Bills notebook
Season-ticket sales rise to near-record level
No one sells hope like the Buffalo Bills.
That fact was hammered home again as the Bills announced Thursday that 56,011 season tickets have been sold for the 2008 campaign.
This is the second-highest total in team history, surpassing the 54,604 advance sales in 1991. The high water mark is 57,132 season passes in 1992. The 1991 and '92 figures occurred in the middle of the Bills' unprecedented four straight Super Bowl appearances.
The Bills haven't even been to the playoffs since 1999, a franchise-record drought. That makes this year's brisk sales all the more impressive.
But the heightened expectations for this season have a lot to do with the rise of season tickets sold.
It also helps that the Bills have a strong home schedule. Three opponents — Seattle (in the opener), San Diego and New England — made the playoffs last year. They also have a Monday night game against playoff-contending Cleveland and a much-anticipated meeting with the Brett Favre-led New York Jets.
Corporate sponsor Verizon Wireless bought a block of season tickets to push the total over the 56,000 mark. The tickets will be distributed to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Buffalo and Rochester.
"First and foremost, it's a credit to our unbelievable, passionate fan base, additionally with our corporate partners and with our regionalization strategy, which started over a decade ago," Bills chief operating officer Russ Brandon said during Thursday's preseason finale against Detroit. "This has been a cumulative effort over the past decade and it's a real thrill for the entire organization."
The season-ticket sales show that the Bills' effort to expand their reach beyond Western New York is working. Brandon also said the team is making inroads across the border.
Brandon didn't have the information at hand, but he indicated that Canadian season-ticket sales are "up significantly."
"Obviously our Rochester plan has been in motion and our initiatives in Canada have proven to be fruitful," Brandon said. The Bills are playing a second game (Dec. 7 against Miami) in Toronto this season. They have agreed to host eight games (five in the regular season) there in an effort to tap into the vast revenue streams in Canada's largest city.
The move has been met with skepticism by some fans concerned that it is the first step in the franchise's relocation.
But Brandon agreed that the spike in season-ticket sales should send a message that the Bills will remain in Buffalo for the foreseeable future.
"Over a decade ago in 1997, we were at 31,141 season tickets, and that was really the kickoff to regionalization," Brandon said. "Again, it really comes back first and foremost to our fans. They've spoken, and we're thrilled obviously in the position that we're in today."
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Fans expecting to see quarterback Trent Edwards or defensive tackle Marcus Stroud were disappointed. The Bills completely overhauled their lineup, resting most of the starters.
The only starter on the projected regular-season depth chart to start Thursday was free safety Ko Simpson, who didn't mind the work after missing most of last season with a broken ankle.
"It felt good," he said. "Coach [Dick Jauron] told me going in that they were going to put me in a little bit and get the rust off so I can get ready for the season. So I just have to take it as it goes and get better every day so I'm ready for the opening game."
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Rookie Leodis McKelvin continued to thrill on returns. He averaged 25 yards on three kickoffs, including a dazzling 45-yarder. However, he wrongly fielded two punts inside the 5-yard line. Both mistakes led to safeties by Detroit.
"I had some good ones," he said. "I felt like I could have returned two. We had some great blocks. On a couple of punts they ended up inside the 5 and I was unsure whether to catch it or let it go and I just caught them. But I'll learn from the experience."
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Linebackers John DiGiorgio (ribs) and Jon Corto (concussion) had the only injuries of note. Jauron said DiGiorgio will have more tests today. Quarterback Gibran Hamdan was shaken up when his head hit the turf, but was fine. ... The Bills had a moment of silence in the press box to honor Buffalo News staff reporter Jay Bonfatti, who passed away Thursday. Bonfatti, 52, covered the Bills for the Associated Press prior to joining The News.
