FSU Football: Will Doak Campbell Stadium Ever Host NFL Preseason Game?

FSU football is housed within a day’s drive from six different NFL teams – which makes it the perfect spot of a preseason game to be played in the future.

Each fall, Doak Campbell Stadium opens the gates for six or seven FSU football games – before, for the most part, going back to hanging around and being occasionally used for things but for the most part just chilling. With the addition of the Champions Club last season, the school has started to hold concerts inside Doak…in some part to help make money back for that $80 million project.

Another idea to help bring some more change into the program and turn the lights on for another night? The NFL should consider having one of their preseason games played inside Doak Campbell Stadium. It’s a rarity that NFL teams have played games, regular season or preseason, played on a college campus – but the Seminoles are in the interesting position of being in the right place.

Tallahassee sits within a day’s drive from six NFL teams – the Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Bucs and Tennessee Titans – where fans could get to the Capital City and watch their teams play. With each city under 500 miles away (and Atlanta, Jacksonville and Tampa being less than 300 miles) it would not be much of a stretch for this to take place.

Florida State Seminoles Football

It would be helpful if the game featured teams who were either full of former FSU football players or at least had one prominent former Nole on their roster. The Falcons, Jaguars and Bucs all fit into that argument.

One look at the 2017 schedule shows the Bucs and Jaguars will be playing in Jacksonville during the second week of the preseason while the Jags are scheduled to finish the preseason in Atlanta, likely on August 31st (with FSU football taking on Alabama two days later in the same stadium). Either one of those games – featuring stars like Jameis Winston, Devonta Freeman, Telvin Smith and others – would be ideal for Tallahassee’s NFL debut.

Another option would be the Falcons’ preseason opener when they are scheduled to travel to Miami and face the Dolphins during the second week of August. Both teams are dealing with stadium issues – Atlanta getting a new one, Miami finishing up renovations on theirs – that should allow Doak Campbell to be a worthy replacement if they can’t finish construction on time.

It won’t happen this season – and for all we know, it may never happen. But the NFL would be smart to consider doing this with preseason games. The NBA and NHL do it with their preseason – though the NFL and its owners will likely argue they don’t want to take a game away from season ticket holders. That being said, imagine seeing Jameis and Telvin…or Devonta and Timmy…on the field one more time.