I’ve had a lot of beers in Jack Trice.
I’ve never sat in the end zone or a suite either
I’ve never sat in the end zone or a suite either
AAF in Des Moines?
- Thread starter TBT
- Start date
Part of it is Des Moines is one of the fastest growing areas in the country. It also has draw from a fair amount of cities outside its direct metro that also don’t have anything. I think sometimes people get ahead of themselves but In the next 10-20 years Des Moines will be on par if not exceding a lot of these cities population wise.
They really would have to build a domed stadium for this to work in Iowa if they keep the season starting in February. Would be cool if that happened, then it could host other things (soccer, high school playoffs, etc). Would need a huge investment though.
Honestly just do the entire state of Iowa's population. If we are giving Dayton credit for being about 1.5 hours away from Indianapolis, why not give Des Moines the entire state of Iowa? What's the farthest drive from Des Moines to the edge of the state? Like 3 hours? I would imagine Iowans from all over the state will travel to DSM if there is a semi-pro football team, especially if it is filled with Iowa, ISU, UNI, Drake, etc. alumni.
Jesus didn't turn water into Orange Juice. He turned water into wine, baby!
ND fans said it was a big deal to have beer in the stadium. Nerds.
Close. The far NW corner is over 4 hours away. The far NE corner is almost 4.
The February-April season is key to league development. It isn't going to change.
The potential availability of the UNI Dome is the ONLY thing that makes an Iowa based AAF team remotely plausible.
The viability of the AAF at the moment is dependent not upon ticket sales or corporate sponsorships, but TV ratings--that is the first, and largest potential source of revenue. The league owns everything 100% because they are trying to draw investors. They want to be in markets where people will watch on TV and can also grow a fan base from scratch. Which is why, other than Atlanta/Arizona, all the other AAF markets are devoid of competition from an NFL team.
IMO, think of this report less as an insight into where any expansion teams will go, and more as an indication of what parts of the country that don't currently have an AAF team are watching on TV the most/providing the best ratings.
The potential availability of the UNI Dome is the ONLY thing that makes an Iowa based AAF team remotely plausible.
The viability of the AAF at the moment is dependent not upon ticket sales or corporate sponsorships, but TV ratings--that is the first, and largest potential source of revenue. The league owns everything 100% because they are trying to draw investors. They want to be in markets where people will watch on TV and can also grow a fan base from scratch. Which is why, other than Atlanta/Arizona, all the other AAF markets are devoid of competition from an NFL team.
IMO, think of this report less as an insight into where any expansion teams will go, and more as an indication of what parts of the country that don't currently have an AAF team are watching on TV the most/providing the best ratings.
Exactly. I went to an ISU Alumni Association event there a couple years ago. It's really nice inside. Definitely way different from the last time I was there, which was to play in the state basketball tournament.
This would be a complete flop in Iowa.
Weather is horrible that time of year and you are competing against college basketball, which actually happens to be a pretty popular sport in our state compared to others. This will work best in a mid-sized market in the mid-south where the weather is a little better that time of year and college basketball isn't nearly as popular.
Weather is horrible that time of year and you are competing against college basketball, which actually happens to be a pretty popular sport in our state compared to others. This will work best in a mid-sized market in the mid-south where the weather is a little better that time of year and college basketball isn't nearly as popular.
There is software that can do "market size" analysis where you pick a epicenter and then program in the allowable distance for a drive.
Here is 1.5 hours from Des Moines and Dayton, for instance...
DES MOINES
-- only really adds Ames
-- does not quite stretch you to the Ceder Falls-Waterloo-Cedar Rapids-Iowa City corridor
-- does not stretch to Omaha/Council Bluffs, either
DAYTON
-- definitely picks you up the Ohio side of Cincinnati
-- adds most of Columbus
-- almost adds Indianapolis, getting close to Fort Wayne
-- picks up some small/medium cities like Muncie and Greenville, Ohio
Dayton definitely has more potential population in its "catch area."
Why the heck is someone from Cincinnati or the edge of Indianapolis going to go to Dayton for a lower level football game when they can go to an NFL game closer? I don’t think an AAF team in Des Moines makes sense but it isn’t because of its population relative to Dayton. It is a lot more complicated than just driving distance.
You are incredibly optimistic as to the draw of this league, in Iowa, in late Winter, early Spring.
I'm sorry but there's absolutely no way that will happen. People don't drive from all over the state to watch the Iowa Wild or Iowa Wolves in a comfortable indoor arena, there's no way they will drive from all over the state to sit outside and watch semi-pro football in crappy weather.
The draw for these minor-league and semi-pro type teams are smaller metro markets where it is simply "something to do" for a family or a group of friends to go out for drinks/supper and go to a game. People don't go to these games because they are big fans of these teams.
It's the MiLB model. No one cares about team records. You go because it's something to do.
demoncore1031
Well-Known Member
As others said this league is going to rely on casual fans. Are casual fans really demanding year round football? No they aren’t. I think this is a more complicated question than we can answer as outsiders. You will need to do market research on what the actual demands are.
This is all true.
But the major point remains --
Dayton has substantially more population to draw on within its metro area/driving distance compared to Des Moines, which is smaller and more isolated.
"Spring" football is relatively northerly latitudes without indoor facilities is just kind of difficult to imagine on its own, however, especially in the cold Midwest.
Like I said I don’t see it as feasible in Des Moines I just think people dismiss Des Moines’ population without looking at it in context. Des Moines punches above its weight class in regard to population relative to other places.
