laxtreme56 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 06, 2024 7:01 pm
I like the fact that Moose isn't pulling any punches and expressed his disappointment in Memphis. If Fred Smith really wants to own the team then they should let him step in, because the Showboats are invisible in the market. I will say, the hub in Arlington may prove troublesome in the long-term. If you're trying to get a presence in the community, you can't just be there for 24 hours a week with no off-season presence
While having a presence in the market has a certain level of importance I think it's overstated and being used as a bit of a crutch. The UFL held events in the cities before the season started and it takes time and familiarity for a presence to really help. Long term the idea is to move away from the Arlington hub, but they are playing in their own markets, which should be the main factor. A lack of presence in the community isn’t stopping cities like St. Louis and D.C.
Memphis is an issue for the league, particularly when Fred Smith wants to own the franchise there and he's probably been investing already. Don't know if the marketing is as robust as it needs to be but they need to figure it out.
This is on the UFL. Last year the USFL hired a marking crew for the Showboats and they filled the bowl almost halfway for the home opener.
For the home opener, what about the other four games--minus the five Gambler hub games?
And no, since a lot of the USFL side is almost insulted to be in the merged league (looking at you Scooby Wright, Jace Sternberger, DeFillippo), you don't get to pick and choose when they're "all in"--especially when STL clearly doesn't have any problems.
This is going to end terribly if some people don't "get it"--starting with the guy complaining about a late start when they essentially kept the USFL timeline just bumped up a couple weeks.
Of course this is going to end terribly. Fox isn't breaking even like they were when they were in the hub system, they're going to lose a lot of money this season and I won't be surprised if they pull the plug on this thing. And when the dust settles, we are going to have a bunch of XFL fans and USFL fans blaming each other for the latest spring football failure.
And you don't think FOX's internal projections account for losses, etc.? They'll pull the plug if it doesn't appear they can sell franchises in the time frame they've mapped out, and rumors are they might already be ahead in that regard. Unfortunately there's going to be rough patches. That's to be expected.
It’s absolutely asinine to think after all this planning, the league will pull the plug after one lackluster season. This is gonna take time, and they couldn’t play hub ball forever. Now if we’re in season 5 and network games can’t crack 1 million or get 10k paying fans in all markets, we may have a problem.
For the home opener, what about the other four games--minus the five Gambler hub games?
And no, since a lot of the USFL side is almost insulted to be in the merged league (looking at you Scooby Wright, Jace Sternberger, DeFillippo), you don't get to pick and choose when they're "all in"--especially when STL clearly doesn't have any problems.
This is going to end terribly if some people don't "get it"--starting with the guy complaining about a late start when they essentially kept the USFL timeline just bumped up a couple weeks.
Of course this is going to end terribly. Fox isn't breaking even like they were when they were in the hub system, they're going to lose a lot of money this season and I won't be surprised if they pull the plug on this thing. And when the dust settles, we are going to have a bunch of XFL fans and USFL fans blaming each other for the latest spring football failure.
And you don't think FOX's internal projections account for losses, etc.? They'll pull the plug if it doesn't appear they can sell franchises in the time frame they've mapped out, and rumors are they might already be ahead in that regard. Unfortunately there's going to be rough patches. That's to be expected.
Oh, I'm sure FOX is expecting some losses, but will they lose too much? Time will tell. As for selling franchises, who wants to buy a USFL branded football team that can't draw more than 9k people? If they had a good paying TV deal and offered to share the revenue with the owners, I could see it.
Of course this is going to end terribly. Fox isn't breaking even like they were when they were in the hub system, they're going to lose a lot of money this season and I won't be surprised if they pull the plug on this thing. And when the dust settles, we are going to have a bunch of XFL fans and USFL fans blaming each other for the latest spring football failure.
And you don't think FOX's internal projections account for losses, etc.? They'll pull the plug if it doesn't appear they can sell franchises in the time frame they've mapped out, and rumors are they might already be ahead in that regard. Unfortunately there's going to be rough patches. That's to be expected.
Oh, I'm sure FOX is expecting some losses, but will they lose too much? Time will tell. As for selling franchises, who wants to buy a USFL branded football team that can't draw more than 9k people? If they had a good paying TV deal and offered to share the revenue with the owners, I could see it.
Fred Smith, Memphis native and founder of FedEx, who lobbied to rebrand the Tampa Bay Bandits as the Memphis Showboats last year for the purpose of potentially buying. Why else would you leave a top 13 TV market for # 52 as a TV owner?
And you don't think FOX's internal projections account for losses, etc.? They'll pull the plug if it doesn't appear they can sell franchises in the time frame they've mapped out, and rumors are they might already be ahead in that regard. Unfortunately there's going to be rough patches. That's to be expected.
Oh, I'm sure FOX is expecting some losses, but will they lose too much? Time will tell. As for selling franchises, who wants to buy a USFL branded football team that can't draw more than 9k people? If they had a good paying TV deal and offered to share the revenue with the owners, I could see it.
Fred Smith, Memphis native and founder of FedEx, who lobbied to rebrand the Tampa Bay Bandits as the Memphis Showboats last year for the purpose of potentially buying. Why else would you leave a top 13 TV market for # 52 as a TV owner?
That is all true, but that was before the merger and the subsequent dismal UFL attendance. We don't know how Fred Smith feels about the current state of the league or his desire to become an owner.
Also, it's not just Fred Smith, if I recall correctly, the city of Memphis gave the USFL a favorable stadium deal that only gets more favorable every year, which is why I don't support the idea of them moving the team. I mean, what are they going to do? Move to another city and play in a stadium that potentially costs the league more and try to woo a football fanbase that is just as apathetic (if not more) about spring football than Memphis fans?
Of course this is going to end terribly. Fox isn't breaking even like they were when they were in the hub system, they're going to lose a lot of money this season and I won't be surprised if they pull the plug on this thing. And when the dust settles, we are going to have a bunch of XFL fans and USFL fans blaming each other for the latest spring football failure.
And you don't think FOX's internal projections account for losses, etc.? They'll pull the plug if it doesn't appear they can sell franchises in the time frame they've mapped out, and rumors are they might already be ahead in that regard. Unfortunately there's going to be rough patches. That's to be expected.
Oh, I'm sure FOX is expecting some losses, but will they lose too much? Time will tell. As for selling franchises, who wants to buy a USFL branded football team that can't draw more than 9k people? If they had a good paying TV deal and offered to share the revenue with the owners, I could see it.
As 4th pointed out, Fred Smith has been looking to own the team in Memphis and is reportedly set to become an owner. As to ownership itself, it's a matter of getting in on the ground floor. If the potential for making money and increasing franchise value wasn't there, this league would have never gotten any further than a whiteboard to begin with. I don't know what type of ownership model they're going with, but any potential owner going into it would be thinking long term.
Attendance in a few of these cities is a problem, but it's not necessarily a death knell. What these cities and this league may need is some momentum in perception, however it may happen.
Oh, I'm sure FOX is expecting some losses, but will they lose too much? Time will tell. As for selling franchises, who wants to buy a USFL branded football team that can't draw more than 9k people? If they had a good paying TV deal and offered to share the revenue with the owners, I could see it.
Fred Smith, Memphis native and founder of FedEx, who lobbied to rebrand the Tampa Bay Bandits as the Memphis Showboats last year for the purpose of potentially buying. Why else would you leave a top 13 TV market for # 52 as a TV owner?
That is all true, but that was before the merger and the subsequent dismal UFL attendance. We don't know how Fred Smith feels about the current state of the league or his desire to become an owner.
Also, it's not just Fred Smith, if I recall correctly, the city of Memphis gave the USFL a favorable stadium deal that only gets more favorable every year, which is why I don't support the idea of them moving the team. I mean, what are they going to do? Move to another city and play in a stadium that potentially costs the league more and try to woo a football fanbase that is just as apathetic (if not more) about spring football than Memphis fans?
From what has been reported in a few places, Memphis is one of the cities that pretty much has ownership set in place. I don't think it's a stretch to assume it's Fred Smith.
Oh, I'm sure FOX is expecting some losses, but will they lose too much? Time will tell. As for selling franchises, who wants to buy a USFL branded football team that can't draw more than 9k people? If they had a good paying TV deal and offered to share the revenue with the owners, I could see it.
Fred Smith, Memphis native and founder of FedEx, who lobbied to rebrand the Tampa Bay Bandits as the Memphis Showboats last year for the purpose of potentially buying. Why else would you leave a top 13 TV market for # 52 as a TV owner?
That is all true, but that was before the merger and the subsequent dismal UFL attendance. We don't know how Fred Smith feels about the current state of the league or his desire to become an owner.
Also, it's not just Fred Smith, if I recall correctly, the city of Memphis gave the USFL a favorable stadium deal that only gets more favorable every year, which is why I don't support the idea of them moving the team. I mean, what are they going to do? Move to another city and play in a stadium that potentially costs the league more and try to woo a football fanbase that is just as apathetic (if not more) about spring football than Memphis fans?
So IOW, we've gone and nearly killed the league for one of the least impressive billionaires known to man, as well as a city that hasn't proved itself in four decades, got it. And instead of the league coming off another high, we're getting to do this all over again for whom, one of Mike Ilitch' demon sperm?
Seattle would have been averaging almost 20K, just sayin
Fred Smith, Memphis native and founder of FedEx, who lobbied to rebrand the Tampa Bay Bandits as the Memphis Showboats last year for the purpose of potentially buying. Why else would you leave a top 13 TV market for # 52 as a TV owner?
That is all true, but that was before the merger and the subsequent dismal UFL attendance. We don't know how Fred Smith feels about the current state of the league or his desire to become an owner.
Also, it's not just Fred Smith, if I recall correctly, the city of Memphis gave the USFL a favorable stadium deal that only gets more favorable every year, which is why I don't support the idea of them moving the team. I mean, what are they going to do? Move to another city and play in a stadium that potentially costs the league more and try to woo a football fanbase that is just as apathetic (if not more) about spring football than Memphis fans?
So IOW, we've gone and nearly killed the league for one of the least impressive billionaires known to man, as well as a city that hasn't proved itself in four decades, got it. And instead of the league coming off another high, we're getting to do this all over again for whom, one of Mike Ilitch' demon sperm?
Seattle would have been averaging almost 20K, just sayin
