The English Patients: Dolphins, Giants To Play In London

Dolphins To Play Home Game In London Next Season

The NFL formally announced on Friday that the Dolphins and Giants will play in London’s Wembley Stadium October 28 in the league’s first regular-season game outside North America. The game will be played at 1:00pm ET (6:00pm in London) and will be televised by Fox. The Dolphins will be the designated home team (NFL). NFL U.K. Managing Dir Alistair Kirkwood said, “The game is important because it shows that the NFL [is] prepared to offer the best of their product. They realise they can’t get away with [preseason games] any more” (Manchester GUARDIAN, 2/4).

MARKETING WORLDWIDE: In N.Y., Ralph Vacchiano noted the Giants “are considering traveling to London on the Friday before the game.” The league may ask the team “to either arrive early or stay late to do some promotional work, since promoting the NFL in Europe is what this game is all about.” Giants Treasurer Jonathan Tisch said, “Brand extension is the name of the day” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/3). Giants DE Michael Strahan said, “We have to show we’re just not coming into the country to play a football game and run out. We’re here to let you know what American football is all about” (Bergen RECORD, 2/3). Dolphins Owner Wayne Huizenga: “You have to look at the bigger picture. We’re doing whatever we can to help make the NFL as strong as possible.” Dolphins DE Jason Taylor said, “Some guys will have issues with it, but nothing big. We have no choice now. We’re on board and we’re excited about it” (PALM BEACH POST, 2/3).

LOSING A HOME GAME: Huizenga said that he “understood the concern season ticket holders might have about losing a home game, but added they would not be charged for an eighth game.” The NFL will compensate the Dolphins and future designated home teams in international games a percentage of lost revenues. Huizenga: “This is important to the NFL, and we’re glad to do our part” (HARTFORD COURANT, 2/3). Falcons Owner Arthur Blank said that his club “could not lose a home game for financial reasons.” He did volunteer the team “to play outside of the United States as a visiting team” (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 2/3). In West Palm Beach, Charles Elmore wrote, “Call it one more small step backward for the ordinary hometown fan. ... Bit by bit, the live fan experience is slowly slipping out of the grasp of average folk” (PALM BEACH POST, 2/3). Dolphins season-ticket holder Eric Braunstein: “I think it’s a travesty. I don’t understand why they would take a regular-season game” (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 2/3).

TRAVEL PLANS: London Mayor Ken Livingstone said that he expects “some 10,000 American fans to make the trek across the Atlantic to watch the game” (Bergen RECORD, 2/3). Huizenga said that the teams and the NFL “will work to help make it affordable for fans” to travel to the game. Huizenga: “We want to treat it as a home game and get as many of our fans over as we can” (PALM BEACH POST, 2/3).

London Mayor Expects Large Contingent Of U.S. Fans To Attend Game At Wembley Stadium

FUTURE GAMES ABROAD: In Chicago, Don Pierson reported after the game was announced, reporters from Canada, Germany and Mexico “asked Goodell about future regular-season games.” Goodell said, “I just met with the lord mayor of Dusseldorf last week, and he has a tremendous amount of interest” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/3). Goodell added, “We have had a great deal of interest from Toronto in hosting a regular-season game. We agreed with the officials in Toronto and the CFL that we wouldn’t do that this year because they have a Grey Cup” (NATIONAL POST, 2/3).

ALOHA MEANS GOODBYE? The Pro Bowl, which will be held Saturday, has sold out the 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium in Honolulu for the 28th consecutive year, but there has been “speculation the game could be played in China.” Hawaii’s contract with the NFL runs through ’09, but if the league “does decide to play the game in another city in 2008 or 2009, Honolulu will host the game in 2010” (HONOLULU ADVERTISER, 2/3). An NFL source said that the ’08 Pro Bowl “will likely remain in Hawaii, although a move ‘has not been ruled out.’” Pro Bowl Event Dir Michael Humphrey said, “At this point, there is not a plan to do that and we are focusing on this event.” Chiefs G Will Shields said, “It would be difficult for the players to try to travel to places so far away like Australia or Japan. Plus, this is an all-star game for the best players in the U.S. -– it wouldn’t have that same feel if our all-star game was played in another country” (HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN, 2/3).

SPANISH FLY: In N.Y., John Branch wrote in a front-page piece Sunday that the NFL is “midway through a three-year plan to penetrate the Hispanic market” in the U.S. and Latin America, but it has been “handicapped by a disjointed approach to reaching Spanish-speaking fans.” While the Hispanic market has been growing for years, the NFL “spent the past three decades trying to build the power of its brand around the world.” A TNS Sport poll last year found that among Hispanics who speak English primarily, the NFL is their favorite sport, but “among those who mostly or solely speak Spanish at home the NFL ranked 10th, behind five soccer leagues and other sports.” NFL VP/Consumer Products & Marketing Lisa Baird said that the AFC and NFC Conference championships were “two of the four highest-rated television programs of the week in Hispanic households.” Baird also cited a study showing the popularity of the NFL among male Hispanics in the 21-34 demo “rose substantially” from ’01-05 (N.Y. TIMES, 2/3). In Ft. Lauderdale, Macollvie Jean-Francois reported the Dolphins “have tried a regional approach that caters to the area’s Latino and Caribbean populations.” Dolphins Senior Dir of Corporate Communications & Development George Torres said, “Our fans are representative of South Florida, so we make sure that our entertainment reflects that” (SUN-SENTINEL, 2/3).