Commissioner announces Toronto plan for Bills

[Sveen]

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced plans Friday for the Buffalo Bills to play an annual regular-season game in Toronto, starting this year.

The announcement came during Goodell's state of the league address during the Super Bowl festivities in Phoenix, and will make the Bills the NFL's first team to play annual regular-season games outside the United States.
Buffalo Bills

The Bills proposed the plan at the NFL owners meetings in October as part of their desire to expand their market to Toronto, Canada's largest city and financial capital, and located about a 90-minute drive from Buffalo.

Under the team's proposal, the Bills would play some preseason games and one annual regular-season game at the downtown Rogers Centre -- a domed stadium with a retractable roof -- through 2012.

Full story: http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=090...o&confirm=true

[bigbluedefense]

its only a matter of time before they move. from a financial point of view, it makes perfect sense. theres a lot more money in toronto.

its sad to see a historic team move though.

[MichaelJordanEberle (sabf)]

Originally Posted by bigbluedefense

its only a matter of time before they move. from a financial point of view, it makes perfect sense. theres a lot more money in toronto.

its sad to see a historic team move though.

Yeah, it isn't a huge move or anything though. Like it said, 90 minutes. I think there will still be quite a few Buffalans(?) making the trip to TO on Sundays.

[The Legend]

Smart but sad move

[Twiddler]

Originally Posted by bigbluedefense

its only a matter of time before they move. from a financial point of view, it makes perfect sense. theres a lot more money in toronto.

its sad to see a historic team move though.

Exactly what I'm thinking. Given time this will happen soon enough. Well, at least its rather close.

[The Dynasty]

I was watching the Buffalo News Station(WKBW ABC). They were saying that tickets will cost around $250. So Idk..Its just evidence that slowly the buffalo bills will become the Toronto ????.

[49ersfan_87]

I live in Toronto...i'll definitely try to go to the game. Hopefully the 49ers-Bills game is in Toronto

[etk]

Hopefully it's the Bucs game. That would be a win for me and the Bucs.

[Bills2083]

This is the beginning of the end for the Buffalo Bills. :(

[fischbowl]

This is ****** horseshit.

We need to generate revenue for OUR AREA! On the football side, our entire metropolitan area from Rochester to Pendleton to Falconer to Binghamton are Bills Crazy and we sell out every game. Our area is adept for sports business. Last year, the Sabres were # 1 in team hockey jersey sales and 5 Sabre Players were in the top 10. We are home to New Era, the exclusive manufacturer of sports headwear. The Buffalo Bisons are a Frietas Award winning franchise that still draws a fantastic crowd, despite being only a minor league team.

We already have a big enough fan base in Ontario, and if people haven't discovered us yet I don't think they will. People will have to travel further from small metropolises such as Kitchener and Hamilton to get to Toronto instead of just crossing the border to Buffalo/Orchard Park (at least I think).

Billingsley is right too. Why would Toronto residents give a **** if the Bills come play? They won't even give the Argos the time of day, all people care about are the Leafs.

This is ********

[619]

Originally Posted by Bills2083

This is the beginning of the end for the Buffalo Bills. :(

We feel for you, Buffalo is a great sports town. Its just a matter of time before a major market like Toronto gets its own team. If the Bills were to move somewhere Toronto would probably end up being the best situation for you guys anyways since its only a 90-min drive away.

[Billingsley26]

For all you people who live in toronto, dont think its easy to get tickets. go read the bills forum and read what i wrote regarding tickets. they will not be released to the public. everything will be through a lottery, and if you win, you MUST buy tickets to every game played in toronto at that point.


and for everyone else who thinks its a good idea financial wise, your wrong. you guys dont know toronto. especially as a sports town. it isnt evena hockey town its a leafs town. thats all they care about. if the team is doing hot, they will watch them. if the team is 500 or below, forget it. especially with the prices of tickets. case and point goes to the blue jays. on any given night, your lucky to get 20,00 teams for an average team. the raptors before they signed colangelo, were drawing well below sell out. now the raptors are winning, they are selling. The argos you ask, hahahhahaa, please, i wish people woould look at how well football is regarded in toronto via looking at the argos. they draw flies, and it is really garbage compared to out west.

i think this is a horrible move, and i give it about 3-5 years before the bills are pulling 4-12 or 3-13 seasons and there are about 20,00 fans in toronto watching the games.

[JoeSixPac]

i live in Toronto and I can say with great accuracy that I will not be going to this game. $500+ for a pair of tickets? Ridiculous! Why would I pay that when I can go to a Bills game in Buffalo for $150 for a pair of tickets. The only thing is that is a really long drive, especially getting across the boarder.

Hopefully the Bills move to Toronto permanently. I would get season tickets for sure, if I could.

[JoeSixPac]

Originally Posted by Billingsley26

For all you people who live in toronto, dont think its easy to get tickets. go read the bills forum and read what i wrote regarding tickets. they will not be released to the public. everything will be through a lottery, and if you win, you MUST buy tickets to every game played in toronto at that point.


and for everyone else who thinks its a good idea financial wise, your wrong. you guys dont know toronto. especially as a sports town. it isnt evena hockey town its a leafs town. thats all they care about. if the team is doing hot, they will watch them. if the team is 500 or below, forget it. especially with the prices of tickets. case and point goes to the blue jays. on any given night, your lucky to get 20,00 teams for an average team. the raptors before they signed colangelo, were drawing well below sell out. now the raptors are winning, they are selling. The argos you ask, hahahhahaa, please, i wish people woould look at how well football is regarded in toronto via looking at the argos. they draw flies, and it is really garbage compared to out west.

i think this is a horrible move, and i give it about 3-5 years before the bills are pulling 4-12 or 3-13 seasons and there are about 20,00 fans in toronto watching the games.

Theres a difference between baseball and NFL football. NFL in Toronto has a good chance of selling out only 8 home games per year, while the Jays have 81 and its almost impossible to sell out every game. Same for the Raptors, 41 home games per year and its hard 2 sell out every one. The NFL will find success in Toronto.

[TheGoods]

This makes perfect sense financially. Buffalo has been able to sell games thanks in part to the thousands of people in Toronto willing to drive down to watch the game. What Toronto has is a large corporate presence that will be willing to get their names attached to this.

[Handel]

Toronto, Canada's largest city and financial capital

But unfortunately, not the best football city in Great White North.

[Handel]

Originally Posted by bigbluedefense

its only a matter of time before they move. from a financial point of view, it makes perfect sense. theres a lot more money in toronto.

its sad to see a historic team move though.

Great, I'll have another reason to hate Toronto... ;)

[Bills2083]

Originally Posted by Billingsley26

For all you people who live in toronto, dont think its easy to get tickets. go read the bills forum and read what i wrote regarding tickets. they will not be released to the public. everything will be through a lottery, and if you win, you MUST buy tickets to every game played in toronto at that point.


and for everyone else who thinks its a good idea financial wise, your wrong. you guys dont know toronto. especially as a sports town. it isnt evena hockey town its a leafs town. thats all they care about. if the team is doing hot, they will watch them. if the team is 500 or below, forget it. especially with the prices of tickets. case and point goes to the blue jays. on any given night, your lucky to get 20,00 teams for an average team. the raptors before they signed colangelo, were drawing well below sell out. now the raptors are winning, they are selling. The argos you ask, hahahhahaa, please, i wish people woould look at how well football is regarded in toronto via looking at the argos. they draw flies, and it is really garbage compared to out west.

i think this is a horrible move, and i give it about 3-5 years before the bills are pulling 4-12 or 3-13 seasons and there are about 20,00 fans in toronto watching the games.

whats your username on the Bills MB? I'm junior12thman92

[etk]

Originally Posted by fischbowl

This is ****** horseshit.

We need to generate revenue for OUR AREA! On the football side, our entire metropolitan area from Rochester to Pendleton to Falconer to Binghamton are Bills Crazy and we sell out every game. Our area is adept for sports business. Last year, the Sabres were # 1 in team hockey jersey sales and 5 Sabre Players were in the top 10. We are home to New Era, the exclusive manufacturer of sports headwear. The Buffalo Bisons are a Frietas Award winning franchise that still draws a fantastic crowd, despite being only a minor league team.

We already have a big enough fan base in Ontario, and if people haven't discovered us yet I don't think they will. People will have to travel further from small metropolises such as Kitchener and Hamilton to get to Toronto instead of just crossing the border to Buffalo/Orchard Park (at least I think).

Billingsley is right too. Why would Toronto residents give a **** if the Bills come play? They won't even give the Argos the time of day, all people care about are the Leafs.

This is ********

Hamilton is closer to Buffalo than it is to Toronto. That's correct.

For anyone who says Toronto sports fans don't want football because they don't support the Leafs...that's BS. We're very much exposed to American sports and that is what Torontonians enjoy. We have a higher standard for sports than other Canadian cities which is why very few people in our city care about the Argos or the CFL. We only want to watch the best leagues with the best players. We would easily sell out 8 home football games and loads of merchandise (see Leafs fans).

I don't think it's fair to bring the Jays into the equation. The NFL and the MLB are on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to parity. Jays fans go into the season knowing how their team will finish record-wise. The Bills will always have a shot at the playoffs, just like every other team.

American football is in high demand here in Toronto. We're transitioning the sport by bringing in the International Bowl and now NFL action. Youth minor football is growing with this trend, and the support is all here. It's all great news and in time football will be the 2nd biggest sport in Toronto.

[Billingsley26]

Originally Posted by JoeSixPac

i live in Toronto and I can say with great accuracy that I will not be going to this game. $500+ for a pair of tickets? Ridiculous! Why would I pay that when I can go to a Bills game in Buffalo for $150 for a pair of tickets. The only thing is that is a really long drive, especially getting across the boarder.

Hopefully the Bills move to Toronto permanently. I would get season tickets for sure, if I could.

your kinda contradicting yourself here. you say that you wont pay 500 dollars for tickets, but if they bills moved to toronto you would buy seasons. do you honestly think that tickets are going to be cheaper if they move here pormanently? hardly, probably go up even more.

Originally Posted by etk

Hamilton is closer to Buffalo than it is to Toronto. That's correct.

For anyone who says Toronto sports fans don't want football because they don't support the Leafs...that's BS. We're very much exposed to American sports and that is what Torontonians enjoy. We have a higher standard for sports than other Canadian cities which is why very few people in our city care about the Argos or the CFL. We only want to watch the best leagues with the best players. We would easily sell out 8 home football games and loads of merchandise (see Leafs fans).

I don't think it's fair to bring the Jays into the equation. The NFL and the MLB are on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to parity. Jays fans go into the season knowing how their team will finish record-wise. The Bills will always have a shot at the playoffs, just like every other team.

American football is in high demand here in Toronto. We're transitioning the sport by bringing in the International Bowl and now NFL action. Youth minor football is growing with this trend, and the support is all here. It's all great news and in time football will be the 2nd biggest sport in Toronto.

yeah, thats why the international bowl had about 30,000 fans and about 25,000 fans were from ball state and rutgers. to be quite honest, and ive said it before, the nfl would last for a few season at most in toronto, before interest is lost.

american football may be in high demand here, but for the ticket prices they would ask, it would ruin it. especially for a middle of the road team.

you said to 'see the leafs'. the leafs sell because they are toronto. how were the raptors holding up when they were cellar dwellers? how about the jays? or even the argos when they had flutie and were lights out in the cfl?

[etk]

I don't see how high ticket prices would ruin anything. I'm pretty sure Toronto sports fans can afford expensive tickets, especially if cities like Tampa and Buffalo can afford to see their teams play.

[JoeSixPac]

Originally Posted by Billingsley26

your kinda contradicting yourself here. you say that you wont pay 500 dollars for tickets, but if they bills moved to toronto you would buy seasons. do you honestly think that tickets are going to be cheaper if they move here pormanently? hardly, probably go up even more.



yeah, thats why the international bowl had about 30,000 fans and about 25,000 fans were from ball state and rutgers. to be quite honest, and ive said it before, the nfl would last for a few season at most in toronto, before interest is lost.

american football may be in high demand here, but for the ticket prices they would ask, it would ruin it. especially for a middle of the road team.

you said to 'see the leafs'. the leafs sell because they are toronto. how were the raptors holding up when they were cellar dwellers? how about the jays? or even the argos when they had flutie and were lights out in the cfl?

I realize I contradicted myself a bit, but the point is why would I pay 500 when I can drive down the QEW and see a bills game for 150. If the Bills moved to Toronto I wouldn't have the option of going to the game in buffalo so i would go to the game in TO. And the $250 price tag as of now is just speculation. Prices could be 150 a ticket or less, we just don't know. I also believe that prices will drop if the team was relocated permenently.

and the key thing about the international bowl is that it was a couple of college teams that know one cares about except the fans of the team. NFL teams are very different than ball state and rutgers.

[etk]

I care about Rutgers and Ball State. Dante Love is a beast!

[Billingsley26]

Originally Posted by etk

I don't see how high ticket prices would ruin anything. I'm pretty sure Toronto sports fans can afford expensive tickets, especially if cities like Tampa and Buffalo can afford to see their teams play.

When the Raptors had ticket prices that rivaled the Leafs, and were cellar dwellars did they sell? NOPE. Toronto fans do need winners in the city for them to fill the seats. Yes there is money in Toronto, but Toronto is not a football city. And trust me, for the first cople/few years, this will sell. After that, and especially if the Bills win only 4 or 5 games each year, good luck selling.

Originally Posted by JoeSixPac

I realize I contradicted myself a bit, but the point is why would I pay 500 when I can drive down the QEW and see a bills game for 150. If the Bills moved to Toronto I wouldn't have the option of going to the game in buffalo so i would go to the game in TO. And the $250 price tag as of now is just speculation. Prices could be 150 a ticket or less, we just don't know. I also believe that prices will drop if the team was relocated permenently.

and the key thing about the international bowl is that it was a couple of college teams that know one cares about except the fans of the team. NFL teams are very different than ball state and rutgers.

There is no specualtion regarding the $250 prices. That is confirmed. That is the average ticket prices. Meaning that they will go much higher than that. I think prices will go up if the teams comes here. They are placing the prices at a price right now because they know people will pay it right now. Once Toronto gets a good dose of this, the prices will rise. Once the team goes into decline and the prices go high, then the attendances drop.

This isnt the Leafs. No other team has done what the LEafs have done in Toronto, nor do I think they will. I see no evidence that will change my opinion either.

The simple fact that it was American Football, and Rutgers is a big name school, it should have sold. But people in the area really didnt care.

[critesy]

this is why they should move to saskatchewan!!

they would definetly sell out every game with our fan base.