Start roasting the hot dogs, set up cornhole, and don your favorite team’s swag: Today marks the official start of pro football season. But where, pray tell, should the die-hard football fan live? Which NFL city has the most locations for game watching, spots for beer swigging, and stores for jersey buying?
Taking into account the number of sports bars, real estate agents, and sportswear establishments, we ranked all 31 cities that are home to an NFL team. Here are the top cities — and their median home sale prices — for football followers.
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Head to the city that never sleeps — because they’re watching football
New York, NY: Home of Broadway, the Statue of Liberty, and dyed-in-the-wool football fans. It may be apropos that the only city with not just one but two teams — the Giants and the Jets — snagged the top spot (this must mean double the sports bars and double the football merch, naturally).
At the bottom of the list? Detroit, MI, Buffalo, NY, and Green Bay, WI. Perhaps they didn’t rank among the top contenders because during football season, all three have average high temperatures below 50 degrees. To which we say: This is just an even better excuse to skip the tailgate and watch the game on a big-screen TV. Bring out the nachos!
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North wins the toss
The cities that are home to pro football teams in the NFC North (Chicago, IL, Detroit, Green Bay, and Minneapolis, MN) and AFC North (Pittsburgh, PA, Cleveland, OH, Cincinnati, OH, and Baltimore, MD) come in as the most affordable metropolises, with average median sale prices under $200K — definitely affordable city living!
But there’s still good news for suburb lovers: You don’t have to reside in the city to brush shoulders with your local pros. Most football players don’t actually live within the limits of the city. Instead, they opt to live close to training facilities. Case in point: During the season, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco calls Reisterstown, MD, home, while Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers lives in Suamico, WI.
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Are you ready for some football?
If you think the big game is competitive, try winning the bid to host one. Warm weather in February used to be one of the deciding factors, which meant that cities like Miami, FL, San Diego, CA, and New Orleans, LA, were frequent hosts. But that isn’t the case anymore. Now there’s a more advanced — and secretive — bidding process. Cities have put some creative thinking into their means to win the hosting bid: For example, 2012 host city Indianapolis, IN, delivered proposals by middle school kids to each of the NFL owners. Adorable.
And it’s no surprise why a city would want to host: along with the attention and prestige the game garners, the city makes an estimated $300 million in sales as thousands of fans, journalists, and NFL employees descend upon the city. Besides boosting tourism, the event creates local jobs, since it gives the city an excuse to improve infrastructure and invest in businesses.
