This year, the Vikings will play their home games at the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium. The Metrodome is no longer, and Minnesota will play outdoors for two years before moving into a new indoor facility in 2016.

Should we expect the Vikings to struggle in 2014 in their temporary home? This scare piece noted that since the merger, only four teams (excluding those that moved cities) have played games in a temporary stadium for at least one season, and those teams saw an average decline of 5.8 wins. That’s a pretty misleading statistic, though. Consider:

• One of the teams included was the 2005 Saints, who dropped from 8 to 3 wins as the team played “home” games in Baton Rouge, San Antonio, and uh, East Rutherford following Hurricane Katrina. I don’t think the 2005 Saints are an appropriate comparison for any team.

• Another team was the 2002 Chicago Bears, who played in Champaign, Illinois while Soldier Field was being remodeled. The 2001 Bears were one of football’s great flukes: Chicago’s win probability added in the 4th quarter and overtime of games was one of the highest ever. Jim Miller and Shane Matthews led five 4th quarter comebacks. The Bears were 27th in yards per carry, allowed more net yards per pass than they gained, and yet went 13-3. Safety Mike Brown scored interception return touchdowns in overtime in consecutive weeks. And then the Bears promptly went 4-12 in 2002.

• The 1973 Giants are another team used in the study. New York used to play in Yankee Stadium, which as you may know was primarily a baseball park. On September 30th, 1973, the stadium closed for renovations for two (baseball) years. Of course, that meant it would be closed for nearly three football years: the Giants played the rest of ’73 and all of 1974 at the Yale Bowl in Connecticut; in 1975, the Giants shared Shea Stadium with the Jets, just as the Yankees were doing with the Mets.

The Giants went 8-6 in 1972 and then 2-11-1 in 1973. ^[1]That’s actually a bit misleading: New York went 1-1 at Yankee Stadium in 1973, 0-7 on the road, and 1-4 in New Haven. So if you really want to scare Vikings fans, and argue that the temporary … Continue reading The other team noted in that study was the Seahawks, who went 9-7 in the Kingdome in 1999 and 6-10 at Husky Stadium.

One could also include the Boston Patriots team that straddled the merger era. Boston went 4-10 in 1968, the team’s final year in Fenway Park. Then the Patriots went 4-10 in Alumni Stadium (Boston College) in 1969, 2-12 in the first year of post-merger play at Harvard Stadium, and then 6-8 in 1971 at Foxboro Stadium (known as Schaefer Stadium at the time).

But I’m not too concerned with the idea of playing games in a temporary stadium. What about just teams that switched stadiums, regardless of reason? The table below shows all teams ^[2]I’m not including the Katrina Saints, because, come on. I’m also not counting the Browns/Ravens as one franchise, but did count the Titans/Oilers as one franchise, per NFL convention. to switch stadiums in the last 50 years, and their records before and after the switch. For example, the Cowboys used to play in Texas Stadium, but moved to Cowboys Stadium (or Jerry’s World or AT&T Stadium, if you prefer) in 2009. In 2008, Dallas went 9-7, but in 2010, the Cowboys went 11-5.

That’s mostly a fun trip down memory lane, but the row at the bottom is instructive. On average, these teams were ever so slightly better in year 1 in a new stadium than in the prior season. That also jives with Jason Lisk’s research, and the Vikings and 49ers might be best suited to take advantage of their new elements in 2015. But in any event, I wouldn’t worry too much about a team switching stadiums. For 49ers fans, the most comparable teams as far as success and recency are the Colts and Eagles, and both continued their good play in year 1 at the new stadium.

No team has been at its current stadium for as many consecutive year as the Packers, who have been at Lambeau since 1957. The table below lists shows when each team first began playing in its current stadium, although forays into other stadiums (see Chicago and Oakland) reset the clock. ^[3]Also, naming rights are being displayed in your author’s sole discretion. I’m okay calling the Jaguars stadium by its corporate name and saying Denver plays at Sports Authority Field at … Continue reading

Here’s a fun bit of trivia. Since 1961, the NFL has never gone four straight seasons without some team switching stadiums. And it’s only gone three straight years without a new facility three different times: 1977 to 1979, 1989 to 1991, and the last three years, 2011-2013. I am sure Roger Goodell will do his best to make sure that doesn’t happen again under his watch, and the league is off to a strong start. The 49ers will play at Levi’s Stadium in 2014, Minnesota will move into Vikings Stadium in 2016, and the Falcons are going to be playing at a new stadium beginning in 2017. And presumably, there will be new stadiums built in one of the California cities at some point this decade.