‘Gaining support from Rochester-based corporations is one of the keys to the franchise’s ability to compete financially in the NFL. Buffalo-area fans of the Bills may shudder at the thought of having to share their team with another city, but the economic reality of professional sports speaks to greater priorities — survival. Population projections support the Bills’ broad-based marketing strategy. The Buffalo metropolitan area continues to shrink, ranking among the NFL’s smallest. By 2025, the region that stood among the nation’s 20 largest markets when Ralph Wilson brought the team here in 1959, will be close to falling out of the top 50. While the loss of population put the Bills at a competitive disadvantage with its NFL brethren, the corresponding erosion of private sector businesses based here has created greater obstacles. When companies such as Trico, Bethlehem Steel and National Gypsum cut back their operations or moved, the core of corporate support here withered even as major professional sports franchises increasingly turned to local business in search of sponsorships. By stretching the Bills market, companies such as Wegmans are taking a higher profile in the team’s marketing plans. The direct appeal to fans becomes stronger as well, as the players spend three weeks in Rochester each summer.’