National Football League in Toronto
Encyclopedia
The National Football League
(NFL) has long been rumoured to be considering placing one of its franchises in Canada
's largest city, Toronto
, Ontario
.
Toronto is the fifth most populous city in North America
, and the fourth-largest market in English-speaking North America
, making it an intriguing city in which to operate an NFL franchise. While the Canadian Football League
(CFL) has professional Canadian football
teams in Toronto (the Argonauts
) and nearby Hamilton
(the Tiger-Cats
), there are no professional American football
teams in Canada, NFL or otherwise. Despite being in Canada, Toronto is physically farther south than existing NFL franchises in Minnesota
, Seattle
and Green Bay
, and has teams in each of the other major professional sports leagues: the Maple Leafs
in hockey, the Blue Jays
in baseball, the Raptors
in basketball, Toronto F.C. in soccer, and the Rock
in lacrosse. Furthermore, San Diego Chargers
executive Dean Spanos, speaking in regards to international NFL play, stated in January 2008 that "the long term goal is globalizing our sport" and that "it is possible that within five or 10 years, the league will have franchises outside the United States."
Toronto would most notably be competing with Los Angeles
, the second most-populous city in United States, for an NFL franchise. Relocation of an existing team is the most likely scenario; at 32 teams (which divides the league into even divisions), the likelihood of an expansion is minimal.
of the Canadian Football League
played three NFL teams in a three-season span. These exhibition game
s, which had been first tried in Ottawa in 1950 and were later staged in Montreal, were played by CFL rules in the first half and NFL rules in the second. Despite the Argos having the services of all-star fullback Cookie Gilchrist
, injury problems led to many of the Argonauts' losses; the Argos at this time were in a rut and had missed the playoffs several times since 1953.
The Bills themselves, then an American Football League
team, tried their hand with a game against the nearby Hamilton Tiger-Cats
. Unprepared, Buffalo lost the game 38–21.
After several years, the American Bowl
series brought three preseason games to the city between 1993 and 1997, two of which featured the Bills.
Former Toronto Blue Jays
CEO and President Paul Godfrey
has been interested in pursuing an NFL franchise for Toronto since 1988. Before recent developments, most skeptics believed that it would be too expensive to bring an NFL team to Toronto and most possible investors may shy away from the approximately US$1 billion price tag that an NFL franchise comes with. Additionally, an NFL team in Toronto would likely have to pay its players in U.S. dollars while reporting its revenues in Canadian dollars--the same anomaly that faces the NHL's Canadian teams
Then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue
himself dismissed the prospects of a Toronto team in 2006, although he left the door open to including Toronto in the NFL International Series
.
The late Ted Rogers
, owner of Rogers Communications
, and Larry Tanenbaum
met in 2008 and discussed the possibility of an NFL franchise in Toronto. Tannenbaum said that he and Rogers were "highly interested" in bringing an NFL franchise to Toronto. He also stated that he was going to "pursue it more rigorously" as soon as the NFL gave him word.
. In fact, the Bills average 15,000 Canadian fans to Ralph Wilson Stadium
per game. On October 18, 2007, the Bills announced plans that they were seeking approval to play a pre-season and at least one regular season game in Toronto in an attempt to capitalize on the Canadian market. The team has a Canadian sales office and a radio affiliate
in Toronto, CJCL
. The NFL's television rules have also been applied in a similar manner to secondary markets in the United States, so that nearly all Bills games are televised in Toronto, on CFTO and CITY
, except for home games that do not sell out (the Toronto television market extends to the Canadian border in Fort Erie, Ontario
, well within the 75-mile radius of Ralph Wilson Stadium, and is thus subject to the league's blackout policy
).
On January 30, 2008, it was announced that the Bills reached an agreement to play five regular-season and three exhibition NFL games
over the next five years in Toronto. On Thursday, April 3 (although it had been leaked through various sources as early as early March), it was announced that the Bills would play the Pittsburgh Steelers in a pre-season game on Thursday, August 14, 2008, at Rogers Centre. On April 15, the regular season match was revealed, with the Bills hosting their division rivals, the Miami Dolphins
, on December 7. Both games had standard ticket prices ranging from C$55 to C$295 and VIP tickets from C$325 to C$575. The average standard ticket price of C$183 was significantly above the highest average price in the NFL, that of the New England Patriots
, at US$88, and nearly four times the Bills' ticket prices (which are the lowest in the league). The first of these games took place in the 2008 NFL season
. The preseason game against the Steelers was one day before the Toronto Argonauts
played in the same stadium and was the same date and time as a Hamilton Tiger-Cats
game (although the latter game was away at in Winnipeg). Buffalo won the game, 24–21, but the game was marred by reports that organizers had to give away over 10,000 tickets to assure a sellout crowd, an accusation Ted Rogers denied. The regular season game against Miami was played after the end of the 2008 CFL season
; the Bills, led by backup quarterback J. P. Losman, lost to the Dolphins 16–3, eliminating them from playoff contention for the ninth straight year. Reportedly, about half of the fans in attendance were Dolphins fans.
Rogers Communications is paying C$78 million to host the games, and have hired a general manager and management staff to handle the games. There is speculation that when Ralph Wilson, Jr. dies, interests (including Godfrey) may bid for the franchise in hopes of moving the Bills to Toronto.
For 2009
, ticket prices were lowered an average of 17%. The game was a featured night game on NFL Network
's Thursday Night Football
package between the Bills and the New York Jets
.
Rogers Communications announced in March 2009 that it was in a position to renegotiate the agreement and that they would be able to land another regular-season Bills game to create a three-game package beginning in the 2010 season. League officials were considering expanding the season to 18 games in 2011, possibly incorporating international play, but such an expansion was not included in the next collective bargaining agreement. Regardless, any additional regular season games in Toronto would require the approval of the NFL owners, and if the game resulted in the loss of a regular season game at Ralph Wilson Stadium, it would also require the approval of Erie County
and the Empire State Development Corporation. Rogers expressed interest in expanding the series to as many as four games per season—an even split between Buffalo and Toronto—in the future.
In the 2011 Bills "State of the Team" address, Bills CEO Russ Brandon stated that the series has been a major success and that it has increased the Toronto share of ticket sales by 44% from prior to the series, despite the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
and the team's overall decline in ticket sales. The team intends to renew the Toronto Series agreement in conjunction with its lease on Ralph Wilson Stadium when the time comes to do so.
for season tickets, and though they avoided blackouts every year between 2007–2008, in the 2010 season
three of their seven regular season games at Ralph Wilson Stadium
were blacked out, as was their annual "Kids Day" preseason game (which normally sells out with its discounted tickets for children), and the team narrowly avoided a fourth blackout when a local restaurateur bought the remaining tickets for a New England Patriots
game immediately before the blackout deadline. The Bills are also expected not to sell out their last three home games of the 2011 season. The difficulties in selling tickets for Bills games, particularly late in the season (when Western New York's weather becomes much poorer), dates to the 1990s, which was part of the reason behind removing 7,000 seats from the stadium in the most recent renovation; the problems have escalated in recent years. Western New York's economic problems force the Bills to keep their average ticket prices among the lowest in the NFL, though several teams offer lower prices than the Bills do, offset by higher prices in other parts of the stadium. Additionally, the team has not made the playoffs since 1999 (tied with the Detroit Lions
for the longest active playoff drought in the league), and while owner Ralph Wilson has stated that he will never move the team, he is the oldest NFL team owner at 92 and has no apparent successor; his family may sell the team after his death. In addition, the Bills' lease at Ralph Wilson Stadium will expire in 2012, after which point the team would be free to move.
Other teams mentioned as possible relocation candidates are the Jacksonville Jaguars
, the Minnesota Vikings
, and the New Orleans Saints
.
Like the Bills, the Jaguars play in one of the NFL's smallest markets. For several years they had trouble selling out their stadium, culminating in the 2009 season
, when all but one of their home games was blacked out; however in 2010
a public relations push raised their ticket sales considerably, and Jacksonville had no blackouts that year. The Jaguars were sold to automobile parts tycoon Shahid Khan
in 2011, who made a verbal (but nonbinding) commitment to keeping the team in Jacksonville; outgoing owner Wayne Weaver rejected overtures from outside interests who would have moved the team.
The Vikings (who, unlike Jacksonville, have not had any blackouts since 1997) have been discussed as their lease on the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
expires in 2011; they have so far been unable to secure a new stadium deal in Minneapolis. A deal for a new Vikings Stadium
was in the works, thus quieting relocation talk, but the negotiations fell through, and the situation was further complicated by the collapse of the Metrodome's inflatable roof prior to the end of the 2010 season. Since then, two new proposals have been made—one by the city of Minneapolis, and the other by suburban Ramsey County
.
Similarly, the fate of the Saints
was unsure after Hurricane Katrina
ravaged New Orleans and severely damaged
the Louisiana Superdome
in 2005. However, the team and the state of Louisiana later struck a deal to repair and renovate the Superdome, securing the Saints ties to New Orleans; the Saints' attachment to New Orleans was further cemented when they won Super Bowl XLIV
in 2010
.
, which NFL official Eric Grubman calls "one of our top goals". According to some commentators, this focus on Los Angeles will likely override any prospects of moving into Toronto.
The Canadian Football League
's Toronto Argonauts
currently play in the city and have in the past been protected from American competition. The World Football League
intended to place a franchise in Toronto known as the Toronto Northmen, but then Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
threatened to pass a Canadian Football Act
to prevent such a move. The WFL backed down and moved the team to Memphis, Tennessee
, where it became known as the Memphis Southmen
and later the Mid-South Grizzlies in a failed bid to join the NFL
. (However, there were no complaints when the same league briefly moved the struggling Detroit Wheels
to London, Ontario
, which had no CFL team at the time, and still does not.) American teams that have made their home in Toronto include the Continental Football League
's Toronto Rifles
(1965–67, founded as the Quebec Rifles in 1964) and the Arena Football League's Toronto Phantoms
(2000–02, founded as the New York CityHawks in 1997 and, incidentally, owned by Rogers during its time in Toronto). The Rifles, too, faced resistance from the CFL, as the Argonauts signed Rifles coach Leo Cahill
, quarterback Tom Wilkinson
and running back Joe Williams a few weeks into the 1967 season, forcing the team to fold. Any NFL team that entered the Toronto market would have to deal with the Argonauts as well as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
, who play in nearby Hamilton, Ontario
and have vehemently opposed any presence of the NFL in Canada.
The Tiger-Cats responded to the Bills' move to play games in Toronto by making an April Fool's Day mock announcement on April 1, 2008 that they would move one of their home games against the Montreal Alouettes
to Ralph Wilson Stadium
(even though the playing surface at that stadium is too small to accommodate a CFL-size field), and would play the Bills in a rematch of their 1961 contest, which the Tiger-Cats won, in June 2008 (when the Bills would be in minicamp and the Ti-Cats would be playing preseason). Former NFL receiver Oronde Gadsden
even went further and suggested in February 2009 that a CFL expansion franchise be placed in nearby Rochester
.
Another major issue would be the stadium. Although Paul Godfrey believed that the Rogers Centre
could be home to an NFL franchise, it is unclear if the Rogers Centre could be a long-term home. Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome), a retractable roof
stadium, has a maximum capacity of 54,088 when configured for CFL games; in comparison, although the Centre's capacity is above the NFL's 50,000-seat minimum, it would still be the smallest capacity stadium in the league, since the smallest NFL stadium in terms of capacity (excluding the exhibition-only stadiums in Canton
and Honolulu
) is Chicago's Soldier Field
, which has 61,500 seats. While extra seats could be added near the end zones as a result of the shorter NFL field (an NFL exhibition at the SkyDome in 1995 fit almost 55,800 fans into the stadium), a large-scale expansion would be very difficult because of the stadium's design. This means that a new football specific stadium would have to be built. Then-mayor David Miller
, has stated that funding for a new stadium would not come from the City of Toronto and would have to come from private sources. Counteracting this small capacity is the large number of luxury box
es in the stadium, which count as "unshared" revenue in the NFL's revenue sharing and collective bargaining agreements.
In 2011 the new mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford
, stated he favored an NFL team in Toronto, although he also ruled out public financing for a new stadium. He and brother Doug Ford
, a member of the Toronto City Council, plan on presenting a proposal to league owners regarding the potential relocation of either the Jaguars or the Saints to Toronto, with the intention of relocating another team to Los Angeles and building a larger stadium in Toronto. This would cause serious problems for Buffalo, since not only would it possibly lose its Canadian fan base, said loss would render Buffalo nearly incapable of supporting an NFL team such as the Bills. Unless the Bills were the team to relocate to Los Angeles, there would be few relocation options for the Bills if two teams, not including the Bills, were to take the Toronto and Los Angeles markets. It would also be virtually impossible to contract the franchise (the last attempt to do so in a major league, the Montreal Expos
in 2002, was rejected by the players' union), leaving the league in the awkward situation of having to maintain a team without an NFL-caliber market to place it. Incidentally, the largest market outside of Toronto and Los Angeles without an NFL team is Montréal
, which has an NFL-capacity stadium
and a natural rivalry with Toronto.
Another obstacle would be the willingness of players from the US to play and live in Canada, which has been a cautionary lesson from other non-NHL sports leagues based in Canada like the NBA and MLB. The Toronto Blue Jays
and Toronto Raptors
have had several star players in history be demanded to be traded away or leave outright.
Ted Rogers, the man responsible for leasing the Bills from Ralph Wilson for the Toronto Series and considered a leading contender for landing a Toronto NFL franchise, died in December 2008 at the age of 75. The lease was transferred to Rogers's company, Rogers Communications, in which Rogers had held a majority stake. Corporate ownership is forbidden under the league's ownership policy, which would not allow the company to buy the team outright.
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) has long been rumoured to be considering placing one of its franchises in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's largest city, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
Toronto is the fifth most populous city in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and the fourth-largest market in English-speaking North America
Anglo-America
Anglo-America is a region in the Americas in which English is a main language, or one which has significant British historical, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural links...
, making it an intriguing city in which to operate an NFL franchise. While the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
(CFL) has professional Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
teams in Toronto (the Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
) and nearby Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
(the Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
), there are no professional American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
teams in Canada, NFL or otherwise. Despite being in Canada, Toronto is physically farther south than existing NFL franchises in Minnesota
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
, Seattle
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
and Green Bay
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
, and has teams in each of the other major professional sports leagues: the Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
in hockey, the Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
in baseball, the Raptors
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
in basketball, Toronto F.C. in soccer, and the Rock
Toronto Rock
The Toronto Rock is a lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League . They play at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. The Rock of the late 1990s / early 2000s has been called a dynasty, having won five NLL championships in seven years. From 1999 to 2003, the Rock appeared in an NLL-record...
in lacrosse. Furthermore, San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
executive Dean Spanos, speaking in regards to international NFL play, stated in January 2008 that "the long term goal is globalizing our sport" and that "it is possible that within five or 10 years, the league will have franchises outside the United States."
Toronto would most notably be competing with Los Angeles
History of the National Football League in Los Angeles
Professional American football, especially its established top level, the National Football League, has had a long history in Los Angeles, the center of the second-largest media market in the United States. Since 1995, Los Angeles has been by far the largest U.S. market without an NFL team...
, the second most-populous city in United States, for an NFL franchise. Relocation of an existing team is the most likely scenario; at 32 teams (which divides the league into even divisions), the likelihood of an expansion is minimal.
History
The NFL has had a presence in Toronto since 1959, when the Toronto ArgonautsToronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
played three NFL teams in a three-season span. These exhibition game
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
s, which had been first tried in Ottawa in 1950 and were later staged in Montreal, were played by CFL rules in the first half and NFL rules in the second. Despite the Argos having the services of all-star fullback Cookie Gilchrist
Cookie Gilchrist
Carlton Chester "Cookie" Gilchrist was a gridiron football player in the American Football League and Canadian Football League.-Career:...
, injury problems led to many of the Argonauts' losses; the Argos at this time were in a rut and had missed the playoffs several times since 1953.
The Bills themselves, then an American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
team, tried their hand with a game against the nearby Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
. Unprepared, Buffalo lost the game 38–21.
After several years, the American Bowl
American Bowl
The American Bowl was a series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States between 1986 and 2005.- Overview :...
series brought three preseason games to the city between 1993 and 1997, two of which featured the Bills.
Former Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
CEO and President Paul Godfrey
Paul Godfrey
Paul Victor Godfrey, CM, OOnt is a businessman and former Canadian politician. During his career, Godfrey was a North York alderman, Chairman of Metro Toronto, President of the Toronto Sun and head of the Toronto Blue Jays. He was instrumental in bringing the Toronto Blue Jays to Toronto and has...
has been interested in pursuing an NFL franchise for Toronto since 1988. Before recent developments, most skeptics believed that it would be too expensive to bring an NFL team to Toronto and most possible investors may shy away from the approximately US$1 billion price tag that an NFL franchise comes with. Additionally, an NFL team in Toronto would likely have to pay its players in U.S. dollars while reporting its revenues in Canadian dollars--the same anomaly that faces the NHL's Canadian teams
Then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue
Paul Tagliabue
Paul John Tagliabue is a former Commissioner of the National Football League. He took the position in 1989 and was succeeded by Roger Goodell, who was elected to the position on August 8, 2006. Tagliabue's retirement took effect on September 1, 2006. He had previously served as a lawyer for the NFL...
himself dismissed the prospects of a Toronto team in 2006, although he left the door open to including Toronto in the NFL International Series
NFL International Series
Beginning with the 2005 season, the National Football League has hosted regular season American football games held outside the United States in a series known as the International Series.-Background:...
.
The late Ted Rogers
Edward Samuel Rogers
Edward Samuel "Ted" Rogers, Jr., OC was the President and CEO of Rogers Communications Inc., and the fifth richest person in Canada in terms of net worth. His father Edward S. Rogers, Sr...
, owner of Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications Inc. is one of Canada's largest communications companies, particularly in the field of wireless communications, cable television, home phone and internet with additional telecommunications and mass media assets...
, and Larry Tanenbaum
Larry Tanenbaum
Lawrence "Larry" Tanenbaum is a Canadian businessman who is chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment...
met in 2008 and discussed the possibility of an NFL franchise in Toronto. Tannenbaum said that he and Rogers were "highly interested" in bringing an NFL franchise to Toronto. He also stated that he was going to "pursue it more rigorously" as soon as the NFL gave him word.
Buffalo Bills
For many years, the Bills have had a large market in southern OntarioSouthern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
. In fact, the Bills average 15,000 Canadian fans to Ralph Wilson Stadium
Ralph Wilson Stadium
Ralph Wilson Stadium is a football stadium, located in the town of Orchard Park, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. It is the home for the Buffalo Bills, of the NFL...
per game. On October 18, 2007, the Bills announced plans that they were seeking approval to play a pre-season and at least one regular season game in Toronto in an attempt to capitalize on the Canadian market. The team has a Canadian sales office and a radio affiliate
Buffalo Bills Radio Network
The Buffalo Bills Radio Network is a broadcast radio network based in Buffalo, New York, the official radio broadcaster of the Buffalo Bills. The network's radio broadcasts are currently flagshipped at WGRF in Buffalo, New York, a station owned by Cumulus Media...
in Toronto, CJCL
CJCL (AM)
CJCL is a Canadian sports radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned and operated by Rogers Communications, the station broadcasts at 590 kHz on the AM radio dial with a 50,000 watts transmitter and directional antenna concentrating its signal over the Toronto/Hamilton region...
. The NFL's television rules have also been applied in a similar manner to secondary markets in the United States, so that nearly all Bills games are televised in Toronto, on CFTO and CITY
CITY-TV
CITY-DT, Channel 57 , is a television station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada owned and operated by Rogers Media...
, except for home games that do not sell out (the Toronto television market extends to the Canadian border in Fort Erie, Ontario
Fort Erie, Ontario
Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly across the river from Buffalo, New York....
, well within the 75-mile radius of Ralph Wilson Stadium, and is thus subject to the league's blackout policy
Blackout (broadcasting)
Blackout usually relates to the broadcasting of sports events, television programming, that is prohibited in a certain media market.The purpose is theoretically to generate more revenue by obliging certain actions from fans, either by making them buy tickets or watch other games on TV...
).
On January 30, 2008, it was announced that the Bills reached an agreement to play five regular-season and three exhibition NFL games
Bills Toronto Series
The Bills Toronto Series is a five-year deal consisting of a series of National Football League games featuring the Buffalo Bills played at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The series began in the 2008 NFL season and will end during the 2012 NFL season...
over the next five years in Toronto. On Thursday, April 3 (although it had been leaked through various sources as early as early March), it was announced that the Bills would play the Pittsburgh Steelers in a pre-season game on Thursday, August 14, 2008, at Rogers Centre. On April 15, the regular season match was revealed, with the Bills hosting their division rivals, the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, on December 7. Both games had standard ticket prices ranging from C$55 to C$295 and VIP tickets from C$325 to C$575. The average standard ticket price of C$183 was significantly above the highest average price in the NFL, that of the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, at US$88, and nearly four times the Bills' ticket prices (which are the lowest in the league). The first of these games took place in the 2008 NFL season
2008 NFL season
The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the...
. The preseason game against the Steelers was one day before the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
played in the same stadium and was the same date and time as a Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
game (although the latter game was away at in Winnipeg). Buffalo won the game, 24–21, but the game was marred by reports that organizers had to give away over 10,000 tickets to assure a sellout crowd, an accusation Ted Rogers denied. The regular season game against Miami was played after the end of the 2008 CFL season
2008 CFL season
The 2008 CFL season was the 55th season of modern Canadian professional football. Officially, it was the 51st season for the league. It was also the first CFL season in which all of the league's regular season and post-season games, including the Grey Cup game, were aired on TSN. This meant the CFL...
; the Bills, led by backup quarterback J. P. Losman, lost to the Dolphins 16–3, eliminating them from playoff contention for the ninth straight year. Reportedly, about half of the fans in attendance were Dolphins fans.
Rogers Communications is paying C$78 million to host the games, and have hired a general manager and management staff to handle the games. There is speculation that when Ralph Wilson, Jr. dies, interests (including Godfrey) may bid for the franchise in hopes of moving the Bills to Toronto.
For 2009
2009 NFL season
The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at...
, ticket prices were lowered an average of 17%. The game was a featured night game on NFL Network
NFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
's Thursday Night Football
Run to the Playoffs
Thursday Night Football is the brand name used by NFL Network for its schedule of live regular season telecasts of National Football League games on Thursday nights. Also included in the package are some Saturday specials....
package between the Bills and the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Rogers Communications announced in March 2009 that it was in a position to renegotiate the agreement and that they would be able to land another regular-season Bills game to create a three-game package beginning in the 2010 season. League officials were considering expanding the season to 18 games in 2011, possibly incorporating international play, but such an expansion was not included in the next collective bargaining agreement. Regardless, any additional regular season games in Toronto would require the approval of the NFL owners, and if the game resulted in the loss of a regular season game at Ralph Wilson Stadium, it would also require the approval of Erie County
Erie County, New York
Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 919,040. The county seat is Buffalo. The county's name comes from Lake Erie, which in turn comes from the Erie tribe of American Indians who lived south and east of the lake before 1654.Erie...
and the Empire State Development Corporation. Rogers expressed interest in expanding the series to as many as four games per season—an even split between Buffalo and Toronto—in the future.
In the 2011 Bills "State of the Team" address, Bills CEO Russ Brandon stated that the series has been a major success and that it has increased the Toronto share of ticket sales by 44% from prior to the series, despite the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is a law of the United States that requires all travelers to show a valid passport or other approved secure document when traveling to the U.S. from areas within the Western Hemisphere. The purpose, according to the U.S. Department of State and U.S...
and the team's overall decline in ticket sales. The team intends to renew the Toronto Series agreement in conjunction with its lease on Ralph Wilson Stadium when the time comes to do so.
Relocation scenarios
The NFL's dealings with Toronto have led to speculation that the NFL may be considering moving the Bills or another team to Toronto on a permanent basis. The Bills are the most frequently named team for such a move, due to their standing connections with Ontario. In addition, the Bills play in one of the league's smallest markets; they have no waiting listNFL season ticket waiting lists
The National Football League has enjoyed success in selling out many of their venues from season ticket sales alone. Out of 32 teams in the league, 24 claim to have waiting lists from under 1,000 people to over 150,000. For some fans, this means a wait not just of years, but decades...
for season tickets, and though they avoided blackouts every year between 2007–2008, in the 2010 season
2010 Buffalo Bills season
The 2010 Buffalo Bills season was the team's 41st season in the National Football League, and their 51st overall. It was Buffalo's first season with Buddy Nix in the role of general manager and head coach Chan Gailey....
three of their seven regular season games at Ralph Wilson Stadium
Ralph Wilson Stadium
Ralph Wilson Stadium is a football stadium, located in the town of Orchard Park, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. It is the home for the Buffalo Bills, of the NFL...
were blacked out, as was their annual "Kids Day" preseason game (which normally sells out with its discounted tickets for children), and the team narrowly avoided a fourth blackout when a local restaurateur bought the remaining tickets for a New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
game immediately before the blackout deadline. The Bills are also expected not to sell out their last three home games of the 2011 season. The difficulties in selling tickets for Bills games, particularly late in the season (when Western New York's weather becomes much poorer), dates to the 1990s, which was part of the reason behind removing 7,000 seats from the stadium in the most recent renovation; the problems have escalated in recent years. Western New York's economic problems force the Bills to keep their average ticket prices among the lowest in the NFL, though several teams offer lower prices than the Bills do, offset by higher prices in other parts of the stadium. Additionally, the team has not made the playoffs since 1999 (tied with the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
for the longest active playoff drought in the league), and while owner Ralph Wilson has stated that he will never move the team, he is the oldest NFL team owner at 92 and has no apparent successor; his family may sell the team after his death. In addition, the Bills' lease at Ralph Wilson Stadium will expire in 2012, after which point the team would be free to move.
Other teams mentioned as possible relocation candidates are the Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
, and the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
.
Like the Bills, the Jaguars play in one of the NFL's smallest markets. For several years they had trouble selling out their stadium, culminating in the 2009 season
2009 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the 15th season for the team in the National Football League. This was the first season for new general manager Gene Smith, who hoped to usher in a "rebuilding" era for the Jaguars franchise. The Jaguars improved upon their 5–11 record in 2008, however did...
, when all but one of their home games was blacked out; however in 2010
2010 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2010 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the 16th season for the team in the National Football League. The Jaguars, who are in their second year of "rebuilding" under general manager Gene Smith, improved upon their 7–9 record from 2009, but narrowly missed the playoffs with an 8–8 record...
a public relations push raised their ticket sales considerably, and Jacksonville had no blackouts that year. The Jaguars were sold to automobile parts tycoon Shahid Khan
Shahid Khan
Shahid Khan is a Pakistani-born American businessman. He is the owner of automobile parts manufacturer Flex-N-Gate Corp. in Urbana, Illinois...
in 2011, who made a verbal (but nonbinding) commitment to keeping the team in Jacksonville; outgoing owner Wayne Weaver rejected overtures from outside interests who would have moved the team.
The Vikings (who, unlike Jacksonville, have not had any blackouts since 1997) have been discussed as their lease on the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
expires in 2011; they have so far been unable to secure a new stadium deal in Minneapolis. A deal for a new Vikings Stadium
Vikings Stadium
The Vikings Stadium is the working title of a proposed but unbuilt stadium for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League in Minneapolis, Minnesota. An alternate title is Metrodome Next. It would be the franchise's third, replacing their current domed stadium, the Hubert H...
was in the works, thus quieting relocation talk, but the negotiations fell through, and the situation was further complicated by the collapse of the Metrodome's inflatable roof prior to the end of the 2010 season. Since then, two new proposals have been made—one by the city of Minneapolis, and the other by suburban Ramsey County
Ramsey County, Minnesota
Ramsey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, founded in 1849. As of 2010, the population was 508,640. Its county seat is St. Paul, which is also Minnesota's state capital. The county is named for Alexander Ramsey , the first governor of the Minnesota Territory...
.
Similarly, the fate of the Saints
Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints
After Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans on August 29, 2005 and caused extensive damage to the Louisiana Superdome, the New Orleans Saints were not able to play any home games there for the entire 2005 NFL season...
was unsure after Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
ravaged New Orleans and severely damaged
Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Louisiana Superdome
The Louisiana Superdome was used as a "shelter of last resort" for those in New Orleans unable to evacuate from Hurricane Katrina when it struck in late August 2005.- Background :...
the Louisiana Superdome
Louisiana Superdome
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
in 2005. However, the team and the state of Louisiana later struck a deal to repair and renovate the Superdome, securing the Saints ties to New Orleans; the Saints' attachment to New Orleans was further cemented when they won Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of...
in 2010
2009 New Orleans Saints season
The 2009 New Orleans Saints season is the franchise's 43rd season in the National Football League and the most successful in franchise history in which they won Super Bowl XLIV. The Saints recorded a franchise record 13 victories, an improvement on their 8–8 record and fourth place finish in the...
.
Potential roadblocks
Despite these inroads, many commentators consider NFL expansion into Toronto unlikely for the foreseeable future. The biggest roadblock is the league's determination to place a team in Los AngelesHistory of the National Football League in Los Angeles
Professional American football, especially its established top level, the National Football League, has had a long history in Los Angeles, the center of the second-largest media market in the United States. Since 1995, Los Angeles has been by far the largest U.S. market without an NFL team...
, which NFL official Eric Grubman calls "one of our top goals". According to some commentators, this focus on Los Angeles will likely override any prospects of moving into Toronto.
The Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
's Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
currently play in the city and have in the past been protected from American competition. The World Football League
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
intended to place a franchise in Toronto known as the Toronto Northmen, but then Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
threatened to pass a Canadian Football Act
Canadian Football Act
The Canadian Football Act was a proposed Act by the Parliament of Canada in April 1974 designed to give a government-protected monopoly over professional gridiron football in Canada to the Canadian Football League...
to prevent such a move. The WFL backed down and moved the team to Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, where it became known as the Memphis Southmen
Memphis Southmen
The Memphis Southmen were a franchise in the World Football League which operated in 1974 and 1975. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, United States.-From North to South:...
and later the Mid-South Grizzlies in a failed bid to join the NFL
Mid-South Grizzlies v. NFL
Mid-South Grizzlies v. NFL 550 F.Supp. 558 , 720 F. 2d 772 , was a lawsuit filed by John F. Bassett, the owner of the World Football League's Memphis Grizzlies against the National Football League claiming that the NFL violated the antitrust laws by refusing to admit his club to their league.The...
. (However, there were no complaints when the same league briefly moved the struggling Detroit Wheels
Detroit Wheels
The Detroit Wheels were an American football team, a charter member of the ill-fated World Football League.The Wheels were founded December 13, 1973 by ten investors, whose number eventually grew to 33, including singer Marvin Gaye, Motown Records vice-president Esther Edwards, and Little Caesars...
to London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
, which had no CFL team at the time, and still does not.) American teams that have made their home in Toronto include the Continental Football League
Continental Football League
The Continental Football League was a professional minor American football league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to become the major force in professional football outside of the...
's Toronto Rifles
Toronto Rifles
The Toronto Rifles were a minor-league professional American football team active between 1964 and 1967. It was based in Toronto, Ontario. The team's home fields were Maple Leaf Stadium and Varsity Stadium from 1966 to 1967...
(1965–67, founded as the Quebec Rifles in 1964) and the Arena Football League's Toronto Phantoms
Toronto Phantoms
The Toronto Phantoms was the final name of a team in the Arena Football League, that also operated in New York City and Hartford, Connecticut.-New York CityHawks :The team began in 1997 as the New York CityHawks...
(2000–02, founded as the New York CityHawks in 1997 and, incidentally, owned by Rogers during its time in Toronto). The Rifles, too, faced resistance from the CFL, as the Argonauts signed Rifles coach Leo Cahill
Leo Cahill
Leo Cahill is a former head coach and general manager in the Canadian Football League, much of it spent with the Toronto Argonauts. Since 2004, Cahill has been serving as "goodwill ambassador" with the Argonauts. Has 5 children. Steve, Christy, Terry, Lisa and Bettye. He lives in Sarnia,...
, quarterback Tom Wilkinson
Tom Wilkinson
Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson, OBE is a British actor. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for his roles in In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton...
and running back Joe Williams a few weeks into the 1967 season, forcing the team to fold. Any NFL team that entered the Toronto market would have to deal with the Argonauts as well as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
, who play in nearby Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
and have vehemently opposed any presence of the NFL in Canada.
The Tiger-Cats responded to the Bills' move to play games in Toronto by making an April Fool's Day mock announcement on April 1, 2008 that they would move one of their home games against the Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
to Ralph Wilson Stadium
Ralph Wilson Stadium
Ralph Wilson Stadium is a football stadium, located in the town of Orchard Park, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. It is the home for the Buffalo Bills, of the NFL...
(even though the playing surface at that stadium is too small to accommodate a CFL-size field), and would play the Bills in a rematch of their 1961 contest, which the Tiger-Cats won, in June 2008 (when the Bills would be in minicamp and the Ti-Cats would be playing preseason). Former NFL receiver Oronde Gadsden
Oronde Gadsden
Oronde Benjamin Gadsden is a former professional American football player who played with the Miami Dolphins from 1998 to 2003. A 6'3", 220-lb...
even went further and suggested in February 2009 that a CFL expansion franchise be placed in nearby Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
.
Another major issue would be the stadium. Although Paul Godfrey believed that the Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...
could be home to an NFL franchise, it is unclear if the Rogers Centre could be a long-term home. Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome), a retractable roof
Retractable roof
A retractable roof is a kinetic architectural element used in many sports venues, in which a roof made of a suitable material can readily be mechanically deployed from some retracted or open position into a closed or extended position that completely covers the field of play and spectator areas...
stadium, has a maximum capacity of 54,088 when configured for CFL games; in comparison, although the Centre's capacity is above the NFL's 50,000-seat minimum, it would still be the smallest capacity stadium in the league, since the smallest NFL stadium in terms of capacity (excluding the exhibition-only stadiums in Canton
Fawcett Stadium
Fawcett Stadium is a football stadium in Canton, Ohio. The stadium was officially dedicated in 1938. Fawcett Stadium is named for John A. Fawcett. Mr. Fawcett was a former member of the Canton Board of Education and a well-known athlete...
and Honolulu
Aloha Stadium
Aloha Stadium is a stadium located in the Halawa CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Currently Aloha Stadium is home to the University of Hawaii Warriors football team...
) is Chicago's Soldier Field
Soldier Field
Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...
, which has 61,500 seats. While extra seats could be added near the end zones as a result of the shorter NFL field (an NFL exhibition at the SkyDome in 1995 fit almost 55,800 fans into the stadium), a large-scale expansion would be very difficult because of the stadium's design. This means that a new football specific stadium would have to be built. Then-mayor David Miller
David Miller (Canadian politician)
David Raymond Miller is a Canadian politician. He was the 63rd Mayor of Toronto and the second since the 1998 amalgamation. He was elected to the position in 2003 for a three-year term and re-elected in 2006 for a four-year term...
, has stated that funding for a new stadium would not come from the City of Toronto and would have to come from private sources. Counteracting this small capacity is the large number of luxury box
Luxury box
A Luxury box is a special seating section located within stadiums, arenas and other sporting and entertainment venues. They are typically located in the midsection of a stadium grandstand, usually providing the best views of the event...
es in the stadium, which count as "unshared" revenue in the NFL's revenue sharing and collective bargaining agreements.
In 2011 the new mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford
Rob Ford
Robert Bruce "Rob" Ford is the 64th and current Mayor of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was first elected to city council in the 2000 Toronto municipal election, and was re-elected to his council seat in 2003 and again in 2006...
, stated he favored an NFL team in Toronto, although he also ruled out public financing for a new stadium. He and brother Doug Ford
Doug Ford (politician)
Douglas B. Ford was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 1999.Ford was born in Toronto to a large family and lived on the Danforth area of East York, Ontario....
, a member of the Toronto City Council, plan on presenting a proposal to league owners regarding the potential relocation of either the Jaguars or the Saints to Toronto, with the intention of relocating another team to Los Angeles and building a larger stadium in Toronto. This would cause serious problems for Buffalo, since not only would it possibly lose its Canadian fan base, said loss would render Buffalo nearly incapable of supporting an NFL team such as the Bills. Unless the Bills were the team to relocate to Los Angeles, there would be few relocation options for the Bills if two teams, not including the Bills, were to take the Toronto and Los Angeles markets. It would also be virtually impossible to contract the franchise (the last attempt to do so in a major league, the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
in 2002, was rejected by the players' union), leaving the league in the awkward situation of having to maintain a team without an NFL-caliber market to place it. Incidentally, the largest market outside of Toronto and Los Angeles without an NFL team is Montréal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, which has an NFL-capacity stadium
Olympic Stadium (Montreal)
The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics...
and a natural rivalry with Toronto.
Another obstacle would be the willingness of players from the US to play and live in Canada, which has been a cautionary lesson from other non-NHL sports leagues based in Canada like the NBA and MLB. The Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
and Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
have had several star players in history be demanded to be traded away or leave outright.
Ted Rogers, the man responsible for leasing the Bills from Ralph Wilson for the Toronto Series and considered a leading contender for landing a Toronto NFL franchise, died in December 2008 at the age of 75. The lease was transferred to Rogers's company, Rogers Communications, in which Rogers had held a majority stake. Corporate ownership is forbidden under the league's ownership policy, which would not allow the company to buy the team outright.
CFL interleague games in southern Ontario
| Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Score | Stadium | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 5, 1959 | Chicago Cardinals | 55 | Toronto Argonauts Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta... |
26 | Exhibition Stadium Exhibition Stadium Canadian National Exhibition Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.... |
27,770 |
| August 3, 1960 | Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC... |
43 | Toronto Argonauts Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta... |
16 | Exhibition Stadium Exhibition Stadium Canadian National Exhibition Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.... |
23,570 |
| August 2, 1961 | St. Louis Cardinals | 36 | Toronto Argonauts Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta... |
7 | Exhibition Stadium Exhibition Stadium Canadian National Exhibition Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.... |
24,376 |
| August 8, 1961 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
21 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium... |
38 | Civic Stadium Ivor Wynne Stadium Ivor Wynne Stadium is a Canadian football stadium located at the corner of Balsam and Beechwood Avenues, two blocks west of Gage Avenue North in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada... |
12,000 |
American Bowls and NFL exhibitions
| Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Score | Stadium | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 15, 1960 | Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
16 | New York Giants New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
7 | Varsity Stadium Varsity Stadium Varsity Stadium is a collegiate football stadium that is home to the Varsity Blues, the athletic teams of the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. While the present structure was built in 2007, it is in fact the third major incarnation of the stadium that has occupied the same site... |
5,401 |
| August 14, 1993 | Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
12 | New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... |
9 | SkyDome | 33,021 |
| August 12, 1995 | Dallas Cowboys Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas... |
7 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
9 | SkyDome | 55,799 |
| August 16, 1997 | Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions... |
35 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
3 | SkyDome | 53,896 |
| August 14, 2008 | Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC... |
21 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
24 | Rogers Centre Rogers Centre Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League... |
48,434 |
| August 19, 2010 | Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League .... |
21 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
34 | Rogers Centre Rogers Centre Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League... |
39,583 |
Regular season games
| Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Score | Stadium | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 7, 2008 | Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
16 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
3 | Rogers Centre Rogers Centre Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League... |
52,134 |
| December 3, 2009 | New York Jets New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
19 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
13 | Rogers Centre Rogers Centre Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League... |
51,567 |
| November 7, 2010 | Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
22 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
19 | Rogers Centre Rogers Centre Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League... |
50,746 |
| October 30, 2011 | Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,... |
0 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
23 | Rogers Centre Rogers Centre Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League... |
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See also
- NFL International SeriesNFL International SeriesBeginning with the 2005 season, the National Football League has hosted regular season American football games held outside the United States in a series known as the International Series.-Background:...
- History of the National Football League in Los AngelesHistory of the National Football League in Los AngelesProfessional American football, especially its established top level, the National Football League, has had a long history in Los Angeles, the center of the second-largest media market in the United States. Since 1995, Los Angeles has been by far the largest U.S. market without an NFL team...
- Toronto sportsToronto sportsSports in Toronto has a long and distinguished history. The city is home to a few historic clubs such as: Granite Club , the Royal Canadian Yacht Club , the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club , the Argonaut Rowing Club , Toronto Argonauts football club , the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club Sports in...
- Comparison of Canadian and American footballComparison of Canadian and American footballAmerican and Canadian football are very similar, as both have their origins in rugby football, but there are some key differences.-History:Football was introduced to North America in Canada by the British Army garrison in Montreal, which played a series of games with McGill University...
- CFL USACFL USAThe term CFL USA refers to the abortive expansion of the Canadian Football League into the United States in the early-to-mid 1990s. The 1993 CFL season saw the addition of the first American team to the league, the Sacramento Gold Miners...
- International BowlInternational BowlThe International Bowl was a National Collegiate Athletic Association collegiate American football bowl game played in Toronto from 2007 through 2010...
- Bills Toronto SeriesBills Toronto SeriesThe Bills Toronto Series is a five-year deal consisting of a series of National Football League games featuring the Buffalo Bills played at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The series began in the 2008 NFL season and will end during the 2012 NFL season...