4 Cities Most Likely to Make a Bid for Minnesota Vikings Relocation

The Minnesota Vikings' lease of the Metrodome expires in January 2012 and the team is still trying to negotiate a new stadium deal with the state government. If this does not happen soon, the team is in very real danger of leaving the state and heading elsewhere.

The loss would be devastating to the area, to be sure, however there are a number of markets that would make sense should the team have to leave. In the following slides, I examine four of them.

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is easily the top choice should the Minnesota Vikings need to find a new home. Plans have been finalized recently for the city's new football stadium, designed specifically to lure a team to relocate or to spur the league to consider expansion.

The city has played host to two NFL teams in the past, the Raiders and the Rams, and while both teams left (as they did little but lose revenue), the push to bring a team back to the city hasn't waned.

Though the state of California is home to three NFL teams as it is, it does seem pretty surprising that one of the nation's biggest population centers don't have a professional team of their own.

If the Vikings need to relocate, Los Angeles is certainly the best option. They get the brand-new stadium they've been angling for in Minnesota plus the high level of exposure guaranteed to large-market teams.

Whether it's a smart idea in the long term is debatable, but if the Vikings need to move, they'd be better off heading into such a good situation.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Buffalo Bills already play games every year in Toronto, and their cross-border neighbor has come up a number of times as a potential home for an expansion team or perhaps for the relocation of the Bills themselves.

While the Bills aren't in danger of leaving town yet, the Minnesota Vikings are just over a month away from potentially needing a new home. If Los Angeles isn't an attractive option, perhaps another cold-weather city could be a good choice.

Toronto is the fifth most-populous city in all of North America and is home to teams that play in every major U.S.-based professional sports leagues. While they have a CFL franchise in the town, there's clear interest in the NFL in the city, as evidenced by the Bills' success when they play there.

The only thing that may hinder Toronto's chances is the city's reported unwillingness to finance a new stadium. Without a place of their own, the Vikings might not want to make the move.

London, England

It's no secret that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wants to expand the league internationally, whether that means putting a franchise in a European city or re-forming NFL Europa as a developmental league of its own.

At the same time, the British parliament has made it clear that they would welcome an NFL team coming to London on a permanent basis.

While I believe a London-based NFL team would be a logistical nightmare when it comes to scheduling and makes little sense when considering just how much a toll long distance travel takes on teams as it is, the league seems convinced that international expansion—namely, in London—is an inevitability.

Though it's generally believed that European expansion won't come for at least five more years, it's quite possible that London puts in a bid to take the Vikings out of the country. It's the kind of opportunity the NFL's British supporters would be wise to take.

San Antonio, Texas

Though the state of Texas already plays host to two NFL teams, there's reason to believe that San Antonio could have a team of its own in the near future. The city served as the "home" site of the New Orleans Saints for three games after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Superdome and sold out every single one.

And, in 2008, Commissioner Roger Goodell paid a visit to the city and praised it for its residents' passion for the league and commented on the city's rapid growth.

The city, whose Chamber of Commerce has a dedicated NFL Task Force to look into the feasibility of bringing a team to town, has been on the short list for an expansion team in the past, losing out to Jacksonville, Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina in 1992.

San Antonio has a stadium suitable for the Vikings, the Alamodome, and there's already been attempts to bring an NFL team to town in the past. Expect San Antonio to make a bid for the Vikings should they have to move, but clearly the advantage goes to Los Angeles.