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Your new NFL franchise (almost): the Toronto Bills

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by DocTalk, Apr 29, 2008.

  1. DocTalk

    DocTalk Active Member

    Bills to be paid $78M to play in Toronto

    http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/story/2008/04/29/nfl-toronto-bills.html


    And you thought the NFL was altruistic.
     
  2. Pancamo

    Pancamo Active Member

    What is the payout to the visiting teams?
     
  3. BigSleeper

    BigSleeper Active Member

    Having grown to enjoy the CFL, I wish the NFL would stay the fuck out of Canada.
     
  4. Simon_Cowbell

    Simon_Cowbell Active Member

    How many fans are the Bills going to lose in the stadium at Orchard Park?

    I would never go back.
     
  5. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    Stand by for the lawsuit to find that out.

    This is the shot across the bow of Buffalo taxpayers: Ralph Wilson Stadium is 35 years old.

    Ante up.
     
  6. BYH

    BYH Active Member

    And already TEN years removed from its last renovation. Damn straight, ante up!
     
  7. pseudo

    pseudo Well-Known Member

    From Mark Gaughan, beat writer for the Buffalo News: Bills getting $78 million for eight games in Toronto
    "It’s hard to determine how much more profit the Bills will make from the games in Toronto. Ticket money from general seating in an NFL stadium is shared. Revenue from club seats, luxury boxes, concessions, parking and other income is not shared. It’s believed that in approving the Bills’ shift of games to Canada, the league approved some formula, based on percentages, for determining how much of the Bills’ take is to be considered shared and how much is unshared revenue."

    Actually, latest reports have RWS season ticket sales at their highest level since the early 1990s. Ralph thinks it's due to the lower prices (only eight games instead of ten), and he may have a point -- there are seats available for less than $300 in several sections of the stadium. I'll probably be paying close to that for one game in Toronto.

    How much of the increase can be attributed to cheap tickets, and how much is people buying out of fear that the team will move if we don't sell out every game? Not sure we've reached quite that level of panic. Yet. It's not far off, though.
    (And it's certainly not the allure of watching a perennial playoff contender. That ship started boarding when Ralph fired Bill Polian, and set sail when he did the same to John Butler.)

    One more thing: A new stadium in WNY won't make a bit of difference, unless it comes with some Fortune 500 companies prepared to fork over a bunch of cash for suites and premium seats.
     
  8. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

    The Bills have over 80,000 outdoor seats in the coldest NFL city, right? That stadium might be the worst stadium decision ever.

    Would Green Bay even sell out 80,000 seats?

    Heck, Bills fans have to travel to Canada anyway to watch the games on TV due to blackouts, right?

    So I think a smaller stadium, or a dome, would make a huge difference.
     
  9. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    What?? The NFL system is perfect! All markets can compete equally! No small-market woes! What's the problem??
     
  10. alleyallen

    alleyallen Guest

    Actually, I think in the last two seasons, Green Bay could have sold out 80,000. Now? Not sure.
     
  11. Simon_Cowbell

    Simon_Cowbell Active Member

    The NFL system is perfect... compared with anything your guacamole-filled orb has to offer up.

    The next time the lowest-payroll MLB team wins the WS?

    Ne....

    ....ver
     
  12. Rough Mix

    Rough Mix Guest

    Green Bay averaged over 70,000 last year. The season ticket waiting list is also over 70,000.
     
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