Guelli says Bills “would absolutely consider” playing games in Canada again

[chris heff]

8 hours ago, What a Tuel said:

 

Rams seem like the most clear example and the phrasing of Toronto being the 2nd largest media market in North America lends credence to the fact that the tone deaf NFL may prefer that market like they did LA over worrying about complaints of abandoning a 20 year old stadium. I've been saying this since the stadium deal was announced. Its great for the near term, but in 20-30 years its setting this area up for a huge let down as the lease is coming up and team ownership likely transferring. 
 

Los Angeles Rams (from St. Louis)

Moved: 2016

Former Stadium: Edward Jones Dome (previously the Trans World Dome)

Stadium Age: Opened in 1995. The Rams had played there since its opening. The stadium was 21 years old at the time of the move.

 

Hopefully Pegula makes it so that it doesn't happen like Ralph did.

You left out the part about Georgia Frontiere, who inherited the team from her sixth husband Carroll Rosenbloom, was from St. Louis. In her own words “St. Louis is my home, and I brought my team here to start a new dynasty”. When she died, Stan Kroenke was determined to move the team back to Los Angeles, it was a dumb clause in the lease that gave him an out.

[thenorthremembers]

I am all for the Bills growing their brand but the timing of this is tone deaf and a slap in the face of the NY fans.   Toronto can have one of the preseason games.   When you only have 8 home games a year you dont give one away. 

 

The Bills have been around for six decades.   The likelihood of developing new fans of the team, the amount that will even move the needle for a billion dollar industry is slim to none.

[T.E.]

37 minutes ago, chris heff said:

Neither are you, what’s your point.

I know you're being deliberately obtuse here, but I'll still humor your question.

 

Terry is a senior citizen. His wife, by all accounts, is in no shape to run the organization. When he passes, do his kids eat the taxes and keep the team? Do they even want to own the team? Why cozy up to Toronto in the meantime?

34 minutes ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

I feel like the Bills are in the Packers or Steelers territory meaning that they are a “classic” team and too important for the NFL’s image to let them move. The league would be so boring with only large market teams. 

I wish this were the case, but it isn't. Goodell would move this team to Toronto tomorrow if he had the power to do so.

[JohnnyBuffalo]

Outrageously dumb and insensitive statement.   Complete disregard for the core fan base in Buffalo’s dedication to a team that didn’t have the same dedication to putting a solid product on the field when they made this idiotic and greedy decision last time.  This is the type of financially motivated thought process that erodes the brand of blue collar/every man of the Buffalo Bills.  Focus more on your core customer sir!  Or don’t let the door hit you on the way out!

 

Go Bills and thank goodness for ALL Bills Mafia!

[PromoTheRobot]

5 minutes ago, JohnnyBuffalo said:

Outrageously dumb and insensitive statement.   Complete disregard for the core fan base in Buffalo’s dedication to a team that didn’t have the same dedication to putting a solid product on the field when they made this idiotic and greedy decision last time.  This is the type of financially motivated thought process that erodes the brand of blue collar/every man of the Buffalo Bills.  Focus more on your core customer sir!  Or don’t let the door hit you on the way out!

 

Go Bills and thank goodness for ALL Bills Mafia!

 

If building a $2.2B palace isn't enough commitment the problem might be you.

[JohnnyBuffalo]

1 minute ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

If building a $2.2B palace isn't enough commitment the problem might be you.

You mean the publicly subsidized palace that would potentially have one less home game or more from being played in said palace in front of that same public who is subsidizing and supporting the team with this idea?

 

Come on man.  

[BarleyNY]

15 hours ago, thenorthremembers said:

So they decided to build a palace in Buffalo, charge tons of money for PSLs and tickets, then move a game to Canada?   

Obviously they weren’t going to start talking about playing games in Toronto publicly until AFTER the stadium was fully financed and the PSLs were sold.

[MiltonWaddams]

As a Canadian, hell no. That Toronto series was absolute trash. The Rogers centre is a cavernous echo chamber with no soul. They’ve improved it for the baseball games, but it’s still not a place with atmosphere. Even if they were to play elsewhere, Why the hell would you leave that brand new beautiful stadium?

[Mr. WEO]

15 hours ago, T.E. said:

Eradicate him from the organization ASAP.

 

That was the most embarrassing chapter in team history - anyone who wants to give that idea another shot is either a total idiot or has malevolent intentions.

 

Either way, not a guy you want as COO of your company.

 

 

His name is "Terry Pegula"

[Livinginthepast]

15 hours ago, Einstein said:

Guys a rat.

 

https://3downnation.com/2025/09/09/buffalo-bills-would-absolutely-consider-playing-an-nfl-game-in-canada/

I dont usually start a debate or banter with "F off" but this idea is so egregiously stupid and offensive its absolutely deserves no consideration whatsoever. The Bills in Toronto series was probably the nadir of the franchise. Playoff drought, An aged owner who ran the team poorly and hired terribly, a mostly mediocre to poor team that choked when it mattered and soulless awful venue (the skydome).  All in all, a total embarrassment for the fanbase. Let's never revisit this idiocy ever again!

[Westside]

15 hours ago, Einstein said:

Guys a rat.

 

https://3downnation.com/2025/09/09/buffalo-bills-would-absolutely-consider-playing-an-nfl-game-in-canada/

We are paying almost two billion dollars for a stadium just so they can play in canada? Make this make sense!

[blacklabel]

Please no. The whole Toronto series was hella boring. All I remember is poor Ryan Fitzpatrick getting his ribs obliterated and thus sparking the inevitable crap-show that became the 2011 season. 

[chris heff]

1 hour ago, T.E. said:

I know you're being deliberately obtuse here, but I'll still humor your question.

 

Terry is a senior citizen. His wife, by all accounts, is in no shape to run the organization. When he passes, do his kids eat the taxes and keep the team? Do they even want to own the team? Why cozy up to Toronto in the meantime?

I wish this were the case, but it isn't. Goodell would move this team to Toronto tomorrow if he had the power to do so.

Since estate planning is something I know about, let me enlighten you. There will be no estate taxes due when Terry passes, only when Kim passes, she may have been ruled legally incompetent, but they most certainly set up guardianship. Kim Pegula is 56 years old. Furthermore the reasons for bringing on the minority partners is liquidity, one reason for the need for liquidity could be estate taxes. Terry Pegula is not stupid, he will have made plans so that his children are not forced into a sale. As to what his children intend to do or want, is pure speculation.

 

Goodell, does not have the power to dictate the movement of any franchise, he is employed by the owners. His tenure as commissioner may not outlast Terry much less Kim.

[TheFunPolice]

We'll probably play the majority of our games there, at least in the short term?

 

Is that a misquote? 

 

Imagine that being said when NY taxpayers were just asked for hundreds of millions of dollars for the new stadium. 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

If building a $2.2B palace isn't enough commitment the problem might be you.

Your boot, sir 

[NoSaint]

16 hours ago, May Day 10 said:

International series instead of Germany or London, sure 

 

Voluntarily replacing home games in the stadium everyone just financed psls for... how tone deaf can you be?

yea I’ll take this over London if losing a home game 

[wppete]

Bills have tons of Fans in Canada. Probably as many as in entire Buffalo region but they should never player again in Canada. And I think all Canadian fans would agree. The Toronto series was a complete disaster. Corporate Toronto will swallow up the fandom. 

If they want to play an AWAY game there then sure. But don't take any Home games away from Buffalo! 

[HIT BY SPIKES]

2 hours ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

On a related note, I feel like a team with a new stadium should be exempt from doing any international games for like 5 years. NFL should reward the team and its fans for investing in a new stadium. 

 

EXCELLENT IDEA!!!

 

NOT sure if this type of discussion is allowed in this new world we live in but what do you have on the menu for today's game?

 

I got nothing!!!

 

I spatchcocked 3 whole organic chickens yesterday that I had marinating since Wednesday Afternoon in 3 different marinates and slowly grilled them at my lowest temp for 2 hours on the warming rack.

 

Wife will NOT allow me near any cooking equipment today and I was relegated to the role of being her Sous Chef by cutting up all the ingredients she needs to make her Caribbean Style Chicken Fried Rice including some of the breast meat from yesterday's chickens.

 

Therefore, I have been drinking since 4:00 AM in between gardening chores and watching English Premier football and my little Udinese team in Serie A climb to 3rd place in the table with only the big boys of Napoli and Juventus ahead my ancestry team from Fruilli.

 

After two espressos with double shotsof  St Lucian Rum I have switched to local Craft IPAs in my ManCity Coffee Mug while watching my ManCity team with Latin Hispanic announcers winning 1-0 over ManU.

 

As Martha Stewart would say...

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

I'll be dead, probably, in 20-30 years.

 

NO NO

 

You ain't giving up that easy MF'er

[frostbitmic]

I think the NFL would like more games abroad ... Simple solution, have 16 games out of country every year, every team gets one and the games would be considered a neutral site game... 8 home, 8 away, 1 neutral site.

 

It's all about money and there's more to be made.

[HIT BY SPIKES]

2 hours ago, Buddy Hix said:

A couple things that I feel most people are missing about this topic:

 

Guelli isn’t a lone wolf, this message is coming from Pegula, and it makes sense to me. Pegula is smart enough to understand the NFL is a business and wants to expand/exploit untapped markets, so Toronto will always be a threat. It’s smarter to show the NFL that the Bills have a strategic plan to tap into the 2nd biggest market in North America, rather than ignore the threat.

 

Toronto can absolutely support a new stadium and team. There’s already an established NFL fan base (3 to 4 times the amount of fans than small market teams like Buffalo), and the city doesn’t even have a team.

 

The original Bills series in TO was poorly planned and the Bills were an absolute dumpster fire at the time, so you can’t gauge how successful a properly planned series would go based on what Ralph did. The games still got 50,000 fans despite all of the above.

 

Just so we’re clear, the NFL doesn’t care about anything but profit. The new Buffalo stadium isn’t a factor for the NFL. All the taxpayers who contributed money should hope there’s language in the agreement about keeping a team in Buffalo for at least 20-30 years.

 

BRILLIANT!!!

 

 

13 minutes ago, wppete said:

Bills have tons of Fans in Canada. Probably as many as in entire Buffalo region but they should never player again in Canada. And I think all Canadian fans would agree. The Toronto series was a complete disaster. Corporate Toronto will swallow up the fandom. 

If they want to play an AWAY game there then sure. But don't take any Home games away from Buffalo! 

 

I went to 3 of the games and it was pure crap.

 

Attendees were wearing all sorts of NFL teams unis even though they were NOT playing.

 

Terrible atmosphere.

 

I regretted attending.

 

If however, Toronto had its very own NFL team, they would support it like flies on poop.