18 June 2023 , 21:04
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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was spotted at the Canadian Grand Prix.
According to The Athletic, he joined the team principals for their regular meeting with F1 chief Stefano Domenicali on Sunday morning. Ahead of the race, he was filmed shaking hands with Lewis Hamilton, who part-owns the Denver Broncos.
Goodell was invited to the race by Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei, who has an ownership stake in F1. The Massachusetts native, who is also the chairman of Live Nation Entertainment, Sirius XM, and TripAdvisor, is looking to the highest class of motorsport racing which is continuing to grow.
The main reason for the sport’s rise in popularity in the US is the hit Netflix docuseries F1: Drive to Survive, which set an average audience of 1.7 million in 2022, a new viewership record. Furthermore, Goodell has previously eyed Canada as a new destination for the NFL, with the focus being Toronto rather than Montreal.
Toronto is the largest city in North America without an NFL franchise and one of just three places to host an NFL regular season game outside of the United States, with London and Mexico City being the others. A reason cited for the lack of games in Canada was not having a stadium fit to host an NFL game.
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“We have passionate fans in so many markets. Canada, obviously, we have a tremendous history there,” Goodell said back in 2021. “We have a tremendous fanbase and our intent will be to continue to try to service as many fans.
"Obviously, we have limited inventory, limited number of games but Canada is a very important market.” The last time NFL games took place in Canada was between 2008 and 2013 when the Buffalo Bills played the role of the home team in a handful of games at the Rogers Centre.
Goodell is keen for Canada to host some NFL games in the future (AP)10 years have passed since the last of those games were played and the sport wants to head north of the border and host NFL matches there once again. “I’m from Western New York and I spent a lot of time in Canada as a young kid. I have nothing but admiration for Toronto, I think it’s a great city,” Goddell added.
“It continues to evolve, it continues to grow. It certainly could be a great city for an NFL team.” Goodell watched Max Verstappen claim his fourth successive win as he took the chequered flag at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Fernando Alonso continued his impressive season as he finished second, while Hamilton claimed his third podium of the season by crossing the line in P3. The Dutchman has extended his lead at the top of the driver's standings to 69 points ahead of the Austrian GP on July 2.