More NFL to Toronto News (1 Viewer)

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TORONTO - The NFL is coming to Toronto. Maybe.

National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell was speaking at the Reuters Media Summit in New York yesterday when he allowed that sometime within the next decade, a city outside of the United States, most likely Toronto or Mexico City, could become home to an NFL expansion franchise.

"We can envision that," Goodell said when a reporter asked him about growth beyond U.S. borders. "I don't know if it will become a reality, but it is certainly a possibility."

And that is just the kind of "possibility" Paul Godfrey has been waiting to hear about for almost 20 years. The Toronto Blue Jays president has been trying to lure a four-down football team to Canada's largest city since 1989.

"I am very, very encouraged by the commissioner's remarks," Godfrey said. "I have always said it is not a question of if, it is only a question of when.

"And I stand by that."

The NFL has already approved the idea of playing a regular-season game on foreign soil next season, and in the seasons that follow. Goodell told his New York audience that he had narrowed the candidates for the 2007 contest down to five cities: Cologne and Frankfurt, Germany, London, Mexico City and Toronto. The final selection will be announced before the Super Bowl.

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/...=ee1d1fb5-3e92-4c65-ae29-ae9b531137df&k=82008
 
If this happens, then you can expect an expansion team in L.A. around the same time to even the conferences up. This is good news for us.
 
I don't have a problem with the NFL expanding outside of the United States. Does anyone else? Is it un american to have football outside of the US?

Being that it is American Futbol, they are only limited to expanding to North or South America?
 
The Buffalo Bills are in serious trouble. When the news came out that Ralph Wilson's daughter has no interest in keeping the team once he passes on,ticket sales dropped. In addition,Erie County,which is WNY's largest county is bankrupt and the top dog politicians said that any financial promises that the county made to the organization can't be met.

The Bills were 5,500 short of a sellout last week and have 9,000 left for this sunday's match-up against LT and the Chargers.

Many folks up here think the Bills days in B-low are limited.
 
The Buffalo Bills are in serious trouble. When the news came out that Ralph Wilson's daughter has no interest in keeping the team once he passes on,ticket sales dropped. In addition,Erie County,which is WNY's largest county is bankrupt and the top dog politicians said that any financial promises that the county made to the organization can't be met.

The Bills were 5,500 short of a sellout last week and have 9,000 left for this sunday's match-up against LT and the Chargers.

Many folks up here think the Bills days in B-low are limited.

That would be your Toronto franchise then. The NFL has shown an interest since the Cleveland-Baltimore disaster in keeping franchises regionally. Moving the Buffalo Bills to Toronto may be the best hope for making the Bill viable, since many Buffalo fans would remain Bills fans (but the Bills wouldn't be able to build a base in Toronto unless they are actually there).
 
Ok, guys, as you may know I am both mexican and canadian.

To be honest, I don't buy this Kool-Aid.

The most suitable prospects on owning a team in Toronto were the joint groups of Rogers Communications and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. The first own the Blue Jays, the second the Leafs and Raptors. They have already said they are still far away to make the NFL viable in Toronto, which means there is too much money to invest in it. Besides that, a Toronto team would kill the Bills franchise and put pressure in Detroit. I don't see this happening.

In Mexico certainly I can think of more than one suitable owner, but the cost of the tickets would make very difficult build a solid season-ticket-holder base.

The comments or the Commish are made not towards expansion, but to sell-out another regular season game in any of those cities. In this case, just because of the size of the stadium and previous experience, Mexico has the advantage.
 
That would be your Toronto franchise then. The NFL has shown an interest since the Cleveland-Baltimore disaster in keeping franchises regionally. Moving the Buffalo Bills to Toronto may be the best hope for making the Bill viable, since many Buffalo fans would remain Bills fans (but the Bills wouldn't be able to build a base in Toronto unless they are actually there).

I agree LSS. Also,keep in mind that about 25 % of the Bills ticket sales come from the Ontario(Toronto,Hamilton,FT.Erie) area.
 
Ok, guys, as you may know I am both mexican and canadian.

To be honest, I don't buy this Kool-Aid.

The most suitable prospects on owning a team in Toronto were the joint groups of Rogers Communications and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. The first own the Blue Jays, the second the Leafs and Raptors. They have already said they are still far away to make the NFL viable in Toronto, which means there is too much money to invest in it. Besides that, a Toronto team would kill the Bills franchise and put pressure in Detroit. I don't see this happening.

In Mexico certainly I can think of more than one suitable owner, but the cost of the tickets would make very difficult build a solid season-ticket-holder base.

The comments or the Commish are made not towards expansion, but to sell-out another regular season game in any of those cities. In this case, just because of the size of the stadium and previous experience, Mexico has the advantage.

I would think the two major barriers to a Mexican Franchise would be
1) Corporate support. I'm sure there are plenty of businesses with the money, I just don't know anything about the corporate culture there. In the US if you're a business you HAVE to have tickets to pass out, a box to entertain with, etc. It's a prestige issue. Would Mexican corporations view it the same way?

2) Language gap. Can you sustain long-term success in terms of building a fan base when your players and coaches don't speak the language?
 
The comments or the Commish are made not towards expansion, but to sell-out another regular season game in any of those cities.

Yup. They used San Antonio. They are using Toronto and Mexico City. They are possibly even using us.

They will say just enough to get local fans excited about the prospect of getting/keeping a team (and buying tickets to show support). But their real plans are kept locked in a secret safe buried miles under Giants Stadium (about 500 feet to the left of Jimmy Hoffa's body).

United Way commercials notwithstanding, the NFL did not get where it is today by giving away money. EVERYTHING is about the dollar signs.
 
Corporate support would not be a problem in Mexico. Just look how pathetic the soccer uniform are in the mexican league. They pay big bucks to the teams for branding. Also at the Azteca stadium there are several luxury boxes from different big businesses.

The language problem I don't think would be a problem either, since obody would be waiting for teams and coaches to learn spanish.

The problem in Mexico would not be ownership, corporate support or language. The problem is to build a solid fan base with money to buy season tickets in advance. This is not the way teams are handled in Mexico. People tend to buy tickets week by week.
 
I would think the two major barriers to a Mexican Franchise would be

2) Language gap. Can you sustain long-term success in terms of building a fan base when your players and coaches don't speak the language?


I don't think that would be too big of a deal. International soccer and Formula One enjoy wild success across a wide range of languages, among competitors, coaches, ownership and fans alike.
 

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