Could the NFL Work in Iowa?

IPS101

IPS101

Well-Known Member
With Green Bay being able to support an NFL team with a population shy of that of Cedar Rapids, anyone think that the state of Iowa could support an NFL organization?

I realize it will NEVER happen but it would be very cool.

Go Pack Go!
 
Nope.

Its not a question of fans showing up for games, its all about TV. And we are in far too small of a market. We dont have a Milwaukee in our state. And also we have the Bears, Chiefs, Vikings, and Rams basically surrounding us.
 
I have no experience in the matter but really doubt it. It would have no history and is surrounded by other teams. (Packers, Vikes, Bears, Saints and Chiefs) Look at Tampa Bay, they were in the thick of the world series hunt last year and players called it embarrassing how there were no fans at the games. Fans already had their teams.
 
Let's think positive, we have a better chance of getting an NFL team than does North Dakota.
 
Hawke said:
Let's think positive, we have a better chance of getting an NFL team than does North Dakota.
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I am not lobbying for an NFL team. I just look at franchises that are struggling, regardless of population, and I wonder what if. I think with the passion of football fans in Iowa it would be a great asset. I am positive that if a team were to land in Iowa, it would be supported similar to GB.

Drop it in Des Moines and you get support from Des Moines, Omaha and Counciltucky, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City as well as the Quad Cities.

A guy can dream.
 
Simple - no
You need a high % of yes votes from the other owners. No votes would be KC, MN, Stl, GB, Chi. for sure. That alone sinks the battle ship. On the TV side- Sure GB isn't high in that regard as it pertains to TV markets, but they have history on their side.
 
Iowans supports their college teams heavily. Many football fans already spend substantial sums of money for Iowa/ISU season tickets and drive several hours to attend Saturday games. Those fans for the most part will not also be season ticket holders for the NFL team.

That means you need find another 70,000 people within Iowa with the money, schedule, and desire to pay for NFL season tickets and commute to the games. Our population is too dispersed in this state, and we possibly lack the economic demographics as well.
 
This topic came up in my Finance of Sport class this past fall. Iowans would fill the stands without too much of a doubt. Most professional stadiums only hold 65-70K anyway.

Obviously the two main hurdles would be television and corporate dollars. Not only advertising/naming for a stadium, but a HUGE portion of season ticket holders at the professional level are corporate tickets.(especially in the premium seating sections) So while fan support would likely be there, the finances and television incentives simply wouldn't. And I'm not sure if Iowans could fork out enough money to compensate for the lack of corporate season tickets.

The best chance the state of Iowa would have of hosting professional football would be a minor league franchise like the D-league. Two NFL franchises sending down players to one minor league affiliate. Smaller stadiums would be needed as well. Because it is football and because the number of games would be 6-8 home dates, the fan support would be better than the D-league or AAA Iowa Cubs.

I don't see that sort of opportunity happening for many years, if ever. The NFL would never happen. However, if Iowa had an NFL franchise from the beginning like they did in Green Bay, I DO think Iowa would have been able to support the franchise.
 
With Fred Hoiberg's NBA connections, I think Iowa has a much better chance at getting a team from that league. Hey, if Oklahoma City can get a team...

;)
 
Schneid said:
This topic came up in my Finance of Sport class this past fall. Iowans would fill the stands without too much of a doubt. Most professional stadiums only hold 65-70K anyway.

Obviously the two main hurdles would be television and corporate dollars. Not only advertising/naming for a stadium, but a HUGE portion of season ticket holders at the professional level are corporate tickets.(especially in the premium seating sections) So while fan support would likely be there, the finances and television incentives simply wouldn't. And I'm not sure if Iowans could fork out enough money to compensate for the lack of corporate season tickets.

The best chance the state of Iowa would have of hosting professional football would be a minor league franchise like the D-league. Two NFL franchises sending down players to one minor league affiliate. Smaller stadiums would be needed as well. Because it is football and because the number of games would be 6-8 home dates, the fan support would be better than the D-league or AAA Iowa Cubs.

I don't see that sort of opportunity happening for many years, if ever. The NFL would never happen. However, if Iowa had an NFL franchise from the beginning like they did in Green Bay, I DO think Iowa would have been able to support the franchise.
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Solid insight. Thank you. Was going to comment and ask someone to provide a similar, substantive take but didn't have to.
 
IPS101 said:
With Green Bay being able to support an NFL team with a population shy of that of Cedar Rapids, anyone think that the state of Iowa could support an NFL organization?

I realize it will NEVER happen but it would be very cool.

Go Pack Go!
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Not a chance. We are in Iowa. At times I am even surprised Iowa sustains the I-Cubs.
 
TheManTheMyth said:
Nope.

Its not a question of fans showing up for games, its all about TV. And we are in far too small of a market. We dont have a Milwaukee in our state. And also we have the Bears, Chiefs, Vikings, and Rams basically surrounding us.
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Size of the market doesn't matter. Green Bay has less people than Des Moines and the Packers are a pillar of the league. That, and what happened in Green Bay will never happen again.

Super Bowl: The publicly owned Green Bay Packers could be the model for a better way to organize and administer professional sports. - ESPN
 
Didn't Waterloo have an NBA team long, long ago? I'm guessing Iowa people might support an NFL team but have no idea about how they would get enough tv viewers. The Iowa Speedway is working on getting a NASCAR race and people seem to support that better than expected.
 
Talking about Green Bay is irrelevant. The Packers were born decades ago before the NFL even resembled what it is today.

If Green Bay never had a team, they would have a 0% chance of getting one now.
 
ShadasRevenge said:
Size of the market doesn't matter. Green Bay has less people than Des Moines and the Packers are a pillar of the league. That, and what happened in Green Bay will never happen again.
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Exactly. They are a pillar of the league. If they werent, they wouldnt still be in the NFL.

But what I was saying was that the Des Moines/Iowa market is too small to start a team right now. So market size very much matters.
 
Iowa (namely DM) lacks all of those corporate sponsors. NFL stadiums/teams depend a lot on big time corporate money, and Iowa just doesn't have enough of those.

Don't use Green Bay as an example for reasons other's have stated. And don't use the Iowa Speedway as an example either. Comparing NASCAR and NFL is apples to oranges.
 
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