San Antonio should get a NFL team (Austin, Corpus Christi: rent, quality of life)

[bresilhac]

Originally Posted by ged_782

Uh, the taxpayer-funded Alamodome was built because supposedly that's all we lacked - a suitable venue - for an NFL team to play in. Building this domed stadium with public money would send a powerful message to the NFL - that San Antonio is so serious about NFL football, that the citizens will fund and build a suitable facility without private investment.

The referendum passed, the facility was built, and twenty years later, we're still waiting for our NFL franchise.

And your point is? Look, things are very different in San Antonio now than they were twenty years ago. The league's opinion of San Antonio has changed for the better in particular. You and your sort should stop living in the past and what might have been and start looking toward the future of San Antonio. If everyone looked ahead instead of backward in this town we could get alot more done.

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by firstclassflyer

Obviously, I wasn't living here back then...but was there some sort of guarantee that a franchise would move here if a stadium was built? What was the situation?

No. There was no guarantee from the NFL that San Antonio would get a franchise.

Originally Posted by bresilhac

And your point is? Look, things are very different in San Antonio now than they were twenty years ago. The league's opinion of San Antonio has changed for the better in particular. You and your sort should stop living in the past and what might have been and start looking toward the future of San Antonio. If everyone looked ahead instead of backward in this town we could get alot more done.

My point is - there were high-level individuals in the community and local government that were convinced San Antonio had everything needed to attract an NFL franchise (size, enthusiastic fan base, etc.). The only thing we lacked was a suitable facility for an NFL franchise to play in. Getting an expansion team or luring an existing franchise here would be all but impossible, they said, without that venue.

Because our local leaders said that San Antonio lacked the corporate base that most other NFL host cities have, the only feasible way to fund this venue was to have the taxpayers pay for it. It would also give us an advantage, in that the public funding of this facility would mean less expense for the franchise that would ultimately end up as the tenant. It would also show that the citizens are serious enough about NFL football, that they are willing to pay for this facility. So, they successfully sold the referendum to the voters.

I agree that San Antonio is probably in a better position now to attract an NFL franchise. We still have that domed stadium we paid for, and although it would no longer be considered "state of the art", I think it would make a pretty good venue for a startup operation in a smaller market. If we need a better facility than the Alamodome, then I think it would be an easier sell to the taxpayers if we already have a franchise in place, or at the very least, a commitment.

[Rldorazio]

Honestly San Antonio can not afford a team right now. The bonds that were voted on last elections made it imposiable for us to build a arena for a pro football team for 50 years. They could have if thoes buliding were turned down.

[sxrckr]

I don't expect to see that happen before Los Angeles were to get one.

[bresilhac]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

I don't expect to see that happen before Los Angeles were to get one.

Houston wasn't supposed to get a team before Los Angeles either but they did. My point is that if and when some owner wants to pony up the money for a stadium then it will happen. As I mentioned before, land is cheap and plentiful around San Antonio so all it would take is for the city or county to offer some land to an intrepid owner.

[Dopo]

I keep on reading a lot of speculation and almost no facts

[bresilhac]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I keep on reading a lot of speculation and almost no facts

Well what facts do you want? Of course there is a lot of speculation on this thread. There is no NFL team in San Antonio as of yet.

[713 to 210]

Originally Posted by bresilhac

Houston wasn't supposed to get a team before Los Angeles either but they did. My point is that if and when some owner wants to pony up the money for a stadium then it will happen. As I mentioned before, land is cheap and plentiful around San Antonio so all it would take is for the city or county to offer some land to an intrepid owner.

It was the $700 million franchise fee that McNair offered up at the last minute that tilted it in our favor. The NFL execs ignored Houston vs. LA until that moment. Yes, it cost McNair $700 million + stadium costs to get the Texans. SA has no other choice than to get an existing team to move.

[TMO315]

That may be true about the TV ratings for those cities but what those ratings only tell you is for the metro area of those places. They don't count Austin or Corpus Christi or Laredo and Del Rio which are all in South Texas in the San Antonio ratings. Now if you include those TV's thats a huge fan base which Salt Lake City and Portland don't have. Just like for the San Antonio Spurs there fan base is all of South Texas.

Also if you remember the Saints when they came to San Antonio for those games after Katrina every game was sold out in the 65,000 seat Alamodome. So San Antonio can support a team. LA I know can support a team, Salt Lake and Portland want a team but have not shown that they can support a team. Thats going to be a difference maker.

Also I think it will come down to who can fund a new stadium and get it approved first before the NFL decides on who would get a new team. LA in a couple of years maybe can fork over the money for a team but right now LA and the State are broke so I don't know about them. San Antonio's economy is booming right now but who knows what can happen in a couple of years.

[Lovely95]

The question is 'Does LA want a team?' Do they actually support their teams? They can, but will they?