Although London has been the focal point of the NFL’s international growth plans, the league also hopes to expand into Mexico.
According to Albert Breer of NFL Network, a contingent of NFL officials will travel to Mexico City soon to see how close Azteca Stadium is to being ready to host an NFL game. Azteca Stadium previously hosted an NFL regular-season game in 2005, but there are logistical issues there that need to be addressed before another NFL game can be played there.
“All the work we’re doing in Mexico now is to determine whether the stadium can be ready,” said Mark Waller, the NFL’s executive vice president of international. “We don’t have a definitive decision yet, but they’re working hard to get [the stadium] there.”
The outstanding issues include making sure the locker rooms are big enough to accommodate NFL teams, improving the technology for headset communications and having enough space for the needs of the NFL’s network television partners. If all of those issues can be addressed before the 2016 season, there’s a good chance that Azteca Stadium will host a game next year, on top of the three games in London.
If not, the NFL will probably play four games in London next year. But the league is hoping to get to Mexico soon, and if 2016 doesn’t work, 2017 likely will. The NFL is serious about expanding beyond the borders of the United States.
