[Hyun-Soo]

I don't know if there is the population to support it...

San Antonio, which has a higher population for say, Birmingham doesn't and will not get a NFL team for awhile...

If Alabama grows, maybe in the future..

[Valnf]

What about the Mobile area. You will attract the Northwest part of Florida and Alabama, Miss

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by Hyun-Soo

I don't know if there is the population to support it...

San Antonio, which has a higher population for say, Birmingham doesn't and will not get a NFL team for awhile...

If Alabama grows, maybe in the future..

Birmingham's population is too small to support an NFL franchise. Yes, there are other small cities that have NFL teams, such as Green Bay and Buffalo, but those are older teams that have been established for decades. The trend these days is for large metropolitan areas with plenty of corporate support and fan base; usually cities themselves that have a population of 1 million or more with the metro area of even more than that.

[anonymous]

I agree with what folks are saying about college competing with NFL. Take the Carolina Panthers, for example.

In the state of South Carolina, USC and Clemson both have large fanbases, 80,000+ seat stadiums, and attendance numbers that are up there with Bama and Auburn. The Panthers have caught on a little, but they will always take a backseat to Carolina & Clemson. Even when the Panthers were in the Super Bowl, I never heard anything about it. (Living in SC)

I moved up to NC, and the Panthers are huge. I see Panthers sports bars, bumper stickers, hats, t-shirts, etc. People constantly discuss the team. Mainly because between UNC, NCSU, Duke, and Wake Forest, college football is horrible here - there's nothing to compete with the Panthers. Of course, basketball is a different story.

[Southlander]

Yeah, I've seen "Death Valley" at Clemson. I had to laugh out loud. It does NOT compare to Alabama and Auburn's stadii.

[Frank the Tank]

I would be shocked that if an NFL franchise were to move, it would be to anywhere other than Los Angeles. As long as the nation's #2 TV market is open, it's going to be tough for any other city to get into the game (even for cities that might fit the criteria on paper such as San Antonio).

[ibarrio]

Alabama won't get an NFL team. And for the record, Texas is a real football state (High school up through the Cowboys). 100,000 seat stadium for the Boys.

[Thruway]

Originally Posted by IDVague

Birmingham's demographics would compare favorably with several NFL cities. The real issue would be corporate support from the community and a state-of-the-art stadium. That requires an enormous commitment from the powers that be in local and state government as well as the business community. Not a scenario that has a real chance of coming to fruition anytime soon.

Disagree.
Birmingham might be a "growing" city but it's still a smaller version of Jaxsonville, which really was a mistake for the NFL.
It's a small market, not only that but it's very local, Birmingham isn't a national acclaimed landmark, chances are there is not much of a corporate community by NFL standards.

Green Bay has a team in lieu of Milwaukee, the Buffalo area has one which is for the populous of Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, and even Toronto, plus Buffalo has some history.

Birmingham is a small college market in the south, it's not a cosmotpolitan area like Atlanta or flocking transplant area.

[IDVague]

Originally Posted by tberg224

Disagree.
Birmingham might be a "growing" city but it's still a smaller version of Jaxsonville, which really was a mistake for the NFL.
It's a small market, not only that but it's very local, Birmingham isn't a national acclaimed landmark, chances are there is not much of a corporate community by NFL standards.

Green Bay has a team in lieu of Milwaukee, the Buffalo area has one which is for the populous of Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, and even Toronto, plus Buffalo has some history.

Birmingham is a small college market in the south, it's not a cosmotpolitan area like Atlanta or flocking transplant area.

I'm not saying I'm for it, but you build a state-of-the-art stadium and have the corporate community step up to guarantee the stadium to be full weekly and the NFL could not care less how Birmingham compares with Jacksonville. My original point, which perhaps I failed to make, was that while Alabamians are football fans of the highest degree, there is not a great likelihood of the other factors coming to fruition.

[UABinBHM]

Birmingham won't get an NFL team anytime soon, but the successes of previous teams and previous leagues (both on the field and off) make Birmingham a ripe team for other ventures. Birmingham's already participated before in the CFL, WFL, etc. Birmingham is currently one of about 9 locations that will be part of the new AAFL league (a pro/college hybrid league). Another group of folks with deep pockets are looking to start a UFL league... probably Birmingham would again be a prime target.

Birmingham, in previous leagues, has been one of the top-performing markets. Failed leagues like the World Football League and others are not because Birmingham failed, but the other members did or the league as a whole did. Birmingham was always one of the best teams both in record and in attendance. NFL is just too high-dollar of a thing right now and for the most part, people around this area are sort of turned off to the whole NFL phenomena.