N/S Bills to play 8 games in Toronto in the next 5 years (1 Viewer)

[guillermo]

"The National Football League has reached an agreement with the Buffalo Bills that will allow them to play eight games in Toronto over the next five years, starting in 2008."

Rest of the article:

http://www.tsn.ca/nfl/news_story/?ID=228553&hubname=

Please read the whole article, the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats (closest CFL teams) are participating in the press conference and the plan is for the bills to play in Toronto once the CFL season is over (november or december).

I think this is the team closest to move in the near future. I think they are trying to keep the team close to Buffalo, and also they will test the can much the Toronto market can handle expensive ticket prices.

Finally, on another matter, maybe tomorrow we will have the announcement of the saints playing in England and at the same time the saints cheerleaders are doing promotion in Mexico City. Weird.

 

[rob021275]

I think it stinks for the people of Buffalo, but I guess it's better than them becoming the Los Angeles Bills or something to that effect.

If they do eventually move to Toronto, they should do like the Packers used to do with Milwaukee and play occasionally in Hamilton and/or Buffalo. They should also be called the Ontario Bills (for the province/lake that all three cities are near) or the Niagra Bills if they do that.

As a side note, after looking at the map, I thought it was interesting to note that if you are driving from Detroit to Buffalo, it is actually shorter to drive through Canada.

 

[guillermo]

The Niagara Bills will be a great idea. By the way, if you read the comments of the people after the article, it is a clear Be-careful-what-you-wish-for situation. Season ticket holders living in Toronto are fuming, according to them the most expensive ticket in Buffalo is $70 and they will be paying an average of $250 for a game in Toronto! It is cheaper to drive to Buffalo and watch the game than to have the game in your city, but that is the way the NFL sails. Not a surprise.

 

[birdog]

The Bills should play every home game in Toronto in the November- December months. The weather in western NY is brutal, is snowing all the time due to the lake effect.....fans don't have to travel too far, and see their team in the dome in Toronto.

That way the team still will be close, and fans will have a chance to see them every home game...

 

[rob021275]

Season ticket holders living in Toronto are fuming, according to them the most expensive ticket in Buffalo is $70 and they will be paying an average of $250 for a game in Toronto!

Ergo...the reason they want out of Buffalo...the almighty dollar.

I wonder what the Canadian government will have to say about all of this...I'm sure the NFL isn't going to get away without having to pay something for doing business there.

 

[jaxmc1023]

This is bogus... Europe has soccer, Canada has hockey, and the one sport that we can brag about, we have to make sure everyone else in the world likes it too.

 

[guillermo]

Ergo...the reason they want out of Buffalo...the almighty dollar.
I wonder what the Canadian government will have to say about all of this...I'm sure the NFL isn't going to get away without having to pay something for doing business there.

Governments are all the same everywhere, they will welcome the situation, big business means big taxes (both provincial and federal), but if the NFL starts asking for money to the city, province or federal government, then they will have a tough battle. It is really hard to get support for remaking or building a new stadium here, I don't see any level of government making a commitment to make an investment in order to grab an NFL team.

 

[Kegger]

This is bogus... Europe has soccer, Canada has hockey, and the one sport that we can brag about, we have to make sure everyone else in the world likes it too.

Umm, Canada loves football too man. If you want a real injustice look at how Gary Bettman is trying to push the NHL game in the parts of the US that just don't care about hockey.

 

[Kegger]

If they do eventually move to Toronto, they should do like the Packers used to do with Milwaukee and play occasionally in Hamilton and/or Buffalo. They should also be called the Ontario Bills (for the province/lake that all three cities are near) or the Niagra Bills if they do that.

The problem with that is that since Buffalo Bill was a person or TV character or something, the Niagra Bills just wouldn't make much sense.... though I guess no one really cares about Buffalo Bill anymore

 

[rob021275]

I forgot to mention that the if the fans in Toronto are angry about the increased costs, the fans in Buffalo must be ready to explode.

They get these wonderful prizes if this happens:
1) A more than 300% increase in the cost of some tickets (assuming the American and Canadian dollars stay close to equal as they are at the moment)
2) Aggrivation and costs of having to drive roughly 100 miles one way to a "home game" in Toronto
3) The wait at the border. Plus, according to the U.S. State Department:

"U.S. law requires that Americans entering the U.S. from Canada by air (including those returning by air from short trips to Canada ) must have a valid passport. This requirement will be extended to sea travel (except closed loop cruises), including ferry service, and land travel by the Summer of 2008."

Passports aren't cheap or free! I wonder if they'll be able to apply for them when they pay for their season tickets.