PFT: Merged USFL-XFL apparently plans to sell franchises

[laxtreme56]

The only way they get into Philly or NY/NJ is if the pony up the big $$, and don't expect to be a hub city. As we're seeing in Detroit, the major league towns aren't going to roll out the red carpet for spring football like decidedly minor league towns will (Birmingham, Memphis, Canton). The fact the league still isn't selling tickets in Detroit is telling as attendance was pretty decent there, all things considered. If they give up on Detroit, I can't see the USFL stomaching the costs of playing in Philly or NY.

[4th&long]

The only way they get into Philly or NY/NJ is if the pony up the big $$, and don't expect to be a hub city. As we're seeing in Detroit, the major league towns aren't going to roll out the red carpet for spring football like decidedly minor league towns will (Birmingham, Memphis, Canton). The fact the league still isn't selling tickets in Detroit is telling as attendance was pretty decent there, all things considered. If they give up on Detroit, I can't see the USFL stomaching the costs of playing in Philly or NY.

They may be waiting on Detroit during "quiet" period who knows. But while cost is definitley a factor - so is TV ratings, and you aren't going to get big ratings with Birmingham, Memphis, SA, NOLA. So they do need to get in big markets.

[Dome Dome Dome]

I don't think they necessarily need to be in big markets. They are problems in themselves in that they aren't starved of pro football, have a million other major league teams and generally there's just more distractions. That's evident in some of the historical attendance figures minor league sports in major markets have had.

I do feel however there needs to be a geographical spread as opposed to isolating the league to certain regions. I felt the XFL suffered from being too Texas centric (which also is the reason for me that San Antonio's attendance from AAF to XFL dropped so dramatically because it was too bunched). The AAF virtually ignored the Northern half of the country which whilst it had some good game attendances was reflective of its poor tv ratings for me.

The other part is do they want to link teams to NFL teams, i.e. the AAF signing policy but that only really works if the allocated teams are in the same region as their NFL counterparts, i.e. Hartford allocated to Bills/Patriots/Jets/Giants and Northeastern colleges, San Diego to Rams/Chargers/Raiders/Cardinals, Southwestern colleges etc to attract fans of these teams.

[Rmbay]

I don't think they necessarily need to be in big markets. They are problems in themselves in that they aren't starved of pro football, have a million other major league teams and generally there's just more distractions. That's evident in some of the historical attendance figures minor league sports in major markets have had.

I do feel however there needs to be a geographical spread as opposed to isolating the league to certain regions. I felt the XFL suffered from being too Texas centric (which also is the reason for me that San Antonio's attendance from AAF to XFL dropped so dramatically because it was too bunched). The AAF virtually ignored the Northern half of the country which whilst it had some good game attendances was reflective of its poor tv ratings for me.

The other part is do they want to link teams to NFL teams, i.e. the AAF signing policy but that only really works if the allocated teams are in the same region as their NFL counterparts, i.e. Hartford allocated to Bills/Patriots/Jets/Giants and Northeastern colleges, San Diego to Rams/Chargers/Raiders/Cardinals, Southwestern colleges etc to attract fans of these teams.

Given that the league will be co-owned by a national television network, it's inevitable that they'll want the major markets. The endgame here, after all, is to make money, and that means as many eyes on the product as possible.

To that end, I agree that geographical spread is important. One of the more interesting aspects about this merger to me is what becomes of the Vipers. I don't think they want to abandon the southwest/California area, so it wouldn't shock me if one of the franchises comes from somewhere around there. The problem is that there really isn't a great spot. California is fairly prohibitive due to high insurance costs and Arizona might be too hot unless they get a good deal to play indoors. Denver might be an option.