The American football league does not want to choose: both countries are considering each other as hosts
What if Spain and Brazil are not exclusive options? The NFL has announced that it is studying playing an official regular season game in one of the two countries within its International Series. But there is no reason to choose: right now the American football league is considering including both territories on its list, so that it would play in Brazil in 2024 and in Spain in 2025, according to EXPANSIÓN sources close to the negotiations of the great North American league with Spanish institutions.
For the moment, the NFL has visited the Santiago Bernabéu and the Civitas Metropolitano, a stadium that, according to the same sources, has notable advantages over the merengue coliseum for the league’s landing given that its location opens up ample spaces to launch activations and everything. the show that surrounds these matches, which are often more of a spectacle than a sporting duel. Although no one doubts the potential of the new Madrid stadium, which will be at the forefront in the world industry, although the flaws of the reform work against it. Both have the recognition of “Elite Stadium” by UEFA, the highest distinction in sports venues, thanks to the fact that they meet standards of excellence in facilities, lighting, parking, access, capacity, hospitality and press areas.
The Camp Nou also has that label, which has been ruled out because it will not complete the works until 2026. Thus, one option is to play a first game at the Metropolitano, to then move on to the Bernabéu and, in the future, also move to Barcelona .
Both Madrid and Catalonia are rubbing their hands because hosting the NFL represents a relevant economic guarantee for the host’s economy. Spain is an attractive country in itself for sports fans thanks to its football greats or individual stars also in other sports such as Rafa Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Fernando Alonso or Pau Gasol, who join a long list of clubs and athletes. popular both in the US and in Latin countries.
The NFL has already played games outside the US: 36 in London, six in Mexico, two in Frankfurt and one in Munich. The latter, for example, the first to play in the German country in 2022, generated an economic impact of 70.2 million for the city, according to The Sports Consultancy Group, which estimates that NFL fans spent an average of 333 euros per day during the game weekend, a figure higher than the 225 euros that visitors to the city regularly spend. The television audience was 8.2 million viewers worldwide and in the US it was crowned the most watched international NFL game.
And the hosts are committed to the event, in the expectation of having activations of the most valuable league in the world in their streets, which goes abroad to reinforce its internationalization strategy. Specifically, its valuation is more than 160,000 million, which is almost equivalent to the sum of the NBA and the NFL. Some of their franchises are the most sought-after on the planet and carry out astronomical operations that set records in the industry, as Josh Harris did when he acquired the Commanders for 6,050 million dollars (5,575 million euros).
Civitas Metropolitano vs Santiago Bernabéu
The spaciousness around the Atlético de Madrid coliseum makes it a favorite for the first NFL game in Spain, which puts on a show beyond sports with important activations with fans. The Civitas Metropolitano fits perfectly with this plan, to which is added the quality of its facilities. Meanwhile, Real Madrid is completing the renovation of its stadium, at the forefront of Europe thanks to innovations such as its retractable grass to quickly adapt to an American football game and the futuristic roof, which places it safe from any inclement weather. It has another important factor in its favor: the alliance to exploit the stadium and turn it into an American-style leisure center with Legends, the company created in 2008 by the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys (both from the NFL itself) and which bought Sixth Street last year. The lack of outdoor spaces and, depending on the date chosen by the NFL, the possible consequences due to the works play against it.
2023-11-17 00:53:06
#NFL #plans #play #Spain #visiting #Brazil
