POSTED 8:15 a.m. EST, February 16, 2007 RUMORS FLY OF BILLS TO TORONTO There's a rumor gathering steam in Western New York that Bills owner Ralph Wilson plans to sell the team to interests in Toronto, and that the team would move there.As the rumor goes, Buffalo would retain the name "Bills" and the franchise's records, etc., and an expansion team would be placed there within five years. The deal would be similar if not identical to the agreement reached when the Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996. The rumor could have its roots in the recent comments of running back Willis McGahee to Penthouse magazine, wherein Willis said that the team should be moved to Toronto. And there's an e-mail that was posted earlier this week on a Buffalo-area political web site that speaks of the transaction as a done deal.But we don't buy it. Why move the Bills to Toronto and then backfill Buffalo with an expansion team when an expansion team can be simply plopped into Toronto? The owners likely would be able to charge a much higher entry fee to Toronto interests than in Buffalo, where local billionaire Tom Golisano is pretty much the only guy who would be in position to plunk down the cash.And with the two cities less than 100 miles apart, we can't envision the league having two teams in that same vicinity, especially since the Bills are already having trouble filling a stadium on a regular basis. Finally, we think that the league realizes its current eight-division, 32-team format works well, and an expansion team would screw that up -- unless a second expansion team (Los Angeles) were added at the same time. > http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm
If the Bills would move to Toronto, I hope that there won't be an expansion team that comes because, like the article said, there is already enough teams, and I like that all the divisions have 4 teams. It works out nice and evenly.
That would be sad if true. Obviously being a division rival, I despise the Bills; but I respect their fans and dedication. The Bills mean a lot to the city of Buffalo and if they ever move it would be sad for the NFL to allow such a thing.
Toronto Bills. This would mean that New York wouldn't have an NFL team anymore :lol: .... It's not gonna happen.
what are you talking about? Plus, if they moved the article said the Bills name would stay in Buffalo
I hate the Bills as much as the next guy. However, as long as Wilson is alive, the team will stay in Buffalo. He's a loyal guy.
Canadians would hop on that wagon all around simply because of nation pride. It would be even sweeter to watch the Jets beat the Toronto Bills or whatever they would be called.
Buffalo would never get an expansion team if the Bills left. If's not that big a city and the western NY state area just does not have the economy to support the NFL. Cleveland has half a million people living there. Buffalo has three hundred thousand and ranks as the smallest market by far in the NFL at this point.
The league finaly has the right balance with eight 4-team divisions, where are they going to put an expansion team? Same with LA, it sounds good but you're going to have 33 teams? Uneven divisions and schedules again?
A Toronto team would be an interesting development. Alot of Bills fans live in Toronto, and with the close proximity to each other, they could share a fanbase. No way Buffalo gets an expansion team tho, never happen. There are too many major major markets who deserve and can actually support a team, ie Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Mexico City, etc... I think the first international NFL expansion will be in Mexico City, where they have a proven track record of selling out 100k seat stadiums.
