syn
Senior Member
But how many people would really care?
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Report: Argos, CFL looking into an NFL team for Toronto
- Thread starter toforumer
- Start date
But how many people would really care?
Long Island Mike
Senior Member
Which Buffalo Bills games would sell well in Toronto?
Everyone: I now wonder who the Buffalo Bills NFL opponents will be for the scheduled Toronto game each year.
One interesting matchup would be a interconference game
with the Detroit Lions-with perhaps in this matchup the most Ontario fans. Which other teams would draw well in Toronto?
Any opinions? LI MIKE
Everyone: I now wonder who the Buffalo Bills NFL opponents will be for the scheduled Toronto game each year.
One interesting matchup would be a interconference game
with the Detroit Lions-with perhaps in this matchup the most Ontario fans. Which other teams would draw well in Toronto?
Any opinions? LI MIKE
Kitsune
Senior Member
Bills Home Games Next Year if I have it figured out correctly.
San Diego Chargers
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
Oakland Raiders
Miami Dolphins
New England Patroits
New York Jets
And one home game against eithier of following two:
Cleveland Browns
Jacksonville Jaguars
It would be quite ironic if the other team embroiled in relocation rumours with Toronto would face the Bills in Toronto...
San Diego Chargers
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
Oakland Raiders
Miami Dolphins
New England Patroits
New York Jets
And one home game against eithier of following two:
Cleveland Browns
Jacksonville Jaguars
It would be quite ironic if the other team embroiled in relocation rumours with Toronto would face the Bills in Toronto...
Long Island Mike
Senior Member
Bills games: Which NFC division will they play in 2008?
Kitsune: As NFL fans know each year a team will play 4 interconference games against a designated division-2 home,2 road. I wonder which NFC division the Bills will play in the 2008 season. Perhaps these games will draw well-the Bills only face a designated NFC team every four years with the current league setup. LI MIKE
Kitsune: As NFL fans know each year a team will play 4 interconference games against a designated division-2 home,2 road. I wonder which NFC division the Bills will play in the 2008 season. Perhaps these games will draw well-the Bills only face a designated NFC team every four years with the current league setup. LI MIKE
Kitsune
Senior Member
I was under the impression that they face one division away, one division home. Well, that just makes things way more complicated - just give use Jacksonville. One of those two teams will be permantely in Toronto in 10 years.
ShonTron
Moderator
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Isn't Los Angeles first in line for a NFL team though?
3Dementia
Senior Member
LI Mike:
This is an overt threat... all Buffalo has to do is miraculously re-invent the city in time to keep their team. What a guy. What an owner.
This is an overt threat... all Buffalo has to do is miraculously re-invent the city in time to keep their team. What a guy. What an owner.
jn_12
Senior Member
I questioned which piece of farmland we'd see a new NFL staidum built on because frankly i can't fathom where an NFL stadium would go downtown. The city is far better off having residential/commercial development downtown than have another stadium. However, BMO field would have been a good location. Most cities have built downtown stadiums to act as catalysts for development, but let's face it, Toronto is doing quite well for itself and doesn't really need it.
Is Skydome a viable option longterm for an NFL stadium, if the team moves permanently to the city? I personally don't think it is. I think there's a chance here to build a national stadium that could be the jewel in Canada's athletic crown (or at least that's what the press release would say). In my dreams, it would be the centre of a National Athletics Complex. Almost every country in the world has a national stadium and I think it's time for Canada to do the same bringing an NFL team to the city would be a perfect time to do so.
Is Skydome a viable option longterm for an NFL stadium, if the team moves permanently to the city? I personally don't think it is. I think there's a chance here to build a national stadium that could be the jewel in Canada's athletic crown (or at least that's what the press release would say). In my dreams, it would be the centre of a National Athletics Complex. Almost every country in the world has a national stadium and I think it's time for Canada to do the same bringing an NFL team to the city would be a perfect time to do so.
wyliepoon
Senior Member
Downsview is probably the obvious choice. It's located next to a subway line and the 401, and it's been considered as a site for a major stadium in Toronto in the past.
Toronto's downtown doing well doesn't mean we can't place a stadium downtown, or near the downtown area. Unless the stadium brings problems to the inner city like sports riots or extreme traffic congestion, I think a stadium in the inner city is still an option.
And yes, there is one area near downtown where such a stadium can act as a catalyst... the Portlands.
BMO Field is considered Canada's national stadium for soccer (National Soccer Stadium was its name during the U-20 World Cup, due to FIFA rules barring host stadiums from bearing names of corporations that aren't sponsoring their tournament).
jn_12
Senior Member
Downsview is downtown now? who knew?
There are already plans for the development of the Portlands, and to put a stadium there would be a step backwards for the Waterfront. Other areas (such as Downsview as you pointed out) could use something like a stadium to help with the surrounding area, far more than downtown would benefit.
Yep, it is, but it's nothing special. Hell, some League Two teams in England have better stadiums. A versatile stadium that could hold big events (such as Wembley or the Stade de France) that was surrounded by a national athletic development centre would be far more proper. Do I expect it to attract 70,000 people for a Canada-Guatemala friendly? No, but It would attract high-calibre athletes, coaches and events and there are so many potential opportunities that would come with such a venue that it would benefit the city quite a bit in my estimation.
Do we build anything of grandeur in this country? We really don't have much of a sense of place-making. Instead we build things with minimum requirements and then slap big names on them. It's a shame really.
junctionist
Senior Member
Yes, you need to only look at CN Tower every time you have doubts. We also built a railway from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. Do we appreciate anything in this country?
junctionist
Senior Member
It's too bad that I can't remember the firm, but I remember browsing through some architectural firm's projects, and one was a very interesting intensification proposal for the suburban Keele. It called for a grand, tree-lined avenue along Keele with lots of urban midrise projects. They also had a proposal to urbanize Lakeshore. Anyway, a stadium at Downsview could be a catalyst for turning Keele into a prominent urban road.
yyzer
Senior Member
from today's Buffalo News:
Toronto fans dream of Bills calling city home
Games arouse talkof the possibilities
By Gene Warner
Updated: 02/07/08 6:37 AM
TORONTO — Long after the microphones had been turned off and the last of the reporters had filed out of a Wednesday morning news conference, Toronto sports fans made two emphatic points about the Buffalo Bills coming here for eight games — five regular season and three preseason — in the next five years:
• The annual game or two here will sell out easily, even if organizers charge an average $250 per ticket, as has been reported.
• While Toronto fans are thrilled about the NFL coming here for regular-season games, fans are most enthused about the prospect of this temporary move paving the way for the Bills — or some other team — to move here permanently.
In that way, Toronto fans’ dreams are the mirror image of Bills fans’ nightmares that last week’s announcement is just the first step in the team’s moving up the QEW to Toronto.
And Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr.’s repeated comments about the tough Western New York economic market did little to cool any speculation about the Bills moving to Toronto after his passing.
“What am I going to say to the fans of Buffalo?†Wilson said. “I’m going to say I can’t speculate . . . what’s going to happen in the future. Don’t worry, don’t worry right now.â€
Meanwhile, Toronto fans are licking their chops about the possibilities.
“I think this is a teaser, an appetizer, for what may be,†said Keith Butler, 30, a telecommunications consultant in Toronto. “I think Southern Ontario will be a huge market for the NFL. Almost every guy I know follows the NFL religiously.â€
Each week, Toronto residents bet millions of dollars on NFL games and fill the local sports bars to watch their favorite teams.
So it’s much like any NFL city, except it has no team, so the team allegiances are split.
But now that the Bills are coming to Toronto, the local sports fanatics clearly are aroused.
More than half a dozen Toronto residents interviewed inside Wayne Gretzky’s restaurant — just a long snowball’s throw from the Rogers Centre — left little doubt about Toronto fans’ dreams.
“I think they really want to get a franchise up here,†said Chris Bouloukos, 39, who works in sales for Rogers Communications. “I think that’s what every fan thinks, that we’re only getting eight games in five years, but that after five years, these guys [Toronto business leaders] will buy the Bills or another team and bring them here.â€
Why else would Ted Rogers, owner of the Toronto Blue Jays and Rogers Communications, and Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, work so hard to bring these games to Toronto?
The toughest thing for Western New Yorkers to understand is the widespread — but unconfirmed — report that tickets for the Bills games could cost an average of $250, compared with last season’s Ralph Wilson Stadium average of $46 per ticket.
The Toronto organizers, who will have full control of ticket sales and marketing for the games, didn’t say much Wednesday about possible ticket prices, but they did scotch one widespread report.
While tickets for the games will be sold as an eight-game series, purchasers will not have to pay for all eight games upfront, organizers said.
“While there is no doubt this will be a premium event, there will be some tickets available at under $100,†Phil Lind, vice chairman of Rogers Communications, said at the news conference.
That strongly suggests that most of the tickets will be priced at considerably more than $100.
“We’re going to charge high rates, and we’re going to have all the seats sold, standing room only, out to Queen Street,†Rogers stated in his remarks.
No one doubts that an NFL franchise would be a big hit in Toronto.
“I think if Toronto were to get a team, it would be the second best franchise here, next to the Leafs,†said Steven Pelton, general manager of Wayne Gretzky’s. “I think they’d tower over the Blue Jays and tower over the Raptors.â€
How much could the local organizers charge for the Bills games?
“It’s only one game,†Bouloukos said. “For one game in a year, you could charge $500 and it would sell out. The tickets will be snapped up in a minute by the corporate sponsors.â€
“It’s like a concert, a once-ina- year event, so you could probably charge $350 in the lower bowl, and people would still flock to the stadium,†Butler added.
That may be hard to comprehend for most Western New Yorkers.
“Many people in Buffalo may not realize this is the fifthlargest market in North America,†Bills chief operating officer Russ Brandon said after the news conference. “It’s a vibrant, growing multicultural society that is very event-oriented. Bringing the National Football League to this market creates a lot of premium-pricing opportunities.â€
Jim Kelley, former Buffalo News hockey writer and current co-host on Toronto’s The FAN 590 talk radio, pointed out the huge difference in the sports mentality of the two cities.
“The 90 miles is like a bridge spanning two different worlds,†Kelley said. “Toronto is such a corporate city, and there is such a feeling of entitlement. There are so many people who can buy a ticket to any event, at any price, without blinking an eye.â€
Kelley contrasted that with the commitment many Western New Yorkers make in purchasing season tickets, sometimes dipping into their savings or even getting a second job to afford tickets.
Toronto fans not only will enjoy their first taste of regularseason NFL football. They’ll also have something to prove.
“There’s a great sense in Toronto that, hey, Buffalo has something we’d like to have,†said Jack Armstrong, a Toronto Raptors broadcasting analyst and former Niagara basketball coach. “The first step, for the Toronto area, is to show that it’s serious about supporting NFL football.â€
“What better way to do that than embrace that partnership with the Bills and the NFL?†he asked. “I think they’ll have no problem selling all the tickets. People here are very fired up about the idea of the NFL being in Toronto.â€
Luring an NFL team to Toronto, permanently, fits the image the city has of itself.
“Toronto sees itself as big league, just by its size and its economic clout,†Kelley pointed out. “There is a feeling that there should be an NFL presence, because they’re a bigleague city, and they have [major league teams]. The NFL represents the best [of the best]. The sense we get from callers is that Toronto wanto be part of the best.â€
For now, Toronto has its foot in the door of the only major sports league that didn’t have a presence here.
“Doing this creates a heartbeat,†said Bruce Marshall, 45, a Toronto product manager. “Will the heartbeat grow into something? We’ll see. “Only time will tell.â€
Toronto fans dream of Bills calling city home
Games arouse talkof the possibilities
By Gene Warner
Updated: 02/07/08 6:37 AM
TORONTO — Long after the microphones had been turned off and the last of the reporters had filed out of a Wednesday morning news conference, Toronto sports fans made two emphatic points about the Buffalo Bills coming here for eight games — five regular season and three preseason — in the next five years:
• The annual game or two here will sell out easily, even if organizers charge an average $250 per ticket, as has been reported.
• While Toronto fans are thrilled about the NFL coming here for regular-season games, fans are most enthused about the prospect of this temporary move paving the way for the Bills — or some other team — to move here permanently.
In that way, Toronto fans’ dreams are the mirror image of Bills fans’ nightmares that last week’s announcement is just the first step in the team’s moving up the QEW to Toronto.
And Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr.’s repeated comments about the tough Western New York economic market did little to cool any speculation about the Bills moving to Toronto after his passing.
“What am I going to say to the fans of Buffalo?†Wilson said. “I’m going to say I can’t speculate . . . what’s going to happen in the future. Don’t worry, don’t worry right now.â€
Meanwhile, Toronto fans are licking their chops about the possibilities.
“I think this is a teaser, an appetizer, for what may be,†said Keith Butler, 30, a telecommunications consultant in Toronto. “I think Southern Ontario will be a huge market for the NFL. Almost every guy I know follows the NFL religiously.â€
Each week, Toronto residents bet millions of dollars on NFL games and fill the local sports bars to watch their favorite teams.
So it’s much like any NFL city, except it has no team, so the team allegiances are split.
But now that the Bills are coming to Toronto, the local sports fanatics clearly are aroused.
More than half a dozen Toronto residents interviewed inside Wayne Gretzky’s restaurant — just a long snowball’s throw from the Rogers Centre — left little doubt about Toronto fans’ dreams.
“I think they really want to get a franchise up here,†said Chris Bouloukos, 39, who works in sales for Rogers Communications. “I think that’s what every fan thinks, that we’re only getting eight games in five years, but that after five years, these guys [Toronto business leaders] will buy the Bills or another team and bring them here.â€
Why else would Ted Rogers, owner of the Toronto Blue Jays and Rogers Communications, and Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, work so hard to bring these games to Toronto?
The toughest thing for Western New Yorkers to understand is the widespread — but unconfirmed — report that tickets for the Bills games could cost an average of $250, compared with last season’s Ralph Wilson Stadium average of $46 per ticket.
The Toronto organizers, who will have full control of ticket sales and marketing for the games, didn’t say much Wednesday about possible ticket prices, but they did scotch one widespread report.
While tickets for the games will be sold as an eight-game series, purchasers will not have to pay for all eight games upfront, organizers said.
“While there is no doubt this will be a premium event, there will be some tickets available at under $100,†Phil Lind, vice chairman of Rogers Communications, said at the news conference.
That strongly suggests that most of the tickets will be priced at considerably more than $100.
“We’re going to charge high rates, and we’re going to have all the seats sold, standing room only, out to Queen Street,†Rogers stated in his remarks.
No one doubts that an NFL franchise would be a big hit in Toronto.
“I think if Toronto were to get a team, it would be the second best franchise here, next to the Leafs,†said Steven Pelton, general manager of Wayne Gretzky’s. “I think they’d tower over the Blue Jays and tower over the Raptors.â€
How much could the local organizers charge for the Bills games?
“It’s only one game,†Bouloukos said. “For one game in a year, you could charge $500 and it would sell out. The tickets will be snapped up in a minute by the corporate sponsors.â€
“It’s like a concert, a once-ina- year event, so you could probably charge $350 in the lower bowl, and people would still flock to the stadium,†Butler added.
That may be hard to comprehend for most Western New Yorkers.
“Many people in Buffalo may not realize this is the fifthlargest market in North America,†Bills chief operating officer Russ Brandon said after the news conference. “It’s a vibrant, growing multicultural society that is very event-oriented. Bringing the National Football League to this market creates a lot of premium-pricing opportunities.â€
Jim Kelley, former Buffalo News hockey writer and current co-host on Toronto’s The FAN 590 talk radio, pointed out the huge difference in the sports mentality of the two cities.
“The 90 miles is like a bridge spanning two different worlds,†Kelley said. “Toronto is such a corporate city, and there is such a feeling of entitlement. There are so many people who can buy a ticket to any event, at any price, without blinking an eye.â€
Kelley contrasted that with the commitment many Western New Yorkers make in purchasing season tickets, sometimes dipping into their savings or even getting a second job to afford tickets.
Toronto fans not only will enjoy their first taste of regularseason NFL football. They’ll also have something to prove.
“There’s a great sense in Toronto that, hey, Buffalo has something we’d like to have,†said Jack Armstrong, a Toronto Raptors broadcasting analyst and former Niagara basketball coach. “The first step, for the Toronto area, is to show that it’s serious about supporting NFL football.â€
“What better way to do that than embrace that partnership with the Bills and the NFL?†he asked. “I think they’ll have no problem selling all the tickets. People here are very fired up about the idea of the NFL being in Toronto.â€
Luring an NFL team to Toronto, permanently, fits the image the city has of itself.
“Toronto sees itself as big league, just by its size and its economic clout,†Kelley pointed out. “There is a feeling that there should be an NFL presence, because they’re a bigleague city, and they have [major league teams]. The NFL represents the best [of the best]. The sense we get from callers is that Toronto wanto be part of the best.â€
For now, Toronto has its foot in the door of the only major sports league that didn’t have a presence here.
“Doing this creates a heartbeat,†said Bruce Marshall, 45, a Toronto product manager. “Will the heartbeat grow into something? We’ll see. “Only time will tell.â€
jn_12
Senior Member
I'll concede that the tower counts, but the railway? If we weren't so afraid of all that land being taken by the Americans it would never have been built. We only build out of necessity (one could argue the Tower was a necessity really). There's nothing wrong about building out of necessity, but when you're one of the richest countries in the world, you should be able to flaunt it a bit.
Long Island Mike
Senior Member
A NFL team for Toronto: Will it be eventually the Bills?
YYZer and all: Interesting news about the NFL maybe coming to the Toronto area-I feel that the Buffalo Bills playing in Toronto may work out well for those initial games-I feel the Rogers Skydome may be a good venue-for now.
I feel that if a team wants to move to Toronto let the team fund and construct its own stadium-and not have this fall on the backs of local taxpayers. I like NFL football-but I am against corporate welfare like taxpayer-funded stadiums-especially benefitting the wealthy(team owners,etc.) over the average Joe Sixpack fan or the taxpayer that has no interest in team spectator sports. I also remember that Ralph Wilson was looking for a stadium deal in the past-perhaps Toronto is where he wanted to move the Bills to begin with all along.
I hope that Western New York does not suffer a blow like losing the Buffalo Bills-it would really be a huge loss for WNY which is reeling over hard economic times as an example.
I also wonder how the CFL feels about sharing the biggest Canadian market with the powerful NFL.
That's my thoughts today-LI MIKE
YYZer and all: Interesting news about the NFL maybe coming to the Toronto area-I feel that the Buffalo Bills playing in Toronto may work out well for those initial games-I feel the Rogers Skydome may be a good venue-for now.
I feel that if a team wants to move to Toronto let the team fund and construct its own stadium-and not have this fall on the backs of local taxpayers. I like NFL football-but I am against corporate welfare like taxpayer-funded stadiums-especially benefitting the wealthy(team owners,etc.) over the average Joe Sixpack fan or the taxpayer that has no interest in team spectator sports. I also remember that Ralph Wilson was looking for a stadium deal in the past-perhaps Toronto is where he wanted to move the Bills to begin with all along.
I hope that Western New York does not suffer a blow like losing the Buffalo Bills-it would really be a huge loss for WNY which is reeling over hard economic times as an example.
I also wonder how the CFL feels about sharing the biggest Canadian market with the powerful NFL.
That's my thoughts today-LI MIKE