Bills are set to pitch Toronto ideas to NFL
John Wawrow
The Associated Press
(October 23, 2007) — ORCHARD PARK — Bills owner Ralph Wilson frequently has lamented how difficult it is for his team to fully tap into Toronto, the Canadian metropolis considered the NFL franchise's northern — and, by far, largest — market.
Turns out, the Bills might have finally come up with a solution. If they can't lure Toronto's vast cache of corporate dollars the 90-mile drive to Buffalo, then the Bills intend to go north twice a year.
That's part of the pitch the Bills will make at the NFL fall meetings in Philadelphia today, when the team unveils its plan to host an annual regular-season and preseason game in Toronto starting next year.
The Bills' plan is broader than what filtered out last week: reports the team intended to host a preseason game in Toronto next season, followed by a regular-season game there in 2009.
Brian McCarthy, NFL vice president of corporate communications, said Monday the Bills' bid to play annually in Toronto is viewed as both "logical" and "necessary" steps to secure the small-market franchise's long-term viability.
"They do need to further regionalize both fan and corporate support in their home territory," McCarthy said. "So this would help the team further successfully operate in the future in western New York."
Toronto represents the final and most lucrative frontier for the Bills, who insist they have reached their revenue-generating limits in a rust-belt region with a perennially struggling economy.
The games would be played at Rogers Centre, a downtown stadium with a retractable roof that serves as home to baseball's Blue Jays and the Canadian Football League Argonauts.
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Democrat & Chronicle: Bills
Bills are set to pitch Toronto ideas to NFL
Bills are set to pitch Toronto ideas to NFL
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