Nfl Franchise

IN BALTIMORE and in Annapolis, the talk this winter will revolve around the deal that would bring the Cleveland Browns to a new, 70,000-seat, state-of-the-art stadium in Camden Yards. Look upon the next 10 weeks as a drive to the goal line.The Greater Baltimore Committee, the voice of business for the metropolitan area, will continue its long, difficult fight to return NFL football to Baltimore. Over the past decade, hundreds of thousands of dollars, not to mention thousands of volunteer hours by some of the region's top corporate leaders, have been invested in that effort.

NFL nonsenseHere are a few random thoughts after the last round of National Football League nonsense:When watching high-ranking government and business people attempt to obtain an NFL franchise, does anybody except me think of "Peanuts" characters Charlie Brown and Lucy in the annual "kick the football" classic?Do we really want to obligate ourselves to guarantee skybox sales, etc., like those granted by St. Louis to a team with the worst record in organized sports?Will we be satisfied with entertainment quality exemplified by the mismatched play and uneven officiating shown in the first couple of rounds of NFL playoffs?

Opening Day, 1997: Gov. Peter Angelos announces a 100-year lease for the Orioles at Camden Yards. The first governor to own a sports team, he celebrates by shaking his own hand, then throwing out -- and catching -- the first pitch.Super Bowl, 1999: Baltimore Buccaneers 38, JacksonvillJaguars 17. Angelos rips the Vince Lombardi Trophy out of NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue's hands."Party at the State House!" the owner/governor cries.Apparently, it's not enough for Angelos to be the Oriolesowner/club president/general manager.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The owner of Baltimore's Canadian Football League team testified yesterday that he is deliberately not associating himself with the NFL's Colts because of the bad feelings that team left in the city.Jim Speros, who has spent the last two days in federal court here fighting a trademark infringement suit from the NFL, should know Monday whether his team can keep the name Baltimore CFL Colts. U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney told attorneys he probably would have a decision by then.

"TC Being a football fan in Charlotte, N.C., is not going to be cheap.Officials in that city, among five vying for two NFL expansion teams, yesterday unveiled their long-awaited plan to pay for their $160 million stadium. It spares taxpayers much of the cost -- but at the expense of fans who will be asked to pay a stiff up-front fee on top of slightly above average prices for tickets.Lacking public financing for their stadium, the prospective team owners in Charlotte are asking fans to put up $150 million in one-time assessments before buying 90 percent of the team's season tickets.

We have a great idea. Why doesn't the National Football League move all its teams to Florida? After all, it is the fastest growing state in the nation and deserves full recognition as such.As we write, Orlando, Tallahassee, Naples, Palm Beach, Clearwater, Sarasota, Bradenton, Fort Myers, Key West, Daytona Beach, Gainesville, St. Augustine, Ocala, Fort Lauderdale, Zolto Springs, La Belle, Venus, Yankeetown, Kissimmee, Alachua, Lehigh Acres, Lacoochee, Long Boat Key, Zephy, Cocoa and even a metropolis named Frost-proof are lacking an NFL franchise.

No one needs to tell Gov. William Donald Schaefer or Herbert J. Belgrad to deal warily with anyone in the National Football League these days. The governor and Mr. Belgrad, point man in Maryland's quest for an NFL franchise, tried to deal honorably with the league and got a dose of Durocher's Law: nice guys finish last. So no more nice guy.This doesn't mean they should turn away legitimate inquiries about moving an existing franchise here. There are one or two that might have good cause to move, perhaps even good enough to convince other owners to approve a shift.

HAVE SPORTS gotten too important? Reading yesterday's paper, I tried to remember when I'd seen a story receive so much coverage.The last story to get that treatment was -- the retirement of Michael Jordan, the basketball player. We didn't give nearly that much space to the retirement of Thurgood Marshall, and he was from here. We didn't give that much coverage to Justice Marshall's death. We probably wouldn't give that much coverage if he came back to life. (We probably wouldn't give that much coverage if Jesus came back.

In the end, after the fans had been rallied, millions of dollars spent, and political battles waged over a seven-year struggle, Baltimore's NFL organizers won a single vote of support.Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman, at a closed-door meeting Tuesday in a suburban Chicago hotel, exhorted his 27 fellow team owners to consider the history of Baltimore, its renaissance, and its contribution to the NFL.When he sat down and the voting was conducted, a proposal awarding the league's 30th franchise to Jacksonville, Fla., was passed, 26-2.

"Give Baltimore the Ball" is the slogan of a group promoting sale of luxury boxes for the hoped-for football stadium next to Oriole Park. "Grab the Ball, Baltimore" might be more appropriate.After nine years of agonizing over the theft of the beloved Colts, Baltimore has a chance to regain a National Football League franchise. The state and city governments, the Maryland Stadium Authority and potential local owners have done all they can. Now it's up to the business community and well-heeled fans to make it a reality.

It wasn't that long ago when owning an NFL franchise was nearly a no-risk venture. Revenue sharing, a salary cap and the most lucrative television contract in professional sports made it virtually impossible to go wrong from a business standpoint. Even if the team floundered, your bank account did not. But the recent recession ushered in a new set of realities. For the first time in a decade, eight NFL teams saw their overall value decline, according to annual rankings compiled by Forbes magazine.

IN BALTIMORE and in Annapolis, the talk this winter will revolve around the deal that would bring the Cleveland Browns to a new, 70,000-seat, state-of-the-art stadium in Camden Yards. Look upon the next 10 weeks as a drive to the goal line.The Greater Baltimore Committee, the voice of business for the metropolitan area, will continue its long, difficult fight to return NFL football to Baltimore. Over the past decade, hundreds of thousands of dollars, not to mention thousands of volunteer hours by some of the region's top corporate leaders, have been invested in that effort.

NFL nonsenseHere are a few random thoughts after the last round of National Football League nonsense:When watching high-ranking government and business people attempt to obtain an NFL franchise, does anybody except me think of "Peanuts" characters Charlie Brown and Lucy in the annual "kick the football" classic?Do we really want to obligate ourselves to guarantee skybox sales, etc., like those granted by St. Louis to a team with the worst record in organized sports?Will we be satisfied with entertainment quality exemplified by the mismatched play and uneven officiating shown in the first couple of rounds of NFL playoffs?

INDIANAPOLIS -- The owner of Baltimore's Canadian Football League team testified yesterday that he is deliberately not associating himself with the NFL's Colts because of the bad feelings that team left in the city.Jim Speros, who has spent the last two days in federal court here fighting a trademark infringement suit from the NFL, should know Monday whether his team can keep the name Baltimore CFL Colts. U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney told attorneys he probably would have a decision by then.

Opening Day, 1997: Gov. Peter Angelos announces a 100-year lease for the Orioles at Camden Yards. The first governor to own a sports team, he celebrates by shaking his own hand, then throwing out -- and catching -- the first pitch.Super Bowl, 1999: Baltimore Buccaneers 38, JacksonvillJaguars 17. Angelos rips the Vince Lombardi Trophy out of NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue's hands."Party at the State House!" the owner/governor cries.Apparently, it's not enough for Angelos to be the Oriolesowner/club president/general manager.

No one needs to tell Gov. William Donald Schaefer or Herbert J. Belgrad to deal warily with anyone in the National Football League these days. The governor and Mr. Belgrad, point man in Maryland's quest for an NFL franchise, tried to deal honorably with the league and got a dose of Durocher's Law: nice guys finish last. So no more nice guy.This doesn't mean they should turn away legitimate inquiries about moving an existing franchise here. There are one or two that might have good cause to move, perhaps even good enough to convince other owners to approve a shift.

In the end, after the fans had been rallied, millions of dollars spent, and political battles waged over a seven-year struggle, Baltimore's NFL organizers won a single vote of support.Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman, at a closed-door meeting Tuesday in a suburban Chicago hotel, exhorted his 27 fellow team owners to consider the history of Baltimore, its renaissance, and its contribution to the NFL.When he sat down and the voting was conducted, a proposal awarding the league's 30th franchise to Jacksonville, Fla., was passed, 26-2.

Unwilling to give up on the goal of landing an NFL team -- and intrigued by overtures from owners who've talked of relocating their franchises -- leaders of Baltimore's football bid are asking possible ticket holders to back their efforts just a little while longer.The city's NFL expansion committee has drafted a letter to all club-seat and sky-box customers, requesting that they leave their deposits in an interest-bearing escrow account until March 31 while talks with interested owners develop.

The NFL gave Baltimore the bawl.Those small-town, small-minded, uncultured, boosterish Jacksonville fans act like getting an NFL franchise is such a big deal it compensates for everything else.Talk about the cost of auto repair. NASA is paying $86.3 million to fix a rear-view mirror.

WHEN Baltimore got dissed again by the National Football League Tuesday, here was one Baltimorean who wasn't unhappy. I'd been rooting against an NFL franchise in Baltimore for some time, and I think many Baltimoreans agree with me. Here are some of the reasons:* NFL football isn't that exciting. Only a couple of teams stand out, and most games have the excitement of a TV test pattern. The most thrilling season of professional football here was 28 years ago. It's been anticlimactic ever since.