MLSE Leiweke says NFL in Toronto a reality within 10 years

NFL in TO always makes news for the dreamers that own newspapers and communication/entertainment companies that helped buy the Skydome for $25,000,000.00
Sounds as if Leiweke has joined their ranks - dream on buddy!
For me , my heart is with the Canadian Football League

You don't talk "big shotty" when you're with Rogers or MLSE, you're gonzo. Whatever substance there is with that "big shotty" talk.

Sorry mean't to say you have to talk "big shotty" when you're with Rogers or MLSE or else you're gonzo.

A NFL team in Toronto in 10 yrs is still very much a pipe dream IMO. For the first time in a long time I think the NFL is on its heels a bit. My reasoning -

  1. Cost - [url]http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/07/pf/football-prices/index.html?hpt=hp_t4[/url]
    If it costs that much to go to a game, it will be harder and harder to fill the seats in established markets. And the jury is still out on whether Torontonians would pay that much to attend a sporting event that doesn't include the Leafs or team Canada hockey. They won't for the Bills, that we know for sure. It's a hard sell to the NFL to prove a Toronto franchise would be financially viable.

  2. Territorial issues - until there is some concession or resolution mitigating the effect a team in Toronto would have on the Bills, no way would the NFL allow a new team in a location that would hurt the base for one of its existing teams. I don't forsee a team in Toronto unless the Bills either move or are paid a handsome sum to overlook their territorial rights.

  3. Facility and purchase/relocation costs - with Rogers talking about converting the dome to grass for the Jays, it makes it highly unlikely they would be able to simultaneously house a NFL team. On top of probably paying between $750 million to $1 billion for a franchise, expansion or relocated, they would another $1 billion to build a stadium. Where do I get my figures? Consider that the purchase price for the Jacksonville Jaguars was reported to be $760 million. And the Houston Texans expansion fee in 2002 was $700 million. The two newest facilities being built, Atlanta and Minnesota, are coming in near the $1 billion price tag. Without a facility in Toronto there's no point in discussing a potential team. Look at LA. A team could potentially play in the Coliseum or Rose Bowl for a couple of seasons while a facility is built. But the NFL won't let a franchise settle in there without a new facility. And while there have been multiple proposals to build a NFL-worthy stadium, by AEG and others like the one in City of Industry, no one will OK the funds to build a stadium without a team. Hence the stalemate in LA. still remains to be seen what, if any, long term ramifications there are for the league.

  4. the obvious - no one even talks about the NFL in Toronto from the US side. The discussion centers around LA, London, and sometimes Mexico, but no one bothers to ask the NFL head honchos if they are considering moving into Toronto. Some will undoubtedly claim this is because talks are hush hush but a lot of the pundits covering the NFL on all the different broadcasts are pretty clued in on what's going on in the NFL. If someone in league offices was talking Toronto expansion that would have leaked by now. Nothing stays that secret anymore.

  5. Image/health issues - they got a away with a pretty favourable settlement on the lawsuit by former players, significantly lower than if it had gone to court IMO. But with the PBS documentary airing about a month ago, now an Olineman walking away from the Broncos because he's concerned about his future health and he's not enjoying playing football anymore, Tony Dorsett being diagnosed with CTE, a lot of media attention to football and brain injury, and news that more parents are starting to pull their kids out of football at the grass roots level....Throw in recent scandals like the bullying with the Dolphins. The NFL is entering uncharted territory here where these issue plus the other image issues have put the leagues image front and center for all the wrong reasons. It

  6. the unspoken - I honestly believe that the NFL has some respect for the CFL in the head offices. The NFL has tried to launch their own leagues, they've watched the UFL and other leagues launch and all have been failures. I think the longevity of the CFL has earned enough respect that they would not do anything to overtly damage the league. Actually, I don't think they have the right people in place at the moment that would callously move into a territory and potentially destroy another brand. And while the CFL is not their minor league system, it does offer value to the NFL as an option for players to go, play meaningful games and develop and maybe become future NFL stars a la Cam Wake, Jerrell Freeman, Brandon Browner... The arena league has not exactly been of use to the NFL as a developmental league. The UFL plays the same brand of football and tried to do it when the NFL was in season. The CFL meanwhile plays a different version than their product and plays most of their season during the NFL downtime so it's not direct competition. I think all these things work for the NFL.

  7. Leiweke - He's a determined guy. He did well with the LA kings and with the LA Galaxy brands while at AEG, scored a huge coup for MLS by bringing in Beckham. But he worked his butt off in LA for years trying to make a NFL team happen and the end result was - nada - no stadium, no team. And LA is a much more lucrative market to the NFL than Toronto could be given the massive population which means a larger stadium, larger potential viewing audience, merchandise sales, and greater wealth to capitalize on. I don't think Lieweke will ever feel fulfilled in his job until he manages to get involved with a NFL team somewhere but let's face it, in Toronto he'll have a much harder sell to the NFL head offices than he did from LA.

Agree with what you’re saying wolverine, NFL is on it’s heels. More and more North America is becoming multicultural and that means sports that are played in these countries are starting to come to the fore here. Take cricket, cities like Hamilton are starting to talk about installing cricket pitches because of demand. And LA is an embarrasement to the NFL for sure.

But the NFL television model is solid and I think that will really carry it, it’s cheap to watch NFL even if seats to games are pricey.

Still over 8000 tickets available at ticketmaster for Bills in Toronto, and that doesn't include the thousands of freebies!!!!!!!!! Oh yea, the Bills are coming to Toronto permanetly soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :roll: :roll: :roll:

With in 20 years football won't be in good shape it will be soccer thats will be the king.

I guess Leiweke isn't at the game today... 5 minutes before kickoff, there's probably 25,000 fans in the seats.

Nothing new in that. It’s always a late arriving crowd for the Argos. It’s usually well into first quarter before everybody shows up.

This article from USA Today says it all

http://q.usatoday.com/2013/12/01/toront ... -in-bills/

"But judging by one important factor — the people in the seats — there does not seem to be the requisite hunger for American football in Toronto to warrant a real push to move a team there any time soon."

so true :thup: