We talked over our NFL expansion and realignment proposals, but wanted to dive deeper into some specific cities to discuss their feasibility as expansion cities. To catch up on our results, you can listen here:

There is a lack of teams in the west, so let’s start there and go east.

San Diego

There are a few former cities included here. San Diego may be the least likely candidate because of how it ended and the proximity of the team move. There is a population to support a team with 3.3 million in the area, but there is only one other major sports team in the city and it is questionable whether the city would want to invest in another new stadium for a team.

Portland

Another west coast city could have potential for a team with strong college programs in the state, beautiful weather and scenery and the potential to grow the game. There could also be a strong rivalry with the Seahawks because of the proximity. Some of the challenges could be only one other major sports team, no present infrastructure and only 2.5 million in area population that also includes part of the state of Washington with Portland positioned right on the state border.

Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City presents weather and travel concerns for teams and fans alike, only one other major sports team and the infrastructure question of a brand new team. There are 2.8 million residents in the area that includes Provo and Orem, but the greatest advantage may be growing and expanding the game into areas that have not had a very local team. This could include fans from Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. It could also lead to rivalries with the Broncos, Cardinals and Raiders all as bordering states.

San Antonio

For a state widely known for its allegiance to football and for as big of a state it is in both area and population, it seems strange for there to only be two teams in Texas. Some may see the explosion of growth in Austin as an opportunity, but Austin is largely separate from the rest of Texas. San Antonio has proved itself as a temporary host to a few teams, most notably the Saints in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. It also boasts an area population of 2.7 million and could grow the game into the latino community.

Unfortunately, San Antonio remains largely forgotten in much of the United States. There is only one other major professional team in town and it would remain to be seen what would need done to the Alamodome to house a full time team.

Dallas

Another potential answer to the lack of professional football in Texas could be a second Dallas team. With a population of more than 8 million in the DFW area, existence of current infrastructure and a huge TV market, it could make sense. But Jerry Jones has repeatedly stated that there should not be another Dallas team which makes stadium sharing unlikely and push back to be great also because of the iconic nature of the Cowboys. There is also a caveat that if a team selected to hail from Fort Worth, it would force the Cowboys to admit they were not actually from Dallas, as Arlington sits squarely between the two close metropolises.

St. Louis

Last on the list is St. Louis. This is a city that has been in and out of professional football good graces as it originally had the Cardinals, then the Rams relocated there for a bit. It now boasts the largest and most consistent fan base in the UFL. With that, there is some infrastructure in place and an area population close to 3 million, plus already two other major sports teams present.

With that being said, there is a reason the league already left… twice. Would the city support a brand new stadium? Plus the idea that the state of Missouri could have two professional football teams that would match the current number of teams in Texas seems silly and excessive.

Conclusion

In light of all this information, St. Louis and San Antonio make the most sense for immediate expansion. After that Salt Lake City and Portland are probably the next best options. Then San Diego and a second Dallas team are probably on the outside, looking in. All of this would depend on how the league would envision a realignment from a division and even conference stand point. Adding teams in twos makes sense and fours even more so, but that would still leave things lopsided with the current structure.