📡 Report: NFL considering games at Notre Dame, Alabama- 247Sports

[Bama News]

Report: NFL considering games at Notre Dame, Alabama

The NFL could come to a couple college hotbeds...

247sports.com

In some towns, college football is king, but that doesn’t mean the NFL won’t try to get its product in front of those rabid football fans.

In places like Tuscaloosa, Ala. and South Bend, Ind., the Alabama Crimson Tide and Notre Dame Fighting Irish dominate the discussion. However, the NFL is always looking to expand, and there’s a chance those two college towns could get an NFL matchup in their historic stadiums sometime in the near future.

According to Jason La Confora of CBS Sports, the NFL has had discussions about scheduling a regular season game in Bryant-Denny Stadium or Notre Dame Stadium. The league is hoping to grow both internationally and in college football hotbeds.

“The NFL has also talked internally about playing games in other cities in the U.S. which do not have pro teams, with some buzz about playing a game at Notre Dame or Alabama, as well as Hawaii and cities in Canada,” La Confora writes. “It is viewed as a unique and profound way to grow the game globally and extend the reach of sales, merchandising and broadcast rights around the globe, with there only so much more room for growth within America.”

While Bryant-Denny Stadium has not played host to any professional games, it has started hosting high school championship games every other year with Jordan-Hare Stadium at Auburn being the other location. Notre Dame Stadium, while it has never played host to an NFL game, has hosted professional games in other sports. To kick off 2019, the NHL played its Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks in South Bend. Back in July, European soccer clubs Liverpool and Dortmund went head to head in Notre Dame Stadium.

The NHL Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium was a big hit, and the NFL may be able to recreate that success by pitting the Chicago Bears and the New England Patriots against one another in the home of the Fighting Irish. When it comes to Bryant-Denny Stadium, it’s fair to assume two southern NFL teams would be involved in that game. Teams like the Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, and the Carolina Panthers seem like they would be good fits for Tuscaloosa. With Bryant-Denny Stadium seating 101,821 people and Notre Dame Stadium seating 80,795 people, it could be hard to fill those two college football cathedrals for an NFL game in areas where the professional league isn't the most popular option.

The NFL just played a game at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Monday Night with the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chiefs traveling south of the border for a game that drew 76,252

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

They need to be careful for they just might outkick their coverage

 

[sean]

 

[50+yeartidefan]

If we were still in town after bama game.....would go to sunday game at BD....
If ticket was reasonable

 

[OldPlayer]

Price the tickets right and you could sell out BDS.

 

[It Takes Eleven]

Price the tickets right and you could sell out BDS.

They'll probably be priced like a bowl game. It also depends on who they bring. Will it be a marquee matchup, or Falcons-Saints?

 

[OldPlayer]

They'll probably be priced like a bowl game. It also depends on who they bring. Will it be a marquee matchup, or Falcons-Saints?

Which would be way out of line. NFL tickets already run $100+ due to the greediness of the owners (would you pay $100+ for a Redskins ticket?). Price it at about $50 and you'll have attendance. What is more important with these games, profit or attendance?

 

[rocknthefreeworld]

They really don't want that media coverage. Their largest stadium is a little over 82K with the average probably right around 70K (AT&T could fit 100K but usually is set up for about 80K). A mostly empty BDS would look terrible for them and to fill it they would definitely need to target a $50 average price.

 

[TideatMileHigh]

Saints and Falcons at BDS? I'd go to that.

 

[TerryP]

They'll probably be priced like a bowl game. It also depends on who they bring. Will it be a marquee matchup, or Falcons-Saints?

If I'm understanding this correctly there's a likelihood of it being a regular season game played at a neutral site. I know it's part of the CBA/NFL/NFLPA agreement that ends in 2020 where they are discussing a few changes like adding more playoff games/teams, a short pre-season with a move to a 17 game schedule, and pushing the SB back to later in February.

It's a good question, "how much will it cost." There's a huge variance from team to team as you well know. A while ago I stumbled across a calculator which gives an estimate of how much a game would cost to attend. Standard seating and parking at a remote lot puts you over two bills.

https://www.onlinegambling.com/nfl-football-gameday-calculator/