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MLSE & Bon Jovi to Pursue NFL/Buffalo Bills

JasonParis said:
Mississauga makes no sense and harkens to another time.

The waterfront makes sense if a DRL was ready and dipped that far south.

Downsview is probably the easiest and most realistic.
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Mississauga has a 250-acre site, where the Lakeview generating station once stood; that's what they looked at. It's pretty close to the QEW and GO and right on the water with nice views of the TO skyline. I don't know that I'd advocate for it but it's not as totally out to lunch as it sounds at first blush.

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Hy...2!3m1!1s0x882b4886d32a6d6b:0xabc6dcc54af38ebe
 
Downsview makes total sense. It's got the subway and lots of huge empty space, and many existing sports facilities around. It's also not far from the 401.

Once the Spadina extension opens Downsview Park station could serve the stadium.
 
That's an outdated article (from early yesterday lol), I've been following this topic several times a day. The latest news is that the bid numbers spread by one journalist are completely innacurate and fabricated. Apparently the early preliminary bids were all below 1 billion. Now the three bidders are being informed one by one to proceed to the next round which involves sharing financial information. Bon Jovi/MLSE can restructure their group with different partners if they are outbid which hasnt happened yet. Pegula is still seen as the front runner though Bon Jovi and group are close behind and noone is taking Trump's chances seriously (including himself). Anything can happen at this point, it will all be decided by Labor day.
 
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mistercorporate said:
That's an outdated article (from early yesterday lol), I've been following this topic several times a day. The latest news is that the bid numbers spread by one journalist are completely innacurate and fabricated. Apparently the early preliminary bids were all below 1 billion. Now the three bidders are being informed one by one to proceed to the next round which involves sharing financial information. Bon Jovi/MLSE can restructure their group with different partners if they are outbid which hasnt happened yet. Pegula is still seen as the front runner though Bon Jovi and group are close behind and noone is taking Trump's chances seriously (including himself). Anything can happen at this point, it will all be decided by Labor day.
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That's good to hear. I thought Bon Jovi had to still put up a certain % of the bid to be the primary owner? In theory, that would limit how high they can go.

Good to hear it should be settled within a month. I just want a verdict after this question has been looming over Toronto and the Bills for so long.

IMO TO has no shot at a team as long as the Bills stay in Buffalo. So this issue will be put to rest one way or the other.

Although it will be interesting to hear how Bills season tickets sales do if they do stay in Buffalo. I have a few friends who only have season tickets to the Bills in anticipation of them moving to TO. I wonder how many TO fans did the same?
 
Buffalo is losing population as a rust-belt city and its LRT line makes the Sheppard line seem extremely busy in comparison. On the contrary, Toronto is one of North America's fastest growing major cities. Buffalo is well within Toronto's sphere of influence, as Toronto is much richer than Buffalo. Even Buffalo's PBS station relies heavily on the Greater Toronto Area for its funding, right down to putting Toronto next to their call letters. For the Bills to survive financially, it must move to Toronto, as much as loyal Bills fans don't like that. The Argonauts can either stay put or relocate to Waterloo region.

It would be a great opportunity for Toronto to host a FIFA World Cup final match, the opening and closing ceremonies and track and field for the Olympics, and a Super Bowl. It can even be used for an NHL Winter Classic.
 
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junior43 said:
That's good to hear. I thought Bon Jovi had to still put up a certain % of the bid to be the primary owner? In theory, that would limit how high they can go.

Good to hear it should be settled within a month. I just want a verdict after this question has been looming over Toronto and the Bills for so long.

IMO TO has no shot at a team as long as the Bills stay in Buffalo. So this issue will be put to rest one way or the other.

Although it will be interesting to hear how Bills season tickets sales do if they do stay in Buffalo. I have a few friends who only have season tickets to the Bills in anticipation of them moving to TO. I wonder how many TO fans did the same?
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Apparently the financial statements indicate the Bills could remain financially viable with the TV revenue sharing alone, they would have to sell a couple of their more expensive players but they could manage all other operations and their lease with that existing revenue stream even if no fans showed up at the stadium. Granted the team would suck (already do but would lose even more games) but at least they could be preserved for the remainder of the lease (which can be broken in 7 years for peanuts).
 
Interesting article that just came out a few days back talking about NFL Fan Equity "This is a measure of brand equity that is based on fans willingness to financially support their team."

Buffalo Bills are 28 out of 32. The Bills have one of the lowest ticket prices in the league and don't sell much merch either. I am shocked though the Raiders are in last. They can claim to have as much passion as they want, but if they continue to want to pay the lowest ticket prices in the league and don't sell as much merchandise as others not sure what argument they actually have.

They have ranked other sports as well. NHL The Leafs are first (obviously) Sabres (25 out of 30). MLB, Blue jays are in the top third as they are tenth out of thirty. NBA the Raptors are in the middle of the pack at 16 out of 30. In all sports Toronto the city ranked at least average or above while the two Buffalo teams are in the bottom 5
 
Johnny Au said:
Buffalo is losing population as a rust-belt city and its LRT line makes the Sheppard line seem extremely busy in comparison. On the contrary, Toronto is one of North America's fastest growing major cities. Buffalo is well within Toronto's sphere of influence, as Toronto is much richer than Buffalo. Even Buffalo's PBS station relies heavily on the Greater Toronto Area for its funding, right down to putting Toronto next to their call letters. For the Bills to survive financially, it must move to Toronto, as much as loyal Bills fans don't like that. The Argonauts can either stay put or relocate to Waterloo region.
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No offence, I just don't buy it. First, I'm a Bills fan who lives in Toronto, for the record.

You're right about where Buffalo is at though I hope and believe it's a city with the potential to pick itself back up. Obviously Toronto is a bigger, more prosperous city etc. But, first, there's politics involved and too many people with a stake in keeping the Bills in Buffalo. It would gut the city to lose them, financially and emotionally.

I don't have their financial statements in front of me but I don't buy that they can't survive there. The way the NFL is structured, the money is largely pooled and they get their chunk from the huge TV contracts etc. Yes, they're a small market and not LA or New York but I assume they are plenty profitable and people wouldn't be offering hundreds of millions otherwise. They may or may not do "better" here but they can hold out in Buffalo for longer than you'd think. Ralph Wilson wasn't holding on the team because he was charitable; he was making money.

This relates to what the two posts just above said too. The Bills "fan equity" is low because the city does not have many large corporations and they don't sell a lot of merch because they've been terrible for more than a decade. But low "fan equity" doesn't matter in the NFL the way it does in other sports because of the TV revenue.

Also, as small as the city may be, they still pull in 75K a game. I don't think a Grey Cup would do that here - MAYBE, once every five years - and can't think of many sporting events that would. A Winter Classic, OK - but I'm talking on a regular basis. Aside from the Leafs (which is largely a corporate crowd) Toronto fans are rather fickle. It's not like the Jays were pulling in 40K every night when they were in first place, for example (it's a bit of apples/oranges, I grant).

Finally, we've already had a mini-debate here about to what extent the Bills in Toronto series indicated the likely success of an NFL franchise here. I don't think is was a particularly fair barometer but it did at least show that there isn't a large hardcore Bills fanbase here; that Toronto may or may not be waiting and ready for an NFL team, but the Bills are not a "home" team here the same way they'd be regarded in, say, Rochester.

to conclude - a move to Toronto may or may not happen but it's not a MUST. For that matter, even if moving them was a MUST, the NFL may well rather have them in Los Angeles. Clearly there are a few more moves to play out here but I'm happy we'll know soon, and I hope Pergula gets them and keeps them there.
 
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