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Ckh, I get where you're coming from. An MLB team in Buffalo would bring people from Canada over to Buffalo. On the other hand, there is something else to consider.
The Seattle Mariners are the northernmost MLB market of ANY of the 30 teams(Seattle is further north than Montreal, which used to have the Expos). When people from nearby Vancouver, Canada go to Seattle, they aren't there to root for the Mariners. They are only there when the Toronto Blue Jays play the Mariners in Seattle.
It would be even more so for Buffalo. Canadians root for the Toronto Blue Jays. Canadians will go watch a game in Buffalo if the Blue Jays are in town. Otherwise they will just make the two or three hour trip to Toronto. Toronto is much close to Buffalo than it is to Vancouver. People living in St. Catharines or Hamilton might just make that trip to Toronto. There will be people living in close proximity to Buffalo. But even with that in mind, it's Canada. The Blue Jays are going to have a much stronger pull. The Jays are more established.
Now, I could consider the rest of the Buffalo Niagara region. Rochester is a 1 hour drive from Buffalo. A team in Buffalo could pull from the I-90/I-490 corridor. More people.
Well, a multipurpose stadium would have worked in the 1970s, during the era of multipurpose stadiums. Nowadays, multipurpose stadiums aren't really liked that much anymore. It might be useful for soccer though.
This is the thing though, a lot of people that attend Sabres and Bills game actually come from parts of southern Ontario already.
A lot of them also comes to the Buffalo area to shop as well. So, getting Canadians to come to come to games wouldn’t have been that much of an issue. This doesn’t even get into the potential to possibly get tourists in Niagara Falls to go to a game.
However, wolfpaw64 makes some good points. Baseball isn’t what it was anyway and I think the guys on the sports show I posted have a more relevant plan for the area’s sports scene, to be honest.
This is the thing though, a lot of people that attend Sabres and Bills game actually come from parts of southern Ontario already.
A lot of them also comes to the Buffalo area to shop as well. So, getting Canadians to come to come to games wouldn’t have been that much of an issue. This doesn’t even get into the potential to possibly get tourists in Niagara Falls to go to a game.
However, wolfpaw64 makes some good points. Baseball isn’t what it was anyway and I think the guys on the sports show I posted have a more relevant plan for the area’s sports scene, to be honest.
I suspect there are alot of NFL fans on the other side of the border. CFL is there too, along with the Hamilton TigerCats and Toronto Argonauts. If you want to see the NFL, you have to travel. Two separate leagues.
Traveling across the border to the Sabres might seem surprising to me. But I'm thinking that might happen when the Toronto Maple Leafs come to town. Candians going to Buffalo wouldn't be far-fetched if the Maple Leafs, or the Senators go to Buffalo. I'm just saying that while a team in Buffalo might attract fans, they're more likely to be there to see the Blue Jays if they go to town (ironically, the Toronto Blue Jays AAA affiliate is in Buffalo).
I agree that the money is where it's at. Buffalo is going to have a hard time.
I suspect there are alot of NFL fans on the other side of the border. CFL is there too, along with the Hamilton TigerCats and Toronto Argonauts. If you want to see the NFL, you have to travel. Two separate leagues.
Traveling across the border to the Sabres might seem surprising to me. But I'm thinking that might happen when the Toronto Maple Leafs come to town. Candians going to Buffalo wouldn't be far-fetched if the Maple Leafs, or the Senators go to Buffalo. I'm just saying that while a team in Buffalo might attract fans, they're more likely to be there to see the Blue Jays if they go to town (ironically, the Toronto Blue Jays AAA affiliate is in Buffalo).
I agree that the money is where it's at. Buffalo is going to have a hard time.
It is essentially right next to the Buffalo metro and it is easier for them to go there versus going to Toronto on a regular basis.
You may be underestimating how many people from nearby areas of Ontario go to Buffalo and other Upstate NY areas for shopping, events, for flights, etc.
Most of the state's population is downstate so both of NYS's MLB teams play downstate. It would be nice if one of them could've played in Buffalo rather than NYC or elsewhere but must be MLB decided to have both teams play downstate NY since thats where the majority of the population is. Local baseball is quality though. Rochester Red Wings are amazing to see, I go to at least 2 games each season and they never disappoint!
It is essentially right next to the Buffalo metro and it is easier for them to go there versus going to Toronto on a regular basis.
You may be underestimating how many people from nearby areas of Ontario go to Buffalo and other Upstate NY areas for shopping, events, for flights, etc.
I looked at the link. I saw nothing about the Buffalo Sabres in it. I looked at it several times and I'm not seeing anything.
It might be easier to get to Buffalo than Toronto to see the games. Maybe with the Niagara region, there might be more of a regional loyalty in terms of hockey. Ontario has two hockey teams. Quebec has one. Manitoba has one, Alberta has 2, and British Columbia has 1. There is no such thing as "Canada's hockey team".
I don't see this happening as much with baseball. The Toronto Blue Jays are Canada's baseball team. With it being Ontario, there will be more of an affinity for the home province team. Canadians as far away as Vancouver root for them. My theory is that with Toronto being in the same province, and with the Blue Jays being there from day one, there would be more support for them rather than a Buffalo-based team. What might work for hockey or NFL isn't as likely with MLB. Canada has CFL, which isn't NFL. NHL has several Canadian teams. MLB only has one in Canada these days. Before, the Blue Jays represented English-speaking Canada and the former Montreal Expos represented French-speaking Canada.
Many people do cross the border to go shopping and going there for events. I'm merely speaking about loyalties in terms of terms, and how what country one is in can influence that. I'm basing this one what I've seen when the Toronto Blue Jays visit Seattle.
I looked at the link. I saw nothing about the Buffalo Sabres in it. I looked at it several times and I'm not seeing anything.
It might be easier to get to Buffalo than Toronto to see the games. Maybe with the Niagara region, there might be more of a regional loyalty in terms of hockey. Ontario has two hockey teams. Quebec has one. Manitoba has one, Alberta has 2, and British Columbia has 1. There is no such thing as "Canada's hockey team".
I don't see this happening as much with baseball. The Toronto Blue Jays are Canada's baseball team. With it being Ontario, there will be more of an affinity for the home province team. Canadians as far away as Vancouver root for them. My theory is that with Toronto being in the same province, and with the Blue Jays being there from day one, there would be more support for them rather than a Buffalo-based team. What might work for hockey or NFL isn't as likely with MLB. Canada has CFL, which isn't NFL. NHL has several Canadian teams. MLB only has one in Canada these days. Before, the Blue Jays represented English-speaking Canada and the former Montreal Expos represented French-speaking Canada.
Many people do cross the border to go shopping and going there for events. I'm merely speaking about loyalties in terms of terms, and how what country one is in can influence that. I'm basing this one what I've seen when the Toronto Blue Jays visit Seattle.
It was just to show an area of Ontario that would be likely and does attend sporting events in Buffalo.
I know what you are saying, but I think that some of that would also depend on the age of the fan as well. For instance, a lot of people in the Windsor ON area are highly likely to follow Detroit teams, including Red Wings Hockey versus Toronto teams.
It was just to show an area of Ontario that would be likely and does attend sporting events in Buffalo.
I know what you are saying, but I think that some of that would also depend on the age of the fan as well. For instance, a lot of people in the Windsor ON area are highly likely to follow Detroit teams, including Red Wings Hockey versus Toronto teams.
Windsor, I could almost understand. Detroit has had MLB long before Toronto ever did (Montreal got it before Toronto did). I could see people from Windsor going over to Detroit to see the games, at least the older fans. Younger fans, I think they would see the Blue Jays more. Age can have something to do with it.
This does have to be take individually. What I'm basing Buffalo on is how Seattle is dealing with being in very close proximity to the Blue Jays market. It's worked for Detroit because Detroit had baseball first.
Windsor, I could almost understand. Detroit has had MLB long before Toronto ever did (Montreal got it before Toronto did). I could see people from Windsor going over to Detroit to see the games, at least the older fans. Younger fans, I think they would see the Blue Jays more. Age can have something to do with it.
This does have to be take individually. What I'm basing Buffalo on is how Seattle is dealing with being in very close proximity to the Blue Jays market. It's worked for Detroit because Detroit had baseball first.
What also plays a part in terms of Seattle is that the Mariners came into MLB the same time as the Blue Jays(1977). There is also an aspect of the Mariners being a struggling team for many years, while the Blue Jays were good(think Jorge Bell, Jesse Barfield, Lloyd Moseby, Jimmy Key, Dave Steib, Tony Fernandez, etc.; Syracuse was their AAA affiliate for a long time from 1978-2008, saw guys like Fred McGriff, Kelly Gruber, Rick Leach, Mike Sharperson, Tom Henke, etc. play for the then Syracuse Chiefs).
Another example on the flip side is with people from Plattsburgh. A lot of them were actually Montreal Expos fans versus fans of the NY teams and a lot of it had to do with Montreal being only about an hour away. They also had some good teams from around the late 1970's up until the Baseball strike of 1994, which actually may have hurt that franchise given that the Expos were the best team in MLB that season(Moises Alou, Delino DeShields, Tim Wallach, Marquis Grissom, Larry Walker, etc.). Here are some videos that illustrates this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L_QnOUYOq4
What also plays a part in terms of Seattle is that the Mariners came into MLB the same time as the Blue Jays(1977). There is also an aspect of the Mariners being a struggling team for many years, while the Blue Jays were good(think Jorge Bell, Jesse Barfield, Lloyd Moseby, Jimmy Key, Dave Steib, Tony Fernandez, etc.; Syracuse was their AAA affiliate for a long time from 1978-2008, saw guys like Fred McGriff, Kelly Gruber, Rick Leach, Mike Sharperson, Tom Henke, etc. play for the then Syracuse Chiefs).
Another example on the flip side is with people from Plattsburgh. A lot of them were actually Montreal Expos fans versus fans of the NY teams and a lot of it had to do with Montreal being only about an hour away. They also had some good teams from around the late 1970's up until the Baseball strike of 1994, which actually may have hurt that franchise given that the Expos were the best team in MLB that season(Moises Alou, Delino DeShields, Tim Wallach, Marquis Grissom, Larry Walker, etc.). Here are some videos that illustrates this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L_QnOUYOq4
So, there is some crossover in regards to Canadian teams as well.
I know all about the Expos. They were in Canada first. I know how the strike basically killed them. It was a depressing day when the Expos left Montreal. I wanted them to stay.
And what you have mentioned about the Mariners and Blue Jays being established at the same time, lead further to another point. The Mariners have only had sporadic success, and it was late in the game. The Blue Jays were a success from day one and started to re-live some of that success in the mid 2010s. I also feel that the "Canada's team" factor can play a role.
I know about Fred McGriff. I remember watching him when he played for the Atlanta Braves. I also watched a clip when Ken Griffey Jr robbed Jesse Barfield of a home run.
The point that I'm talking about it this. The Mariners have a harder time competing because of their history vis a vis the Blue Jays. A team in Buffalo will have it even hard because the Blue Jays got there first. In the Windsor area, the Detroit Tigers got there first and have a history of being a good team. For that reason, there are still Tigers fans in the area. With the Niagara region, Toronto has been the sole representative for MLB for the last four decades. A team in Buffalo will have to work very hard to get fans from the other side of the border. Each area has their own individual issues. With Seattle, it's been a matter of not being a good team for a while. With the Detroit-Windsor region, Detroit had baseball before Toronto, so there has been a chance to have a strong establishment.
For the Niagara region in Ontario, there has been no MLB representation in Buffalo, it was the Expos first, then the Blue Jays. With the Blue Jays being Canada's only team, it is the team of choice for that region. If Buffalo is to win over any fans across the border, it will have to fight with the Blue Jays, a team with history(and a history of success). Buffalo would also fall under what is known as "small market" status. It would have to work twice as hard.
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