TSNBDSC Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 ..." And the Bills are a regional franchise, drawing from a wide geographical swath, much like the Vikings. They aren't going anywhere, except, say, maybe at worst a few hours away. There will be sufficient local ownership options when Ralph Wilson passes, and the NFL believes among Western and Central New York, Southern Ontario and Toronto, there is sufficient support to make it work with a new facility. Rogers Communications in Toronto would surely be interested, and building a world class facility in Canada would make things interesting. Regardless, the Bills aren't going to California. " ... http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/19545793/nfl-will-return-to-la-but-loose-ends-remain-who-arrives-first-rams-chargers-raiders ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAWNDO Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 (edited) "Regardless, the Bills aren't going to California." Per LaCanfora Pretty strong words coming from a solid, non-Buffalo source, but I won't believe it until that owner actually emerges after Ralph. I guess this does deserve its own thread. Edited July 11, 2012 by BRAWNDO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 He suggests that they may go to Toronto. If solid improvements are made to the Ralph and the Bills continue to have high gate attendance in both B-lo and the Toronto game they will not leave the region. Toronto around the horn to Rocha cha has a huge population base. If the economics were there (and they are not) it would be cool to see a stadium built near the Falls. Maybe 20 years down the road this will happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSNBDSC Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 <br />I guess this does deserve its own thread.<br /><br /><br /><br /> ... just got back from vacation ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PearlHowardman Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Toronto around the horn to Rocha cha has a huge population base. The article mentions those of us here in Central (Syracuse/Binghamton/Utica) New York State. Don't forget us! Having said that, with regard to the Bills staying in Buffalo, as we were taught in drivers education: "Expect the unexpected." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSNBDSC Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 ... my link works though ! ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAWNDO Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 <br /><br /><br /> ... just got back from vacation ... I am glad you started this new thread, this is good news for WNY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeMonkey Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I am glad you started this new thread, this is good news for WNY. It isn't news. Just someones opinion like all the others. We will know when we know and not before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsGuyInMalta Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I was listening to Sirius NFL Radio last week and one of the hosts (Tucker?) had a great idea. Totally would never fly and is not very realistic, but it was a cool thought. The NFL desperately wants a team in the Los Angeles market, yes? Its proven that two teams in the same league can exist at the same time in LA due to the large market (Dodgers/Angels, Clippers/Lakers and in the past Raiders/Rams), yes? Why not give Los Angeles TWO expansion teams at the same time? That way it completely shuts everyone up about relocating teams there and it would be an interesting story to see how each team develops given the same market and (essentially) the same rules. I know it would never happen but that would be a lot of fun to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I was listening to Sirius NFL Radio last week and one of the hosts (Tucker?) had a great idea. Totally would never fly and is not very realistic, but it was a cool thought. The NFL desperately wants a team in the Los Angeles market, yes? Its proven that two teams in the same league can exist at the same time in LA due to the large market (Dodgers/Angels, Clippers/Lakers and in the past Raiders/Rams), yes? Why not give Los Angeles TWO expansion teams at the same time? That way it completely shuts everyone up about relocating teams there and it would be an interesting story to see how each team develops given the same market and (essentially) the same rules. I know it would never happen but that would be a lot of fun to watch. It would dilute the talent in the NFL to much otherwise id be fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I was listening to Sirius NFL Radio last week and one of the hosts (Tucker?) had a great idea. Totally would never fly and is not very realistic, but it was a cool thought. The NFL desperately wants a team in the Los Angeles market, yes? Its proven that two teams in the same league can exist at the same time in LA due to the large market (Dodgers/Angels, Clippers/Lakers and in the past Raiders/Rams), yes? Why not give Los Angeles TWO expansion teams at the same time? That way it completely shuts everyone up about relocating teams there and it would be an interesting story to see how each team develops given the same market and (essentially) the same rules. I know it would never happen but that would be a lot of fun to watch. Raiders/Rams...no. The Bills were never moving to LA. Only the most paranoid have ever mentioned it. Ross Tucker is the worst listen on the radio. He's a cross between Tommy Chong and that teacher on South Park. Awful. The NFL is desperate to move a team to LA, not expand. Unfortunately there is no stadium and no one who wants to move there at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Avenger Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 It's fun for the NFL to dream about a franchise in Toronto, I'm just not sure it's realistic, especially if that team is the Bills. The Bills fan base is essentially Buffalo out to Syracuse (don't get me wrong - I know there are plenty of fans outside of this zone). I'm not sure how many of those fans they keep in Toronto - a long way to go for a game and a hassle, especially now that crossing the border requires passports. If you look at how the games in Toronto have drawn and the fact that this year they even slashed prices, it looks like the appetite for the NFL in southern Ontario isn't so great. If you can't get fans from WNY to come and you can't draw from Ontario, how is a team in Toronto going to fare, especially in a big stadium like Rodgers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yungmack Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 So far, under Goodell, the NFL has been clear that it does not intend to expand beyond 32 teams. As to LA, it would like to eventually put two teams there. Obviously, if the league isn't expanding, then those would be existing franchises. Will one of them be the Bills? I don't think so. But here's the wildcard: there's a guy here in LA who is from Buffalo (can't remember his name right now), has several billion in the bank and has previously expressed an interest in buying the team. If he did, would he want to keep them in Buffalo or move them to LA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanC883 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Can't see the team moving to Toronto or LA. If they move to Toronto, fans from places like Central and Southern Teir NY (Syracuse, Binghamton, etc.) will be too far away to attend games. Also, those of us in PA will be a bit too far away to attend. The Bills need those fans, as the Canadian fanbase in Toronto is fickle and will not support loosing teams during the downtimes that every franchise faces in the salary cap era. Putting a stadium near the falls will make it easier for those in Toronto and Southern Ontario to attend, it will still be the BUFFALO Bills, and it will make it feasiable for Central/Southern Tier to attend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernMan Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Can't see the team moving to Toronto or LA. If they move to Toronto, fans from places like Central and Southern Teir NY (Syracuse, Binghamton, etc.) will be too far away to attend games. Also, those of us in PA will be a bit too far away to attend. The Bills need those fans, as the Canadian fanbase in Toronto is fickle and will not support loosing teams during the downtimes that every franchise faces in the salary cap era. Putting a stadium near the falls will make it easier for those in Toronto and Southern Ontario to attend, it will still be the BUFFALO Bills, and it will make it feasiable for Central/Southern Tier to attend. Not only will they not support a team with which they have no emotional or historic ties (as do so many Buffalonians and ex-WNYers) during those off seasons, but as soon as hockey season gears up in early October, it will be a hard sell. Canadians will be spending more of their entertainment budget on hockey, and 5-18 year olds (and coaches&parents)who are involved in pee wee or junior hockey are going to be too busy or tired to bother with a football games. There are some great NFL football fans in Canada, but it's just not as popular as it is in the states. It's mirrors the efforts, interest, and level of enthusiasm for hockey here in Atlanta. Once spring football and baseball got underway in Atlanta, only a handful of hardcore fans and others with freebies were attending Thrashers games. I still agree that a Niagara Falls multi-purpose facility would be the ideal compromise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OvrOfficiousJerk Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 (edited) ... my link works though ! ... oops... who knew two "http://" weren't better than just one? At any rate, LaCanfora's article shows that people are buying the Bills' Toronto regionalization plan. The Bills-Toronto Series is hardly a huge hit -- we knew the prices were dropping even before yesterday's/today's announcement, and even though Rogers Centre is small to begin with (~5-10K smaller than even the smallest NFL venue), the place is hardly packed to the tilt for the Bills games. But it worked well enough for the football talking heads to think that the Bills' territory extends up the Golden Horseshoe to TO. Whether or not they're Bills fans is largely immaterial if they're paying money at the box office: Southern Ontario is still our territory. And if you ask any Bills fan who runs into a gaggle of drunk (yet polite) Canucks at the Ralph, we knew that all along. Canadians eat sports up, regardless of whether or not they have a cheering interest involved (see "Ontario Pro-line," for one), and the NFL hopefully is in the process of realizing that. Even if the GTA or Montreal couldn't support a team by themselves, making sure a team stays in Buffalo so that the league can get some action from the True North Strong and Free isn't a terrible idea from a business perspective. Edited July 11, 2012 by OvrOfficiousJerk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevWarRifleman Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Not only will they not support a team with which they have no emotional or historic ties (as do so many Buffalonians and ex-WNYers) during those off seasons, but as soon as hockey season gears up in early October, it will be a hard sell. Canadians will be spending more of their entertainment budget on hockey, and 5-18 year olds (and coaches&parents)who are involved in pee wee or junior hockey are going to be too busy or tired to bother with a football games. There are some great NFL football fans in Canada, but it's just not as popular as it is in the states. It's mirrors the efforts, interest, and level of enthusiasm for hockey here in Atlanta. Once spring football and baseball got underway in Atlanta, only a handful of hardcore fans and others with freebies were attending Thrashers games. I still agree that a Niagara Falls multi-purpose facility would be the ideal compromise. Both you & RyanC above hit on a key point about the Canadians. They are fickle, and besides, hockey is their addiction. Moving the Bills over to the Canadian side of the border will result in loosing a lot of Bills fans from western & central/southerntier of NY. Too long to travel, too much of a headache and too much $ involved to do it. Moreover, placing an NFL franchise over the border would be right in the back yard of the two CFL teams that already have a long tradition w/ their respective fans. How much football could the area support in a country where, as I've said, their addiction is hockey??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtbag Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 regardless of how much we (as fans) have invested into this team, we actually know very little about what will happen to them post-ralph. this is the sad and frustrating point. i'm not sure about you, but i define myself (among other things) as a bills fans. this often makes people laugh. i live in l.a., and they get a real kick out of asking me when the bills are moving here. we don't own the bills, and the current owner apparently doesn't really feel like he owes us much -- even if this team has had a devoted following since the sixties. previously, he has said they're going to the highest bidder after he dies. he owns them; that's his prerogative. the dodgers went for 2 billion this year. an nfl team seems just as, if not more, valuable. if ralph's previous comments are accurate and he's planning on selling to the highest bidder, it will likely be difficult to keep them in buffalo. there might be a white knight out there ready to defend a small market nfl team, but i'm not so sure. that said, it has been suggested that there's some master plan to keep them in buffalo maybe it happens, maybe not. one thing that i'm sure of is that laconfora has no idea as to how this will play out. the value of this team can only be calculated when they actually go on sale. if ralph sells and there's no team in l.a., there will likely be a massive bidding war. if ralph sells after a l.a. team has already been established, then maybe not. regardless, unless some other arrangements are being worked out, i suspect a strong push from toronto. we're the biggest fans of this team and we have no idea what's going on. you honestly think laconfora does? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OvrOfficiousJerk Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 we're the biggest fans of this team and we have no idea what's going on. you honestly think laconfora does? But he might have a better idea what the NFL wants to happen. He's not some putz from Bleacher Report or "Yahoo! Sports, A Fan's Take." Unless the team doesn't get the necessary renovations (which I'm still leery about), the Bills moving from Buffalo would not only be a terrible PR move, but again hurt the international expansion plans. Say what you will about Canadians "hockey addiction," they are interested in the NFL too (a methhead surely would never turn down a bump of coke), so it behooves the NFL to stay close to Our Home and Native Land. Now I think LA would trump Canada, but LaCanfora is putting importance on the Bills-Toronto Series for a reason - someone in the league office thinks that this is working Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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