Corporate captains talk of merger to pursue NFL team for Toronto

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Now, with the Raptors, its hard to market a team that has been such a trainwreck recently, and for the Jays, with the improvements to payroll and I think 38% rise in national viewership this season, they are doing their job.

National viewership and national image are two different things. The Blue Jays created quite the stir removing the red and the maple leaf from their jerseys when they went to the current logo.

The Jays had been Canada's team for a very long time before Rogers came in. Now they are more interested in pushing themelves as Toronto's team. Not that there is a whole lot wrong with that, simply that Bloom is arguing a course of action these men have rejected.

Originally Posted by Calgary Flames

Regardless, if it weren't for Mr. Rogers holding that team afloat The Jays are gone. They always suck and their crowds are terrible.

I would hardly call an average of 27,500 terrible.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by Snakeeye

National viewership and national image are two different things. The Blue Jays created quite the stir removing the red and the maple leaf from their jerseys when they went to the current logo.

The Jays had been Canada's team for a very long time before Rogers came in. Now they are more interested in pushing themelves as Toronto's team. Not that there is a whole lot wrong with that, simply that Bloom is arguing a course of action these men have rejected.

Mmm, I'm not so sure about that. We get a ton of BlueJays coverage on 960 with weekly appearences from most of the Jays broadcast crew calling Mike Richards/Big Show/Sportsline, which is far better than we've had in recent years.

If it wasn't for the Vipers, we'd be getting more Radio broadcasts, which is disappointing, but at least 90% of the Games are on local TV.

As I said, the Expos were in the Canadian market and it is kind of hard to market the Jays as "canada's team" when you have another one taking the market. Hey, they did wear those spiffy Canada Day Jerseys too.

[mykalberta]

Good luck, they will put a franchise in LA before TO, plus at the moment there is a good amount of teams in each division which is the reason LA doesnt have team as per the olde Commish.

MYK

[flames_1987]

What a joke. The NFL will not start anymore expansion teams, it would only be a team relocating. Look at the talent pool right now, imagine what an expansion draft team would look like.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by flames_1987

What a joke. The NFL will not start anymore expansion teams, it would only be a team relocating. Look at the talent pool right now, imagine what an expansion draft team would look like.

Want to bet? Expansion teams bring owners millions of $$$$. There are so many kids playing NCAA football, there is NO problem stocking 2-4 more teams with great players.

[mykalberta]

I think the problem is that you would need 8 new teams, LA TO Portland, LAv2 CHIv2 SanFran Vegas SanAnTonio are the only teams I can see being added with LA and Sanantonio being the only ones really adding anything to the media pool.

Because the CB is designed so that the players now get the TV money and everything else goes to the NFL/Owners/Costs I can see them doing this but it would cause a big riff in the next CBA contract talks. Also that would be one hella large league.

MYK

[Are you a Flamer?]

you'd need a stadium to hold atleast 65,000 people. You'd need the demand to want NFL football badly, because ticket prices are well over 100.00 dollars, even for the nosebleed seats.

I see 1 team moving soon. Tennessee

[troutman]

I don't think so.

NFL attendance for 2006 (so far):

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/attendance?year=2006

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Are you a Flamer?

You'd need the demand to want NFL football badly, because ticket prices are well over 100.00 dollars, even for the nosebleed seats.

Not that I disagree with the issue of needing demand, but what stadium are you looking at $100 nosebleeds? I know the main seats for Seahawks games start around $0 and then work their way up to $100; but for $100 we had seats on the 20 yard line 12 rows off the field. And a quick look at a few random teams shows ticket prices along the same lines in other cities.

[moon]

The problem with a Toronto franchise that I see is Buffalo. There is no way the Bills allow Toronto to get a team without getting huge concessions in return.

If they end up getting a team I don't see how it can't be a huge failure. Toronto is great at supporting the Maple Leafs but awful when it comes to some of the other teams. The Skydome is an awful stadium and making changes to it will not make it any better.

Add this to all the other issues that Canadian cities always face in competing with American teams and it seems like a bad idea to me.

[Are you a Flamer?]

Originally Posted by troutman

I don't think so.

NFL attendance for 2006 (so far):

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/attendance?year=2006

Huh?

I said you need a stadium that seats 65,000, and the least drawn on that chart is Detroit with 60,000 @ 93 percent capacity. Detroit usually ranks towards the bottom anyways.

I'm not saying you need to draw 65,000 people, but you need a stadium that can seat atleast 65,000.

Arizona drew a bit over 40,000 for worst in the league for many years. Now with the new stadium, i wouldn't expect that.

[Are you a Flamer?]

Originally Posted by troutman

I don't think so.

NFL attendance for 2006 (so far):

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/attendance?year=2006

If you're reffering to Tennessee that is BS. I saw the game, and there were many empty seats, like thousands and thousands. The Giants game drew well over capacity because my friend tried to get tickets way up beyond, and they were sold out over capacity @ 850.00 per ticket after sellout.

[troutman]

Did you hear about this?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200....25/index.html

Owner Tom Benson, who had flirted with San Antonio openly last year, told friends he absolutely was not selling the team, nor was he thinking of moving it. (He even turned down -- and it is mind-boggling that this has not gotten more play -- a $1 billion feeler from a Canadian consortium that wanted to buy the team with no strings attached. In other words, to move it somewhere.)

[Sylvanfan]

The NFL has no interest in moving a team somewhere unless they build a state of the art tax payer funded stadium that bends over to kiss an owners ass. The Rogers centre is a dillapidated cookie cutter multi sport stadium that represents to apex of a failed era in sports stadiums. Unless Toronto decides to implode that thing and build a football only stadium on that property or another place thats got a great location the NFL will never even consider Toronto.

The NFL doens't want the hastle of currency conversion, visa's, immigration and all the other things that would be associated with Toronto. So the only way Toronto ever gets a sniff is if they step up and wow the hell out of the NFL brass with the greatest stadium ever thats fully tax payer funded. Which is something that will never happen.

Potential owners can pony up all the money they want, but the rest of the NFL will avoid it as much as they possibly can. Theres a reason Benson didn't take that offer. Had that offer come from a Los Angeles ownership group, he probably bites.

[RedHot25]

Originally Posted by troutman

Did you hear about this?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200....25/index.html

Owner Tom Benson, who had flirted with San Antonio openly last year, told friends he absolutely was not selling the team, nor was he thinking of moving it. (He even turned down -- and it is mind-boggling that this has not gotten more play -- a $1 billion feeler from a Canadian consortium that wanted to buy the team with no strings attached. In other words, to move it somewhere.)

More here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl.../sports/Sports

At least one self-identified member of a group of Toronto businessmen interested in bringing the National Football League to Canada denies having made inquiries about the availability of the New Orleans Saints.

It was news to Larry Tanenbaum, the executive chairman and part-owner of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
"No, I have not been in contact [with the Saints]," he said yesterday. "I have no idea about that."

[rubecube]

Not that it would ever happen, but does anyone else think that Calgary would be a perfect candidate for an NFL team? We just passed the million mark in population and this is the fastest growing city in all of North America. Also put into that we have the lowest unemployment rate which means a large base of people who can afford to go to these games, the large amount of Americans in this city, the amount of Southerners that come up here for oil and energy business that I'm sure Talisman, IOL, Petro, etc would love to entertain by taking to these games. It's pretty much the perfect mix. The only issue that would be huge would be the lack of space to build an NFL stadium in the city and be able to get public transportation to and from.

[ken0042]

A few of us were talking about this the other day. The one suggestion that was made was to put the NFL stadium on the northern part of the city. That way it would be an easier drive for people from Edmonton and to a lesser extent Red Deer. Heck you could even incorperate a shuttle bus to run people to the airport. Run the NE LRT to the stadium and you'd be set.

Right now the closest NFL team is 12 hours away, and with not as many people in Calgary being set on having one favourite team; it is possible it could fly.

Unlikely, but possible.

[Sylvanfan]

^^^
Yesterday on Primetime Sports Bob McCown or whoever he is basically said the only way the NFL ever comes to Toronto is if Ralph Wilson moves the Bills there before he dies. He's got a good enough repoire with the NFL and his fellow owners to convince them to move into Canada if thats what he wants to do. Other than that it's a no go.

The scenario spelled out above is likely true, but the problem is that it applies to pretty much anywhere in the U.S.A. Build a great stadium anywhere and they can pretty much fill the thing and find enough corporate support to make it profitable. Until they've completely tapped out the US they won't be looking to go outside.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

^^^
Yesterday on Primetime Sports Bob McCown or whoever he is basically said the only way the NFL ever comes to Toronto is if Ralph Wilson moves the Bills there before he dies. He's got a good enough repoire with the NFL and his fellow owners to convince them to move into Canada if thats what he wants to do. Other than that it's a no go.

The scenario spelled out above is likely true, but the problem is that it applies to pretty much anywhere in the U.S.A. Build a great stadium anywhere and they can pretty much fill the thing and find enough corporate support to make it profitable. Until they've completely tapped out the US they won't be looking to go outside.

The Bills have been making some noise about moving the last few years... this Toronto group might be getting together to capitalize on that - either move the Bills or move another team after the Bills move. Right now the Toronto area has the Bills but if they were to move to San Antonio there'd be no NFL team near the area at all which would be unfortunate.