COLTS

Colts to play in London in 2016; don't lose a home game

Stephen Holder
IndyStar
General view of game 14 of the NFL International Series between the Detroit Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs at Wembley Stadum.

One of the AFC South’s pivotal intradivision games in 2016 won’t be played at Lucas Oil Stadium, NRG Stadium or any of the teams’ home fields.

Instead, the Colts and Jaguars will meet at London’s Wembley Stadium on Oct. 2, a game that represents the Colts’ first overseas game in the regular season.

The Jaguars, who have committed to play one game a year in the United Kingdom through 2020, will be the home team. That’s an important distinction as it means the Colts will not be forced to give up a home game, allowing fans to still enjoy a full slate of games at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Colts are one of the few remaining teams that still have not participated in the NFL’s International Series in the regular season. Now that the Colts are scheduled to play in London, just nine teams have not yet played there after the 2016 season as part of the current International Series.

The most interesting angle of the Colts’ visit to the U.K. will be that it comes in the context of a division game. Most of the games played in London have featured nondivision matchups, likely an effort to minimize the disadvantage for the team giving up a home game.

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The Dolphins played the Jets earlier this season at Wembley, a key AFC East game. That was the first division game in the International Series since games began being played in London in 2007.

The NFL has insistently tried to expand its fan base in the U.K., and the London games are central to that effort. After starting with one annual game, the league is now up to two per year. The past two seasons, the NFL has staged three games in London.

Since 2007, when the London games commenced, Sunday viewership of NFL games in the U.K. has more than doubled and the Super Bowl audience has increased more than 75 percent, according to a league press release.

The NFL also sees huge revenue potential in the U.K., with its research showing there is a fan base of more than 13 million people.

Getting a change to showcase a previously unseen team like the Colts, with quarterback Andrew Luck under center, is a win for the NFL. The Colts have a sizable fan base in England, and this will be their chance to see the team up close.

It's also an opportunity for Luck to return to a place where he has fond memories. He spent part of his childhood living in London while his father, Oliver, worked for what came to be known as NFL Europe.

"I grew up in London for a few years, obviously my brother was born in London," Luck said Wednesday. "It’s a city dear to my heart, to my family’s heart. It’ll be a fun experience, but it’s hard to think, about that because we’re in the middle of a fight, a dog fight. But it will be fun when it comes."

Backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has played overseas before. He isn't under contract for 2016 but said he's always longed for a chance to do it again.

"My first game ever was in Tokyo," said Hasselbeck, referring a preseason game he played with the Green Bay Packers in the late 1990s. "I thought to myself, 'This is cool. I bet we'll get to do this all the time.' And it's never happened again. If I'm here, it'll be really cool."

The Colts have previously played three preseason games abroad in Mexico City (2000), Tokyo (2005) and Toronto (2010).

Call Star reporter Stephen Holder at (317) 444-6520. Follow him on Twitter: @HolderStephen.