Rumour: get ready for the Toronto Bills

[Dan]

From the Buffalo Watchdog blog:

Buffalo, NY - This e-mail is circulating it's way around the internet about the Buffalo Bills. And I like I said, It's nothing more than a rumor at this point...!!

At a meeting Tom Golisano dropped a bombshell about the nefarious Ralph Wilson. Golisano claims that Wilson's intentions all along have been to move the Bills to Toronto. Stay with me on this......there are businessmen in Toronto that are ready to plunk down mega-millions for the Bills and move them there. Wilson already let the NFL know of this (Apparently they can't stop him either). Golisano & the people from Rich Products offered Wilson a similar financial package but Wilson demurred....when they offered him more, he demurred again...& said he wouldn't sell the team to them no matter how much they offered; it's not about money. Wilson wants it to be his legacy that he be the first person to bring international play to the NFL. Still with me..? There's more.... Not to be dismayed, TG went to the NFL & has an agreement that when the Bills move, they cannot take their name with them, ala Baltimore Colts/Ravens. After the move to TO, Buffalo will be granted an expansion franchise with the promise that they build a new stadium & sell it out for 5 consecutive years. (the NFL wants a franchise in Buffalo because it's one of the original teams & has history in the league) TG agreed to do this & will build a DOMED stadium on the waterfront in Buffalo with a capacity of 60,000. In addition, Buffalo will be granted a Super Bowl in the future. The caveat to this is that Buffalo will be without a football team for 3-4 years. The wheels are already in motion & no one can stop it. TG says that RW is playing the game right now..ie: crying the blues about money, saying enjoy the team while it's here, not signing/keeping star players, etc. Next year or possibly the year after the Bills will be gone. Willis McGahee may have let the cat out of the bag with his recent TO talk in Penthouse. Star players don't want to come to B-lo because they know RW is a tight ass. TG also said that if he ran the team he will not be such a cheapskate & would turn things around in a hurry like he did with the Sabres.

Don't quite know what to say. One thing, though - the ownership of whatever team thereis in Buffalo would shift to someone in Rochester, instead of Grosse Point Woods, Michigan. IT would get a new, privately funded stadium, although I'm not a fan of the waterfront location; it's a lot of land for a building (and associated parking) that will be used only infrequently.

Super Bowl in Buffalo? Not enough hotel rooms or space for ancillary events like fan exhibits. Also, what would happen to the Argos?

[zman]

If they are intent on granting Buffalo an expansion team after the Bills leave for T.O., then why don't they just get T.O. an expansion team in the first place. this seems to stem from concern over Buffalo's history, but if they are so concerned with the history of football in Western NY, then just leave the Bills there.

Or I could have been a jerk and said: Great, now the Bills can be based somewhere else when they lose four Super Bowls... (Don't Ban Me)

[jmello]

The Buffalo Buffalos has a nice ring to it.

[Senior Jefe]

Great change for a commercial tie in. Perhaps the KFC Buffalo Wings would raise enough to build tha new dome! I'm sorry I could not help it.

[DetroitPlanner]

Argos are not an issue, different season.

Its Grosse Pointe Woods. If you;re going to talk about the fancy people, they expect you to spell 'em right! Thats the first I heard about the Bills being owned by someone from Detroit.

I'd agree with the man who said why not give TO the expansion team. No sense moving teams just to move them.

[Bubba]

I'd agree with the man who said why not give TO the expansion team. No sense moving teams just to move them.

Assuming that this is anything more than an unfounded internet rumor, then giving the expansion team to TO would make sense. But, as has been demonstrated by Al Davis and others, the league really can't stop an owner who is determined to move his franchise. Plus, the NFL would put an expansion team in LA long before they would put one in Canada ...

...or the league could grow a spine, force the Bills to relocate to LA and put the Buffalo fans out of their misery.

[Tranplanner]

Would be nice to see a team in Toronto, but I've read plenty of stuff saying how it ain't gonna happen in the near future. No proper venue in Toronto (AFAIK Skydome...err, Rogers Centre (barf) won't cut it for NFL). There is also no government $$ or desire to build a new stadium, unless of course we get the Olympics. There is also no interest from the NFL - like Bubba pointed out, they are more interested in getting a team back in L.A., perhaps a couple of other U.S. markets, and probably Mexico City, before looking north.

CFL season does have a slight overlap with NFL (Grey Cup is in November). There is some sort of agreement between the NFL and CFL that may preclude expansion into Canada.

EDIT: seeing as this thread is about Canada, let's spell "rumour" properly, eh?

[Bear Up North]

Coincidence?

The above-mention blog rumour and Rumpy heading back to Buffalo.....

mmmmmmmmm..........

Bear