The Scarlet Parsnip
2007-01-17 01:55:47 UTC
London to Host 1st NFL Game in Europe
Updated 8:37 PM ET January 16, 2007
By PAUL LOGOTHETIS
LONDON (AP) - London will hold the NFL's first regular-season game
outside North America this year, the start of a campaign to take
American football to a global audience.
"There's great history of NFL football in London, and British fans
have been great fans of football over the years," NFL commissioner
Roger Goodell said Tuesday. "We're confident that this game is going
be a great success in London and will be a great foundation to play
more games there going forward."
The opponents have yet to be announced, but the Miami Dolphins and New
York Giants are believed to be front-runners for the game. The
Dolphins, but not the Giants, are one of six NFL teams the league
identified as potential home teams; they would give up a home game in
Miami to host the contest in London.
"They are two of the teams that have expressed an interest and we'll
narrow it down to which two teams will generate the most enthusiasm
for the fans in London and the broader U.K.," Goodell said.
The most likely venue is the new 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium, which
will open this spring after years of delays. The other candidate is
82,000-seat Twickenham, home of English rugby.
"We're looking at both venues in terms of their readiness," said Marc
Waller, vice president of NFL International. "It's important that we
understand terms of readiness of both stadiums and then a financial
bidding process will also ensue."
The game will be held between late September and mid-October.
Goodell will announce the teams, venue and date before the Feb. 4
Super Bowl in Miami.
NFL owners voted in October to play up to two games outside the United
States every season for the next five years. The London game will be
the only overseas contest in 2007.
Germany, Canada and Mexico have been identified as the other top
markets for NFL games outside the United States.
"We eliminated Toronto after agreeing with the Canadian Football
League that we wouldn't go there because it was already hosting the
Grey Cup," Goodell said. "Mexico was discussed, as well as Duesseldorf
and Hamburg."
The NFL staged its first regular-season game outside the United States
in 2005. The Arizona Cardinals played the San Francisco 49ers before a
crowd of 103,467 in Mexico City.
London hosted several NFL American Bowl preseason games in the 1980s
and 1990s. The city also had the London Monarchs in the World League
of American Football_ now NFL Europe _ but the team folded.
Goodell said fans have reacted positively to the league's overseas
plan, even though it means some teams will lose a scheduled home game.
"There are fans here that we think will like the idea and respond to
it because it puts your city on a global stage and the city will be
showed as a world class city itself," he said.
Updated 8:37 PM ET January 16, 2007
By PAUL LOGOTHETIS
LONDON (AP) - London will hold the NFL's first regular-season game
outside North America this year, the start of a campaign to take
American football to a global audience.
"There's great history of NFL football in London, and British fans
have been great fans of football over the years," NFL commissioner
Roger Goodell said Tuesday. "We're confident that this game is going
be a great success in London and will be a great foundation to play
more games there going forward."
The opponents have yet to be announced, but the Miami Dolphins and New
York Giants are believed to be front-runners for the game. The
Dolphins, but not the Giants, are one of six NFL teams the league
identified as potential home teams; they would give up a home game in
Miami to host the contest in London.
"They are two of the teams that have expressed an interest and we'll
narrow it down to which two teams will generate the most enthusiasm
for the fans in London and the broader U.K.," Goodell said.
The most likely venue is the new 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium, which
will open this spring after years of delays. The other candidate is
82,000-seat Twickenham, home of English rugby.
"We're looking at both venues in terms of their readiness," said Marc
Waller, vice president of NFL International. "It's important that we
understand terms of readiness of both stadiums and then a financial
bidding process will also ensue."
The game will be held between late September and mid-October.
Goodell will announce the teams, venue and date before the Feb. 4
Super Bowl in Miami.
NFL owners voted in October to play up to two games outside the United
States every season for the next five years. The London game will be
the only overseas contest in 2007.
Germany, Canada and Mexico have been identified as the other top
markets for NFL games outside the United States.
"We eliminated Toronto after agreeing with the Canadian Football
League that we wouldn't go there because it was already hosting the
Grey Cup," Goodell said. "Mexico was discussed, as well as Duesseldorf
and Hamburg."
The NFL staged its first regular-season game outside the United States
in 2005. The Arizona Cardinals played the San Francisco 49ers before a
crowd of 103,467 in Mexico City.
London hosted several NFL American Bowl preseason games in the 1980s
and 1990s. The city also had the London Monarchs in the World League
of American Football_ now NFL Europe _ but the team folded.
Goodell said fans have reacted positively to the league's overseas
plan, even though it means some teams will lose a scheduled home game.
"There are fans here that we think will like the idea and respond to
it because it puts your city on a global stage and the city will be
showed as a world class city itself," he said.