It is an NFL stadium... Just not one to be used long term. "Real Texas" people know 80 miles isn't 5h1t to drive. You're just one dude and you do not speak for all of Austin. My cousin lives in Austin and has Spurs season tickets and it's other people in Austin who do go to Spurs games as well... An NFL team couldn't use a city as leverage if they couldn't support a team... Just the same I don't see Bob McNair allowing the Raiders to move to San Antonio.
That region is one of the fastest if not THE fastest growing region in the country. San Marcos is actually BOOMING at the moment. Though I don't think it's likely to happen, it would be very interesting if it did. With the Texans and the Raiders both being AFC teams the table would be set for an organic rivalry to form. The two teams would play each other 2-3 times every four years not including potential playoff matchups. That would be a big deal here in Texas, it would be a spectacle. Especially if both teams are good and potential contenders. It could be very well become Baltimore/Pittsburg-esque. Jerry definitely wouldn't be happy about not being part of that action.
Austin is an interesting mixture of Texas fandoms. It seems to mainly be a Spurs and Cowboys town, with a Houston minority mixed in. I see a lot less Rangers hats around town now that they're losing, so I hope that means the Astros will someday reclaim their historical position of the favored baseball team in Austin. That probably won't be until people can watch them on television, though.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2014/07/30/oakland-raiders-should-not-move-to-san-antonio/ But Oakland is in the country’s fourth-largest media market, compared with 36th for San Antonio. The number of big corporations in the Bay Area outnumber the Alamo City by 30 to five. Once Oakland’s economy rebounds the city will be able support much higher premium seating and sponsorship revenue than San Antonio.
None of that matters when Oakland has had one of the worst attendance if not the worst attendance in the NFL the past few years... And now they want the Raiders to share a stadium with the 49ers... It's too much competition in California for a professional football team and that's why owners are "scared" to put a team in L.A.
I was under the impression that the big corporations in the Bay Area were in 49ers territory. I was also under the impression that San Jose would be a better location than Oakland, but the 49ers would never allow it. I don't think San Antonio can support an NFL team very well, but it is an absolutely horrible article as it doesn't even mention the implications of there being another team in the Bay Area competing for those resources.
I should amend this statement to say that the Raiders won't be playing in Oakland after this year. It's most likely that they end up sharing Levi Stadium with the 49ers and paying out the nose for a few years until they land a deal with LA.
I thought the very same thing. It was hugely different. But I don't know that the model of "moving to Nashville" is a model that other owners are going to be interested in following. I don't see San Antonio as an attractive market for NFL or MLB relocation. Particularly when city leaders are saying that changes to the Alamodome will get 'er done. At the very least, Nashville built a new stadium. From what I've read, it sounds like San Antonio is tapped out.
Now that the 49ers are in Santa Clara, there's no way in hell they would allow the Raiders to play in San Jose. San Jose has had enough trouble getting the A's to move there with the Giants 45 miles up the 101.
I don't think you understand what I'm saying. Your definition of "NFL Stadium" doesn't make sense. There are tons of college football stadiums that are way better candidates like DRK stadium in Austin. Way more seating capacity and wayyyy more suites. I don't think DKR should have an NFL team but it would be a better home to a team than the Alamo Dome. Just because the Alamo Dome hosted an NFL team out of necessity doesn't make it a NFL stadium. If that is your definition then it seems rather pointless and rests chiefly on a technicality. It also is not fair to compare a new NFL team in Texas to the Spurs. The spurs are the oldest professional basketball team in Texas and have very deep roots in central Texas. There wasn't any competition from any other city in the state. People in Austin already have their allegiances in the NFL and another team in another city would't make a difference. This makes no sense at all. Austin is a small town and people are annoying driving 20 miles from one site to another.
Not saying this move couldn't happen... but owners have to pay attention to how the franchise values have held up in Nashville and Jacksonville (similar smaller markets), or hell just look at how the Raiders moved back to Oakland in the first place. In the short term, they're all hunky-dory... till some losing starts to set in, and they realize they really are in non-sustainable small-city markets that cripple any potential future growth of their product. In the end, I venture some bay area investor with deep pockets will line up some cash to keep the team around... or the NFL somehow steers them back to LA. San Antonio will unfortunately be used for leverage for every single NFL team (as has been the case ever since they were cajoled into building the eyesore alamodome).
My cousin is from NYC and the Spurs aren't his favorite team but he likes going to basketball games. Like I said _ your opinion isn't everyone's opinion. It's not always about allegiances it's about people being able to see a professional sporting event without having to make a 2 hour plus drive one way.. Just because you refuse to watch any other team play because of your allegiances doesn't mean everyone is like that. Again, you're speaking for everyone in Austin. It's people in Austin who come to Texans, Rockets, and Astro games when they can. Do you honestly think people in Austin don't drive to San Marcos to shop (heck, people in Houston drive there just to shop), are visit the amusement parks in San Antonio, river walk, etc. You've only been in Texas for 10 years. Most people who have been here longer, rather they like to drive or not know if they want to go somewhere they are prepared to drive. This is a big spread out state. It's people here who commute over an hour just to get to work every day. Just because you stay locked up in Austin doesn't mean everyone does.
