NFL Expansion Project

The NFL has decided to expand its set of teams from 32 to 40. Commissioner Goodell has hired you

and your team to find the eight best suited cities. His plan is to put one new city into each division of the

NFC and the AFC. Thus, you have to find cities that are big enough to support an NFL franchise and that

fit within each geographic region: North, South, East, and West.

Use Census data to see how large several of the existing cities' populations are (you don't need to look

at them all; roughly 8-12 should do it). This will give you an idea of roughly how large the population must

be to support a franchise.

Next, pick two cities in each region that you feel can support a franchise: North, South, East, West (one

for the AFC, one for the NFC). You MUST defend your choice. Give the population and median income

(poorer cities may be populated with citizens that cannot buy tickets). Explain why the evidence supports

your choice.

**Note** Look for population first, then income. Money won't matter if the population is too small to fill a stadium.

Then, pick a nickname for the team. The name should relate to the culture of the city (Dallas Cowboys,

San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, etc) or have a natural flow (Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle

Seahawks, etc).

You will create a brochure detailing each city choice. This will consist of at least eleven pages. One will

be the home page in which you explain the project, two will detail the pre- and post-expansion maps, and

the other eight will be for each individual city that you choose. Be sure to defend your city choices on

each page.

A few things to take into consideration: 1) A large city might already have a large university with a

prominent football team. This could cause a conflict for ticket sales. 2) Geographic rivalries are great for

sports, so look for cities that could create rivalries in which each city would enjoy participating.

Current NFL Teams and Divisions

NFL Project Rubric

Page Expectations Points

Possible

Title Page - Includes every group member’s name

5

Process - What did your group do to complete this project

- Two Maps (Current NFL & With new teams)

- Includes a brief explanation of what the project is.

- What key human geography terms/skills were used in this

project

5

Team Description (x8) - Includes team name and original logo (may use clip art for

logo)

- Includes median income of city

- Includes absolute and relative location of the city

- Includes population and rates of increase

- Includes brief rationale of choice

15

Conclusion -Wraps up the project

- Gives reasons why each city was chosen, and if you think a

real NFL franchise could survive there.

5