NFL Reviews Venues Outside London

The NFL is reviewing potential venues in the UK outside of London after successfully staging the second regular season game at Wembley Stadium this weekend.

Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium is a potential favourite as a future host venue and NFL officials met Scottish event organisers ahead of Sunday’s New Orleans Saints v San Diego Chargers game at Wembley, won by the Saints.

NFL UK chief executive Alistair Kirkwood said: ‘We have good relationships with Murrayfield Stadium and the Scottish Rugby Union.

‘However, I think it’s likely we’ll be there in two or three years, rather than next year.’

The NFL has already sent an inspection team to Murrayfield, which last hosted American football in 2002 during the tenure of NFL Europe’s Scottish Claymores.

With stadium owners Scottish Rugby Union open to a return, as well as interest from tourism and local government authorities, prising a game away from London has become a genuine possibility.

However economic factors and logistical issues will form a major part of the discussions surrounding the feasibility of any future event. It is thought that Wembley has not yet agreed a deal to stage the 2009 International Series, with Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium also thought to be an alternative possibility.

However, Kirkwood admits that it is more likely that other venues will be considered for 2010 or 2011, if the concept continues to be a success.

‘It’s a work in progress and maybe in a couple of years’ time we stand a better chance if we’ve had two or three successful games in London under our belt and we can actually say with some degree of certainty that it would work for the league.

‘Because the last thing I want to do is commit to putting a game there, and because of circumstances outside of Scotland’s control, it’s perceived as not being a success.

‘We’d have to make sure it was all set up so that the teams were extremely happy with the logistics and the financials.’