If the NFL had a Triple A League

[youngosu]

Assuming the NFL created a Triple A league that operated like AAA baseball, AHL hockey, and G-League basketball playing in the fall where do you think the teams would be located and which NFL team would they affiliate with? 

Thought this could create a fun thought experiment discussion. You can create the whole league or you can just pick a team and explain where you think their affiliate would play (maybe even name the team for fun). 

I'll go first with the Seahawks and these are the 4 locations I considered (honorary mention goes to Vancouver BC):

Tacoma-Tacoma Dome (10,000)

Pro: Near Seattle and can take advantage of that fan support, easy drive if player is needed on short notice

Con: Doesn't expand their brand much, stadium isn't ideal and even for a minor league might be a little small

Spokane 

Pro: Like Tacoma most people are already Seahawks fans, short trip if player is needed

Con: Doesn't have a viable stadium unless team actually plays in Cheney, Pullman, or Moscow, ID

Portland-Providence Park (21,000)

Pro: Great stadium right downtown in a growing city, easy trip if a player was needed on short notice

Con: Portland views itself as a major league city and hasn't ever supported minor league sports that well (last time they had Triple A baseball they were last in PCL attendance). 

Boise-Albertsons Stadium (36,000)

Pro: Growing market but unlike Portland doesn't have the "we are a major league city" issue, lots of Seahawks fans there (a, and a short flight from Seattle if a player were needed

Con: Stadium actually may be too large for minor league football

 

Verdict: Portland, at the end of the day its too good of a potential market to pass up but Boise would be a competitor. 

Introducing the Seattle Seahawks minor league affiliate the Portland Pioneers

 

[nextsuperstar1]

Well if the New England Patriots were to have a minor league affiliate, it’s interesting to think of where it would be, since the NFL team in Foxboro an hour or so from four of the regions largest cities. 

Candidate cities:

Boston-yes the NFL team is not really close to the actual city. It would be weird to have the minor league team there. One of the most expensive cities in the country probably makes building a stadium cost prohibitive (unless they use a field belonging to a college)

 

Worcester-New England’s second largest city has hosted minor league hockey, has a recently revitalized downtown. Would be an interesting choice, but it’s really close to Foxboro.

 

Providence- all the disadvantages of Worcester, and is the closest city to Foxboro and is less central than Worcester.

 

Hartford- Somewhat further  from Foxboro, 2 hours from Boston without traffic. Close to population centers, but fans in the area may be New York fans rather than Patriot fans.

 

Manchester/Portsmouth New Hampshire- interesting options. North of the metropolitan area.

 

Portland Maine- supports minor league affliates of the Celtics and Red Sox. Playing into December would result in some very very cold games.

 

Portland and Worcester would be my top two choices. The weather concerns probably have me favoring Worcester. 

[Jason_Bengal_Fl]

If?  It's called the NCAA.  

[bzane]

29 minutes ago, nextsuperstar1 said:

Well if the New England Patriots were to have a minor league affiliate, it’s interesting to think of where it would be, since the NFL team in Foxboro an hour or so from four of the regions largest cities. 

@nextsuperstar, sorry, for the purposes of this topic that's next supah-stahhhhh, I'm going to piggybacky on your excellent choice of the New England Patriots, and your well-thought-out reasons, offering my own frivolous and breezy selections.

Sole criterion: Cities/towns chosen as farm teams- sorry, fahhhm teams- must adapt well to a Boston accent, for the fun of hearing fans pronounce them! Nominees ahhh:

Woostah

Glow-stahh

Andovah

Mahhhble-Head

Pawtucket- less Boston-accent-friendly than the othahs,, but it's a tradition in Boston, Pawtucket is; and it lends itself well to no end of off-color limericks!

 

 

[UtahUtesFan]

The Alliance of American Football should eventually...

Salt Lake City - Rio Tinto Stadium (20, 213 seats). Utah has been a good market for college football where PAC-12 football and BYU independence seem to do well and are talked about a lot in this state. I guarantee Utah would be one of the best markets out there for AAA football.

[Supersuavesky]

6 hours ago, Jason_Bengal_Fl said:

If?  It's called the NCAA.  

Unfortunately true. 

[tom cody]

8 cities:

West:

Portland

San Diego

Oklahoma City

San Antonio

East:

Toronto

Hartford

St.Louis

Birmingham

[ET80]

San Antonio would have a team that would have a massive draw. Question would become whether they are a feeder for Dallas or Houston. 

Austin would also be interesting, if this league were a spring league. I can see a feeder league losing to UT football if they were competing heads up - but a league playing during springtime wouldn't have any issues.

[youngosu]

2 hours ago, EliteTexan80 said:

San Antonio would have a team that would have a massive draw. Question would become whether they are a feeder for Dallas or Houston. 

Austin would also be interesting, if this league were a spring league. I can see a feeder league losing to UT football if they were competing heads up - but a league playing during springtime wouldn't have any issues.

A spring league by its very nature will never be a developmental league. That is one of the main reasons that NFL Europe died, NFL teams don't want any of their 90 players playing for a spring league and stopped actually using the league to develop talent. The whole point would be to play a congruent season (just as every other sport does). 

15 hours ago, UtahUtesFan said:

The Alliance of American Football should eventually...

Salt Lake City - Rio Tinto Stadium (20, 213 seats). Utah has been a good market for college football where PAC-12 football and BYU independence seem to do well and are talked about a lot in this state. I guarantee Utah would be one of the best markets out there for AAA football.

Nope, the AAF will be a "2nd chance" league. Not a developmental league. 

20 hours ago, Jason_Bengal_Fl said:

If?  It's called the NCAA.  

Untrue, the NCAA would be more like AA. The average age of the G-League, AAA baseball, and the AHL is all well over the average age of an NCAA player. 

 

[youngosu]

23 hours ago, nextsuperstar1 said:

Boston-yes the NFL team is not really close to the actual city. It would be weird to have the minor league team there. One of the most expensive cities in the country probably makes building a stadium cost prohibitive (unless they use a field belonging to a college)

If you put the team there I'd think you'd play at one of the nearby colleges or possibly even Fenway. 

Its an interesting thought. Would the Boston Patriots draw fans to Fenway (or Harvard Stadium maybe?) on a Wednesday evening in October? 

I'd picture the NFL-Developmental league playing games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights instead of the weekends. 

Worcester probably makes more sense (and you'd think they'd play at Fitton Field which is a little smaller than the stadiums in Boston)

[areksoo]

7 hours ago, tom cody said:

8 cities:

West:

Portland

San Diego

Oklahoma City

San Antonio

East:

Toronto

Hartford

St.Louis

Birmingham

Toronto would reject any farm team not hockey related.  Also why would Toronto be on this list?  Toronto is by far the largest city on that list.  Toronto should only be in consideration for a NFL franchise, not a farm team.

Why would San Diego and St Louis support farm teams after they got their NFL teams taken away from them?

[gopherwrestler]

Sioux Falls, SD should be pretty high on the lists. Big new Event facility. Continually keep their baseball, football, basketball, and hockey teams fully promoted and the place is full. Would be pretty centralized for Minnesota, Nebraska, SD, and Iowa fans to commute.

They would be playing in the center of two of the most major interstate systems in the US. I-90 and I-29.

truely believe it would work out.

[biletnikoff]

it already  has one. It's  called the ncaa

[youngosu]

3 hours ago, biletnikoff said:

it already  has one. It's  called the ncaa

While you know you could have actually read the thread, seen the point of it, and that someone already made that incorrect comment prior to you.

Its not that complicated, if you don't like the premise of a thread you could just ignore it instead of thinking you are being clever by repeating the same false stupid post already posted previously. At least the other person was first, being 2nd to make a I'm gonna be so clever that isn't clever and missing the whole point of the thread comment is pretty weak. 

All 4 pro leagues have the NCAA. 

[Master of Suspense]

3 minutes ago, youngosu said:

While you know you could have actually read the thread, seen the point of it, and that someone already made that incorrect comment prior to you.

Its not that complicated, if you don't like the premise of a thread you could just ignore it instead of thinking you are being clever by repeating the same false stupid post already posted previously. At least the other person was first, being 2nd to make a I'm gonna be so clever that isn't clever and missing the whole point of the thread comment is pretty weak. 

All 4 pro leagues have the NCAA. 

Well said.