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| Could London get a NFL Stadium? Photo credit UK.EuroSport |
by Chad Jones
Only one in NFL history has been financed devoid public funding- Met Life Stadium. The rest have been financed by the tax payer, You & Me. State legislatures are highly polarized, and thus hesitant to offer rich owners public funds to build new monstrosities. The only viable method for ensuring a new stadium is leveraging a potential relocation.
After Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) appeared on the cusp of constructing a new Los Angeles Stadium, analysts began discussing potential tenants. Logical choices were teams that lacked new facilities. Owners utilized the potential LA move to leverage construction of new facilities. Three teams were successful, the Atlanta, Minnesota Vikings & San Francisco 49ers.
Status of New Stadium Efforts:
Agreed Upon New Facilities:
Atlanta Falcons- New Stadium Agreed upon March 2013.
Minnesota Vikings- Finalizing details of new Stadium. Agreed upon in State Legislature.
San Francisco 49ers- 'Levi's Stadium' set to open in July 2014.
Teams Seeking New Stadiums and/or Upgrades:
Buffalo Bills- Ralph Wilson Stadium (1973)
Jacksonville Jaguars- EverBank Field (1995)
Miami Dolphins- Sun Life Stadium (1987)
New Orleans Saints- Mercedes Benz Superdome (1975)
Oakland Raiders- O. Co Coliseum (1966)
San Diego Chargers- Qualcomm Stadium (1967)
St. Louis Rams- Edward Jones Dome (1995)
The Bills agreed to a 10 year lease extension with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The Bills have the option to leave following the 7th season. Per the agreement, $ 130 million of upgrades came from the following sources: New York State ($ 54 M), Erie County ($ 41 M) & the Bills (35 M). The leverage point will remain Toronto after year 7. If the team can marketably improve, discussions on a facility will reemerge. It will be a battle between Downstate (New York & Long Island) v. Upstate interests. It will get contentious in the State Legislature, and I anticipate the Bills eventually moving to Toronto.
Jacksonville Jaguars- New Owner Shahid Khan wants a new facility, but a market the size of Jacksonville's could negate that potential. Khan has a longterm lease with Jacksonville Development Commission, which features an out clause if the team looses money one season, and finishes in the bottom 3rd of revenue the next. One could argue this has already occurred given the lack of attendance. However, many will argue the size of the NFLs TV Contract makes the Jaguars a profitable business regardless of attendance. Redeveloping downtown Jacksonville has long been a priority, but no real support has emerged.
Miami Dolphins- Owner Stephen Ross lobbied for $ 200 Million from the State Legislature to match his contribution for Stadium Upgrades. The goal was like all upgrades- 'Widen the concourses, make facility wheel chair accessible, new HD video boards & upgraded locker rooms.' Beneath the surface, all Owners really want is additional luxury boxes, which are not a component of league wide revenue sharing. Hosting future Super Bowls is contingent on either upgrades, or a new stadium.
New Orleans Saints- After the blackout, no Super Bowl will return to the Big Easy until a new stadium is constructed. Despite the Saints success, no real traction to a new facility ever emerged. $ 336 Million of upgrades have been spent on the facility since 2006, but the Super Dome remains a relic. Similar to Miami, the league uses to economic impact of hosting a Super Bowl to motivate Legislatures in State's reliant on tourism.
Oakland Raiders- After the fight outside a 49ers-Raiders preseason game left two people dead, many asserted the Raiders & 49ers could never share a facility. Oakland is a city in harsh economic times and experiencing population declines, and no major stadium project appears in the Pipe Line.
San Diego Chargers- For years the Spanos family has sought a new Stadium to no avail. It's one of the worst in the league and will remain the Chargers home for the foreseeable future. Moving to LA seems a likely longterm outcome.
St. Louis Rams- Arbitration over a new facility stagnated, and the Rams & St. Louis CVC were far apart on appropriate terms. The residual impact was the CVC offered a mere $ 2 million for upgrades. The St. Louis CVC has violated terms of their agreement with the Rams, and the team can relocate at the time it deems fit. With the Naming Rights set to expire following 2013, expect discussions to heat up about potential relocation if the team can have a strong season.
London provides a leverage play similar to Los Angeles. It's a potential relocation option that says to State Legislatures- Get Serious or We're Leaving. Eventually, not offering to build a new stadium hurts local economies, or thats the argument Owners will make. Nobody is serous about relocating a team to London, it's merely another way of pushing for new digs.
In the long history of stadium financing, the most storied example of leverage plays is the Tennessee Titans. When Houston refused to give the Oilers a new stadium, Bud Adams relocated the team to Nashville. Years later, football returned to Houston with an expansion team. At this point, the NFL won't consider any expansion teams. There are 32 of them, and cities must compete for their presence. Stadium financing and the residual economic impact is complex, but realistically- It's more prudent to build a new stadium than be left without an NFL Team.
After Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) appeared on the cusp of constructing a new Los Angeles Stadium, analysts began discussing potential tenants. Logical choices were teams that lacked new facilities. Owners utilized the potential LA move to leverage construction of new facilities. Three teams were successful, the Atlanta, Minnesota Vikings & San Francisco 49ers.
Status of New Stadium Efforts:
Agreed Upon New Facilities:
Atlanta Falcons- New Stadium Agreed upon March 2013.
Minnesota Vikings- Finalizing details of new Stadium. Agreed upon in State Legislature.
San Francisco 49ers- 'Levi's Stadium' set to open in July 2014.
Teams Seeking New Stadiums and/or Upgrades:
Buffalo Bills- Ralph Wilson Stadium (1973)
Jacksonville Jaguars- EverBank Field (1995)
Miami Dolphins- Sun Life Stadium (1987)
New Orleans Saints- Mercedes Benz Superdome (1975)
Oakland Raiders- O. Co Coliseum (1966)
San Diego Chargers- Qualcomm Stadium (1967)
St. Louis Rams- Edward Jones Dome (1995)
The Bills agreed to a 10 year lease extension with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The Bills have the option to leave following the 7th season. Per the agreement, $ 130 million of upgrades came from the following sources: New York State ($ 54 M), Erie County ($ 41 M) & the Bills (35 M). The leverage point will remain Toronto after year 7. If the team can marketably improve, discussions on a facility will reemerge. It will be a battle between Downstate (New York & Long Island) v. Upstate interests. It will get contentious in the State Legislature, and I anticipate the Bills eventually moving to Toronto.
Jacksonville Jaguars- New Owner Shahid Khan wants a new facility, but a market the size of Jacksonville's could negate that potential. Khan has a longterm lease with Jacksonville Development Commission, which features an out clause if the team looses money one season, and finishes in the bottom 3rd of revenue the next. One could argue this has already occurred given the lack of attendance. However, many will argue the size of the NFLs TV Contract makes the Jaguars a profitable business regardless of attendance. Redeveloping downtown Jacksonville has long been a priority, but no real support has emerged.
Miami Dolphins- Owner Stephen Ross lobbied for $ 200 Million from the State Legislature to match his contribution for Stadium Upgrades. The goal was like all upgrades- 'Widen the concourses, make facility wheel chair accessible, new HD video boards & upgraded locker rooms.' Beneath the surface, all Owners really want is additional luxury boxes, which are not a component of league wide revenue sharing. Hosting future Super Bowls is contingent on either upgrades, or a new stadium.
New Orleans Saints- After the blackout, no Super Bowl will return to the Big Easy until a new stadium is constructed. Despite the Saints success, no real traction to a new facility ever emerged. $ 336 Million of upgrades have been spent on the facility since 2006, but the Super Dome remains a relic. Similar to Miami, the league uses to economic impact of hosting a Super Bowl to motivate Legislatures in State's reliant on tourism.
Oakland Raiders- After the fight outside a 49ers-Raiders preseason game left two people dead, many asserted the Raiders & 49ers could never share a facility. Oakland is a city in harsh economic times and experiencing population declines, and no major stadium project appears in the Pipe Line.
San Diego Chargers- For years the Spanos family has sought a new Stadium to no avail. It's one of the worst in the league and will remain the Chargers home for the foreseeable future. Moving to LA seems a likely longterm outcome.
St. Louis Rams- Arbitration over a new facility stagnated, and the Rams & St. Louis CVC were far apart on appropriate terms. The residual impact was the CVC offered a mere $ 2 million for upgrades. The St. Louis CVC has violated terms of their agreement with the Rams, and the team can relocate at the time it deems fit. With the Naming Rights set to expire following 2013, expect discussions to heat up about potential relocation if the team can have a strong season.
London provides a leverage play similar to Los Angeles. It's a potential relocation option that says to State Legislatures- Get Serious or We're Leaving. Eventually, not offering to build a new stadium hurts local economies, or thats the argument Owners will make. Nobody is serous about relocating a team to London, it's merely another way of pushing for new digs.
In the long history of stadium financing, the most storied example of leverage plays is the Tennessee Titans. When Houston refused to give the Oilers a new stadium, Bud Adams relocated the team to Nashville. Years later, football returned to Houston with an expansion team. At this point, the NFL won't consider any expansion teams. There are 32 of them, and cities must compete for their presence. Stadium financing and the residual economic impact is complex, but realistically- It's more prudent to build a new stadium than be left without an NFL Team.
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