Bills may play in Toronto

[rams80]

What else does Buffalo have besides the Bills? The Sabres, nobody cares about the NHL anymore. We are losing jobs everyday, our economy is dying. If we lose the Bills it will kill our morale and nobody will come back to Buffalo. If the Bills move the city will die.

Regrettably, that makes you different from the rest of upstate New York how?

[Brian in Boston]

Maybe it's just my outside point-of-view on this...but I don't see why the two teams COULDN'T co-exist in the same city.

The point I'm making, as an outsider here, is this: the brands of football are different enough to distinguish the two leagues, and two teams that (would be) in each league--the Argonauts, and the Bills, if they do move to Toronto (which I, for one, can see happening, especially with the way the NFL's pushing to "globalize" the game AND the brand). I don't know enough about the Canadian economy--actually, I don't know jack-$#*! about it--to know how the financials would play out and affect this whole thing or not, but hell--from what it seems, the Raptors get good fan support, so why wouldn't the Bills if they were to move there? Trust me--football fans would welcome more football. And if it gets a couple more native Canadians into the NFL, then hey--it's a win-win, you know? (At least I't think so.)

There's no way a Toronto-based Canadian Football League franchise would remain economically viable sharing the market - even for three months a season - with a National Football League franchise. The NFL franchise would garner the attention and support of the market's largest corporate sponsors, advertisers and media outlets, as well as the deeper-pocketed season-ticket base. The CFL might gamely try to make a go of preserving a presence in Canada - and the league's - largest market, but striving to remain relevant in the considerable shadow of a Toronto-based NFL team would ultimately prove to be a drain on the league's overall resources. I'm convinced that the CFL franchise currently known as the Toronto Argonauts would be relocated.

If the Bils were to move, though, I don't think that the Bills identity would be sticking with them for very long, meaning the NFL will have lost two of it's more iconic identities--first the Houston Oilers, and then the Buffalo Bills. Which leads me to my next question: if the move does happen, and the franchise rebrands, damn the nickname--what COLORS would they choose??? (I mean...ain't red and white the national colors? And then the Maple Leafs, for more or less, ARE "Toronto's Team", are they not? And lookie--the Bills already used blue and red, so, you know...just a lil' nugget for you all out there to chew on...)

The Toronto Argonauts name and "double blue" colors have been so synonymous with football in the market - beginning with the rugby code and continuing through the development of the Canadian code - that I'd expect a National Football League ownership group to make every effort to work-out a deal by which both were carried-over into the NFL. In fact, a monetary settlement with ownership of Toronto's CFL team and/or the league to acquire the Argonauts brand for NFL use could be seen as providing the Canadian league with some revenue to offset - at least temporarily - the loss of the affluent Toronto market. I know that if I were a prospective owner of a Toronto-based NFL franchise, acquiring and adopting the Toronto Argonauts brand would be one of my top priorities.

[OMMF]

We supported them for 47 years and why should they be ripped from us to put em in a foreign country.

Because it's a business?

[DEAD!]

What else does Buffalo have besides the Bills? The Sabres, nobody cares about the NHL anymore. We are losing jobs everyday, our economy is dying. If we lose the Bills it will kill our morale and nobody will come back to Buffalo. If the Bills move the city will die.

Regrettably, that makes you different from the rest of upstate New York how?

... because he's is in "Western" New York?

[DG_ThenNowForever]

What else does Buffalo have besides the Bills? The Sabres, nobody cares about the NHL anymore. We are losing jobs everyday, our economy is dying. If we lose the Bills it will kill our morale and nobody will come back to Buffalo. If the Bills move the city will die.

Regrettably, that makes you different from the rest of upstate New York how?

... because he's is in "Western" New York?

Western New York and Upstate New York aren't mutually exclusive terms. Buffalo and Rochester are both, but Syracuse is not. Syracuse is in Central New York. And I don't think the health of the city relies on the Bills. Buffalo is like any rust belt city -- struggling.

[hecticbro]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3068853

I think it's a great idea for preseason, and I wouldn't mind one for the regular season as well, but I bet a lot of Buffalo fans would mind.

What's this about the Vikings relocating? Aren't they going to use the Gophers' new football stadium when it opens up?

[Joshawaggie]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3068853

I think it's a great idea for preseason, and I wouldn't mind one for the regular season as well, but I bet a lot of Buffalo fans would mind.

What's this about the Vikings relocating? Aren't they going to use the Gophers' new football stadium when it opens up?

What they WANT to do is share with the Gophs while they build a new stadium. And I want to have a never ending supply of money. Lets see what happens first.

[JH42XCC]

... however, if the Bills DO move to Toronto, then the Toronto Argonauts would have to either one of these 4 possibilities:

1. move to Hamilton and share Ivor Wynne Stadium with the Tiger-Cats (similar to how the Giants and Jets share Giants Stadium and will share a new Meadowlands Stadium together in the future);

2. merge with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, therefore becoming the Hamilton Argo-Cats (say that 5 times fast!);

3. deal with the Bills move and have them share Rogers Centre for a couple of seasons before the Bills move to a new stadium, which would be built somewhere in or around Toronto; or

4. fold altogether and take the entire Canadian Football League with them, costing Canada their own professional football league.

5. Relocate to one of the following Eastern Canadian Metro Areas:

* Ottawa-Gatineau, ON/QC

* Quebec, QC

* London, ON

* Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, ON

* Halifax, NS

* Windsor, ON

Hey, you forgot Guelph, ON.

[DEAD!]

5. Relocate to one of the following Eastern Canadian Metro Areas:

* Ottawa-Gatineau, ON/QC

* Quebec, QC

* London, ON

* Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, ON

* Halifax, NS

* Windsor, ON

Hey, you forgot Guelph, ON.

nah... it's close enough to KW

[Your Name Here]

To expand upon what Brian said, if the Argonauts fold (which they would, sooner or later) the CFL will not be long for this world. Something like one out of every five Canadians lives in the Greater Toronto Area. It would be like the NFL not having a team in Los Angeles...

...New York, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Houston.

[JQK]

I think with the Bills now saying they will be playing a game a year for 5 years in Toronto, and a pre-season game every other year (if i understand the NFL network correctly), we have seen the first stab wound in the murder of the CFL. Eventually, one team, either Bills, or maybe the Vikings, or some struggling franchise will know that they can make a couple of loonies in Canada, and they'll bolt to Toronto, and the CFL will be no more.

[JH42XCC]

5. Relocate to one of the following Eastern Canadian Metro Areas:

* Ottawa-Gatineau, ON/QC

* Quebec, QC

* London, ON

* Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, ON

* Halifax, NS

* Windsor, ON

Hey, you forgot Guelph, ON.

nah... it's close enough to KW

OK, then, maybe St. Catharines, ON. If not, then Moncton, NB.

[OMMF]

5. Relocate to one of the following Eastern Canadian Metro Areas:

* Ottawa-Gatineau, ON/QC

* Quebec, QC

* London, ON

* Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, ON

* Halifax, NS

* Windsor, ON

Hey, you forgot Guelph, ON.

nah... it's close enough to KW

OK, then, maybe St. Catharines, ON. If not, then Moncton, NB.

Ffs, STOP!

[CC97]

5. Relocate to one of the following Eastern Canadian Metro Areas:

* Ottawa-Gatineau, ON/QC

* Quebec, QC

* London, ON

* Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, ON

* Halifax, NS

* Windsor, ON

Hey, you forgot Guelph, ON.

nah... it's close enough to KW

OK, then, maybe St. Catharines, ON. If not, then Moncton, NB.

Ffs, STOP!

He won't stop until someone publically acknowledges his ability to look up information about Canadian cities on Wikipedia... I'm still thankful he taught me all about the suburbs of Toronto last year - I'd be so lost right now.

[OMMF]

5. Relocate to one of the following Eastern Canadian Metro Areas:

* Ottawa-Gatineau, ON/QC

* Quebec, QC

* London, ON

* Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, ON

* Halifax, NS

* Windsor, ON

Hey, you forgot Guelph, ON.

nah... it's close enough to KW

OK, then, maybe St. Catharines, ON. If not, then Moncton, NB.

Ffs, STOP!

He won't stop until someone publically acknowledges his ability to look up information about Canadian cities on Wikipedia... I'm still thankful he taught me all about the suburbs of Toronto last year - I'd be so lost right now.

City ↓ Census division ↓ Population

2006[5] ↓ Location ↓

Barrie Simcoe County 128,430

Belleville Hastings County 48,821

Brampton Peel Region 433,806

Brant Brant 34,415

Brantford Brant 90,192

Brockville Leeds and Grenville 21,957

Burlington Halton Region 164,415

Cambridge Waterloo Region 120,371

Chatham-Kent single-tier 108,177

Clarence-Rockland Prescott and Russell 20,790

Cornwall Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry 45,965

Dryden Kenora District 8,195

Elliot Lake Algoma District 11,549

Greater Sudbury single-tier 157,857

Guelph Wellington County 114,943

Haldimand County single-tier 45,212

Hamilton single-tier 504,559

Kawartha Lakes single-tier 74,561

Kenora Kenora District 15,177

Kingston Frontenac County 117,207

Kitchener Waterloo Region 204,668

Lambton Shores Lambton County 11,150

London Middlesex County 352,395

Mississauga Peel Region 668,549

Niagara Falls Niagara Region 82,184

Norfolk County single-tier 60,847

North Bay Nipissing District 53,966

Orillia Simcoe County 30,259

Oshawa Durham Region 141,590

Ottawa single-tier 812,129

Owen Sound Grey County 21,753

Pembroke Renfrew County 13,930

Peterborough Peterborough County 74,898

Pickering Durham Region 87,838

Prince Edward County single-tier 25,496

Port Colborne Niagara Region 18,599

Quinte West Hastings County 42,697

Sarnia Lambton County 71,419

Sault Ste. Marie Algoma District 74,948

St. Catharines Niagara Region 131,989

St. Thomas Elgin County 36,110

Stratford Perth County 30,461

Temiskaming Shores Timiskaming District 10,732

Thorold Niagara Region 18,224

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay 109,140

Timmins Cochrane District 42,997

Toronto single-tier 2,503,281

Vaughan York Region 238,866

Waterloo Waterloo Region 97,475

Welland Niagara Region 50,331

Windsor Essex County 216,473

Woodstock Oxford County 35,480

Move a team there. Done.

[rams80]

5. Relocate to one of the following Eastern Canadian Metro Areas:

* Ottawa-Gatineau, ON/QC

* Quebec, QC

* London, ON

* Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, ON

* Halifax, NS

* Windsor, ON

Hey, you forgot Guelph, ON.

nah... it's close enough to KW

OK, then, maybe St. Catharines, ON. If not, then Moncton, NB.

Ffs, STOP!

You should see the UFL thread.

Dude never learned even after he got "realign blank league" threads banned.

[DEAD!]

5. Relocate to one of the following Eastern Canadian Metro Areas:

* Ottawa-Gatineau, ON/QC

* Quebec, QC

* London, ON

* Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, ON

* Halifax, NS

* Windsor, ON

Hey, you forgot Guelph, ON.

nah... it's close enough to KW

OK, then, maybe St. Catharines, ON. If not, then Moncton, NB.

Ffs, STOP!

He won't stop until someone publically acknowledges his ability to look up information about Canadian cities on Wikipedia... I'm still thankful he taught me all about the suburbs of Toronto last year - I'd be so lost right now.

He should also use Google Maps for further reference

[JH42XCC]

5. Relocate to one of the following Eastern Canadian Metro Areas:

* Ottawa-Gatineau, ON/QC

* Quebec, QC

* London, ON

* Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, ON

* Halifax, NS

* Windsor, ON

Hey, you forgot Guelph, ON.

nah... it's close enough to KW

OK, then, maybe St. Catharines, ON. If not, then Moncton, NB.

Ffs, STOP!

You should see the UFL thread.

Dude never learned even after he got "realign blank league" threads banned.

Who got those threads banned? OK, it was me. Or was it?

He won't stop until someone publically acknowledges his ability to look up information about Canadian cities on Wikipedia... I'm still thankful he taught me all about the suburbs of Toronto last year - I'd be so lost right now.

He should also use Google Maps for further reference

In fact, I do use Google Maps on occasion.

[Luigi74]

I think with the Bills now saying they will be playing a game a year for 5 years in Toronto, and a pre-season game every other year (if i understand the NFL network correctly), we have seen the first stab wound in the murder of the CFL. Eventually, one team, either Bills, or maybe the Vikings, or some struggling franchise will know that they can make a couple of loonies in Canada, and they'll bolt to Toronto, and the CFL will be no more.

The only way a team is moving to Toronto is if they get a stadium deal like Art Modell did when he moved the Browns to Baltimore.