Bills confirm Toronto interest in second game
The Buffalo Bills late Sunday night confirmed Rogers Communications' interest in taking a second regular-season Bills game to Toronto for 2010, 2011 and 2012 — a move that, if approved, would have the team playing 25 percent of its home games away from Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Any deal, which still would have to be negotiated with the Bills and other parties, clearly would increase concerns among Bills fans about the team permanently relocating to Toronto.
The Bills were reacting to the news that Rogers Communications sent an e-mail to ticket holders in the Bills in Toronto plan on Friday about the possibility of more games in Toronto.
"Rogers has been listening to its Bills Fans and may be able to negotiate a new deal which will bring an additional Bills regular-season game to Toronto in each of 2010, 2011, and 2012!" the e-mail states in part. The message also claims that the proposed three-game ticket package for 2010 — two regular-season games and one preseason — would include "a lower price per game than previously, for most seats."
Late Sunday night, the Bills released this statement:
"We are aware that there is interest in expanding the Bills in Toronto Series by an additional regular season game in the future. We're also aware that our hosts have conducted a survey as part of their internal process of evaluating whether to propose an expansion of the series. We have an agreement to play one regular season game for the next four seasons.
"We have no agreement, nor has there ever been one, to play an additional regular season game in Toronto," the statement continued. "Any such future agreement would require consultation and the approvals of Erie County, Empire State Development Corporation and the NFL owners."
The Bills and Rogers Communications have a current deal that shifts eight games in five seasons, five regular-season and three preseason games, from Buffalo to Toronto. The preseason games have been scheduled for 2008, 2010 and 2012.
The Rogers Communications' interest in luring more games to Toronto comes as somewhat of a surprise, especially because of the difficulty in selling tickets to the two games last season. The skepticism about the whole Bills in Toronto series deepened following the death of Ted Rogers.
Rogers, the Toronto media mogul instrumental in bringing the Bills to Toronto for the eight games, died Dec. 2, just five days before the Bills' first regular-season game in the Rogers Centre.
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