WideRight

Here is the thing @NativeSonX, I envision the bright salmon pink very much like the neon green that Seattle has.  It works as a pop of color, but too much of it is an eyesore.  I am in no way a fan of Seattle's neon jerseys or color rush look, and I think the same would be true of a salmon helmet.    Here is what it looks like as a drawing:

 

 

I just don't think it works very well and I imagine that in real life it would be even worse.  It also means that the stripe pattern is just the contrast of the pale blue and the even paler blue, which doesn't work quite as well.  

 

I mean, if folks love this salmon helmet, I can make the swap, but in my mind the less eye popping color scheme of the blue helmet is a more realistic option.   

 

As for the navy blue thing, at least so far only 1 team has it as their helmet color.  San Diego has a navy helmet, Houston has half a navy helmet but "love  ya" blue is much more dominant, and St. Louis, like Portland, would have it only as a secondary or even tertiary color.  So far we have no navy jerseys (SD=grey, HOU=love ya, STL = orange, and the Chinook, if chosen, would be the medium blue, perhaps with navy elements).   

 

So, keep those votes coming, and next up we look for a media market in the East to make the TV networks happy. 

With a 9-3 lead over San Jose, I am calling this one.  

 

Congratulations to Portland, Oregon, the 5th franchise in the AAFL.  Portland will be joining San Diego and Dallas in the Western Division.  But what name will Portland take?  I have 4 options, all very different from each other.  Will it be a close race again to pick an identity or wiill one run away with it. 

 

Portland Chinook

This is a repeat from my CFL project, because I love the colors and the main logo is solid.  I think I improved it by exploring the world of Pacific NW native art and creating a helmet stripe that captures that style of design.  I really like it and hope you do to.   The Chinook Salmon is, of course, a readily identifiable symbol of the PNW and a fierce, fast, and dynamic symbol for this team.  The colors are a bit of an homage to the Seattle Seahawks of the early 2000's  (Hasselbeck era) but with salmon pink replacing neon green as the color pop in the look.

 

Portland Buzz

A bit of a mix of influences here.  It was mentioned that Portland is a coffee town, so "Buzz" could refer to that, but it is also a logging reference, as well as a statement about the region's excitement in getting pro football back in town.   The main image focuses on the logging industry, so essential to the state.  The team name is paired with the image of whirring buzzsaws, all on a forest green background.  You may also note that the helmet stripe is actually based on the teeth of a 2-man crosscut saw, another reference to Oregon's history of lumberjacks (cue the Monty Python song).  The color scheme here is one of my favorites, very Tulane, with deep forest green and sky blue. 

 

Portland Pumas

Got to have at least one big cat in the league, right?  I went with Pumas over Cougars for 2 reasons, alliteration of the "P" and to avoid conflict with Washington State.  A pretty typical front on snarling cat face, but it felt a bit stagnant on the helmet, so I added the four slashes behind it.  First tried it in red, but it was almost too much with bloody scratches, so a nice deep green for a city that already has a green & gold team in the Timbers.  Since they will share a stadium, this could be a good color combo to go with.   I also went with a bit of a unique color scheme, combining the quasi-metallic (at least glossy) buff gold with a dark brown (think Western Michigan), and added forest green again, because, well... it's Oregon. 

Portland Pathfinders

I was thinking Pioneers until the recent flurry of name suggestions included Pathfinders, which I like a lot.  It ties in well with the Trailblazers, and since they will share a scarlet, black, and silver color scheme (with just a bit of sandstone or leather in the shield) I thought it was a great fit.  The Pathfinder is based on the Pioneers logo from the old Scranton-Wilkes Barre arenaball team, but I wanted to emphasize the raccoon tail on the cap more, so I embellished that.  Again it did not look right on the helmet, so I took the arrowhead crest from the National Park Service, and added it in a  dark leather or sandstone gold/brown color with black outline.  I like the combination, and it recognizes the connection between exploration and preservation.  

 

 

OK, we will start voting on Portland's identity.  I will keep the poll open at least until noon tomorrow, maybe longer if it is a tight race.   Let me know, will it be wildlife, logging, or historical exploration? 

 

 

Also, if you are so inclined, I am open to hear name suggestions for any city you vote for.  That might help me come up with some new ideas.  The hardest part of this little adventure is developing 4 identities for each club in the time it takes you all to vote (2 days).  I had some pre-loaded, but not all and not every city, so suggestions are certainly welcome. 

Ooh, quite a flurry of votes. Right now it looks like the Rose City has a healthy lead, but with 30 hours of voting left, it may not be too late for another city to make a surge. 

 

7   Portland

2   San Jose, Austin, Salt Lake City

1   Sacramento, San Antonio

And, just to keep tabs on where we are and what colors the league has in place for its teams, we start building our map.  Eight teams in year one.  Ten in year two, then 12 in year 3, and then a big jump to 16 in year 5.  That is the plan (of course we are not waiting years for this.  Just a premise. 

 

Congratulations to the New Orleans Crawdads, the 4^th of the AAFL’s 8 inaugural franchises. 

 

The Crawdads offer the league a unique color combo (one without navy for a change): teal, burgundy, scarlet, and black.  The team will sport the teal helmets seen in the identity contest, along with burgundy jerseys with teal sleeves.  The team will have one of their secondary logos on each sleeve, a “C” formed from two claws.  At the base of the neck is a secondary Fleur-de-lis in teal, black and white.  The numbers on both the white and burgundy jerseys will feature an ombre effect.  The pants for both include a similar effect in the central stripe, with each pant stripe paralleling the number on the same colored jersey.   Here is the full design sheet for the newest AAFL club, the Crawdaddies (as some are already calling them.)

 

 

Time to return to the West, and we are going to hold our Wild Card round for the West right now.  Houston and San Diego hold down the first two spots, the third spot can go to any city in the pool, NFL, non-NFL, big, smaller, anywhere from the Pacific to the Gulf Coast.  Due to the large number of possible teams, and the fact that St. Louis is already  in the East, I am going to remove Chicago and Detroit from consideration here, but they could get an Eastern franchise to help build a rivalry.  So, what cities are in the mix?  Here is the quick rundown of the contenders:

 

LOS ANGELES (12.8 million, 2 potential parks, NFL city)

DALLAS (7.9 million, 2 potential parks, NFL city)

SAN ANTONIO (2.7 million, Alamo Stadium, no NFL or MLB)

PORTLAND (2.5 million, Providence Park, no NFL or MLB)

AUSTIN (2.4 million, 02 Stadium, no NFL or MLB)

SACRAMENTO (2.4 million, Hornet Stadium, no NFL or MLB)

LAS VEGAS (2.4 million, Sam Boyd Stadium, NFL city)

SAN JOSE (1.94 million, CEFCU Stadium, not exactly NFL, but very close)

SALT LAKE (1.3 million, America First Field, no NFL or MLB)

HONOLULU (995k, Aloha Stadium, no NFL or MLB)

 

Ten cities, but only 1 can be the 5^th AAFL franchise.  Will it be a mega-city that shares fans with the NFL, a smaller market with a fan base longing for some pro ball? Will either Cali or Texas get a 2^nd team, or will a 3^rd state be added to the mix out West?  Let the voting begin. You have until Friday at 5pm MT to pick the next Western city. 

2 minutes ago, TrueYankee26 said:

I do get mid-90s MLB expansion team vibes from that design and colors

It's probably residual memory of the Hickory Crawdads or Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp either in my subconscious or yours. 

 

The count with about 20 hours left to vote:

 

Crawdads  12

Plunder        7

Gators          1

Krewe           1

 

It's a 2 horse race, with Crawdads out to a healthy lead.  is it going to last or will the Plunder put in a late surge?  

 

It's Mudbug vs. Pegleg,  Craw vs. Garr.   Will the league have its first black-dominant team, or will it be teal for the win? 

Another close vote, and a pretty big upset, as the smallest market among the Eatsern contenders gets the win.  Looks like the AAFL is headed to the Big Easy.   Maybe some USFL cancellation fallout here?  Anyway, New Orleans provides a lot of options for a team identity, but I chose 4 that I think work for the city and the region.  Let's see which one you all feel is the best option for the Crescent City. 

 

NEW ORLEANS KREWE

Nothing says N'awlins quite like Mardi Gras, so an identity that focuses on the pageantry and excess of Fat Tuesday seems very appropriate.  With team colors of purple, green, and gold (yellow), we try to capture the full spirit of the festival.  The name "Krewe" refers to the social groups that organize floats, parades, and parties.  The crown is a reference to the King of Carnival.  Striping turns to brightly colored beads, another classic Mardi Gras symbol.  The gold helmets with purple facemasks also bring into the mix another Louisiana legend, the LSU Tigers. 

 

 

NEW ORLEANS GATORS

Sure, there is a potential clash with the U. of Florida, an LSU rival, but there is also no denying that Louisiana has its share of gators and that the ultimate land/sea alpha predator is a fixture in bayou culture.  This gator,  however, depicted in orange and green, is less likely to take a chomp out of your leg than to send a ball deep on a fly pattern.  Ready to add aerial attack to his dominance on land and sea, the gator here is ready to suit up for the AAFL.  

 

NEW ORLEANS PLUNDER

Pirates and buried treasure, the Jolly Roger, the call of the sea, the swagger and the savvy of these swashbucklers is alive and well in the wild side of New Orleans.  And what could be more rewarding than a pile of dubloons and a legendary pirate to guard over them.  The Plunder add a bit of ghosts and voo doo to the pirate legends of the Gulf Coast.  The team will predominantly wear black and silver, but with a healthy amount of gold thrown in as well.  The logo shows a Jolly Roger skull and crossbones, sporting a purloined commodore's hat and lording over a pile of ill-gotten gains, his plunder. 

 

NEW ORLEANS CRAWDADS

Ooh, you gonna love dese mudbugs, ah gah-ron-tee!!!  Another classic symbol of the Gulf Coast and of Cajun culture, the Crayfish, Crawdad, Mud Bug is about as New Orleans as you can get, especially when his crustacean body happens to form the familiar shape of the Fluer-de-lis.  This burgundy, red, and black critter lives in the teal waters of the gulf and its swampy interior, and now the Crawdad finds himself adornging the side of a football helmet.  Maybe not the most intimidating animals in the world, it is still a powerful reminder of the region and its unique culture.

 

Voting on the identity of New Orleans's AAFL club will start now and continue until 5pm MT on Wednesday, at which time we will reveal the winner and set up our next vote for the Western Conference, a Wild Card round that will put both NFL and non-NFL cities back on the ballot as we pick the 3rd of 4 founding franchises in the Western Division. 

 

But for now, we have to decide between parties, pirates, predators, and ... well... prawns. 

2 hours ago, DCarp1231 said:

I hope when you see them you will not be disappointed.  Did you have a name/ID you were hoping to see?  

Warthogs? 

Diplomats?

Wonks?

Something related to cherry blossoms?

 

A really interesting idea.  WHat about the Pilots and the Senators?  What other options did they have? 

 

New Orleans takes the lead.  Just a few hours left for any down to the wire votes. 

 

As a teaser, I do have some designs and identities ready for many of the cities named.  Here are some hints:

 

NY/NJ:  A team name from the old Continental Football League and one used in NY from arena football.

DC: Two military themed names, a third identity I used in a prior concept thread, and a new one based on a popular option for the rebranded NFL team.

 

NOLA:  1 Mardi Gras themed, 1 Pirate themed, 1 local food themed, and 1 swamp animal themed. 

 

Let's see where this goes.  If NOLA hangs on, then it is likely that round 3 for the East will require a team from the NE region.  If a NE team wins, then round 3 may well be a team from the South as the requirement. 

 

A lot left to decide for our Inaugural 8, and then we move on to expansion bids. 

4 hours ago, verbi said:

Dont mean to be like this but I count 4 votes for NO

Nope, you are right, New Orleans is right there with DC at 4.  (DC now has 5). 

 

I made a correction in the original post.  So, still a very tight race. 

Let's check in on the early vote in this challenge of NFL cities:

 

NY/NJ                  3

DC                         4

ATL                       0

Miami                  2

Boston                2

Nashville           0

NOLA                  2 (NOPE, 4, SEE CORRECTION BELOW)

 

An early but very slim lead for the DMV area, followed by the "real" Tri-State area, then a 3-way tie for 3rd with NOLA, Miami, and Boston.  Cannot say I am surprised by Atlanta's lack of votes, since fan buy in has always been the issue with pro teams there.  Nashville was also always a longshot. 

 

So, will the nation's capital get themselves a team, or will one of the other contenders surge ahead.   I can tell you that I have designs already complete for DC and Boston, mostly there for NY/NJ and NOLA, and a few solid ideas for Miami as well.  Trying to avoid navy blue, since we have 3 clubs that at least have it as a 2ndary color already. 

 

Voting open until Munday at 5pm.  We will see who gets to join the AAFL from the Eastern mega-markets. 

 

CORRECTION;  i miscounted at first.  At the time of this count, New Orleans had 4 votes and was tied with DC in the lead. 

40 minutes ago, raz said:

1. Strong original Titans vibes, with orange swapped out for red. 

2. I hope you revive that Copperheads idea. Loved it. 

3. Miami. 

1. Thanks, I see that too.

2. I hope to, we will see if another city in Copperhead country is chosen (I might have to swap out the state of Texas for another shape)

3. So far a lot of votes for different places.  This could get interesting. 

Welcome the  HOUSTON APOLLOS  to the AAFL, bringing the league to 3 franchises.  Copperheads had seemed like the early frontrunner but apparently fans of the space program know how to work the final hours of a poll and the Apollos pull off the narrow victory.  This makes 3 teams that have navy in their color scheme, which could make the AAFL the blue equivalent of the 2022 USFL with their red-heavy look.  

 

The new look for the club includes the ombre effect helmet seen earlier, from sky blue to deep navy blue, "space blue" we could say.  the third color, orange, is used more sparingly.  The jerseys feature shoulder yokes, navy on the sky blue home jersey and sky blue on the white road jersey.  Offsetting cuffs, and a thin "horizon arc" separating the yoke from the body are two other prominent jerey features.  The pants, both white and navy, feature a similar ombre effect to the helmets, with a thin tapered orange stripe on both and three small stars in the deep navy hip.  

 

 

So, with Houston on board, it is time to add our 4^th city to the initial 8-team league.  We have several NFL cities in the East that qualify for AAFL membership thanks to the presence of a “right-sized” stadiums in the region.  So, let’s see what our elite committee of voters opts for.  Again, all cities that lose in this round will reappear later on in our Wild Card round for the 7^th and 8^th team, as well as potentially as expansion clubs for the league’s 2^nd season (10 teams), or 3^rd season (12 teams).  

 

Here we go, again in the order of their metro area population:

 

NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY

Metro: 1^st -- 19.5 million

Stadium: Red Bull Arena (25,189) or Princeton Stadium (27,773)
Positives: Two viable stadiums, huge metro area, solid support for USFL and decent for other leagues

Negatives: Hard to crack media coverage, saturation with 2 teams in all 5 major sports, expensive market, early spring weather can be rough.

My Take:  I think the key here is to do as the USFL did and look at this as a New Jersey team.  Both stadiums are in Jersey and having the team named NJ and not NY will at least provide some inroads to media within the Garden State while still drawing die hard football fans from the city and surrounding region.  

 

WASHINGTON, DC

Metro:  6^th – 6.37 million

Stadium: Audi Field (20,000)
Positives: A football market begging for an alternative, great support for XFL, decent spring weather

Negatives: Stadium just barely qualifies with 20k, expensive market.

My Take: I would never have seen DC as a solid market for alternative spring football due to competition from MLB, NHL, and NBA, but the XFL proved me wrong.  I think the issues with the city’s NFL club makes a spring alternative very viable here.

 

ATLANTA, GA

Metro: 8^th – 6.24 million

Stadium: Georgia State Stadium (24,333)
Positives: Good weather (at least until mid-summer), nicely sized stadium, could draw regionally.

Negatives: Notoriously poor fan support for most of its pro teams, humidity in summer can be nasty.

My Take:  While Atlanta might not be my first choice for a southern team, it is the largest city in the region, has a decent stadium, and is a football-crazed state.  Sign a ton of Bulldogs and you could do well here.

 

MIAMI, FL

Metro: 9^th – 6.14 million

Stadium: FIU Stadium (23,500)
Positives: Great early spring weather, a bit hot in summer, but night games could help that, significant corporate and individual wealth. Could draw from other FL cities as well.

Negatives: Midsummer temps could be an issue.  Competition from NHL, NBA, MLB and MLS.

My Take: I cheated a bit by using FIU’s stadium, but it is still the greater Miami region.  Could be an issue if you really want Orlando in the league, especially at only 8 teams.  Otherwise a very viable market.

 

BOSTON, MA

Metro: 11^th – 4.9 million

Stadium: Harvard Stadium (30,323) or Almuni Stadium at BC (44,500)
Positives: Two viable stadiums, could brand as the city’s team to separate from Patriots. Good corporate & indiv. Wealth.

Negatives: Spring weather is very dicey.   Neither stadium is an ideal venue.  No real history of supporting alternative football leagues.

My Take:  I see Boston as a potential surprise market, but I am not confident that a spring league playing in either of these facilities will do well if weather is bad initially and if the Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins are pulling fans away.

 

NASHVILLE, TN

Metro: 35^th – 2.07 million

Stadium: Geodis Park (30,000)
Positives: No MLB in the region, solid spring weather and not too hot in summer, growing market with good corporate base.

Negatives: Much smaller market than the ones above it on this list. Limited appeal for TV networks.

My Take:  Nashville could be a good southern market for attendance, no doubt, but can it bring viewers in from other parts of the South to make it a “regional” team?

 

NEW ORLEANS, LA

Metro: 57^th – 972,000 residents

Stadium: Yulman Stadium at Tulane (30,000)
Positives: Perfectly sized stadium, good weather, strong football tradition, potential regional draw,  no MLB or NHL team.

Negatives: Very small market within Top 60, possible heat/humidity issues in mid-summer, lower corporate & indiv. Wealth in the region.

My Take:  I love the city, and I think they would embrace the AAFL as a spring sport, especially with no MLB club to compete with, but if we are targeting major markets, NOLA just doesn’t do much to move the needle.  I see this city as a viable Wild Card option, but not perhaps as a big TV magnet market.

Sorry guys, not going to create a 5th option.  Too much other work to be done (here and on the USFL alt hittory project.)

After 1 day, the count is:

 

Copperheads   6

Apollos                4

Wildcatters      2

Wranglers        0

 

Still 24 hours or more to vote (depending what time I get to this tomorrow), so still time for a surge in any one of the names.  

 

I will say, if Apollos wins, I will need to start avoiding navy blue in other designs, because SD and STL already have it and Houston would make 3 teams.  

7 minutes ago, DCarp1231 said:

I’ll be honest. I’m surprised, but not disappointed in the lack of space themed names

Well, with Houston I figured you needed at least 1 space, 1 oil, and 1 cowboy/old west, so that is what you got.  Copperheads is just a great name, and I love a copper helmet (AZ Wranglers and Rattlers) so I had to. 

 

Thanks to all who voted in this pretty tight race.   We had 17 votes and it was 8-6-3 among the only contenders to get a vote.  So, with the most votes, and, honestly, some of my favorite identity ideas...

 

Our winner for the 2^nd team in the Western Division, and the first NFL city to join the AAFL is Houston, TX. 

 

So, here we go.  Four identities for Houston, based on fauna, NASA history, the oil industry, and the Old West.  What else would you expect?  

 

Voting starts now and will end on Saturday afternoon, so get those votes in for your favorite Houston identity, logo, and colors. 

Here are your contenders in alphabetical order. 

 

HOUSTON APOLLOS

You cannot have a Houston team without at least considering a space-themed design.  Apollos was one of the options when the Texans were created in the NFL, and the name comes back here.  Unlike the AAF, we avoiding the mythical meaning and going full space program with the design.  The main logo features an orbiting orange orb circling the surface of a planet or moon (sorry flatearthers, it is curved) contained within a bold ‘H” for the city.  The wordmark also uses the surface curvature of the horizon and the orbiting form as well.  The helmets feature a color shift from the light blue sky of the atmosphere to the deep navy of outer space.  Could we see a “love ya blue” jersey with this team?

 

HOUSTON  COPPERHEADS

A name I love, and it is regionally appropriate to the Houston area.  Love the metallic copper helmet, and the use of a deep red and a forest green as complementary colors.  I incorporate the state of Texas into the design, because state law say you have to at least once, with the viper’s head emerging ready to strike.  A very unique color combination, but one which captures the greenery of East Texas and the coloring of a copperhead snake.

 

HOUSTON WILDCATTERS

You knew there had to be an oil industry reference.  It is Texas after all. Rather than go with the classic oil derrick logo that would get the league sued, the dual reference to wildcats and freelance rig workers called “wildcatters” the choice to depict a hard-working wildcat seemed pretty self-evident.  Throw in some background derricks and you have a logo that is both fierce and focused on one of the state’s biggest industries.  The color combination of black, athletic gold, and a blueish grey will certainly stand out. 

 

HOUSTON WRANGLERS

Not exactly Cowboys or Texans, but still in the vein of so many Texas clubs, the Wranglers bring back a nickname from the USFL but with a very Texas-focused design.  Red will be the dominant color, with flag blue and white as secondaries.  The logo features a whip-slinging horseman corralling unseen cattle as he rides past a waving Texas flag banner.  A classic Red, White, & Blue design with plenty of local appeal.

 

 

 

Once again 2 days to vote on an identity for our Texas entry in the league (Will it be the only one or can another Lone Star State club make the cut?

 

Once we have our identity, we move on to the major NFL markets in the East, ranging from the Big Apple to the Big Easy.  Some tough choices ahead.

1 hour ago, OchentaYOcho88 said:

Chicago

I live near SeatGeek and have always thought it would be a perfect fit for spring football. There is a sports dome, turf fields that could be used by the team and a hotel 700 feet from the stadium. Hotel has 109 rooms and meeting space. SeatGeek is probably going to be vacant in a year or two when the NWSL's Chicago Red Stars relocate into the city.

SeatGeek also hosts high school football and was scheduled to host BYU vs Northern Illinois in 2020 (game was cancelled due to COVID) so they're 100% prepared for football.

I went to a Fire game at Seatgeek and I like the stadium as well, but I have seen so much negativity towards it (location mostly) that I thought I had to mention that, and, of course, the weather in March/April can be a bit dicey. 

 

That said, if there are folks out there that want to lead Chicago to a rousing comeback over the two Texas cities, I am all for that.

Also, if anyone wants to make a case to me why Dallas is a better option than Houston, or Houston better than Dallas, I am open to hearing arguments as well as counting votes.    I will make the final decision this afternoon, after work, and I can tell you I have designs made for both Texas cities that I really like, so whichever one wins will have some good identity options. 

Looks like a battle forTexas, with Dallas taking the early lead but Houston coming on strong.  The voting will stay open through tomorrow (THU) at noon.  Get those votes in, especially if you are pushing for Big D or H-town.  Sorry Chicago, looks like you are out of the running, and LA, well, we all kind of knew your odds were not good. 

4 hours ago, verbi said:

You mention no plural team names and mention the surf but I thought destroyers were SD's team, I like both designs but just curious

You are absolutely right.  I had a brain fart.  It is San Diego Destroyers, not the Surf.  Guess I need to up my Neuriva dosage.   I removed the sentence about no plural names.  It is Destroyers and Rampage (man, so violent.  Maybe we need the Houston Doves or the Chicago Glee.)

 

That was a very close vote, and with one last nod to the aviators, the count is:

 

Kings                         3

Archers                    4

Aviators                   5

Rampage                 7

 

St.  Louis, you have your franchise, the St. Louis Rampage!!!  

 

Yes, it's a left-handed nod to the St. Louis Rams.  No, rhinos are not indigenous to Missouri.   

 

But what will the Rampage look like?  Well, we know they will sport orange helmets with the charging rhino logo on either side and a single navy and grey "horn"  from the facemask to the crown.  But what about the rest of the look?  Well, here it is. 

 

 

Orange jerseys with grey sleeves, white jerseys with orange sleeves, grey and white pant sets and navy socks.  We have big blocky numbers with 2 outlines, a secondary logo with an "STL" monogram within the full body of a rhino and then a tertiary mark with the R for Rampage with rhino horns.  A unique color combination and an orange-dominant team.  So we have 2 clubs with navy as a color but no navy jerseys yet, which I think will be helpful as we move along.  

 

So, St. Louis, let's get ready for the Rampage!!!   

 

And so, with two teams locked in to the AAFL inaugural season, there are still 6 more left to determine.  Time to make our case to our TV partners.  We have done well with the two largest non-NFL markets in place, but now we need major markets to make this league viable for the major TV partners (ESPN/ABC and Amazon Prime).  Of course we also want to see full stadia on Sundays (and Saturdays), so that means we are limiting our pool of cities to those with reasonably sized (25-50k) venues that are not in use for baseball. The AAFL has been working with MLS to allow dual usage on stadia built as soccer specific, which does open up more options for the league.  In some cases this means having an alternate field that gets trucked in for the AAFL game, in others it just means using a less durable paint for painting football field lines, so that the stadium can be reverted back to a soccer field without ugly faded football lines everywhere. 

 

We start in the West, where we have 6 top contenders for an AAFL franchise in an NFL city.  All six are major markets, all have stadiums that are available and right-sized for this league.  So, the question comes down to which city makes the most sense for the AAFL and will provide both TV ratings and a fervent local base of fan support. 

As with our non-NFL city votes, please pick only 1 city, make your case, and we will wait 2-3 days to see which city will become the 2^nd of our 4 Western Division squads to start the inaugural season.

 

LOS ANGELES

Metro: 2^ND – 12.8 million

Stadium:  Dignity Health Park (27,000)

Positives: Huge metro area, great weather, perfectly-sized MLS stadium

Negatives: Notoriously fickle fanbase, proximity to San Diego AAFL franchise

My Take: If San Diego was not the first AAFL city chosen, I would say LA would be a must, but their reputation as a “late arriving” fanbase, and poor attendance in several other leagues makes me think that San Diego is enough in Southern Cali for this league.

 

CHICAGO

Metro: 3^rd – 9.27 million

Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium (20,000)

Positives:  Large metro area, pretty good sports town

Negatives: Could have bad weather for first 1-2 months of the season, stadium is not in a great location and is borderline small.  Attendance at other (USFL, XFL) leagues has been pretty bad.

My Take:  I love Chicago, but I am not sure Chicago loves AAA football.  Neither the USFL nor the XFL drew well here.  Seatgeek stadium is also an awkward fit, and I don’t see fans making a trek up to Evanston to watch a club at Ryan Field (NWestern).

 

DALLAS

Metro: 4^th – 7.94 million

Stadium:  Choctaw Stadium (48.114)

Positives: Two viable stadiums (Toyota Stadium is just over 20,000) so they could right-size the stadium to the fan response.  Decent weather, strong football fanbase

Negatives: As with most larger cities, crowded media base with NBA, MLB, etc.

My Take:  I think Dallas is a good fit simply because it is a football-first state and city, and they

have 2 very viable stadia to choose from.  The only possible issue is if picking Dallas means no other Texas cities get in.  Texas is big enough, even if we don’t see 2 Texas franchises in the original 8, by 12 or 16 they will get a second one to be sure.

 

HOUSTON

Metro: 5^th – 7.37 million

Stadium:  TDECU (40,000)

Positives: Perfectly sized stadium for a big fan base.  Could drop to Shell Energy Stadium (22,039) if the fans don’t fill TDECU.  Weather is pretty good, maybe a bit humid in midsummer.  Football region. 

Negatives: Another crowded media market, potential for bad weather (rain)

My Take:  Almost anything I would say about Dallas I could say for Houston.  I guess the decision between the two is whether you are OK with humidity.

 

DETROIT

Metro: 14^th – 4.35 million

Stadium:  Rynearson Stadium (30,200)

Positives: Good football region, good support for USFL in the past, Stadium is a good size

Negatives: Stadium is not actually in Detroit, March & April weather can be dicey

My Take:  A bit of a stretch here.  Ypsilanti is not exactly downtown Detroit, but neither was Pontiac, so maybe you take a regional approach and use “Michigan” as the name.  Early spring weather is an issue since it is not a domed stadium.

 

LAS VEGAS

Metro: 29^th – 2.32 million

Stadium: Sam Boyd Stadium (40,000)

Positives: Great weather in early spring, entertainment hub & destination city, Good XFL support in 2001.

Negatives: Very hot in summer, potential stretch of a smaller market with NFL already in town,

poor XFL 2023 attendance, smallest of the NFL markets under consideration.

My Take: A longshot, not only due to the weather, but the issues with UNLV not wanting to share Sam Boyd.  I would also worry that with the arrival of the Knights, Raiders and A’s, the sports market is pretty saturated and a AAA football club might struggle to draw media and fan attention.

 

There you go.  Six cities, we are choosing one.  Once we do that, it is on to the team identity and then we look to the East, where several huge cities are out of the running due to a lack of right-sized stadia.  So, who will be left?   For now, let’s get a 2^nd team in the West and then we can move on.  

 

Voting will close either Wed. night or Thursday morning, with the results and the 4 possible identities revealed on Thursday. 

This is the closest vote yet.  I am going to hold off until after the Stillers-Bills game (Go Bills!!!) and then post the vote tally.  If it is very close, I will decide the final outcome, so if you haven't voted yet, now is the time.