The National Football League wants to expand to a total of 40 teams. This adds eight teams to the roster so far. There have only been rumors of which locations the League is considering, but it’s been heard that Birmingham, Alabama; Omaha, Nebraska; and Salt Lake City, Utah, are being considered. All of these places have a sufficient target market for a football team. If these rumors end up being false, Utah still has good chances of getting a team in the future if the goal is to spread the eight new teams throughout the United States since Utah has proven that they can handle a professional sports team like the Jazz.

Can Utah get an NFL team?

A good comparison for a professional football team is professional basketball. Basketball in Utah is very popular. This can be attributed to the fact that the Utah Jazz is one of the only professional sports teams in the state. The hype around the Jazz proves that Utah is full of sports fans. Across the NBA, it’s said that the best crowd is in Salt Lake City. According to statista.com, about 84,000 fans attend regular season Jazz games each season. If the market is here for an NBA team, the market exists for an NFL team. 

Utahns have been itching for a football team for years. College teams like the Utah Utes and the BYU Cougars prove that there are plenty of die-hard football fans. With the population booming all over Utah, especially in the Salt Lake Valley, the market for sports teams will only grow and grow.

Compared to Los Angeles and New York, any Utah football team would be a smaller market team, but that doesn’t mean success is impossible. Last NBA finals, both teams, the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks, were smaller market teams. The Utah Jazz has made it to the playoffs 30 out of their 47 seasons. People like it when an underdog does well, and Utah can provide that. An NFL team here will, like the Jazz, be a smaller market team.

Logistically, Utah can handle an NFL team. The Salt Lake Valley’s infrastructure is always upgrading. Roads like Mountain View Corridor and Bangerter Highway are always improving and making it easier for folks to get around. Even though land is being sold off like hot beans, there’s still plenty of space for a stadium to be placed. There are lots of empty business lots off of Legacy Parkway in the Centerville/Farmington area. It could be built by the lake where the land has been exposed. There is no shortage of possible locations.

Some don’t think that a stadium is good for taxpayers’ money or the space that it takes up. Yes, the NFL usually applies for a grant to contribute to the building of a stadium and gets one, but they are never completely funded by the government. Every stadium has a sponsor (like Vivint Smarthome Arena) that pays for the majority of the stadium. Building a stadium will help Utah-based businesses to gain national recognition and attention through advertising. An NFL team based in Utah is a good idea. Now, the only question is if it will happen.

Will Utah get an NFL team?

In a small poll of 200 kids here at Bingham, 138 said that they would love a team here in Utah. Governor Cox has addressed the public and is excited for an NFL team to come to Utah. Utah “would be all over it,” Cox said. He wants to fight for Utahns; he said, “I don’t know if there’s a limit on how hard I would push to get an NFL team here in Utah” (Ireland). Utah wants a team and with Cox on top, a team here seems like a very real possibility.