MLSE & Bon Jovi to Pursue NFL/Buffalo Bills

[TOareaFan]

Another way would be to support the NFL when it actually does come to Toronto. Toronto fails on both counts.

This is precisely why there is so much chatter about placing a team in London, England. They consistently do much better at the gate than the Rogers/Bills series has here and next year they grow to 3 regular season games because of it.

There is even talk now about a partnership between NFL and 'spurs to build a new 65k seat stadium in North London (with a retractable field) to house Spurs and an NFL team.

 

[One Nut Kruk]

The beauty of the NFL is that there is only 8 home games a year. That creates a supply and demand problem which would undoubtedly cause sell outs. Its also easy for casual people to follow... Personally 182 games is too hard to follow and the main reason I gave up on baseball other then how few teams they allot in the playoffs and its longer and longer games. People look at the CFL in Toronto as if its a secondary league. No different then how some major cities which have WNBA teams dont consider those teams on the same level. YES it is true I just compared a MALE football league to a professional womens league. Maybe others wouldnt put it that way but as someone who has been to three Grey Cups I feel I can call a spade a spade.

Baseball actually has 162 games a year. What an awful way to spend one's summer; being a professional baseball player. It would suck having to play everyday, often being away from your loved ones, during the nicest time of year.

 

[dforthandbview]

Baseball actually has 162 games a year. What an awful way to spend one's summer; being a professional baseball player. It would suck having to play everyday, often being away from your loved ones, during the nicest time of year.

And making millions of dollars for throwing a ball/catching a ball/trying to hit a ball. How awful!

 

[sixrings]

This is precisely why there is so much chatter about placing a team in London, England. They consistently do much better at the gate than the Rogers/Bills series has here and next year they grow to 3 regular season games because of it.

There is even talk now about a partnership between NFL and 'spurs to build a new 65k seat stadium in North London (with a retractable field) to house Spurs and an NFL team.

The difference is that as a torontonian when I go visit family in new york I can go to a game. When my wife did business in Dallas we stayed for a game. When I have to book a buffalo shopping trip to make my family happy I look at the schedule. People in London can't do that. When the nfl comes it is their one chance to go. Versus us who has all the major tv stations covering it, my satellite radio espn feed lives off it and then there are the neighboring cities. The comparison is apples to oranges. The time delay alone makes it difficult for most people in London to follow it without a pvr and as a sports fan it ducks watching something prerecorded with so much info from the Internet social media and cell phones.

 

[One Nut Kruk]

And making millions of dollars for throwing a ball/catching a ball/trying to hit a ball. How awful!

It would be awful. Have you sat through an entire baseball game? It's like watching a marathon of Friends. I'd hate to be a relief pitcher in the MLB.

What good is all that money when one can't even enjoy it, going on nice vacations and whatnot, during the summer months.

 

[Johnny Au]

It would be awful. Have you sat through an entire baseball game? It's like watching a marathon of Friends. I'd hate to be a relief pitcher in the MLB.

What good is all that money when one can't even enjoy it, going on nice vacations and whatnot, during the summer months.

Baseball players generally retire before they turn 50 (and if they need more money, they can become a coach or manager or sportscaster).

 

[One Nut Kruk]

Baseball players generally retire before they turn 50 (and if they need more money, they can become a coach or manager or sportscaster).

Being a coach would be even worse. Baseball is pretty fun to play, but watching it, as an adult, is brutally boring. I used to have seasons tickets during the Jays' World Series years, and would have had the pleasure of seeing my avatar in the flesh -- as I had tickets for Game 7 of the '93 World Series -- but Carter had to go ahead and hit that home run in Game 6.

 

[CityPlaceN1]

And making millions of dollars for throwing a ball/catching a ball/trying to hit a ball. How awful!

Awful for who? Those guys love what they are doing and make a lot of money. Better to work at WalMart for minimum wage?

 

[sixrings]

Awful for who? Those guys love what they are doing and make a lot of money. Better to work at WalMart for minimum wage?

I think his awful comment is relative to other professional athletes. I'd agree with that. I'd much rather be a nba player and have my summers off and if I was a bench player at least there is only 82 games to have to sit through. Obviously making minimum wage at walmart is a much closer definition of the actual meaning of the word awful. Then again that is only relative to our Canadian society because I'm sure there are countless third world countries which could give us a even more accurate version of awful. It's all relative.

 

[TOareaFan]

The difference is that as a torontonian when I go visit family in new york I can go to a game. When my wife did business in Dallas we stayed for a game. When I have to book a buffalo shopping trip to make my family happy I look at the schedule. People in London can't do that. When the nfl comes it is their one chance to go. Versus us who has all the major tv stations covering it, my satellite radio espn feed lives off it and then there are the neighboring cities. The comparison is apples to oranges. The time delay alone makes it difficult for most people in London to follow it without a pvr and as a sports fan it ducks watching something prerecorded with so much info from the Internet social media and cell phones.

Whatever the factors, the success has them expanding the number of games and seriously discussing a franchise there.

I have family over there and some of them are totally NFL daft and aside from the few evening games (evening over here) they have no problem watching live NFL on their TVs. The 1 pm kickoffs are at 6 pm over there and the 4 pm kickoffs are at 9 pm.....so they don't need their pvrs for those.

The beauty of London is that it is easy to get to from all over the UK and they are really drawing from a market of 60 million or so. If you look at Green Bay and realize it is a regional team that draws from afar....London is Green Bay on steroids (probably not an analogy they use at the NFL HQ).

A team based in London would not only let them tap into the Euro market/money it would probably produce a pretty big boost to their domestic tv money too. 8 games a year would be played in a time zone that would allow them to have, say, 3 pm local kick offs that would mean a 10 am (eastern) kick off...allowing them to sell the networks on games on Sunday starting at 10...leading into their 1 pm kick offs...leading into their 4 pm kick offs..etc. Networks would pay a lot more for the rights if they could squeeze in another live match on Sundays.

 

[sixrings]

Whatever the factors, the success has them expanding the number of games and seriously discussing a franchise there.

I have family over there and some of them are totally NFL daft and aside from the few evening games (evening over here) they have no problem watching live NFL on their TVs. The 1 pm kickoffs are at 6 pm over there and the 4 pm kickoffs are at 9 pm.....so they don't need their pvrs for those.

The beauty of London is that it is easy to get to from all over the UK and they are really drawing from a market of 60 million or so. If you look at Green Bay and realize it is a regional team that draws from afar....London is Green Bay on steroids (probably not an analogy they use at the NFL HQ).

A team based in London would not only let them tap into the Euro market/money it would probably produce a pretty big boost to their domestic tv money too. 8 games a year would be played in a time zone that would allow them to have, say, 3 pm local kick offs that would mean a 10 am (eastern) kick off...allowing them to sell the networks on games on Sunday starting at 10...leading into their 1 pm kick offs...leading into their 4 pm kick offs..etc. Networks would pay a lot more for the rights if they could squeeze in another live match on Sundays.

I never said London wouldn't get quotes team, instead I was simply pointing out just because we have a harder time selling out the two bills games we have a year wouldn't mean that we wouldn't support a local team. It seems to make sense that the bills would relocate to toronto and London/Los angelas get expansion teams.

 

[One Nut Kruk]

I think his awful comment is relative to other professional athletes. I'd agree with that. I'd much rather be a nba player and have my summers off and if I was a bench player at least there is only 82 games to have to sit through. Obviously making minimum wage at walmart is a much closer definition of the actual meaning of the word awful. Then again that is only relative to our Canadian society because I'm sure there are countless third world countries which could give us a even more accurate version of awful. It's all relative.

Precisely what I meant. For baseball players, their off season is the winter. I'd much rather have summers off, like basketball, hockey and NFL players. The CFL also runs all summer long, but teams only play once a week; so there's still plenty of time for players to do things with their families, etc...

 

[Johnny Au]

MLS is played during the summer as well (and creates complications for major FIFA-sanctioned events).

 

[Long Island Mike]

Thoghts about Toronto's NFL and possible new stadium bid...

Everyone: This is a very interesting topic with me being interested in the NFL,CFL and MLB...

I realize that Ralph Wilson has been making overtones about moving the Bills out of western New York for some
time and we all know that there is interest in the NFL in Toronto and Southern Ontario but I do feel that losing
the Bills would be tough to take for many in WNY - and New York State would then lose the last NFL team that
actually has its home in NYS - both the New York Jets and Giants are fully based in northern New Jersey since
the Jets moved their offices and facilities from Hofstra University in Hempstead,LI to Florham Park,NJ in recent
years ending literally their remaining ties to their fan base - which was "physical Long Island" - the two NYC boroughs
of Brooklyn and Queens along with Nassau and Suffolk counties...Growing up on LI I was first a Jets fan way back...

Many small-market NFL teams have truly regional fan bases that go over a wide area surrounding some NFL (or CFL)
cities and are enthusiastically supported - I will mention Green Bay - by far the smallest NFL ciity - draws fans from
all over the state of Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula...I also remember when the Packers would play some
of their home games in Milwaukee - 3 of the 8 games scheduled - until stadium changes in MIL when they shifted
all games to Lambeau Field as it remains today...

From what I have noticed there are teams in the NFL that are in trouble and are considering relocation - the Jacksonville
Jaguars come to mind along with the Bills and that the NFL would welcome a team again in Los Angeles or perhaps London...

I recall that NYC in its 2012 Olympic bid wanted to build a retractable roof stadium in the West Side Yards area near midtown
Manhattan which would have been the centerpiece of their bid and it was also to try and lure the Jets back to NYC...
This would have cost around a billion dollars and would have been built only if the NYC olympic bid was successful...

If the Bills were to move to Toronto would there be enough support for both the Bills and Argonauts? Could a MetLife
Stadium-like agreement be made having both teams share the same stadium like the Jets and Giants do now? I do
agree that the Rogers Skydome is definitely a better baseball venue than a football one and a new stadium would
help in this matter...It could perhaps be built as part of a Toronto 2024 Olympic bid as one thought here...

Does anyone have any idea how much taxpayers would foot the bill for a new stadium? I for one am no fan of taxpayers
supporting sports but I also feel that interesting ways to fund stadium construction can be used such as using "sin taxes"
to fund new stadiums in Cleveland/northern Ohio and special lottery funding in Maryland for the NFL stadiums that the
Baltimore Ravens and Washington Redskins play in being good examples...

In closing will there ever be a Toronto Bills NFL team?

Long Island Mike

 

[sixrings]

Whoever is considering bringing a NFL care doesn't need to worry about the impact it would have on the Argos. The Argos can barely sell 20k seats. In fact although the claim they sell that much there has definitely been 10k in attendance and then some boosting of numbers on some games. It is the Argos responsibility to make a compelling product. Every 5 years the owners change because no one can seem to make it work.