Toronto seeking NFL team but NOT the Bills; Also seeking SB

[SPTO]

Giggas and people like Jmood and ChrisKSaint aren't going to like this but Toronto is eying the Jags or Saints to move to Toronto. There's also the talk of hosting the SB in the new Toronto stadium when it's built.

Here's the story:

Quote:

Toronto councillor Doug Ford says he was told last week by NFL Canada that Toronto is “right up there on the list” of cities awaiting NFL teams. “They have to take care of the problem in Los Angeles first,” said the candid Ford, who is the brother of Toronto mayor Rob Ford. “Two teams are kind of in play here: Jacksonville’s number one; New Orleans is the other. So there’s two teams. Once they take care of Los Angeles, we’re going to fly over to New York, set up a meeting with [NFL commissioner Roger] Goodell and give him our pitch.” One problem, Mr. Councillor. The city lacks an NFL-ready venue, according to Goodell. But last month, Ford explained his vision of a waterfront stadium to The Globe and Mail’s Marcus Gee. He expanded on the stadium issue in an interview with me at his office Wednesday, stating that he’s talked to Rogers Communications about adding seats to Rogers Centre. “When I talked to Rogers they were very interested,” Ford said. “Now, they could take the hotel out and add another 10,000 seats but that still wouldn’t get us up to the 75,000 that we need for the Super Bowl.” Did he just say “Super Bowl”? “The NFL’s saying, ‘OK, if you’re building a stadium, build it [with 75,000 seats] or you won’t even be eligible for the Super Bowl.’” Wait, he just said it again. A Super Bowl outside of the United States? In Canada? Now we’re dreaming big. Now we’re shooting for the stars. It’s enough to make an interviewer overlook the fact that, moments prior, Ford passively suggested demolishing the Renaissance Hotel’s 70 rooms that overlook the field. (Editor’s note: NFL spokesman Greg Aiello tells me that there is no official policy in place requiring new stadiums to contain 75,000 seats in order to be eligible to host a Super Bowl. That said, the bigger the better … obviously.) Ford, 46, mentioned four other potential locations for a new venue — the Portlands, Exhibition Place, Downsview and Woodbine — noting that he doesn’t favour any. When I told him I liked the idea of renovating Rogers Centre to save money and expedite the process, he talked about another trick Rogers might have up its sleeve. “Rogers is getting very creative,” he said. “They’re going down.” After taking a moment to determine what that means, I ask him if that is something he figures Rogers might consider. “No, I know. They’ll dig out the floor, drop it down a couple levels and add another 15,000 seats all around the base.” Mr. Councillor, you just blew my mind. If that seemingly far-fetched plan is never fully hatched, Ford isn’t fretting over the financial implications of a stadium at another location. “There isn’t going to be one penny from taxpayers coming into this,” he told me, explaining that, in his view, lucrative yet controversial personal seat licenses would cover the vast majority of the cost. “And it’s going to create thousands of jobs — it’s like bringing a Fortune 500 company to Canada.” First, though, a home team is a necessity. And the Buffalo Bills once or twice a year doesn’t count. Ford said there’s “a huge difference” between the Bills playing here as part of the Bills Toronto Series and the presence of an actual team with a Toronto name. “If we had our own team,” he said, “we’d treat it like it’s our own and build up a fan base.” That doesn’t mean Ford is condemning the Bills. A lot of what he tells me blends relocation with expansion. I don’t get the feeling the councillor is overly concerned with how a team comes to Toronto, but international expansion has a nice ring to it from a business perspective. “They want to expand internationally,” Ford said, noting that London, England is a top target. “But what better expansion than down the street to Toronto? They can’t keep ignoring a market this size.” No one is as connected with Toronto’s past NFL pitches as Paul Godfrey, the former former Blue Jays president and current Postmedia CEO. Still in shock after talking with Ford, I asked Godfrey, who has campaigned heavily for a Toronto NFL team in the past, about what to expect. “If anyone’s going to compete with the Leafs in this city, it’s an NFL team,” Godfrey told me, adding that no duo would be better for the job of reeling a team in than Rob and Doug Ford. “It’ll happen, but not with this team,” Godfrey added, referring to the Bills. “It’ll be a team with the Toronto name on it.”

Excuse the rather "blog-like" quality of the story but this comes from TheScore.com which has more of a casual way of reporting things. Doug Ford as noted is the brother of the Mayor of Toronto. They're both rather controversial but extremely popular guys who got into power with the "end the gravy train" campaign so they have a ton of political capital.

As noted the other route is through expansion and that's probably the more likely in some ways. The whole "digging down to make Rogers Centre NFL ready" is not as outlandish as it may seem as I've heard on the radio with my own two ears from a Rogers Exec that this is very possible and doable.

[The GIGGAS]

Jacksonville won't be moving. They're locked into the lease until 2030, and would have to pay huge penalties if they left. Also, from this article from the Jacksonville Times-Union: http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/st...11340226.shtml

Quote:

Leaving before 2030 would require the Jaguars to prove they had lost money in three consecutive seasons or to convince a local judge that the city was failing to properly maintain Alltel Stadium. ... And even if the Jaguars showed a financial loss for three consecutive seasons, getting out of their lease still would be costly for the team. The Jaguars still owe more than $60 million in rent that would have to be paid to the city in a lump sum in the event of a move. The Jaguars also would have to immediately reimburse the city for millions of dollars in lost ticket surcharges, lost parking revenue and lost income from stadium naming rights.

[SPTO]

Well that's good news

I wouldn't want to take away Harry Potter's favorite team.

[ImTellinTim]

Quote: Originally Posted by The GIGGAS

Jacksonville won't be moving. They're locked into the lease until 2030, and would have to pay huge penalties if they left. Also, from this article from the Jacksonville Times-Union: http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/st...11340226.shtml

If some rich businessman wants them to move, that lease will become toilet paper. Not saying it's going to happen, but these things have a funny way of getting taken care of when there's a pile of money involved.

[The GIGGAS]

Quote: Originally Posted by ImTellinTim

If some rich businessman wants them to move, that lease will become toilet paper. Not saying it's going to happen, but these things have a funny way of getting taken care of when there's a pile of money involved.

Wayne Weaver is passionate about keeping Jacksonville in town, and will only sell to someone who will promise him (probably in contract) to keep the Jags in Jacksonville.

[CM Hooe]

Given that the Saints are actually successful now, I'm not sure I can imagine them moving anytime soon either.

Is NFL expansion on the table anytime soon? What are the odds the NFL might consider accommodating expansion franchises in Toronto and Los Angeles?

[Chrisksaint]

Many Saints officials have already said they are NOT in cosidering moving to Toronto, they also signed a deal to keep them in NO for like 20 years or something last year.

If the Saints moved out of town now, just think about the whole Lebron thing in Cleveland now multiply that by 20 and basically across an entire state.

Silly Canadians

[SPTO]

Quote: Originally Posted by Chrisksaint

Many Saints officials have already said they are NOT in cosidering moving to Toronto, they also signed a deal to keep them in NO for like 20 years or something last year. If the Saints moved out of town now, just think about the whole Lebron thing in Cleveland now multiply that by 20 and basically across an entire state. Silly Canadians

Hey it's not me saying this but until the Saints actually get a you know, real top level NFL stadium there's always going to be whispers.

The Fords are a bit ambitious to say the least and while I like Rob he and his brother sometimes go a bit far in their ideas.