04/19/24
September 09, 2014
Area Man Buys Bills for $1B: The trust that inherited the Buffalo Bills from Ralph Wilson has apparently agreed to sell the team to Terry Pegula, the owner of the Buffalo Sabres. The amount is being reported as slightly above $1 billion, which would be a record for a team that does not own its own stadium. Pegula had become a favorite due to his large wallet and his roots in Western New York. The other team owners still need to agree to the sale at their next meeting in October.
I'm glad the Bills are staying in Buffalo, and even happier that Donald Trump didn't get the team. I wonder what this means for the Toronto games.
posted by rcade at 04:47 PM on September 09, 2014
This is really good news for western New York.
posted by dyams at 07:29 PM on September 09, 2014
With Trump being outbid on this, one can imagine what the pricing will be like the next time a franchise that catches his eye becomes available.
posted by beaverboard at 08:28 PM on September 09, 2014
I wonder what this means for the Toronto games.
According to Rogers & the Buffalo Bills ....
I would be surprised if the Bills played another home game in Toronto.
And when I say Rogers, I mean the telecommunications company, not rcade.
posted by tommybiden at 09:00 PM on September 09, 2014
Don't know what the fuss about Toronto and the NFL is about. Does the NFL really want to put a team into a non-football city?
A single game every year that doesn't conflict with NHL regular season or exhibition can't even garner 40K attendance in Toronto, even with cheaper ticket prices than Buffalo and hundreds of freebies.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:17 PM on September 09, 2014
A single game every year that doesn't conflict with NHL regular season or exhibition can't even garner 40K attendance in Toronto, even with cheaper ticket prices than Buffalo and hundreds of freebies.
Whu?
For 2008 (the first year), the average ticket price in Toronto for the game was $183, while the average ticket price in Buffalo was $51 (in Canadian dollars).
That set the tone for the rest of the series. While they might have slashed ticket prices in later years, that initial cash grab was very poorly received. I didn't even know they slashed tickets for the 2013. I assumed they were still gouging fans.
The final game, which you mention had an attendance of less than 40k, was played between two teams that won a combined 10 games for the year, with an extremely out-of-date half-time show, the year after the Bills got drubbed 50-17 in Toronto, while the Bills were in the midst of a 14-year run of missing the playoffs.
Does the NFL really want to put a team into a non-football city?
The Greater Toronto Area has a population of over 6million.
It's a fairly wealthy city that is still growing.
The NFL should be clamouring to have such a large and untapped market available to them.
The downside of Toronto is that it doesn't count towards the TV deals that the NFL likes to tout all the time. But given the crazy sports-tv-war going on in Canada right now (SportsNet vs TSN), a Toronto team could easily double/triple the TV rights in Canada.
Side note:
Rogers Centre capacity for football: 53,506
Attendance for 2013 game: 38,969 (against terrible non-division team)
Percent of capacity: 72.8%
Ralph Wilson Stadium capacity: 71,857
Attendance for home game after Toronto series: 54,305 (against an historic division rival in a playoff hunt)
Percent of capacity: 75.6%
posted by grum@work at 09:36 AM on September 10, 2014
I didn't even know they slashed tickets for the 2013. I assumed they were still gouging fans.
Average ticket prices last year were 17% lower in Toronto than in Buffalo.
One needs to reason that failure to sellout the 1 single game a year is an indication of the lack of interest. And it's not just the NFL. Anything other than Hockey draws poorly.
6 million people and less than 40K will buy bargain tickets for an NFL game.
Doesn't work.
posted by cixelsyd at 09:48 AM on September 10, 2014
I don't think we know yet whether the Toronto series could work. Things take time to develop. The first Super Bowl had 33,000 unsold seats. Playing one or two games in Toronto a season seems like a good way to strengthen the financial position, TV audience and fan base of the small-market Bills.
It's certainly easier for Bills fans than what the Jags are doing by going to London each year. I wait years for Dallas to come to play Jacksonville. They are this year, and guess where it is?
posted by rcade at 10:14 AM on September 10, 2014
Anything other than Hockey draws poorly.
The Toronto Raptors finished 10th in NBA attendance this year.
The Blue Jays used to hold the MLB attendance record (and were the first to break 4million for a season), and do better in attendance than lots of other teams (like the Orioles, Braves, Pirates, A's, Mariners, etc.) in better playoff positions.
And the soccer and lacrosse teams draw very well (over 18k and 13k respectively) for being 5th and 6th tier sports in the city.
posted by grum@work at 10:59 AM on September 10, 2014
The Pegula family also kicked in the money to build a new ice hockey arena at Penn State (his alma mater) and to fund the upgrade of the hockey team from club status to a varsity sport. The funding also included money for women's varsity ice hockey. At the time the Pegulas funded the Penn State hockey program, his net worth was said to be around $4.5B. I'm guessing it is somewhat north of that in order to purchase both the Sabers and Bills. Here's hoping the guy makes money off the teams and is able to build them back to respectability.