Are the Saints coming here?

[ChuckD]

Don't be so bitter Chuck. The reason why the NFL has been kept out of San Antonio for so long was because there was a commissioner who thought very little of the city. Paul Tagliabue was notorious for not wanting a team in San Antonio. He even went so far as to personally block Tom Benson's move of the Saints here in 2005. Everything about that move made sense financially and still does. But it was killed by Tagliabue. Now, there is a commissioner who does not have the same hatred for San Antonio. Roger Goodell can and will allow the NFL to come to San Antonio simply because he believes, correctly, that the area can support a team. Because of this San Antonio will soon get either an expansion team or a team from another city. It's inevitable.

Keep dreaming. The city of SA commissioned a panel to determine interest by ANY of the other three major sports to see what the lay of the land is regarding SA. It was headed by the husband of that new city manager, who has worked with each league before on behalf of Phoenix.

There is no interest in SA by any of the other three major sports leagues, and SA has decided to not pursue it.

[fyatuk]

Anyway, I can't figure out how they chose Indy to practice. It seems a little out of the way.

Because Indy has a now empty RCA Dome they can use without disturbing the Colts and without interruptions for them.

[fyatuk]

Don't be so bitter Chuck. The reason why the NFL has been kept out of San Antonio for so long was because there was a commissioner who thought very little of the city. Paul Tagliabue was notorious for not wanting a team in San Antonio. He even went so far as to personally block Tom Benson's move of the Saints here in 2005. Everything about that move made sense financially and still does. But it was killed by Tagliabue. Now, there is a commissioner who does not have the same hatred for San Antonio. Roger Goodell can and will allow the NFL to come to San Antonio simply because he believes, correctly, that the area can support a team. Because of this San Antonio will soon get either an expansion team or a team from another city. It's inevitable.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. SA has ZERO chance at an expansion team, and the Saints are the only team that might ever move here.

There's no benefit for the NFL to put a team in SA. , Monterrey or Mexico City would bring more to the NFL than SA would. Plus, the NFL needs at least one open capable market, and SA fits the bill. Otherwise you end up with what's happening now, ie 6 or 7 teams trying to get new stadiums and the cities not willing to cut sweetheart deals because the threat of moving isn't effective with only 2 potentially viable open markets.

[bresilhac]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. SA has ZERO chance at an expansion team, and the Saints are the only team that might ever move here.

There's no benefit for the NFL to put a team in SA. , Monterrey or Mexico City would bring more to the NFL than SA would. Plus, the NFL needs at least one open capable market, and SA fits the bill. Otherwise you end up with what's happening now, ie 6 or 7 teams trying to get new stadiums and the cities not willing to cut sweetheart deals because the threat of moving isn't effective with only 2 potentially viable open markets.

There are so many negative, nay-saying posters on this and other forums that I won't even bother listing why San Antonio is a natural for an NFL team. Just know that it is and that the NFL can and will come here. But one question. If there is no point in the NFL coming to San Antonio then why are there at least seven other markets that are smaller than it that have teams including: Indianapolis, Kansas City, Buffalo, Nashville and Jacksonville? Answer me that.

[Extra Stout]

The only market on that list that is smaller than San Antonio is Jacksonville.

San Antonio is not a good choice for an NFL team. In order to delude oneself into thinking that it is, one must:
1) Pretend that the Alamodome is a viable NFL stadium in the 2010's.
2) Pretend that San Antonio has a much larger corporate presence than it actually does.
3) Pretend that the NFL doesn't notice things like a major telecom company moving its headquarters because the city's infrastructure is inadequate.
4) Pretend that the difficulty a 4-time champion NBA team has filling a 18,500-seat arena for playoff games doesn't mean anything for the NFL.
5) Pretend that the existence of the Jacksonville Jaguars actually helps the argument for San Antonio, as opposed to the financial plight of the team in that market hurting the argument.

It simply takes a lot of pretending and denial. For some reasons, there are people trapped in the 1980s/1990s mindset that professional sports franchises say something about the worth of a city. Pro sports teams are just expensive toys that cities have which are nice because they can give total strangers something in common to talk about.

San Antonio doesn't need an NFL team anyway, and the few people that could afford the tickets without corporate subsidy are wealthy enough to fly their private jets to Cowboys games if they want. If SA has some money laying around, the first priority should be to build a decent airport before Valero and Clear Channel follow at&t out of town, not try to attract an NFL team.

[fyatuk]

There are so many negative, nay-saying posters on this and other forums that I won't even bother listing why San Antonio is a natural for an NFL team. Just know that it is and that the NFL can and will come here. But one question. If there is no point in the NFL coming to San Antonio then why are there at least seven other markets that are smaller than it that have teams including: Indianapolis, Kansas City, Buffalo, Nashville and Jacksonville? Answer me that.

Jacksonville, Buffalo, and New Orleans are the only DMA's smaller.

Explaining this never works, but I'll try it again.

The majority of revenue for the NFL comes from it's TV contracts. In fact, the per team payout of the TV contracts is roughly equal to the salary cap, which is 60% of FBI.

New Orleans pulls viewers to TVs throughout the entire Gulf Coast, mostly for its history. I've said before I think Jacksonville and Buffalo should be the teams to move (Jax to LA and Buffalo to Toronto), which would add tremendously to the TV contract. Neither Jax nor Buffalo add any real benefit to the TV contract because most of their areas overlap other teams.

Putting a team in SA would be pointless because SA is in the overlap of Cowboys and Texans. In addition, SA already puts up ratings higher than many home markets for the NFL. You gain no viewers and no new coverage area by placing a team in SA, so revenue will not go up. Hence pointless.

It's even more pointless for expansion since it would add no value to the TV contract, but would divide the revenue in another direction.

That's not saying San Antonio would not support a football team. I definitely think it would. There's just no benefit to the NFL to do it.