USFL in Canton

Sykotyk

Sykotyk

Well-known member
Really surprised this hadn't been brought up. But the USFL is going to use Canton as one of their four hub cities in Year 2. Hosting the rebranded Pittsburgh Maulers and New Jersey Generals.

Since the Pittsburgh area lacks any moderately sized facility aside from the oversized Acrisure Stadium, it's understandable why they'd venture further out for a host stadium. But, having a Pittsburgh team playing 'home' games in Canton seems a bit of a stretch. The other northern Hub is expected to be Detroit's Ford Field (or possibly Eastern Michigan, but that hasn't happened yet).

https://twitter.com/x/status/1618270098569170944
 
 
I'm curious what the rationale is behind multiple hub cities. They can't expect more than marginally improved attendance.
 
Crusaders said:
I'm curious what the rationale is behind multiple hub cities. They can't expect more than marginally improved attendance.
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Guessing test run for "actual home games" in 2024. And this one is probably a test run for actually calling one of them Canton.

While I get having cities/places that everyone knows for the teams...what person watching minor league football in the spring doesn't at least have a cursory knowledge of what Canton is to football? And I'm sure they're not charging a whole lot to house it, either.
 
Saw the Pittsburgh team changed their colors to black & gold. Is there a rule that teams in Pittsburgh must wear black and gold ...
 
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I did see they changed their colors to black and gold makes sense. There is a minor league soccer stadium on the river, south side that might have been a good choice. I assume they probably considered it. I’m guessing it seats about 10k.
 
Is anyone interested in attending these games? So far it doesn't raise the needle with me🤷‍♂️
 
I went to the early playoff and the title game. Drove down from the west side of Cleveland, about an hour. The first playoff game was a great game but poorly attended. The USFL got smart and gave everyone that went free tickets to the title and passed them out. The stadium was about full for the title and was a really great atmosphere. I see why they like Canton, and when the rest of the "village" is done I think there will be some people that make a trip to see their team and go to the HOF.

I agree that Canton should have a team, but I wonder how you brand a team like that. Not many Clevelanders are going to view the Canton team as theirs. Do you just call them the Northeast Ohio _____? But that is pretty lame. I could also see Canton locals feeling left out if they called the team the Cleveland _____ but they played there. Probably would have to settle for the Ohio _____ and hope it works out and gains a fanbase.

They have a TV deal in place and it seems like people watch it. Nothing tells me it can't survive for a bit longer, and the longer it runs, the more legitimacy comes. The question still remains: what does the league want to be? It can't compete directly with the NFL.
 
eaglesfan216 said:
I went to the early playoff and the title game. Drove down from the west side of Cleveland, about an hour. The first playoff game was a great game but poorly attended. The USFL got smart and gave everyone that went free tickets to the title and passed them out. The stadium was about full for the title and was a really great atmosphere. I see why they like Canton, and when the rest of the "village" is done I think there will be some people that make a trip to see their team and go to the HOF.

I agree that Canton should have a team, but I wonder how you brand a team like that. Not many Clevelanders are going to view the Canton team as theirs. Do you just call them the Northeast Ohio _____? But that is pretty lame. I could also see Canton locals feeling left out if they called the team the Cleveland _____ but they played there. Probably would have to settle for the Ohio _____ and hope it works out and gains a fanbase.

They have a TV deal in place and it seems like people watch it. Nothing tells me it can't survive for a bit longer, and the longer it runs, the more legitimacy comes. The question still remains: what does the league want to be? It can't compete directly with the NFL.
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This was definitely a last minute idea to host in Canton. They wanted to host in PA but there just isn't any suitable venues. Nothing over 10k except Acrisure Stadium.

But being last minute, they really missed out on not having a Cleveland/Ohio themed team and instead having Pittsburgh and New Jersey. If they had Cleveland/Pittsburgh, even with the problems garnering fans from both cities to drive down, there's enough fans in Stark, Summit, etc that would support either the Cleveland or Pittsburgh team playing. And a Cleveland/Pittsburgh game would definitely have a college like atmosphere.
 
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