If the NFL was to expand to another city, I would consider Portland, Oregon as one of the top prospects. Portland is no stranger to expansion teams with their National Basketball Association (NBA) team, the Portland Trail Blazers. In 1970, the Trail Blazers entered the NBA as an expansion team and gained popularity rather quickly. Between 1977-1995, the Trail Blazers set a record in American professional sports for the most consecutive sold out home games with 814 games.
Further, Portland is also home to the Timbers, who are a part of Major League Soccer (MLS). The Timbers entered the MLS in 2009 as an expansion team. The Timbers have experienced much success in their 10 years in Portland. For example, in 2015, the Timbers won the Western Conference Finals and were awarded their first major league trophy, the MLS Cup. In 2017 and 2018 the Timbers made the playoffs yet again.
Not only does Portland have past experience with adding successful expansion teams, but it’s location to a major sports apparel company, Nike, makes it an ideal location for an NFL franchise. The Nike headquarters is located in Beaverton, Oregon which is only about a 15 minute drive from Portland.The NFL and Nike already have an eight year contract for game-day uniforms and sideline apparel that will run through 2028 after the current contract expires in 2020. An NFL team being in such close proximity to Nike headquarters could potentially set up more joint partnerships in the future.
Overall, Portland seems like an ideal location for an NFL franchise because of its past experience with adding expansion teams and for its proximity to Nike. However, if the NFL added just one team it would cause several scheduling conflicts and an imbalance in divisions/conferences, so they would need to add another team to balance things out expanding the league to 34 teams. Where would be an ideal location for a second expansion team? Austin? Oklahoma City? San Antonio? Orlando? The possibilities are endless….
BELLE OF THE (FOOT)BALL 