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The Toronto games are the guinea pig....probably for the Bills, but basically to show that the NFL in Canada is quite viable.
Buffalo has some of the nicest people I have EVER met in this country, but the demographics and economy will send these franchises elsewhere. Buffalo's teams, unless they can be written off as tax losses by wealthy owners, cant rely on good attendence because of cheap tickets in the modern sports world. The reality is that $$$/corporate sponsorship, and high ticket prices are the norm to survive now.
But the Sabres are one of the best selling franchises right now. Who knows what will happen in 5 years if they don't start winning, for I would say that they are safe for now.
Although the owner moving to Florida might throw a wrench into things. I am a big Canadiens fan, so I want the Sabres here, if they leave where will I watch my Habs play? Toronto is far too expensive in my opinion. I just can't justify $400 for a pair of hockey tickets.
I have spent more than that in Montreal, but they were always for important playoff games.
The Sabres sell tickets...a large part due to the Canadian fan base (20-25% of the ticket base). The new Southern Ontario (Hamilton) franchise will likely siphon off most of the games (Habs and Leafs fans will always come to Buffalo in droves), and the blue-collar market cant really afford a huge ticket spike...which is a much larger source of team revenue (ticket sales) than the other 3 major sports. The fact that Drury and Briere split is a sympton of a much larger problem.
THe Sabres crowds are some of the best in hockey...but they will need to make some major price hikes to survive...something that may not agree with a population that largely has limited resources. Golisano is a good owner though and is very civic minded...I suspect he'll exhaust every option before things get messy. Population loss and an aging population will also play into this...
Well Hamilton isn't official at all... And I am from Canada, you honestly probably don't understand what hockey is to Canadians until you've lived there for some time. I honestly don't think that Hamilton will take away much of Toronto or Buffalo's fanbase for some time, EVERYONE in Canada has a favorite team, and it certainly isn't always the home team. Ottawa is pretty far from any major city, but even it took alot of time to gain fans. Hamilton is close to 2 other franchises, do you think that people will switch allegiances when their favorite team is only an hour away anyway? I doubt it.
Either way, if it doesn't happen, I doubt you will see a Hamilton team for some time. It truly isn't a major city. I think that Quebec City, Victoria, or Winnipeg would get a team sooner.
The couldn't fill the stadium for the game that they played in Toronto last year. The tickets were so expensive. I don't see the Bills going to Toronto. I really hope they don't anyways. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
The Bills could do far better attendance-wise in another city.
Attendance is not the problem for the Bills. They have sold out 3 of 7 games already for this year and single game tickets have not gone on sale yet. 2 others are near sell-outs(single seats only). This is with one of the largest stadiums in the league. The problem is lack of large corporate dollars to pay huge sums of money for luxury boxes.
The Bills were 7th in the league for attendance last year.
"Hamilton isn't official at all... And I am from Canada, you honestly probably don't understand what hockey is to Canadians until you've lived there for some time."
My wife is from Montreal and I have a house a half-hour east of Kingston on the St.Lawrence....better re-phrase that laddy. There will be a second team in the Toronto area...Hamilton or Kitchener/Waterloo. Believe it...
My wife is from Montreal and I have a house a half-hour east of Kingston on the St.Lawrence....better re-phrase that laddy
Heh, I obviously didn't know. I lived in Cornwall for 6 years, I would imagine that I wasn't very far from where your second house is. So you do understand how Canada is about hockey, I do agree about a second team in Toronto, but not before either alot of huffing and puffing from CBC about no teams in Central and Northern Canada, or a team actually going there.
Toronto is a huge city and the Leafs are VERY expensive, and they aren't a very good team, and haven't been for twenty years. Toronto is ready for a second team, but I have a feeling that they would play in Oshawa, Burlington, or one of the other suburbs.
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