1975, has been pretty much condemned and deemed unsafe to host events. The expenses to refurbish overshadows the cost and risk of simply tearing down and starting new. Taking this into consideration, in July 2019 Governor of Hawaii David Ige signed Act 268 into law, appropriating $350 million for an Aloha Stadium redevelopment project. The funds will go toward the construction of a new stadium and land development, including a mixed-use sports and entertainment complex. The New Aloha stadium is a proposed 35,000 seat multi-purpose stadium to be built on the site of the current stadium. The area around the stadium will also include entertainment venues, retail stores, restaurants, housing, hotels, recreational sites, cultural amenities, and green space.
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/09/25/sports/new-aloha-stadiums-2023-opener-in-danger/
By building a “sports and entertainment complex”, the city will certainly want tenants and events to be regularly scheduled. Having a professional football team in a league owned by Dwayne Johnson who grew up in Honolulu and attended high school there is an incredible opportunity.
Putting the taxing travel and other logistical difficulties that would certainly exist, the idea is greatly intriguing. Some imagination is needed here, as well as a little bit of craziness, but it just might be worth a shot. If even only for one season.
Fargo
Lets go from the warm tropical climate of the Pacific Ocean and go to the cold region of the Upper Midwest. Fargo, North Dakota is a place that probably wouldn’t even cross 99 out of 100 fans’ minds as a place that could ever be considered an XFL city. I would refer everyone to a previously published article about why Fargo is an intriguing choice.
https://sportsthrone.medium.com/the-plight-of-a-minor-market-it-works-in-regina-67aa1e08a36b
Omaha
Is Nebraska more than corn harvesting, the College World Series, and Warren Buffet? One thing an Nebraskan will claim about their state is that their love of football runs deep! There is also a bit of a successful precedent in The Big O. The Omaha Nighthawks were probably the most overall successful team in the United Football League. They averaged nearly 23,000 fans regularly in Rosenblatt Stadium, and were rewarded with hosting the UFL Championship Game in 2010.
The legacy of football in Nebraska needs an introduction or explanation. A short drive to Lincoln and you’re standing on some of the most hallowed ground in college football. It’s a tradition of undefeated seasons, national championships, and Heisman Trophy winners. Enough said, and probably already known.
As far as a stadium goes, TD Ameritrade Ballpark is home to Minor League Baseball and the College World Series. It was also designed to accommodate a football field! This isn’t unheard of in the XFL, with the Dallas Renegades playing at the retrofitted Globe Life Park which used to be the home of the Texas Rangers.
In a Reddit survey I conducted, many people agreed that Omaha would be a good fit due to a passionate local fanbase. One person commented that football is the one thing you’ll never have to convince a Nebraskan to watch on TV or spend money on. While the TV market might not be a huge draw, this is why the idea of a nomad team is proposed here. To give smaller cities a chance!
Several other cities worth considering on my list were Hartford, Oklahoma City, Portland, and Columbus. The three listed above certainly present fun, unique, and interesting opportunities for the XFL, but not without very valid concerns and challenges. The main one should be the support of fans and sponsors. Would they really turn out for and get excited about a team that will just up and leave at the end of the season? The same question could be asked of stadium management. They’d probably want several years of commitment from the league, and just one season would be a bit of a turn off.
Hawaii would have a myriad of things that would cause most people a migraine. First off, the travel time and expenses. I would be alot to shuttle a football team back and forth to the mainland over the course of a season. Also kickoff times would be crazy due to the time differences. A 1PM kickoff in Honolulu would be 7pm on the east coast. That’s also a 13 hour flight. I’ve done tht direct flight before, it’s not easy and the time adjustment is a bit brutal. Also factor in a smaller TV market. Would be a harder sell, but it just might be able to happen.
Fargo is mainly hampered by its isolation, small metro population and TV market. Many teams would have to charter flights to get there and back, or connect from Minneapolis by bus if flying isn’t an option. There’s also very limited corporate sponsorship in Fargo. The FargoDome is a great environment, but is it sustainable?
Omaha’s stadium situation would probably be the biggest hangup. You’ll have to compete with the scheduling of two regular tenants in the Creighton BlueJays and the Storm Chasers of MiLB. A lot of effort would have to go into changing the field over from football to baseball and then back. Who knows what damage could be done to the playing surface. The usual factors of TV markets, metro population, and corporate sponsorship of course come up. Would the passion for football among Nebraskans overcome this? Or would the risk of a financial crunch cause the league to turn them away?
When Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia bought the XFL out of bankruptcy they said a major focus of their vision for the league includes a focus on innovation and technology to grow the game. This is clearly an innovative idea, and the possibilities that exist in the offseason TV programming are clear. Having a new city in the league every year by design is certainly innovative, and would have a regular annual buzz across the league and sports world. The XFL was special because it was different and wasn’t afraid to be. Let’s think of what this dynamic would offer to the league, sponsors, and players. Its sounds crazy, but is it the right kind of crazy?
James is a contributor to The Sports Throne in the areas of Major League Baseball, the XFL, and college football, mostly in opinion articles. He’s a graduate of Clemson University, graduating in 2014. Follow his Instagram and Twitter below.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jlcu_ttmgraphsmancave/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jlcu_ttmgraphs
