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The National Football League could make a return to Canadian soil, but more than just a game for now.
The owners of NFL teams indeed met in October in New York and the expansion of the executives of the circuit was one of the topics discussed, reports the specialized website. 3DownNationquoting informant Benjamin Allbright.
The NFL would like to have an 18-game regular season in the near future and a 36-club league would make that a lot easier, Allbright hinted to the affiliate radio station. ESPN in Saint Louis earlier this month.
Also according to information from Allbright, four cities have already been targeted for potential expansion: London, Saint Louis, San Antonio and Toronto. In the case of the Canadian metropolis, it comes as no surprise, given that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has mentioned in the past that he would love to host games in Toronto.
Toronto had hosted the Buffalo Bills every year from 2008 to 2013 for a regular season game, the only ones ever organized in Canada. Since then, rumors have swirled that Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment had been in talks with the XFL with the goal of possibly securing an NFL franchise. Goodell had, however, specified that Toronto had to equip itself with a stadium worthy of the name to hope one day to attract a club from its circuit.
The expectations of Canadian fans should be moderate, however, warns Allbright. The NFL would only be in the exploratory phase of its project, because many questions remain unanswered. The financial viability of the whole operation is obviously one of them.
This isn’t the first time a Canadian city has dreamed of the NFL. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Montreal flirted with the circuit to get an expansion team. Two preparatory games were finally organized in 1988 and 1990, but the Montreal Olympiques unfortunately never took off.
