Is This the End of NFL Europa?
Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
Less than a week after the Hamburg Sea Devils defeated the Frankfurt Galaxy to win World Bowl XV, rumors are swirling that NFL Europa is finished after a reported $32 million loss this past season. It seems impossible with the league just concluding a season that set an all-time attendance record, drawing more than 20,000 fans per game on average. Heck, Berlin drew a team-record 30,657 fans for their home opener. And Hamburg broke its attendance record twice, the second time cracking the 30,000 mark for a big Week 9 matchup with Frankfurt. Four of the league’s six teams drew at least one crowd over 30,000 fans. Everything seemed to be headed in the right direction. While I am not an avid follower of NFL Europa, I believe its value is tremendous in developing not only quality NFL talent, but game experience for officials as well. I wish they’d give it a few more years and see if the continued advancements in attendance turn into dollars made, not lost. To see NFL Europa end on the high note of record-breaking numbers is hard to understand.
Tags: frankfurt_galaxy, hamburg_sea_devils, nfl_europa, world_bowlRelated Stories
POSTED IN: NFL - NFL
1 opinion for Is This the End of NFL Europa?
NFL International to Focus on Global Impact: NFL Europa Discontinued
Jul 1, 2007 at 10:39 pm
[…] As predicted, NFL Europa is history. The NFL has determined that it will switch the focus of its international business strategy to presenting the NFL to the widest possible global audience, including broader media visibility and the staging of international regular-season games. Mark Waller, the senior VP of NFL International said: “The time is right to re-focus the NFL’s strategy on initiatives with global impact, including worldwide media coverage of our sport and the staging of live regular-season NFL games. We will continue to build our international fan base by taking advantage of technology and customized digital media that make the NFL more accessible on a global scale than ever before and through the regular-season game experience. NFL Europa has created thousands of passionate fans who have supported that league and our sport for many years and we look forward to building on this foundation as we begin this new phase of our international development.” […]
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