NFL expansion is always a hot topic. Fans in cities without a franchise can only dream that a new NFL team will expand into their city.
The presence of NFL expansion teams to new host cities can generate economic growth through new jobs, increased tax revenue, increased consumer spend and tourism.
What city should get the next NFL team? NFL expansion rumours never seem to stop so let’s take a look at five cities that deserve the next NFL expansion teams.
San Antonio, Texas
A new NFL team in San Antonio is a certainty according to city Mayor Ron Nirenberg in 2018. When talking to KSAT in he said, “San Antonio to this date has not been an NFL city before but I think those days are coming to a close. You will see an NFL team in San Antonio in the next 10 years.”
San Antonio is booming and is only 80 miles away from the Texas capital, Austin. The media market in San Antonio is bigger than that of NFL cities Kansas City, Las Vegas and Cincinnati. When combined with Austin, it's close to the market of Denver and Seattle-Tacoma.
The city’s Alamodome is NFL ready. Originally opened in 1983, $60 million renovations were completed in 2017 to modernize the venue. But whether the state can host a third team and create a ‘Texas Triangle’ remains to be seen. The Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans may not like it and have push back on a San Antonio NFL team in the past.
Mexico City, Mexico
There’s no better way to prove a Mexico City NFL team is deserving than by taking a look at previous attendance records set in the city. Three of the ten largest attended games in NFL history have been in Mexico City.
In 1994 the Dallas Cowboys played the Houston Oilers in front of more than 112 000 people. Were it not for COVID-19, Mexico City was to host a pair of Arizona Cardinal regular-season games in 2020 and 2021.
NFL expansion rumours will always remain for Mexico City as the league estimates that there are over 22 million NFL fans in Mexico. Mexicans go crazy for their sports teams and geographically, Mexico City is better suited logistically than London making it ideal for the league if it decides on international expansion.
Portland, Oregon
A Portland NFL team makes sense as the region has the 22nd largest TV market in America. That places it ahead of 11 current NFL teams including Baltimore, Nashville and Kansas City. Portland also has strong support for the Trail Blazers (NBA) and the Timbers (MLS).
The city has been close in the past to seeing a Portland NFL team. "I have no doubt that an NFL franchise would have been a hit in Portland if the 1964 ‘Delta Dome’ $25 million bond measure had not narrowly failed”, John Canzano of the Oregonian wrote back in 2012.
The Delta Dome was to be the largest covered stadium in the world but it never went ahead. But questions remain as to whether the Northwest can support two teams with the Seahawks already based in Seattle. There's also a lack of potential corporate sponsors, and any stadium funding plan would likely face heavy pushback from the Portland taxpayer.
Toronto, Canada
Toronto is the third largest city in either the United States or Canada making it one of the top cities for an NFL expansion team. The Buffalo Bills played six regular-season NFL games in Toronto from 2008-13 with attendances averaging over 47,000.
The main issue for a Toronto NFL franchise is that the Toronto Argonauts have the lowest average attendance in the Canadian Football League. A new stadium would also be required in the city, as the 52,000-seat Rogers Center falls short of the minimum NFL requirement of a 65,000-seat stadium.
Hockey will always come first in Canada but a franchise could be an opportunity for the NFL to capitalize on the Toronto market in a similar way to that of the Raptors in the NBA. That’s if Torontonians decide to show up to the game.
Oakland, California
The NFL has already ditched Oakland twice. The Oakland Raiders were a part of the league from 1960-81 before the team relocated to Los Angeles. The Raiders would move back to Oakland in 1994 before relocating again to Las Vegas in 2020.
Oakland’s main issue is that it played out of the second smallest stadium in the NFL, the aging Oakland Coliseum. No long term solution was found in time to prevent the NFL from deciding it was time for the franchise to relocate. Las Vegas was able to contribute large sums of public money for the $1.8 billion Allegiant Stadium.
Fans in Oakland are among the most passionate, extreme and rowdy in all of American sports. A solution may be for the Raiders to play home games out of Levi’s Stadium, with Santa Clara 42 miles out of Oakland.