Toronto Mayor Rob Ford hopes to bring a National Football League franchise to the city. Doug Ford said four groups have approached city hall with hopes of bringing a team north. The 32-team league currently only plays in the U.S., although Toronto's Rogers Centre has been home field for the Buffalo Bills for some games during the past two seasons. Doug Ford said a new team would be good for the city's economy. "How can we bring tourism to Toronto? How can we create jobs? Great fit would be an NFL team," Ford told CBC News. Toronto has made attempts to bring a team to the city in the past, most notably in 1989 and 1995 when a group led by Paul Godfrey made a bid for a team. "The NFL cannot ignore the fourth-largest market in North America," Doug Ford said. Source: Cbcsports.ca
I don't mind me some CFL either (Can they get a decent TV deal in the US?) but I really hope the NFL doesn't go international with the teams. This might be the start of watering down the NFL really bad down the road.
Doesn't go? Random games at London, Mexico and Toronto are only the begining of Godells vision. Since he can't squeze any more money out of the US fans, he goes international. Trust me the rebirth of the London Monarcs is on the verge...
As a fan of the product, football....and being impartial when it comes to having the NFL closer to home.....would you want the NFL to expand overseas olly?
Everyone knows it, even those at NFLUK know Britain isn't ready for a team. It comes down to the age old fact that corporations and those in power can only see figures, not the reasoning behind them. Granted the UK game gets 500,000 apply for tickets every year, but that doesn't take dummy users, touts, the fact it's just one game into account (Average ticket is about £100) and unlike Americans, Europeans can't drop their allegiances to teams at the drop of a hat. The most worrying fact is that if they are going to bring a team overseas and obtain more revenue, they need to put more money into it. Growth of the sport is increasing, but no where near enough to justify putting a team here. The only way they can do it is to expand exposure, but they haven't done that. The games are on the same channels, same amount of press coverage, I could go on for days. NFL have got the right idea, they are just doing it all wrong.
