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From the latest San Antonio Business Journal
Red McCombs says Alamo City has more ammo for NFL hunt San Antonio Business Journal - January 26, 2007 by W. Scott Bailey While the governors of Indiana and Illinois are deciding what to wager each other for Super Bowl XLI, Texas Gov. Rick Perry's office believes the odds of San Antonio eventually landing its own NFL franchise may be improving. Meanwhile, former NFL owner and San Antonio civic cheerleader Red McCombs says the league's new commissioner likes what he sees in the Alamo City. McCombs owned the Minnesota Vikings before selling the team in the spring of 2005 to New Jersey real estate developer Zygmunt Wilf. He has been perhaps San Antonio's most outspoken leader in terms of what an NFL team could mean for this region. McCombs says San Antonio currently has the right political leadership in place -- with San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff -- to make a run for a team. He says the city may have some help in Austin, too. "Rick Perry has talked to me at length about this," says McCombs about San Antonio and its bid to land an NFL team. "He gets it." McCombs adds, "I hear from Rick Perry as much as anyone about this. He's as interested as anyone in how we can pull this off." McCombs says the NFL and Major League Baseball are now fully aware that Perry has taken an interest in San Antonio's quest to land a second major professional sports franchise. Perry was unavailable for comment at press time. But a spokesman for the governor says Perry is indeed interested in helping San Antonio become Texas' third NFL city. "The governor definitely wants to see an NFL team in San Antonio," Ted Royer notes. "He believes it would generate tremendous economic impact and pride in the region." Asked if the governor would support San Antonio leaders' attempt to bring an NFL team to the Alamo City, Royer says: "He would definitely support it." What that support could include is unclear at present. Royer says it is too premature to project what Perry might be able to bring to the table. New outlook Plenty of critics have questioned the ability of San Antonio to support professional football. Still others wonder if Texas needs a third NFL franchise. Hardberger and Wolff say the naysayers are confusing the old San Antonio with the new. The governor's office agrees. Perry's assessment of the Alamo City: "He believes San Antonio can definitely support an NFL franchise," Royer says. Last season, with speculation building that the hurricane-displaced New Orleans Saints might convert their temporary stay in San Antonio into a permanent relocation, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue told reporters: "... We're not going to be moving any teams into small markets." So what does San Antonio have now that it didn't have then? A new NFL commissioner, for one thing. McCombs says he was surprised by Tagliabue's remarks. "I thought they were unnecessary and a little unrealistically harsh," he says. This season, Roger Goodell began his tenure as commissioner of the NFL. McCombs says that's another plus for San Antonio. "Roger has a very positive outlook about San Antonio -- no question," McCombs insists. "Does that mean Roger will get out front and want a team to relocate? No commissioner wants his league to be disrupted. "But it does mean we don't have to start off by trying to make up ground." There is evidence that San Antonio's growth is turning heads in the sports world. While the Florida Marlins' flirtation with San Antonio has apparently ended, the Major League Baseball club's president, David Samson, says he is impressed with the city. "You've got leadership here that is committed to making this a major league city," Samson says. "When you have the combination of that leadership and a city that is growing and jobs that are being created and a corporate support base that already exists, you're talking about a major league city." Big prize McCombs says it is no small achievement that San Antonio's NFL ambitions are now flanked by top leaders at the city, county and state levels. "Now the political leaders are out front," McCombs explains. "If you don't have that, it's not going to get done." He adds, "I truly believe we are in the best situation we have been in since Henry Cisneros was mayor to maybe pull the big prize." Speaking of Cisneros, could the former mayor, largely responsible for the construction of the Alamodome, still have a part to play in all of this? "Yes," McCombs says. "Without a doubt. He gets it." What Chicago and Indianapolis get is some serious Super Bowl excitement and the global media exposure that comes with it. Could San Antonio one day enjoy the same? Supporters say it is not such a far-fetched dream. "The population (in San Antonio) is booming. The economy is booming. The area is growing -- toward the Hill Country and into Austin," says Royer about San Antonio. "The timing could not be better." In the chase to convince a team's owner to pick up his franchise and relocate it elsewhere, it's all about timing. Just ask the folks in Indianapolis, which lured the Colts away from Baltimore. Or ask McCombs, who, along with Angelo Drossos, picked the perfect time to pluck a professional basketball team out of Dallas, relocate it to San Antonio and rename it the Spurs. "The NFL will happen in San Antonio," McCombs says. "When? I don't know. But when it's time for the baby to be born, you have to be ready to receive it. "That's what we are now -- ready to receive the baby. I think the sports world understands that." Why the new level of confidence? Because, McCombs explains, "There are leaders here now who understand the importance of the NFL and are going to try and deliver that for them. We've got some ammunition that we did not have before." |
I feel S.A. has a really good chance of landing an NFL team within the next 3-5 years.
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I don't. I think Los Angeles has a better chance. It definitely won't be the Saints, and the Chargers are in San Diego until 2008 so a deal would have to be done soon.
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There is a good possibility the NFL will expand withing the next 4-5 years to put a team in L.A. If/when that happens, the NFL will expand by 2 teams to 34, to keep and even amount of teams. SA will be at the top of the list for expansion. Vegas could also challenge for a team, but I don't see too many other current cities without teams contending for one. The Alamodome is out of date by NFL standards, but would be a good temp solution until a new stadium is built or Alamodome upgraded. Hardberger and Wolff would jump at the chance to put big money into luring an NFL team.
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Your crazy to think the NFL will expand in the next five years. They don't want to mess up the system they have now: 32 teams, 16 teams in a Conference, 4 teams in each Division. This way makes it easy for scheduling and playoffs.
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^^I just saw an article in the Express News about a week ago that said the NFL would consider expansion to 34 teams to put a team in LA, if another team did not relocate there.
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Here it is:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/s...l.1f7a8e8.html Goodell, a longtime spearhead for the league's expansion and stadium construction efforts, will be the conduit for any future consideration of South Texas as a target for housing a franchise. Reports persist that the NFL may be considering expansion to 34 teams in the next six years, with Los Angeles virtually assured one of the spots. Uncertainty surrounds the future for a scattering of existing organizations. |
Great stuff. Now that Hardberger and Wolff have come to a mutual agreement to pursue franchises only with the consent of the league commish, Goodell is our ticket in.
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Maybe the writer could have asked Red, who owned a franchise, why he didn't move his team to SA. Did he not get it? I mean because if he did you would think SA would have got it because he must get it to be able to identify now as the best time to get it. :notacrook: But seriously, thanks for posting the print article for us non-subscribers. |
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I really like the look and location of the Alamodome and would hate to see it replaced by a new stadium since it is less than 15 years old. Does it have the interior space that with the right amount of money it can be brought to NFL standards by adding the requisite number of suites, club seating, upgraded video and sound, and possibly additional seating bringing capacity closer to 70,000? San Antonio is already top tier for Men's and Women's Final Four NCAA basketball so I could see it easily becoming a premier Super Bowl city should a team ever relocate or a franchise is awarded to the city. I would love to see the ESPN Sportscenter team reporting from the Arneson River Theater during Super Bowl week.
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Would be nice, but the NFL family ripped Jacksonville when it hosted the Super Bowl. San Antonio and Jacksonville both have rivers, and metro areas are about the same size.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...opolitan_areas 20 Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater FL 2,647,658 21 San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo PR 2,509,007 22 Pittsburgh PA 2,386,074 23 Denver–Aurora CO 2,359,994 24 Cleveland–Elyria–Mentor OH 2,126,318 25 Portland–Vancouver–Beaverton OR–WA 2,095,861 26 Cincinnati–Middletown OH–KY–IN 2,070,441 27 Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville CA 2,042,283 28 Kansas City MO–KS 1,947,694 29 Orlando-Kissimmee FL 1,933,255 30 San Antonio TX 1,889,797 31 San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara CA 1,754,988 32 Las Vegas–Paradise-Henderson NV 1,710,551 33 Columbus OH 1,708,625 34 Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News VA–NC 1,647,346 35 Indianapolis–Carmel IN 1,640,591 36 Providence–New Bedford–Fall River RI–MA 1,622,520 37 Charlotte–Gastonia–Concord NC–SC 1,521,278 38 Milwaukee–Waukesha–West Allis WI 1,512,855 39 Austin–Round Rock TX 1,452,529 40 Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro TN 1,422,544 41 New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner LA 1,319,367 42 Memphis TN–MS–AR 1,260,950 43 Jacksonville FL 1,248,371 44 Louisville–Jefferson County KY–IN 1,208,452 45 Hartford–West Hartford–East Hartford CT 1,188,241 46 Richmond VA 1,175,654 47 Oklahoma City OK 1,156,812 48 Buffalo–Niagara Falls NY 1,147,711 49 Birmingham–Hoover AL 1,090,126 50 Rochester NY 1,039,028 |
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