The Return of the NFL Will Bring Franchising Advantages

The National Football League opens its 2021 regular season schedule on Thursday, September 9 with the Dallas Cowboys visiting the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The game kicks off a full slate of 16 NFL games taking place from Thursday-Monday, and for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, these stadiums will host regular season football without restrictions on seating capacity.

For the franchising world at large, there are many businesses that are set to capitalize on this return to normalcy. Ticket sales and consumer traffic have come a long way since the 2021 Super Bowl was held at 30% seating capacity.

Restaurant franchises typically see large crowds on Sundays during football season. During the pandemic, it was normal for restaurants to prioritize quick service and drive-thru measures, but now, many brands can finally capitalize on open seating again. 

Many COVID-19-inspired provisions could soon become industry standards, but the return of football means there is regained demand for traditional services like indoor dining. This could stimulate revenue for restaurants.

New changes, however, may gain momentum as well. Food delivery, for example, is more convenient than ever, and people can order to their doorstep with ease and without missing a second of football action on their TV. This could alter the long-term landscape of people gathering for football games in-person.

The NFL did play in 2020, despite COVID-19 keeping many stadiums empty. While advertising was still running on TV broadcasts, the stadiums themselves were no longer a promotional center for fans. Now that people will be in seats again, there are countless possibilities for brands to interact with ticket-holding football crowds. Foot traffic around these stadiums will be abounding once again, and restaurant franchises in the immediate vicinity will have the opportunity to capitalize on customers.

This is not to say, however, that the general public has completely forgotten COVID-19. Ongoing concern surrounding the Delta variant may prevent a 100% return to normalcy, but it also seems to have done little to prevent large crowds from gathering for the NFL’s preseason games in August.

Businesses in smaller population centers, like the Green Bay Packers (Green Bay, Wisconsin), Buffalo Bills (Buffalo, New York) or even the New England Patriots (Foxborough, Massachusetts), will soon experience business traffic unlike anything they have seen since 2019. The population of Green Bay is just over 100,000 people, while their beloved Lambeau Field seats just over 80,000. With hoards of people coming into these cities during football season, the restaurant franchises in the area will be able to capitalize on heavy traffic.

Even some larger markets will see newfound advantage, like the surrounding areas of Los Angeles’ Sofi Stadium or Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. Both venues were constructed in time for 2020 but have yet to see a normal regular season of fans due to the pandemic.