Will There Ever Be A Pro Sports Team In ABQ? (Albuquerque: new home, scorpions) - New Mexico (NM) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

Informer · 10-12-2006, 06:17 PM

Greetings,

But the local media would be distracted and they would have to talk football in lieu of crime storys...

Cheers!

observe · 10-13-2006, 11:06 AM

Of course Albuquerque will have a Pro Sports team. The question should be what is the time frame? At the rate the Metro area is growing, along with having a Pro-Sports minded Governor. I say anywhere from 2-20 years depending on the sport. Lets go by sports, WNBA-2 years(if you even cosider it pro) AFL-2 to 5 years, MLS 5-10 years, NBA 10-15 years, NFL 10-20 years, MLB never! Alot of things have to happen first, first being the population must hit 1 million. However, the WNBA and AFL are already interested at this point. More big corporations need to locate here $$$$$. And local sports fans as a whole need to be more vocal about wanting pro-sports here.

BrianH · 10-13-2006, 12:46 PM

I might be wrong, but didnt the governor put alot of money into seeing if New Mexico could host an NFL team, and the answer was no.

Chaparral · 10-13-2006, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianH

I might be wrong, but didnt the governor put alot of money into seeing if New Mexico could host an NFL team, and the answer was no.

There probably has been some money invested toward this end, but not very much, relatively speaking. Here's a link that pretty much sums up the activity so far:

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/36240.html (broken link)

Chap

Chaparral · 10-13-2006, 03:09 PM

As far as Albuquerque's NFL prospects go, we are probably looking at the 10-20 year estimate that observe mentions. But if you look at the list of top 55 DMA's that currently do not have an NFL franchise (or one nearby) ABQ (#46) is not in terrible shape. Also keep in mind that Jacksonville is ranked #52.

# 2 - Los Angeles: as finmqa1 states, the NFL is dying to get back into this market. And Gov. Arnold actually has gone on record to say that he would like to see LA get two new teams. But it still remains to be seen if the city itself wants the NFL back. LA just doesn't seem to miss the NFL. LA's lack of desire is a definite boon to other potential cities.

#23 - Portland, OR: this would seem to be an obvious front-runner, given its size and Oregon's love of football. But it may not be that simple, as a new team would require a new stadium and that would be no gimme, given Portland's political climate. And the Seahawks could fight the placement of a team here as well.

#36 - Salt Lake City: can't say much here other than SLC seems to be in a similar situation to ABQ, but has the advantage of having proved that it can successfully support an NBA franchise.

#37 San Antonio or #53 Austin: I group these two together because I can't see the NFL awarding both cities franchises, due to their proximity. If one gets a team, it will be at the expense of the other city. Plenty of money here, but I know the Cowboys weren't crazy about the idea of the Saints moving to SA. They and the Texans could potentially fight placement here.

#40 - Birmingham, AL: they definitely love their football in 'Bama, but the Falcons and/or Titans could fight the placement of a team here.

#42 - Norfolk, VA: Pretty sure the Redskins (and possibly the Ravens) would fight placement of a team here.

#45 - Oklahoma City, OK: Another city with similarities to SLC, and they have also shown they can support a top level franchise. The Cowboys might fight this one as well.

#48 - Las Vegas: As long as there is sports gambling in Vegas, I have a hard time seeing the NFL setting up shop here. But that may just be me.

Additionally, every city above (with the possible exception of LA) would need to build a new stadium to house a franchise. This is a pill may municipalities simply won't swallow. And ABQ may be one of them.

But if we keep growing, this could definitely be a topic of discussion sooner, rather than later!

Chap

councilor j · 10-25-2006, 01:35 AM

All I know is if Albq gets the NFL team, I'm getting season tickets.

mikus · 11-02-2006, 07:01 PM

i think if abq had a pro sports team , the whole state of new mexico would support it guaranteed...you would have people coming from all over the state.... las cruces, el paso, roswell, farmington, clovis , hobbs. etc etc...that is about 2 million people in the state alone...then you have el paso and juarez which i think has i think has over 2million.... I think and hope the NFL comes first.. eventually there will be pro sports in abq, the question is when.??

brikag · 11-03-2006, 11:57 PM

I lived in Charlotte for a number of years. The city is too conservative for me. But the one thing they know is their sports. And the smartest thing the city did was to get a basketball team first. After a few years of the Hornets, the NFL noticed Charlotte as a viable city for an expansion team. They saw Charlotte as a good sport city. The people supported their Hornets and the NFL loved it. That's one reason the NFL gave them the expansion team, The Carolina Panthers. ABQ needs to wheel and deal, impress the sports leagues that they are the premiere city to be chosen and follow through with public support.
In short...Start off with a small franchise sport before dreaming huge!

ABQLifer · 11-09-2006, 09:45 PM

I have lived here my whole life (born in the 70's) and have to agree that ABQ will NOT be ready for a pro sports team for at least 15 years. We just don't have the resources to start it up and keep it going as of yet. I'm looking forward to the day when we can have one, as long as they're not named something lame like the "Fighting Chile Ristras" or something atomic in nature

_yb · 11-17-2006, 01:57 PM

Todays tribune has a story about RR atracting a arena football league to the star center. Looks to be a JV team though.