USFL in talks with Birmingham as Hub for 2022

[4th&long]

USFL news - Hub city talk using Birmingham

https://www.wvtm13.com/article/birmingh ... y/37928711#

>> BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —

Officials in the city of Birmingham and at the BJCC are reportedly in discussion with Fox Sports about the possibility of the United States Football League playing all of its games in the city as early as next year.

Multiple sources, including a city leader, confirmed the news to WVTM 13's Jon Paepcke Monday afternoon.
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The proposal includes a ten-game season with two semi-final matches and a championship, making a total of 43 USFL games. Somewhere between 75% and 80% of the league's games would be played at the new Protective Stadium. The remaining games would be played at Legion Field.

The broadcast proposal is as follows: 25% of games on the USA Network, 25% of Fox Sports, 25% on Fox and 25% on NBC.

Earlier in the summer, the Birmingham Park Board approved a resolution supporting any USFL activities at Legion Field.

The BJCC will host an executive session on the topic at 3 p.m. Monday. No vote is expected. <<

HERE's a Tweet from the team that broke the story:

https://twitter.com/JonWVTM13

>> @JonWVTM13 @JonWVTM13
BREAKING: Multiple sources tell us there are ongoing discussions between BHM/BJCC and Fox-owned USFL to play all of the league's games in the Magic City as early as next year. 75-80% would be at @ProtectiveStdm
, the rest at @Legion_Field.
3:43 PM · Oct 11, 2021·Twitter Web App <<

[Firecop]

Interesting, sounds like they are being financially prudent in these uncertain times.

[4th&long]

Interesting, sounds like they are being financially prudent in these uncertain times.

Also they may not have had the time to do it the way they wanted. The new USFL is primarily a TV product as its driven by FOX so this works for TV. Apparently FOX's Reggie Bush was even involved in the presentation to Birmingham.

WIth only 6 months till kickoff they buy a year before moving out to the cities more properly.

Woods kinda spoke about this approach in his "the_markcast" podcast interview back in Apri/May.

I was actually hoping for 2 HUB Cities - one in Houston and Philly or St Louis.

I think this will also be used to enhance value for the teams for potential buyers. And allow NBC to test the waters. The mention of NBC is major news.

[Firecop]

The way they are starting is reminiscent of the FCF.

[MGB01]

If NBC gets involved this would technically be the sixth different non-NFL pro league they've aired: Both AFLs (American and Arena), CFL, XFL, FCF (streamed on LX), and USFL.

The proposed mid-April date is to clear their six weeks of PGA coverage (when CBS is doing late season college hoops/March Madness), although they will have staggered events in that time period too--Kentucky Derby, Indy 500, U.S. Open.

As I've said a few times before, I hope a certain somebody else wasn't banking on NBC automatically running to them simply cause they've been on in one form or another for most of the last 30 years (and now with WWE/Peacock it's basically all the time)

[4th&long]

It appears that FOX is calling the shots... the idea that Fox would not be heavily involved seems to be incorrect:

https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/we-nee ... usfl-deal/

>> While Parker is hopeful, the decision doesn’t come down to what he or the city want. According to Gene Hallman, CEO of the Bruno Event Team, the BJCC Board of Directors would have to come to an agreement with Fox Sports, who owns the USFL. Hallman told CBS 42 the BJCC Board of Directors were given a pretty tight deadline to make their decision.

The board met Monday to discuss the opportunity, but there still isn’t an answer as to what they will decide.

As of Tuesday afternoon, a spokesperson for the BJCC said in an email, “As of now, we do not have another meeting of the board set at this time.” <<

[MGB01]

If FOX is putting up the bucks (making them a wee bit more than a simple minority investor), then yeah they're calling the shots

Any potential NBCU involvement would be somewhere between what often happens in college football/basketball TV-wise and simple horse trading

[laxtreme56]

I'd like to see an official statement from Fox or NBC before I buy into this. This could be like the AAF where Tom Dundon "invested" $250 million into the league. In reality it was less than 20 million and was contingent on the AAF hitting certain revenue parameters, all of which fell incredibly short.

[4th&long]

https://www.wbrc.com/2021/10/14/clock-i ... irmingham/

>> BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) -There’s a lot of buzz in the Magic City about the possibility the USFL could relaunch in Birmingham, but time is of the essence. We’re told negotiations are on-going between FOX Sports and all the parties involved in Birmingham.

We’re told the new Protective Stadium is a big draw for FOX along with Legion Field. Birmingham is also known for its sports medicine, and Hallman tells us that’s another big reason why FOX is looking for the city to host the league. Hallman is optimistic about this opportunity but says time is ticking.

We’re told FOX doesn’t want to go to a NFL city because they want the community fully engaged in their product. Once we learn more information, we’ll pass it along.<<

1) Again its FOX FOX FOX making the decisions. So this should put to bed the idea that FOX is just a passive player in the USFL

2) Where is Brian Woods? No mention of his name so far.

3) USFL wants a quick decision on their proposal so they can get started.

4) The local news is picking this up more and more... would like to see some national sports media coverage.

5) Assuming the USFL moves to a traditional city approach, it looks like Birmingham is a good bet as one of them.

6) A deal that puts games on FOX (Fos & FS1) and NBC (NBC and USA) would be huge - granted ESPN is the best promoter of of any league, PFT/NBC at least can get the word out there along with FOX and its FOXBet gambling angle.

[herns]

I’ve seen a lot of rumblings that woods isn’t apart of the USFL