Fansided

10 cities that need NFL expansion teams

By Brad Berreman

TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 28: Toronto Blue Jays fans watch from the standing room section in center field during MLB game action against the Chicago White Sox on June 28, 2014 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 28: Toronto Blue Jays fans watch from the standing room section in center field during MLB game action against the Chicago White Sox on June 28, 2014 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports /

8. Vancouver

One of Canada’s most beautiful cities, and one of the most beautiful cities in the world quite frankly, Vancouver has a CFL team (the BC Lions) that has won six Grey Cups in its history. It is also, of course, home to the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. The MLS also has a team in Vancouver.

From an NFL perspective the Lions’ home stadium, BC Place, has the capacity (54,500) to make it a viable venue for a team. There would also be an easy geographic rival in the Seattle Seahawks, and a Vancouver NFL team could join either West division fairly seamlessly.

Recruiting free agents to Western Canada should not be too difficult, so an NFL team in Vancouver could have success on the field very quickly. Local fans may be a bit resistant at first, with a perception the NFL is encroaching on territory it shouldn’t be, but the idea of year-round football (even with game dynamics they won’t be used to) should be appealing in time.

Canada, in a broad sense, is a fertile potential expansion territory for the NFL. Vancouver may be forgotten to some degree, but that would be a mistake.

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