How many of the people watching that event were from the region? Might have been a few from other parts of germany, who only went there for the games and wouldn't go there to support a Duisburg team, if others closer to their homes would be available.
It's a bit like the NFL thinking that London can support a NFL team because the two games in London now are sold out. Woun't happen on a regular season base with a London team, because many people who go to London now to see the games there are from the continent..
yankee12 hat geschrieben:If Germany is to be the cornerstone of such a league, you have to have several major international markets. Therefore, Berlin would have to be given a chance to fail. Munich does not seem to be an appropriate replacement.
Munich would be a replacement for Duisburg/Bielefeld. More potential, though there's more competition by other sports, too.
yankee12 hat geschrieben:As for Barcelona, NFLE attendance declined the last few years, but that's another market that has history and has to have an opportunity.
Barcelona was one of the worst (or maybe even THE worst) NFL-E markets right from the start. Maybe there would be better chances to put a team to Italy. At least they have a league there already. And there even is a book about American Football in Italy ^^
yankee12 hat geschrieben:Regional rivalries is the reasoning behind having 3 teams in the UK. Scotland Claymores disbanded after averaging 9-10,000 fans per game... that's something to build on.
Three teams in the UK? *cough* Dublin is Republic of Ireland - not United Kingdom ^^
Averaging 9-10.000 fans might be all that can achieved in a region, that is a) solid with soccer and b) financially not very wealthy. Depending on how much a ticket would cost, there might be some interest in an american football team, but not much financial ability to support one.
yankee12 hat geschrieben:Bielefeld, like Braunschweig, are not huge cities, but are small metro areas. Smaller areas with fewer activities probably have a better chance of drawing larger crowds quicker. Hasn't Braunschwieg been the GFL's leader in attendance for many years ?
Braunschweig has the advantage of having the best stadium in the GFL. And although the Lions have a crowd of 5000+ that's not much compared to what the soccer team brought in even in the lower league. Putting another american football team to Braunschweig would lead to many complications, with having only one stadium to play in for those three teams being just the first.
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There are quite a few things speaking against a eurpean NFL
- American Football isn't yet an established product on the market here. Fanbase is there, but small. Too small to support fully professional teams
- Professional teams would consist of 50+ players and about the same number of support personnel who'd have to be paid. That would need quite a few visitors per game
- Stadiums don't rent cheap in regions, where there's already Fußball / Soccer as the main sport around.
- European players aren't on the same playing level as US players. But teams would have to consist of a mix of european and US players, with those from the US playing for their european teams for more than just a season, to really build up a sense of the team "belonging" to the town/region it represents. So finding enough qualified european players might prove difficult.
- Fans of American Football in europe would compare a professional league with the NFL. If the games of the european teams would be played on a lower - amateurish - level, people wouldn't be ready to pay the amount of money for a ticket which would be needed to finance a team.
A solution might be bringing something like the Arena League to Europe. Advantages would be:
- no direct comparing with the NFL seen on TV
- smaller teams - less costs
- less costs - less need for fan crowds
- less visitors - easier to find places to play
- playing in arenas means that the season can be played in winter, evading competition from Fußball / Soccer
- Arena rules make for a faster, highscoring game, which makes it more interesting for european customers
BRAUNSCHWEIG
