[7spider]

With all the college and high school football fans in this state it seems like a pro team would make it. I know the population isn't as high or cities as big as other pro markets, but it seems pretty popular with most people.

[Southlander]

Here's the thing:
1. To support professional sports, you must have big money sponsors. There just aren't that many big companies with headquarters in Alabama that have plenty of scratch to give to a pro team.

2. You also want a big fan base that will buy tickets for games. Tickets for Alabama and Auburn games range from $40 to $70 now. And you want them to ALSO spend that kind of money for pro game tickets?

3. It's been tried before, more than once.

4. Here's an earlier discussion: http://www.city-data.com/forum/alaba...m-alabama.html

[PortCity]

I Believe if Lousiana which has a smaller population than Alabama and New Orleans metro being the same size as Birmingham we can deffinintly support a pro team and we do have the corporations. Not to knock Lousiana but Alabama is a little bit ahead of that state and the same for Oklahoma the metro is Birmingham size and the state is smaller than Alabama in population. The problem is tha no one wants to invest in Alabama.

[mimpdaddy]

It could happen, I think Birmingham is becoming a more popular city.
But I wouldn't hold my breath!!

[sedriskell]

An NFL team could survive in Birmingham, they've done the studies. There's just no one that is willing to invest the money in the market to get a franchise, plus the NFL isn't looking to expand. Plus, there are no really good venues for one to play at, except for Bryant Denny and Jordan Hare, and a pro team would never play in either of those.

You can't argue that Alabama doesn't have the population or economy for one, because both of those are strongly present in Birmingham especially.

[7spider]

It's a shame that pro sports must depend on rich corperate snobs to make it work. I guess there's not enough of that in Alabama, which may be good.I wonder what happens when the snobs companies go belly up? Could you imagine a team actually having to survive with average working class fans.

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by 7spider

I wonder what happens when the snobs companies go belly up? Could you imagine a team actually having to survive with average working class fans.

The average working class fans will lose their jobs.
We really are all in this together.

[Huntsville_secede]

Originally Posted by PortCity

I Believe if Lousiana which has a smaller population than Alabama and New Orleans metro being the same size as Birmingham we can deffinintly support a pro team and we do have the corporations. Not to knock Lousiana but Alabama is a little bit ahead of that state and the same for Oklahoma the metro is Birmingham size and the state is smaller than Alabama in population. The problem is tha no one wants to invest in Alabama.

Oklahoma city has the Oklahoma Thunder which i doubt will be able to survive in the Oklahoma city market, same thing with the New Orleans Hornets they are not going to be able to survive there either. NBA teams require bigger markets than NFL teams. So really their's only one team out of the four major leagues that has been able to make it long term which is the New Orleans Saints. I think New Orleans has the added benefit of being a huge sports city. College sports being so huge in Alabama also takes away a little from Bham's appeal in attracting a professional team. I simply think a lot of people in Alabama care mostly about college football. I think its possible though many years from now I doubt it will happen anytime in the near future.

[FSUMike]

If Alabama ever got an NFL team, they would undoubtedly be based in Birmingham, and they would have to renovate Legion Field or maybe even demolish it and build a new stadium. I doubt Alabama gets an NFL team anytime soon though, because they would not be able to compete with Alabama and Auburn. No NFL team wants to play second fiddle to the college teams. Who knows though, maybe it would catch on. (Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints) both fairly successful in big-time college football states.

[FSUMike]

Originally Posted by Huntsville_secede

Oklahoma city has the Oklahoma Thunder which i doubt will be able to survive in the Oklahoma city market, same thing with the New Orleans Hornets they are not going to be able to survive there either. NBA teams require bigger markets than NFL teams. So really their's only one team out of the four major leagues that has been able to make it long term which is the New Orleans Saints. I think New Orleans has the added benefit of being a huge sports city. College sports being so huge in Alabama also takes away a little from Bham's appeal in attracting a professional team. I simply think a lot of people in Alabama care mostly about college football. I think its possible though many years from now I doubt it will happen anytime in the near future.

I don't think that's true about NBA teams requiring a larger market than NFL teams. For one, look at Sacramento Kings, Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs, and Portland Trailblazers. They've all done well in small markets. Secondly, NFL stadiums are on average 3-4 times larger than NBA stadiums, so it's more difficult to fill them up (though there are fewer games, so maybe it evens out).