Voice of the Hawkeyes Board

Come on...we all know more are lifelong Steeler fans!

I wouldn't know, because they weren't making much noise this year...

That'd be a great question there as well. Both Nebraska and Iowa are the only game in town, so it could definitely be a lot different with an NFL team in the same state. What would you think about an NFL team in Nebraska?

Great point about the success the Nighthawks had with selling tickets. And it's also a feather in Omaha's cap that the College World Series has had such a long run there as well. I wonder whether the three major sports will look to continue expanding or not. If a franchise such as the Sacramento Kings or Jacksonville Jaguars moves, then there'd obviously be an opportunity for another city. But I wouldn't be surprised if all three sports are content with the number of franchises at this point, so it may be awhile before we see any additions.

Also Todd if your curious here's what were saying on out board

Thanks for sharing. Some good points in that thread. On second thought, Bruntz made a good point about baseball possibly being too long of a season. I obviously don't know the local market in Omaha well enough, but could see any of the four major sports possibly succeeding there if it's done right.

I don't think I could ever support another NFL team besides my Packers.

I don't think Iowa fans would buy into an NBA team and I don't see Iowa being a state with a heap of hockey fans.

There are too many Cubs, Cardinals, and Twins fans in Iowa for a Major League team.

Iowa just doesn't have a metropolitan population to support a pro team IMO.

I definitely see what you're saying here regarding the NFL. To play devil's advocate, I wonder if the younger generation (let's say 18 and under) would view it differently. They'd be the ones growing up with the new team, and would therefore be more likely to become diehard fans. As they get older and pass that fandom on to their kids, the new team could have a pretty good fan base in the long run.

Thanks for the info - didn't realize the Iowa Cubs were bringing in that much revenue.

I'm sure it helps that the major league club pays those salaries, but at least for the players, most of those guys aren't making very much. Unless they were a high draft pick or have dressed for at least one MLB regular season game, minor league players really don't make too much.

I'm not sure if it's still set up this way, but at least until recently, if you ever dressed for at least one MLB regular season game at any point in your career, you were guaranteed a minimum salary of at least $85,000 (I'm pretty sure that's the correct number - it's somewhere around there) per year for the rest of your career, even if you're only playing at the Single-A level. So those September call-ups are a very big deal for those guys.

That's my line.

I like golden dogs analogy.

I lived in KC for 10 years 1998--2007 or about. I arrived when they had a dead downtown. It was a ghost town after 5pm daily departure of suburban workforce.

To make a long story short, the city leadership TIFed to the hilt and spurred billions in development that included a new arena that was the centerpiece of downtown urban revival. It was $240 million or so, a guaranteed draw for an NBA or possibly and NHL franchise team and revive KCs bidding for Big 12 BB tournaments. It's now referred to as the Donut Hole, A gleaming structure that hosts arena football and Rock concerts but no anchor team from the top tier sporting leagues.

If you build it... they may not come.

They do get the Big 12 basketball tournaments and NCAA Tournament games, though, right? Obviously, that's nowhere near the appeal of having your own NBA/NHL franchise, but at least it's something.

They do get both, they used to have the Big12 Tourney exclusively, now I think it's round robin with Texas. It's a great arena really, and the surrounding Power and light development is determinately more welcoming than what existed when I started living there, nevertheless, the finances aren't working and it's cost the city the ability to provide basic services.

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/print-edition/2011/01/21/tif-takes-a-bite-of-kansas-citys-budget.html?page=all