New Spring Professional Football League in the works

[gosioux76]

I agree on both counts.

For all I rag on MLS for the relatively poor football they play, at least it's the highest level of competition in the United States. I just don't see how a football league can financially compete if all it has to offer is second- or third-tier talent.

This whole discussion makes me even more disappointed that NFL Europe didn't last. It was an NFL-sanctioned development league in markets not served by NFL teams. And it expanded the NFL's brand to Europe to boot. Conceptually, it's about perfect. If the NFL were willing to put that same muscle behind a domestic league in second-tier, football-mad cities -- Birmingham, Portland, OK City, Omaha, etc. -- I'd give it a fighting chance.

And by fighting chance, I mean five years.

[DustDevil61]

Because going to a bunch of NFL cities will work fantastically...

Nothing like over-saturating markets that already have the sport's best talent with an out-of-season alternative, right?

• Make the UFL the official D-League of the NFL.

• Make them play in small market locations (Omaha, Alabama, Orlando, OKC, etc.) during the spring.

• Everyone wins.

Agreed with all the bolded parts. For an NFL-ran minor league, though, I feel as though it would be best left to keeping both leagues in season with each other.

There are plenty of non-NFL cities/locales that would want a professional outdoor football team, regardless of the time of the year (like Chawls said), but you also have places like Portland (OR), Salt Lake, San Antonio, Memphis, Hampton Roads (VA), and Sacramento* that could do well. I'd even give Louisville and Albuquerque a chance.

I guarantee, that if this league gets so far as fielding teams and playing games, only Memphis, Orlando, and possibly Los Angeles** will have reasonable success.

*OK, they're also almost all NBA cities, but these NBA-only or NBA-MLS cities are cities that any alternative football league should be taking a long, hard look at.

**If the league manages to survive long enough that an NFL team moves to LA, then the LA team would go belly-up quickly.

[GFB]

Tell me how anyone doesn't think this would be at least mildly successful?

- 16 teams (each given as a shared "farm team" between two NFL franchises)

- Each composed of 20-30 "bubble roster" players from each team, plus free agents.

- 4 divisions of 4 teams, an 8-10 game schedule, regionally centered to keep costs down.

- 2-round playoff (semi-final game played between each division winner, followed by championship game)

- Expand the NFL draft to 10-12 rounds to allow for more "owned" talent in the league.

I agree that a semi-pro spring league would not work on its own, but you slap the "NFL" tag on there and give fans a specific D-League team to watch their team's prospects, I think people would watch... Why? The same reason why people watch the NFL combine and NFL draft. I mean, say the Bears signed Terrell Owens to a minor league deal, are you saying none of the Bears fans would tune in to see TO play and see if he has anything left for the Bears?

[WSU151]

Tell me how anyone doesn't think this would be at least mildly successful?

- 16 teams (each given as a shared "farm team" between two NFL franchises)

- Each composed of 20-30 "bubble roster" players from each team, plus free agents.

- 4 divisions of 4 teams, an 8-10 game schedule, regionally centered to keep costs down.

- 2-round playoff (semi-final game played between each division winner, followed by championship game)

- Expand the NFL draft to 10-12 rounds to allow for more "owned" talent in the league.

I agree that a semi-pro spring league would not work on its own, but you slap the "NFL" tag on there and give fans a specific D-League team to watch their team's prospects, I think people would watch... Why? The same reason why people watch the NFL combine and NFL draft. I mean, say the Bears signed Terrell Owens to a minor league deal, are you saying none of the Bears fans would tune in to see TO play and see if he has anything left for the Bears?

I like your thought process, but Bears (or any team's) fans would they'd watch maybe three games. Then get bored with the other guys being mediocre football players. Attention spans are really short in the sports world. People don't want to watch a whole bunch of "bubble" players. Pre-season football games get pretty boring once you get into the third quarter...

[GFB]

Tell me how anyone doesn't think this would be at least mildly successful?

- 16 teams (each given as a shared "farm team" between two NFL franchises)

- Each composed of 20-30 "bubble roster" players from each team, plus free agents.

- 4 divisions of 4 teams, an 8-10 game schedule, regionally centered to keep costs down.

- 2-round playoff (semi-final game played between each division winner, followed by championship game)

- Expand the NFL draft to 10-12 rounds to allow for more "owned" talent in the league.

I agree that a semi-pro spring league would not work on its own, but you slap the "NFL" tag on there and give fans a specific D-League team to watch their team's prospects, I think people would watch... Why? The same reason why people watch the NFL combine and NFL draft. I mean, say the Bears signed Terrell Owens to a minor league deal, are you saying none of the Bears fans would tune in to see TO play and see if he has anything left for the Bears?

They'd watch maybe three games. Then get bored with the other guys being mediocre football players. Attention spans are really short in the sports world.

Normally, yes. But this is football. Even more, this would be a version of NFL football. Hell, 15 million people watched the Pro Bowl.

Another scenario... Your team drafts a QB in the 5th round... He rides the bench as the 3rd string through his first NFL season. Team decides to get him some reps and sends him down. All of a sudden, he starts going off for 400 yards and 3 TDs a game. Are you saying those fans of that team won't tune in to see if the kid really does have something?

[gosioux76]

Tell me how anyone doesn't think this would be at least mildly successful?

- 16 teams (each given as a shared "farm team" between two NFL franchises)

- Each composed of 20-30 "bubble roster" players from each team, plus free agents.

- 4 divisions of 4 teams, an 8-10 game schedule, regionally centered to keep costs down.

- 2-round playoff (semi-final game played between each division winner, followed by championship game)

- Expand the NFL draft to 10-12 rounds to allow for more "owned" talent in the league.

I agree that a semi-pro spring league would not work on its own, but you slap the "NFL" tag on there and give fans a specific D-League team to watch their team's prospects, I think people would watch... Why? The same reason why people watch the NFL combine and NFL draft. I mean, say the Bears signed Terrell Owens to a minor league deal, are you saying none of the Bears fans would tune in to see TO play and see if he has anything left for the Bears?

They'd watch maybe three games. Then get bored with the other guys being mediocre football players. Attention spans are really short in the sports world.

Normally, yes. But this is football. Even more, this would be a version of NFL football. Hell, 15 million people watched the Pro Bowl.

Another scenario... Your team drafts a QB in the 5th round... He rides the bench as the 3rd string through his first NFL season. Team decides to get him some reps and sends him down. All of a sudden, he starts going off for 400 yards and 3 TDs a game. Are you saying those fans of that team won't tune in to see if the kid really does have something?

I like your idea. The question would be whether the NFL is willing to make the investment. The league would likely have to operate as a single-entity, owned by the NFL, because it's not guaranteed that you'd find willing ownership in those second-tier markets, especially in this economy.

[dfwabel]

Still would not work well. Under your proposal...

1- The NFL is in year one of a ten year CBA. Any new "league" would have to have its CBA into any new agreement. A "bubble player" would still be under a NFL contract and the benefits it would entitle. The media revenues would not cover the additional payroll and salary cap for a spring league.

2- NFL teams already bring in 90 players into training camp. Teams have to pay a per diem for each player each week. More players = more money out.

3- It is overall hard to keep cost down with the violent nature of the game. Injuries, specifically concussions and insurance for the additional players will add to league costs.

4- It is still in the spring. When would you have the combine and this longer draft? Someone could play in the spring then directly go to OTA's? That is too much on an athlete's body to be effective at the elite level.

EDIT: Basically, you propose to increase the workforce by over 70%, but there will not be a equal increase in what the CBA calls "AR" (All Revenue) to cover that addition.

[rams80]

Honestly, I know it has been said before, but there is definitely a nitch that could be carved out in the spring when there is very little football related news... Almost an NFL-DL, you could say.

It's been said here before, but the NFL does have a development league: Division 1 college football.

Nobody in their right mind will build a business plan around a b-squad football league, especially with major cities as your primary markets. It doesn't make sense. Consumers don't want to shell out $45 to go to watch the equivalent of an NFL practice squad play in a 70k seat stadium.

I know this country supposedly has an insatiable appetite for football. But I can't see any circumstance where a league with inferior talent can work. It's too much of an investment with too little return.

The only reason the AFL and the USFL got any traction is because they were able to poach big-name college talent and lure away established NFL vets with big $$. Based on the business plan posted on Deadspin, this new league doesn't plant to compete with the NFL for talent. So where is it going to come from?

Honestly, I don't know how anybody can hear a pitch on a new professional football league and come out saying, "I think this could work." It's like the USFL's near success, if you can call it that, created some sort of irrepressible hope -- or delusion.

The NBA has College Basketball, but isn't the D-League working there?

As a tax shelter it's fantastic. For everything else, its kind of "meh."

[rams80]

Tell me how anyone doesn't think this would be at least mildly successful?

- 16 teams (each given as a shared "farm team" between two NFL franchises)

- Each composed of 20-30 "bubble roster" players from each team, plus free agents.

- 4 divisions of 4 teams, an 8-10 game schedule, regionally centered to keep costs down.

- 2-round playoff (semi-final game played between each division winner, followed by championship game)

- Expand the NFL draft to 10-12 rounds to allow for more "owned" talent in the league.

I agree that a semi-pro spring league would not work on its own, but you slap the "NFL" tag on there and give fans a specific D-League team to watch their team's prospects, I think people would watch... Why? The same reason why people watch the NFL combine and NFL draft. I mean, say the Bears signed Terrell Owens to a minor league deal, are you saying none of the Bears fans would tune in to see TO play and see if he has anything left for the Bears?

Shared farm teams don't work, because most parent teams want to maximize playing time for their players and for their players to learn their system.

[GFB]

Still would not work well. Under your proposal...

1- The NFL is in year one of a ten year CBA. Any new "league" would have to have its CBA into any new agreement. A "bubble player" would still be under a NFL contract and the benefits it would entitle. The media revenues would not cover the additional payroll and salary cap for a spring league.

2- NFL teams already bring in 90 players into training camp. Teams have to pay a per diem for each player each week. More players = more money out.

3- It is overall hard to keep cost down with the violent nature of the game. Injuries, specifically concussions and insurance for the additional players will add to league costs.

4- It is still in the spring. When would you have the combine and this longer draft? Someone could play in the spring then directly go to OTA's? That is too much on an athlete's body to be effective at the elite level.

If the NFL owners saw that the revenue potential was there, they would pursue it. The NFLPA would grow in size. It's not like they would be unable to create an amendment to the existing CBA. From a generating extra revenue via media, I see at least two potential networks willing to invest providing exposure for an NFL-minor league: the NFL Network and NBC Sports network. I could also see ESPN jumping on board after a year or two to keep NBCSN at bay if the league started to survive.

In response to player salaries, think about how many players go undrafted... some who even have left college early without a degree. You don't think you would be able to sign those player to a 12-16 week, $20,000-$50,000 dollar contracts (literally chump change in the NFL). In reality, the only players on an NFL-level contract (in the millions) would be 4-5th round picks that didn't play and are already under contract. I'm sure clauses could be worked into rookie contracts about mandatory trips when the player is "sent down." In addition, the cost for one minor-league team would be split by two NFL franchises, not one.

As for your 4th point, it's not like you can't have the combine and draft at the same time as this minor-league season. The incoming college players wouldn't be playing in the league, the NFL coaches wouldn't be coaching in this league (especially when you have shared teams), and it's not like the NFL network or NBCSN have better things to take up airtime. If you were that gun-shy about doing it in the spring, you could start it in May after the draft and end it by the end of July. Then the only thing you would have to compete with would be the MLB.

[dfwabel]

GFB,

The more credible and sure revenue stream is either to relocate a team to L.A. or expand the league again to include L.A. That would give them much more money in franchise fees alone than an entire new minor league.

A current practice squad player earns at minimum $5,700/week, but if they become active three times in a season (or get picked up by another club and become active), they get paid the "Paragraph 5" salary of $375,000 if they were active three times. A street FA gets the "league minimum" of $253,000+ dependent on credited seasons.

The NFLN does not "bid" for games. In previous contract talks, the NFL took out the Thursday Night games to air on their channel. The rights deal which was extended to mirror the new CBA in length still gives the NFL the option to place additional games on NFLN or open up a "new" Thursday package to the highest bidder.

I recommend you download the new CBA and look at it. There is a lot in the current CBA which has to be looked at such as, but not limited to: Tuition Assistance, Severance Pay, Long Term Care insurance, Former Player Life improvement Plan.

May-July also has the MLS season, the heart of NASCAR and would impact the OTAs.

[DaytonBlue]

I could maybe see this work if they found some appropriately sized stadia in the 10-20K range. Maybe they could rent out some soccer-specific stadia (and I know some places like Dallas host some American football games too).

The problem they would have in a city like Memphis, for example, is that the Liberty Bowl holds 60K give or take. There would be no incentive to buy a season ticket, just as there is no incentive to buy a Memphis Tiger football season ticket.

But if you had a smaller venue, it could maybe work for a little while.

[dfwabel]

FYI, here is a part of the lease which the Texans have with Harris County (TX) who owns Reliant Stadium and the Reliant Park (copied from the public PDF):

Section 2.4 Exclusive Right to Exhibit Professional Football.

As part of the consideration for this Stadium Lease and the other Principal Project Documents and anything herein or in any of the other Principal Project Documents to the contrary notwithstanding, it is agreed that except for any college football games, the NFL World Championship Game (Super Bowl) and Pro-Bowl ameds during the Lease Term, Tenant shall have the sole and exclusive right and privilege of exhibiting professional football in not only the Stadium but any other stadium owned or controlled by Landlord, the County, or any County Affiliate, within the limits of Harris County. The foregoing is not intended as a grant of a right to use the Leased Premises on any dates other than those dates on which Football Home Games, Tenant Events or Tenant Non-Events are Booked in accordance with this Stadium Lease and the other Principal Project Documents. In addition, Landlord, the County, and any County Affiliate each agrees that it will not enter into a lease or other contractual arrangement with any other Person for, or that allows the exhibition of professional football during the Lease Term. For purposes of this Stadium Lease, "professional football" shall mean the type of American football regularly played in the United States between embedded teams within a football association such as the NFL, the Canadian Football League, the NFL Europe League, XFL (Extreme Football League), and any other similar league or leagues now or hereafter organized, and including any teams without league affiliation playing a comparable style and brand of professional American football (excluding so-called "arena" football, as commonly practiced today). The herein above stated provisions of this Section 2.4 shall constitute restrictive covenants which run with and bind the Leased Premises, including the Stadium, and any other stadium owned or controlled by Landlord, the County, or any County Affiliate within the limits of Harris Countyd uring the entire Lease Term. Tenants hall be deemed the beneficiary of the aforesaid restrictive covenants.

I thought that after the USFL, most NFL teams tried to get exclusivity rights into their new stadiums. With the XFL, Meadowlands and Soldier Field were not renovated, so those could have had a previous lease. Look where the remaining teams and the other proposed new pro football leagues wanted to play.

Where are they going to play if Houston is a target? Rice? Robertson? New Houston MLS/Texas Southern stadium?

[GFB]

GFB,

The more credible and sure revenue stream is either to relocate a team to L.A. or expand the league again to include L.A. That would give them much more money in franchise fees alone than an entire new minor league.

A current practice squad player earns at minimum $5,700/week, but if they become active three times in a season (or get picked up by another club and become active), they get paid the "Paragraph 5" salary of $375,000 if they were active three times. A street FA gets the "league minimum" of $253,000+ dependent on credited seasons.

The NFLN does not "bid" for games. In previous contract talks, the NFL took out the Thursday Night games to air on their channel. The rights deal which was extended to mirror the new CBA in length still gives the NFL the option to place additional games on NFLN or open up a "new" Thursday package to the highest bidder.

I recommend you download the new CBA and look at it. There is a lot in the current CBA which has to be looked at such as, but not limited to: Tuition Assistance, Severance Pay, Long Term Care insurance, Former Player Life improvement Plan.

May-July also has the MLS season, the heart of NASCAR and would impact the OTAs.

Unfortunately, I don't have the free time necessary to download and examine the new CBA, sadly. My plan is not something that has been incredibly thought through, just a rough and dirty skeleton of how I imagine a successful league taking shape.

I didn't imply that the NFL Network "bid" on the games... I was only suggesting that my NFL-DL games would gain much better ratings than Inside The Huddle reruns and NFL Top 10 Lists in terms of programming.

In regards to your post about stadium usage, you could place the teams in between the shared franchises. If Chicago and Detroit shared one, put the team in South Bend and play it at Notre Dame; Cincinnati and Cleveland's team goes to Columbus; etc... there are ways around it. I think you're getting a little too caught up on the technical things... If the NFL avoids monopoly charges with the government by claiming to be 32 separate organizations when it suits them, I think they could figure out a way to make each of the minor league franchises their own too.

Rams had a good point about sharing franchises, but I could see it working in the short-term (say the first 5-8 years), if the NFL-DL coaches were put in place by the NFL and given generic schemes to run; at least until the league got on its feet and they are able to expand it to one farm team per NFL team.

[dfwabel]

GFB,

The more credible and sure revenue stream is either to relocate a team to L.A. or expand the league again to include L.A. That would give them much more money in franchise fees alone than an entire new minor league.

A current practice squad player earns at minimum $5,700/week, but if they become active three times in a season (or get picked up by another club and become active), they get paid the "Paragraph 5" salary of $375,000 if they were active three times. A street FA gets the "league minimum" of $253,000+ dependent on credited seasons.

The NFLN does not "bid" for games. In previous contract talks, the NFL took out the Thursday Night games to air on their channel. The rights deal which was extended to mirror the new CBA in length still gives the NFL the option to place additional games on NFLN or open up a "new" Thursday package to the highest bidder.

I recommend you download the new CBA and look at it. There is a lot in the current CBA which has to be looked at such as, but not limited to: Tuition Assistance, Severance Pay, Long Term Care insurance, Former Player Life improvement Plan.

May-July also has the MLS season, the heart of NASCAR and would impact the OTAs.

Unfortunately, I don't have the free time necessary to download and examine the new CBA, sadly. My plan is not something that has been incredibly thought through, just a rough and dirty skeleton of how I imagine a successful league taking shape.

I didn't imply that the NFL Network "bid" on the games... I was only suggesting that my NFL-DL games would gain much better ratings than Inside The Huddle reruns and NFL Top 10 Lists in terms of programming.

In regards to your post about stadium usage, you could place the teams in between the shared franchises. If Chicago and Detroit shared one, put the team in South Bend and play it at Notre Dame; Cincinnati and Cleveland's team goes to Columbus; etc... there are ways around it. I think you're getting a little too caught up on the technical things... If the NFL avoids monopoly charges with the government by claiming to be 32 separate organizations when it suits them, I think they could figure out a way to make each of the minor league franchises their own too.

Rams had a good point about sharing franchises, but I could see it working in the short-term (say the first 5-8 years), if the NFL-DL coaches were put in place by the NFL and given generic schemes to run; at least until the league got on its feet and they are able to expand it to one farm team per NFL team.

1- Download the CBA to your desktop. It'll stay there.

2-Having a development league would not assist them getting on the Time-Warner/BrightHouse system one bit and that is 12 of the NFL's 32 markets since the numbers would still be too d@mn small. Any new league will not give them carriage fees.

3- MiLB genreally has low attendance and they get bigger crowds on the alcohol promotions aka "Thirsty Thursdays". While most colleges hold liquor licenses through their Student Affairs department or through a holder like Sedexho, beer is not sold in stadium. Lack of revenue through spiting alcohol sales (and liability) with the university is another business problem not for your proposal, but for the league itself.

If it is not a MLB park, a city-owned minor league/MLS facility or a place like Hartford, they do not have a chance.

Also, the Deadspin report had the teams spending more on team management/coaching salaries than player salaries. Really?

[GFB]

1- Download the CBA to your desktop. It'll stay there.

2-Having a development league would not assist them getting on the Time-Warner/BrightHouse system one bit and that is 12 of the NFL's 32 markets since the numbers would still be too d@mn small. Any new league will not give them carriage fees.

3- MiLB genreally has low attendance and they get bigger crowds on the alcohol promotions aka "Thirsty Thursdays". While most colleges hold liquor licenses through their Student Affairs department or through a holder like Sedexho, beer is not sold in stadium. Lack of revenue through spiting alcohol sales (and liability) with the university is another business problem not for your proposal, but for the league itself.

If it is not a MLB park, a city-owned minor league/MLS facility or a place like Hartford, they do not have a chance.

Also, the Deadspin report had the teams spending more on team management/coaching salaries than player salaries. Really?

Alright, you win. I guess the imaginary league in my head isn't commercially viable. How will I get to sleep tonight?

[dfwabel]

*

1- Download the CBA to your desktop. It'll stay there.

2-Having a development league would not assist them getting on the Time-Warner/BrightHouse system one bit and that is 12 of the NFL's 32 markets since the numbers would still be too d@mn small. Any new league will not give them carriage fees.

3- MiLB genreally has low attendance and they get bigger crowds on the alcohol promotions aka "Thirsty Thursdays". While most colleges hold liquor licenses through their Student Affairs department or through a holder like Sedexho, beer is not sold in stadium. Lack of revenue through spiting alcohol sales (and liability) with the university is another business problem not for your proposal, but for the league itself.

If it is not a MLB park, a city-owned minor league/MLS facility or a place like Hartford, they do not have a chance.

Also, the Deadspin report had the teams spending more on team management/coaching salaries than player salaries. Really?

Alright, you win. I guess the imaginary league in my head isn't commercially viable. How will I get to sleep tonight?

This IBB does have a Concepts thread for you.

[JH42XCC]

I came up with a list of potential stadiums for the potential SPFL markets:

• New York/New Jersey: Citi Field (Flushing, NY), MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, NJ), or High Point Solutions Stadium (Rutgers Univ. -- Piscataway, NJ)
  
• Washington, D.C.: RFK Stadium or Byrd Stadium (Univ. of Maryland -- College Park, MD)
  
• Memphis: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
  
• Orlando: Citrus Bowl or Bright House Networks Stadium (UCF)
  
• Charlotte: Bank of America Stadium
  
• Chicago: Soldier Field or Ryan Field (Northwestern Univ. -- Evanston, IL)
  
• Detroit: Ford Field or Silverdome (Pontiac, MI)
  
• Philadelphia: Lincoln Financial Field or Franklin Field (Univ. of Penn)
  
• San Francisco/Oakland: Candlestick Park, AT&T Park, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Stanford Stadium (Stanford Univ. -- Stanford, CA), or California Memorial Stadium (Univ. of California -- Berkeley, CA)
  
• Denver: Sports Authority Field at Mile High or Folsom Field (Univ. of Colorado -- Boulder, CO)
  
• Dallas: Cotton Bowl, Gerald J. Ford Stadium (SMU), or Amon G. Carter (TCU -- Fort Worth)
  
• Phoenix: Chase Field, Univ. of Phoenix Stadium (Glendale, AZ), or Sun Devil Stadium (Arizona St. Univ. -- Tempe, AZ)
  
• Houston: Rice Stadium (Rice Univ.)
  
• Los Angeles: L.A. Memorial Coliseum, Farmers Field (if built), L.A. Football Stadium (Industry, CA -- if built), Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA), or Angel Stadium of Anaheim (Anaheim, CA)
  
• Seattle: CenturyLink Field or Husky Stadium (Univ. of Washington)
  

More than likely, Los Angeles would be the odd city out due to the lack of a suitable stadium in the market.

[CS85]

I've never understood the point in hosting these nickel and dime leagues in major sports venues. Hell, even in a college stadium.

Outside of the debut game, which will in all likelihood be a decent draw and more of an event, there's going to be game after game of nearly empty stands. As a tender young league, image and perception is everything - why sell yourself short? Hell, I'd just try to find a really nice high school field or something, soccer stadium, anything where you can get by on only a couple thousand in attendance per game without looking like a Florida Marlins home game in August.

[dfwabel]

I came up with a list of potential stadiums for the potential SPFL markets:

• New York/New Jersey: Citi Field (Flushing, NY), MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, NJ), or High Point Solutions Stadium (Rutgers Univ. -- Piscataway, NJ)
• Washington, D.C.: RFK Stadium or Byrd Stadium (Univ. of Maryland -- College Park, MD)
• Memphis: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
• Orlando: Citrus Bowl or Bright House Networks Stadium (UCF)
• Charlotte: Bank of America Stadium
• Chicago: Soldier Field or Ryan Field (Northwestern Univ. -- Evanston, IL)
• Detroit: Ford Field or Silverdome (Pontiac, MI)
• Philadelphia: Lincoln Financial Field or Franklin Field (Univ. of Penn)
• San Francisco/Oakland: Candlestick Park, AT&T Park, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Stanford Stadium (Stanford Univ. -- Stanford, CA), or California Memorial Stadium (Univ. of California -- Berkeley, CA)
• Denver: Sports Authority Field at Mile High or Folsom Field (Univ. of Colorado -- Boulder, CO)
• Dallas: Cotton Bowl, Gerald J. Ford Stadium (SMU), or Amon G. Carter (TCU -- Fort Worth)
• Phoenix: Chase Field, Univ. of Phoenix Stadium (Glendale, AZ), or Sun Devil Stadium (Arizona St. Univ. -- Tempe, AZ)
• Houston: Rice Stadium (Rice Univ.)
• Los Angeles: L.A. Memorial Coliseum, Farmers Field (if built), L.A. Football Stadium (Industry, CA -- if built), Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA), or Angel Stadium of Anaheim (Anaheim, CA)
• Seattle: CenturyLink Field or Husky Stadium (Univ. of Washington)

More than likely, Los Angeles would be the odd city out due to the lack of a suitable stadium in the market.

You to that as a fantasy league...

More than likely there is NFL ownership (as the HOU lease indicates) which has a lease which disallows professional football. Make your changes, then come back here since parts of many cities are out like parts of Detroit, Seattle, Philadelphia