This is the UFL! (XFL/USFL Merger)

[DCarp1231]

16 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

 

I don't think the UFL wants a stadium that small for their league, although it would be beneficial to them to do so.  

The UFL’s smallest stadium is DC’s Audi Field at 20,000 and it regularly sold out for Defenders XFL games if I’m not mistaken.

 

 

[MJWalker45]

19 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

 

I don't think the UFL wants a stadium that small for their league, although it would be beneficial to them to do so.  

A 5,000 seat stadium can't be considered beneficial to  a pro sports team outside of minor league soccer or baseball. Being able to fill in  a stadium because it's too small is almost as bad as not filling a stadium because it's too big. 

[McCall]

3 hours ago, Luigi74 said:

They made a huge mistake by not having the Maulers play at Highmark Stadium(the Pittsburgh one), they would have filled it up, 5,000 fans in a 5,000 seat stadium in Pittsburgh looks way better than a 500 people in a 25,000 seat stadium in Canton, Ohio.

Selling out a 5,000 seat stadium is not even the same as 50% of a 20,000 seat stadium, which would not be ideal, in and of its self. It's still only 5,000 people vs 10,000. Even for this league, 5,000 is too small.

[ManillaToad]

4 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

This looks cute for a one off game, but the needed facilities for a football league would cause a lot of traffic and other logistics issues. Soccer doesn't need as many cameras football does, and can you make sure there's no distractions on that train line during broadcasts? Pitt has used it for spring games which don't require all of the extra equipment, but this isn't somewhere you should be playing regular season league games. Canton wanted their own team, and dressing up the Maulers in Steelers colors wasn't helping that. 

 

I'm still certain the only reason the Roughnecks survived is that UA already made their uniforms and they hadn't decided on uniform designs for the USFL teams coming in. So instead of wasting stock, they kept the Roughnecks and moved them to the USFL Conference. 

I think we'll see a bump in the numbers from those fans that refused to watch one league or the other tuning in to see their teams playing that other league. How long that last depends on the league and the broadcasters. I think the Fox presentation being almost equal to the NFL broadcast in terms of graphics will tell some fans this is a good thing. The one thing I wish ESPN would drop, but I know they won't, is the bet trackers for the Over/Under. 

 

They really need to use BIR instead of BHAM. Do they think nobody will know what city BIR refers to??

[MJWalker45]

3 minutes ago, ManillaToad said:

 

They really need to use BIR instead of BHAM. Do they think nobody will know what city BIR refers to??

BHM would work too. That's the airport code anyways. I think the Stallions were the only team that didn't use 3 letter abbreviations, that's pretty much the standard now. 

[raysox]

I think the Highmark Stadium debate was the core flaw of the new USFL. They rehashed markets that may or may not have worked for a home stadium because the old league had a team. It would make more sense to have a team in a place like San Diego or Salt Lake City that COULD accommodate a team - but they had to use old IP instead for some weird nostalgia of a league that lasted 3 years.

Hell, the new USFL nearly matched the old league's duration

[Vinny0930]

36 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

BHM would work too. That's the airport code anyways. I think the Stallions were the only team that didn't use 3 letter abbreviations, that's pretty much the standard now. 

I’m pretty sure they used MICH for Michigan as well. 3 letter abbreviations are the standard and I don’t get why they would have to deviate from it.

[MJWalker45]

7 minutes ago, raysox said:

I think the Highmark Stadium debate was the core flaw of the new USFL. They rehashed markets that may or may not have worked for a home stadium because the old league had a team. It would make more sense to have a team in a place like San Diego or Salt Lake City that COULD accommodate a team - but they had to use old IP instead for some weird nostalgia of a league that lasted 3 years.

Hell, the new USFL nearly matched the old league's duration

I think that's why we don't see Canton in this iteration. If you want to include Canton, the team needs  to be theirs and not a "technically" relocated team like the Maulers, who you dressed up to match a city that isn't the one they're playing in. 

[GDAWG]

14 minutes ago, raysox said:

I think the Highmark Stadium debate was the core flaw of the new USFL. They rehashed markets that may or may not have worked for a home stadium because the old league had a team. It would make more sense to have a team in a place like San Diego or Salt Lake City that COULD accommodate a team - but they had to use old IP instead for some weird nostalgia of a league that lasted 3 years.

Hell, the new USFL nearly matched the old league's duration

 

I think the USFL thought they could get Acrisure, due to Fox's ties with the NFL.  New Jersey and Philly at least had options.  Now whether those tenants at those other options had any interest is another matter entirely.  

[Luigi74]

16 hours ago, GDAWG said:

 

I think the USFL thought they could get Acrisure, due to Fox's ties with the NFL.  New Jersey and Philly at least had options.  Now whether those tenants at those other options had any interest is another matter entirely.  

The Field formally know as Heinz was way way too big for the USFL and all of the empty bright yellow seats would have looked way worse than playing in a small stadium. The modern spring leagues are purely a tv product, they should have gone with unique smaller venues for their games, instead of playing in big stadiums that are 1/4th full.

[TBGKon]

30 minutes ago, Luigi74 said:

The Field formally know as Heinz was way way too big for the USFL

The league used Ford Field (65k seats), Liberty Bowl (58k seats), and Protective Stadium (47k seats).  Hard to say that Heinz Field/Acrisure doesnt fit into that set of options.

 

A 5k seat stadium is not viable, no matter what the intentions of the league is.

[CS85]

After watching the Vipers play in someone's backyard surrounded by crumbling scaffolding and a couple rows of bleachers, this league can't sniff at maximum attendance.  If the field and venue are in decent condition, that is a gift horse.

[MJWalker45]

1 hour ago, Luigi74 said:

The Field formally know as Heinz was way way too big for the USFL and all of the empty bright yellow seats would have looked way worse than playing in a small stadium. The modern spring leagues are purely a tv product, they should have gone with unique smaller venues for their games, instead of playing in big stadiums that are 1/4th full.

The problem is that those options are either MLS stadiums, which are already in use by the primary tenant at that time, or reconfigured baseball stadiums. At least in the case of those located in or near the former team locations. There are plenty of smaller college stadiums that could work, but they weren't in USFL strongholds, and that's why they saved money by doing hubs as the Spring League and USFL 2.0, and then modified hubs last year with one "home team" and a secondary home team. 

[MJWalker45]

44 minutes ago, CS85 said:

After watching the Vipers play in someone's backyard surrounded by crumbling scaffolding and a couple rows of bleachers, this league can't sniff at maximum attendance.  

The Vipers situation is a bit different,  as it was last minute compromise made to get the stadium ready to go. The Rock expected that the Raiders wouldn't care if Sam Boyd was used. And when they used that veto, they were stuck with Cashman Field. I also laugh at the idea that the IFL (?) is planning to use Cashman this summer for their league. That field isn't going to look any better than it did last year. In fact, it'll be worse. The 2022 USFL was more worried about getting eyes on TV screens, than butts in seats. I find it hard to believe they expected fans to stay at Legion Field and Protective Stadium for both parts of doubleheader games. The 2023 XFL was adamant about getting people in the door, but poor scheduling dropped numbers in Seattle and San Antonio, where the team was home for the opening game and then on the road until Week 5.  San Antonio should be in better shape this year with a more balanced schedule.  I'd also say that other than a few giveaways in front of the stadium, there really wasn't anything to draw people up to the gate at the last minute. In fact, the last home game probably got a boost because it was during Fiesta and a group had set up a small ferris wheel and other rides next to the stadium. Having something set up for each gameday closer to the Alamo and downtown that draws your attention towards the Alamodome will be a great improvement towards promoting the league this year. These leagues aren't expecting packed stadiums quite yet. But they are hoping for 20,000+. With commercials already hitting the air, they need to keep this up with local advertising too, not just expecting to snag eyes on Fox and ESPN sports broadcasts. 

[gosioux76]

35 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

 These leagues aren't expecting packed stadiums quite yet. But they are hoping for 20,000+. With commercials already hitting the air, they need to keep this up with local advertising too, not just expecting to snag eyes on Fox and ESPN sports broadcasts. 

 

Really great analysis. On the point above, it's worth noting that the St. Louis Battlehawks have for the first time offered season tickets in the 400-level at the Dome at America's Center, which I'm sure they'll have no problem selling. 

[MJWalker45]

XFL team's that didn't make the cut currently have their items on sale at the xflshop.com store. 

[GDAWG]

3 hours ago, TBGKon said:

The league used Ford Field (65k seats), Liberty Bowl (58k seats), and Protective Stadium (47k seats).  Hard to say that Heinz Field/Acrisure doesnt fit into that set of options.

 

A 5k seat stadium is not viable, no matter what the intentions of the league is.

 

And they are using all three stadiums in the UFL in cities where those are the only options.  The UFL has said that they plan on bringing back a few of the teams that folded when the time is right.  Seattle could return if you get another West Coast team alongside them (speculation it would be Portland).  The plan is for New Orleans to return in 2025 at either Tulane or a newly renovated Shrine on Airline.  Stars, Generals and Maulers would be much harder to bring back, at least in the cities they have been designated for.  

[GDAWG]

1 hour ago, gosioux76 said:

 

Really great analysis. On the point above, it's worth noting that the St. Louis Battlehawks have for the first time offered season tickets in the 400-level at the Dome at America's Center, which I'm sure they'll have no problem selling. 

 

DC had really good crowds too, although the Commanders being owned by Daniel Snyder at the time probably had a lot to do with that.

[kmccarthy27]

15 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

 

DC had really good crowds too, although the Commanders being owned by Daniel Snyder at the time probably had a lot to do with that.

But since this season its been almost worse, I can totally see the crowds still coming out for this. 

[GDAWG]

2 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

The Vipers situation is a bit different,  as it was last minute compromise made to get the stadium ready to go. The Rock expected that the Raiders wouldn't care if Sam Boyd was used. And when they used that veto, they were stuck with Cashman Field. I also laugh at the idea that the IFL (?) is planning to use Cashman this summer for their league. That field isn't going to look any better than it did last year. In fact, it'll be worse. The 2022 USFL was more worried about getting eyes on TV screens, than butts in seats. I find it hard to believe they expected fans to stay at Legion Field and Protective Stadium for both parts of doubleheader games. The 2023 XFL was adamant about getting people in the door, but poor scheduling dropped numbers in Seattle and San Antonio, where the team was home for the opening game and then on the road until Week 5.  San Antonio should be in better shape this year with a more balanced schedule.  I'd also say that other than a few giveaways in front of the stadium, there really wasn't anything to draw people up to the gate at the last minute. In fact, the last home game probably got a boost because it was during Fiesta and a group had set up a small ferris wheel and other rides next to the stadium. Having something set up for each gameday closer to the Alamo and downtown that draws your attention towards the Alamodome will be a great improvement towards promoting the league this year. These leagues aren't expecting packed stadiums quite yet. But they are hoping for 20,000+. With commercials already hitting the air, they need to keep this up with local advertising too, not just expecting to snag eyes on Fox and ESPN sports broadcasts. 

 

The IFA or International Football Alliance, a mix of 6 teams, three in Mexico and three in the US, with the Mexican teams the leftover remnants of the FAM that did not jump to the rival LFA (people behind the FAM are behind the IFA) and they moved one of the former FAM teams to Dallas (because apparently the owner lives there) and will be coached by Art Briles......yes, Art Briles.  And the Las Vegas team (Las Vegas Kings) was in indoor football as a non-league team now moving outdoors coached by Mike Tice.  

 

However, the IFA has had their issues.  They had made announcements that would later be postponed.  They announced a team in El Paso in June but in October, El Paso was removed from their website.  They had announced tryouts in Germany and Mexico City last month and while Mexico City did happen, Germany did not.  They recently announced a QB in their draft pool for their supposed January draft, only for him to sign with a team in the European League of Football a few weeks ago.