The Buffalo Bills remain a hot ticket in Western New York, but their appeal as a gate attraction has cooled off a bit.

Season ticket purchases have decreased by more than 20 percent from last year, according to sales figures released by the team Monday.

The Bills announced that 43,925 season tickets have been sold for the coming season. It's the fifth-highest total since 1995, but 11,383 fewer than 2009 when they topped the 55,000 mark in back-to-back years for the first time in franchise history. The Bills sold 56,011 season tickets in 2008. They have reached 50,000 seven times in their 37 years at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The 20.5-percent decline this year may be due to a couple of factors.

One is the departure of wide receiver and reality television star Terrell Owens, whose celebrity status made the Bills a huge draw. Secondly, the Bills increased their ticket prices this year for the first time since 2008. The average ticket price this year is $59.19, up from $51.24 in 2009.

However, Bills tickets are still the third-least expensive among the NFL's 32 teams. The league average last year was $74.99, and that figure will be higher this year.

Despite the drop in the number of Bills season tickets sold this year, 43,925 is an impressive total considering the current economy and the fact that the Bills have no playoff appearances and only one winning season in the last 10 years.

This is also the eighth consecutive year the Bills have sold 40,000 or more season tickets.

Meanwhile, the Bills are sold out for Sunday's season opener against the Miami Dolphins and their November 28 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. There are limited tickets available for the New York Jets on October 3.

A number of tickets remain for the Bills' other home games against the Jacksonville Jaguars (October 10), Detroit Lions (November 14), Cleveland Browns (December 12) and New England Patriots (December 26).

The Bills also host the Chicago Bears in Toronto on November 7.

awilson@buffnews.comnull