The OKC Lions Football Team?

[OKCTalker]

OK, I'm starting the rumor here.

Seriously, anybody want a pro football team? This from today's Detroit Free Press:

November 16, 2008

Wish Lions would vanish? Stay tuned - Detroit's at risk of losing a pro team

By DREW SHARP
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

It's not a birthright that Detroit has professional sports teams in each of the four major sports. It's the result of strong corporate support and a loyal fan base willing to pay high prices for tickets.

But those days are over.

The automotive industry as we once knew it is dead. It will reinvent itself with a leaner identity and a more responsible spending philosophy. And that will likely translate into a more conservative approach as it pertains to cutting checks for luxury suites and unlimited entertainment expenses.

It wouldn't be a surprise if Detroit loses at least one of its four professional sports teams within the next 10 years because ownership sells to an outside interest and the franchise moves to an area with a stronger economic base.

If you don't think that's possible, then you're not looking at the current local economic situation with a realistic eye.

Detroit and Phoenix are the only two cities that support four professional sports teams in four separate facilities. That requires four teams capable of finding enough corporate backing for those all-important luxury suites in four different stadiums/arenas to keep the coffers filled without sharing the facility operational costs with another tenant.

That task becomes much tougher for teams in the aftermath of this economic crisis -- especially in Detroit.

The idea of the NFL waiving television blackouts in Detroit has been nationally perceived as the equivalent of a government bailout. But the difference between Congress stepping in to assist the automotive industry and the Lions getting a break from the NFL is that there's no competition for the NFL. It's a monopoly. It possesses full marketing control and can dictate, without competitive challenge, the market price for its product.

That's why it cannot turn a blind eye to what's occurring in Detroit.

There's an obvious reason why the NFL hasn't gotten a new franchise in Los Angeles: It cannot guarantee sellouts in the country's second-largest media market. The NFL's primary business objective remains establishing a premium local value for tickets of home games.

Los Angeles residents have long understood that there's more available to them on a sunny, warm fall Sunday than paying top dollar for an NFL football ticket.

Detroit residents may soon discover there's more available to them on a cold, cloudy fall Sunday, too. That's precisely why the NFL cannot afford to lose a Midwestern stalwart like Detroit.

Detroit's economic base is changing, and the professional sports teams must adapt or else their leagues may soon exist without Detroit.

[betts]

They'll go to LA or San Antonio, I suspect. We need to prove we will support NBA basketball before any other professional team owners will look at us.

[ewoodard]

The other problem I see is that puts us between the Chiefs and the Cowboys, along with Denver, Houston, New Orleans. The TV market is not big enough in this area to support another team.

[hipsterdoofus]

Yes, we need 2 bad teams... (not bashing thunder, just stating a fact)...

I can't see OKC supporting an NFL team anytime in the near future...

[OKCMallen]

Nor can I. LA needs a team.

[metro]

I do agree with the opinion that Detroit will probably lose at least one of it's big 4 teams.

[warreng88]

I could see in about 7-10 years when the core to shore area starts to take shape, the Thunder are on their way up and tourism in OKC would be much higher, but as of right now, I agree with the rest of the posters.

[hoya]

Well, we have no chance of getting it at the moment. Getting the Thunder was a huge event that took every thing breaking our way. We have none of the infrastructure in place to get an NFL team. We don't even have a stadium. I don't think they'd want to travel down to Norman to play their games at Owen Field.

That said, I think this area could support an NFL team without question. As football crazy as we are, we'd sell out consistently. However, it's not just about selling tickets. We'd also have to have corporate support, TV markets, and (of course), a stadium. We currently have none of those. Maybe in 10 to 20 years, once we've proven we can support the NBA.

[OKCMallen]

That said, I think this area could support an NFL team without question. As football crazy as we are, we'd sell out consistently.

I don't know about that.... Selling out the Ford Center/having high attendance for about 19k people is way different than, say, 75-80k people per home game, even though there are way fewer home games...

[onthestrip]

We are very far from being able to support an NFL team.

Lack of stadium and the at least 500mil to build one
Small TV market
Few corporate dollars to go around, who will buy all the luxery boxes?
Strong competition from OU and OSU, not to mention Dallas and KC

The Thunder should be the focus right now and for the next decade.

[metro]

Well, we have no chance of getting it at the moment. Getting the Thunder was a huge event that took every thing breaking our way. We have none of the infrastructure in place to get an NFL team. We don't even have a stadium. I don't think they'd want to travel down to Norman to play their games at Owen Field.

That said, I think this area could support an NFL team without question. As football crazy as we are, we'd sell out consistently. However, it's not just about selling tickets. We'd also have to have corporate support, TV markets, and (of course), a stadium. We currently have none of those. Maybe in 10 to 20 years, once we've proven we can support the NBA.

The team could care less about driving to Norman to play, many NFL stadiums are way out in the suburbs anyways. You only have to drive 3 hours south to figure that out. The reality is we don't have the corporate support or tv market like others said. Not to mention, OU probably wouldn't rent their stadium and they would lose tickets/sponsorships over NFL, not to mention, it'd be hard to get the stadium NFL ready with less than 24 hours after an OU home game set to collegiate standards.

[jbrown84]

Yeah. It's a long way off. Detroit will lose a team or 2, but we need to focus on the Thunder.

[jbkrems]

I can see us getting an NHL hockey team before we get the NFL.

[hoya]

The team could care less about driving to Norman to play, many NFL stadiums are way out in the suburbs anyways. You only have to drive 3 hours south to figure that out. The reality is we don't have the corporate support or tv market like others said. Not to mention, OU probably wouldn't rent their stadium and they would lose tickets/sponsorships over NFL, not to mention, it'd be hard to get the stadium NFL ready with less than 24 hours after an OU home game set to collegiate standards.

I know, it was a joke.

I don't think we'd have a problem selling out tickets--if a stadium magically dropped out of the sky. But all the other factors that have been mentioned would prevent it. As I said, this is something to worry about in another 20 years.

[Chicken In The Rough]

Charlotte, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis were all about our size when they landed teams, and each has major pro and college competition nearby.

OKC is not currently equipped to handle an NFL team, but it is not an unattainble goal. Not even in the short-term.

[OKCMallen]

Charlotte, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis were all about our size when they landed teams, and each has major pro and college competition nearby.

OKC is not currently equipped to handle an NFL team, but it is not an unattainble goal. Not even in the short-term.

It was cheaper back then to attract and maintain one than it is now, I'd guess.

[Kerry]

I wouldn't call Jacksonville an NFL success story. In fact, moving the Lions to LA might be the only thing that keep the Jags in Jacksonville. It might actually be a race to see who can get to LA first.

NFL stadium set for Industry - SGVTribune.com

[lasomeday]

Maybe Tulsa could go for it? I think the only city that is doing well in the recession that could get the team is San Antonio. They were a great host to the Saints and like OKC proved they can handle it.

[Midtowner]

There's also a fair chance that the next NFL team could be in another country. I think a team would do great in Mexico City.

[bluedogok]

The next team that moves will be to LA, the NFL wants a team in that market very badly. The majority of their revenue comes from TV contracts and having a team (or two) in the LA market adds that many more "eyes" on the TV to the broadcasters paying the way.

I do agree that a team in Mexico City or Toronto is more likely to happen than a team moving to a smaller market like OKC/Tulsa or San Antonio.

[Kerry]

I don't think you will see an NFL team in Mexio City. The travel times are just too long to do it every week. Toronto would be an obvious choice but I don't know if there is any agreement with the CFL that would prevent it. My money is on LA.

[Dave Cook]

Try telling the NFL Players Union that they are going to send players to Mexico City.

Won't happen.

[bluedogok]

The Buffalo Bills are already slated to play a game or two in Toronto starting next season. There are those in Buffalo that are afraid the team will move there after Ralph Wilson (the only owner the Bills have ever had) passes.

Travel to Mexico City wouldn't be any worse than some of the other trips that many teams make, (like San Diego to Boston, Seattle to Miami) it is still in the Central Time Zone and not near as far as London where they are playing a regular game a season and Tokyo where they are considering doing the same. They had over 100,000 when the Cowboys played a preseason game there and close to that when the Cards-49rs played a regular season game there a couple of years ago.

[El Gato Pollo Loco!!!]

Ok, first, it's Drew Sharp. Anything he says needs to be taken with a salt mine. He only writes these articles to make people talk. Trust me, you shouldn't take this seriously.

Second, if the NFL wants a team in LA so badly, then why give Houston a team first? The NFL wants a team in LA, I can agree with that, but they want it on their terms (i.e. a new stadium), and not as badly as some may perceive.

Back to Detroit. Yes, the economy is horrible, but the Lions will never move as long as the Ford family owns them. The main reason fans haven't sold out Ford Field this year is because of the combination of the bad economy (expensive tickets) and the product on the field (horrible team). Drew Sharp conveniently takes the bad product out of his equation, as he did with another recent article where he tries to compare the Detroit economy to Hurricane Katrina as a reason to lift the NFL's local blackout rule. Mr. Sharp also forgets that while the Lions fumble and bumble along every season, Detroit has two very viable teams in different sports (Pistons and Red Wings) playing the same time that would only have the economy to blame for ticket sales if they were having trouble. To suggest that any of those teams (or the Tigers for that matter) are going to move is quite fool hardy.

[bluedogok]

Houston got the team because they had a stadium plan in place already, if LA had been half as far as McNair and Houston/Harris County was they would have had the team instead. I do agree that the NFL wants one in LA on their terms, if a legitimate stadium proposal has some legs, there will be some more movement towards there. They just see all of those tv sets out there and want it bad. In some ways I also think that LA is being used a bit like Tampa-St. Pete was used to get other MLB teams new stadiums before the Devil Rays expansion happened. I just think that most NFL owners will be "advised" to not move to somewhere other than LA if they decide they want to relocate.