NFL contingent visits Mexico City, enthused about 2016 game at Azteca
The Raiders continue to be one of the favorites to be mentioned as a team likely to host a game in Azteca, should one be played there in 2016.
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The NFL sent a contingent of league officials to Mexico City for several days last week to continue gathering information about the feasibility of playing a regular-season game in Azteca Stadium next season, and the officials brought back overwhelmingly positive reports, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
The league was already quite intrigued about the possibility of playing there next season, and that is even more likely after this excursion to the facility, which included an extensive survey of the stadium and the area around it, as well as potential locations where teams could stay and perhaps train if necessary.
The league has played in Azteca once before, but that happened more a decade ago, and the league wants to do its due diligence before committing to play there again. League sources said there are multiple teams willing to sacrifice a home game to play in Mexico City, in a stadium that seats over 100,000 people, and the Raiders continue to be one of the favorites mentioned as a franchise likely to host a game there. The Raiders are also one of the league's most popular teams in that country.
While the survey returned strong results, there is most definitely work to be done and the stadium needs sufficient time to meet the demands of the game. But no major obstacles were determined, and given Roger Goodell's strong interest in playing this game in 2016, it would be very surprising at this point if the league does not play there in 2016, and possibly beyond. An announcement to that end could be forthcoming in the near future.
