(12-26-2017 07:30 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote: (12-26-2017 06:43 PM)No Bull Wrote: (12-26-2017 05:57 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote: I know this isn't a college sports topic by any means but it certainly could have an impact on the college game and college players.
Vince McMahon appears to be gearing up to either relaunch the XFL, or perhaps another upstart league with a different name in response to the growing discontent fans are having with the NFL.
Here are my thoughts:
Play a spring schedule--don't take the NFL head on
Focus on cities that are the most discontent with the NFL--
St. Louis
San Diego
Oakland
Throw in some other markets that are unserved and have ready to use stadiums
San Antonio
Orlando
Birmingham
Memphis
Plus a few big markets for good measure
NYC (is you can't get the Meadowlands maybe this team ends up at Rutgers or UConn)
Chicago (stadium might be tricky too)
Dallas (Cotton Bowl)
Learn from the mistakes of 2001. Don't emphasize the WWE or a bad boy culture. Brand yourselves as a return to "old time football" without the fancy stadiums and exorbitant prices. Cater to middle class consumers. Don't make crazy rules that lead to a bunch of injuries.
Find a network willing to take a chance on your product but also take advantage of streaming options. Could these be Turner's opportunity to jump into the football game?
Start with a single entity structure but eventually plan on moving to an owner/operator model similar to MLS.
Thoughts?
I agree with everything you posted including franchise locations. Maybe throw in Toronto Vancouver and Mexico City.
The CFL probably would fight that tooth and nail in order to protect their domestic product.
Other non-NFL markets I'd look at expanding to would be:
Sacramento
Portland
Salt Lake
Omaha
Columbus
Hartford
Raliegh
If you want to move on the NFL's turf and are willing to toss a bit of cash into fixing up an aging stadium:
Washington D.C. (RFK)
Detroit (Pontiac Dome)
Houston (Astro Dome)
Or partner with a local college:
Phoenix (Sun Devil Stadium)
Miami (FAU or FIU Stadium)
You know the
Silverdome was partially detonated weeks ago and the structural steel was ruined. Astrodome is not fit for anything. RFK lost DC United and is tenantless, but there isn't much desire for the city to have a tenant as it just increase their costs.
Sun Devil Stadium
is a construction zone until September
Memphis, Birmingham, Orlando are just not fit for a 4th/5th/6th attempt at alt-football. Every successive attempt, the attendance is lower. Case in point, the Stallions averaged 30K, but the Fire and Bolts both drew less than 16K. Memphis Showboats drew 30K, but Maniax drew 30% less. Orlando was basically the same with 25K for both USFL and XFL, but now Orlando City SC is in town.
Vince cashed out approximately $100MM in stock. That's about the same amount which he and GE/NBC spent last time.
$100MM is...
~$75M LESS THAN what a single NFL team has to spend on players talent alone. It is about 1.7% of the total NFL salary cap for all 32 teams. Try to pick off any talent with that.
It's also just $48MM more than what the football budget for Alabama is and just 17MM more than what the University of Florida spends on football and
"football related expenses"
If there is the attempt to go after recent HS graduates or those not currently enrolled in a NCAA program, Vince is going up atainst Don Yee's
Pac Pro Football which apparently is still set for a summer launch (after the class of 2018 graduates) who claims salaries of $50K plus benefits and schooling since they originally wanted to partner with SoCal community colleges as playing sites. In the original XFL,
Vince did not even give adequate players health insurance.
This is still a gate driven business and there is not enough gate for this to work at whatever price point.