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Economics of Western New York can't be ignored

Economics of Western New York can't be ignored

By Rob Longley

In the perfect world that once upon a time allowed Ralph Wilson Jr. to buy an NFL team for $25,000, the Buffalo Bills wouldn’t need Southern Ontario to survive.

But times and more specifically the economy in both the NFL and Western New York have changed too dramatically to make that possible much longer.

This is 2007, after all, where the economics of big and small-market NFL clubs are among the top issues facing the league.

These factors and more have made the major North American market - both in population and affluence - directly across the border too big to ignore.

Still, when Wilson and the Bills dropped the bombshell that the team is planning to move one regular-season and one pre-season game per year to the Rogers Centre in Toronto, the reaction on both sides of the border was intense.

And in many ways, predictable.

Some Bills fans see the idea as anything from a threat to the future of the franchise in their region to a slap in the face from an owner they have supported for decades.

In Canada, always antsy CFL fans expressed their concern, one upheld by the league’s commissioner, Mark Cohon, who worried openly about the future of Canadian pro game.

In reality, people should all just take a deep breath and see it for what it is - a brilliant move by Wilson and the Bills braintrust, one that ultimately may save the franchise.

Wilson has become increasingly frustrated at the perceived squeeze placed on the NFL’s smaller markets in recent years.

Buffalo is now the 50th largest television market in the U.S. - a drop of 17 spots from as recently as a decade ago. It isn’t going to make a move back up any time soon, either.

It doesn’t help that during the course of his ownership, Buffalo’s population has been cut in half and that the economy of the rust-belt city has floundered.

While there are rarely empty seats at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., corporate support has been on life support. At age 89, Wilson is late in the fourth quarter of his life and has said that his children will not inherit the business.

The fact is, the Bills have long counted on the support from Canadian fans.

Most notably, in the late 1990s the arrival of Doug Flutie helped sell dozens of new suites and season-tickets, many of each to CFL fans who helped christen Flutie Mania.

Anyone from Southern Ontario who has attended a Bills home game knows that support is stronger than ever. The lines at border crossings in Fort Erie and Niagara Falls are long on Sunday mornings as the estimated 15,000 four-down football fans from Ontario make the trek.

The Bills, meanwhile, have moved swiftly to enact the plan which was unveiled officially this week to NFL owners at league meetings in Philadelphia.

The team has already received approval from two local authorities to alter terms of its lease at the Ralph to pave the way for a partial move.

Wilson told reporters that the presentation to his fellow owners was received favourably. It would seem then, that the proposal would get little resistance when it comes to a vote. If approved, the plan could be in place as soon as next season. Don’t be surprised, either, if the league shows some respect to the CFL by scheduling any Toronto regular-season date after the Grey Cup is played.

The same day the presentation was made, a group of Bills rookie players made an appearance at Sir Sanford Fleming, a Toronto school that is attempting to revive its football program. Bills players have made such visits to Toronto in the past, but we can expect more in the future. The team would seem to recognize that to include its bigger neighbour to the north as an official part of its market, it would be in its best interest to make a commitment beyond the occasional game.

The Bills loyal fan base, one of the strongest in the league, would also win. Sure some might resent losing a home game a season, but in the bigger picture, it could save the franchise.