Possible Rams to L.A.

[MarkyMannn]

With the Rams to LA, does this put the Bills squarely in Toronto? It would stand to reason, the NFL wants a team there and they will argue that the Bills have not left the Bill's geographic market - heck, maybe WNY will be able to retain a game or two a year!

 

No one wants to support a stadium in OP for 1-2 games/year. At least not any one who pays taxes here

[JDG]

In terms of population, Buffalo is actually bigger than both of those cities when you incorporate the nearby Rochester metro area. Neither San Antonio nor Las Vegas would even place among the top 75% largest NFL TV markets at the moment.

 

If you combine Buffalo and Rochester, then you have to combine San Antonio and their-Rochester: Austin. Austin is nearly an identical distance from San Antonio as Buffalo is from Rochester.

 

Based on 2000 Census Data for Urbanized Areas, you get: Buffalo (976k) + Rochester (694k) = 1.67 million vs. San Antonio (1.3 million) + Austin (900k) = 2.2 million. That's nearly 1/3rd larger - and that's as of nearly 10 years ago.

 

Yes, San Antonio is a relatively poor market by, but Buffalo ain't bursting with wealthy season ticket holders either). And yes, Austin has the University of Texas - but San Antonio + Austin is more than twice as large as Jacksonville + Gainesville.

 

And yes, Texas already has the Cowboys and Texans - but it is a 3-4 hour drive from either San Antonio or Austin to either Dallas or Houston. Plenty of space to put a third Texas team in the State.

 

If central Texas keeps growing and WNY keeps shrinking, I think it will be harder and harder for the NFL to justify having franchises in places like WNY, Jacksonville, and southern Louisiana and not one in central Texas.

 

JDG

 

P.S. The Vegas urbanized area came in 1.3 million in the 200 Census - but with basically zero in the ways of secondary markets (its pretty much empty desert outside of the urbanized area there - and no secondary cities.) Combine that with the NFL's fear of gambling, and don't expect Vegas to be on any short-list for an NFL Team any time soon. Los Angeles and Central Texas are clearly the most-prominent untapped domestic markets from the NFL's perspective. If you wanted a longer-shot market, I'd think that Portland (1.6 million) or Virginia Beach (1.4 million) would both have a much better shot than Vegas - and actually, I don't see either as being very likely. (Although somebody in some League is going to put a team down in SW Virginia at some point, I have to believe, since Virginia Beach's "Rochester" - Richmond - has another 800k.)

[BYGD1]

They were not supported in LA before - not sure why it would be different now.

 

 

I am amazed always at all of the Talk of Teams Moving to LA, how many have they had and Lost NOW... Ram to LA, Oakland to LA they have both been there and failed LOL When will the NFL get it, bunch of Corporate Idiots

[JDG]

I am amazed always at all of the Talk of Teams Moving to LA, how many have they had and Lost NOW... Ram to LA, Oakland to LA they have both been there and failed LOL When will the NFL get it, bunch of Corporate Idiots

 

The simple truth is that the Los Angeles urbanized area had nearly *12* million people as of the last sentence. And Riverside-San Bernadino had another 1.5 million on top of that. By comparison, the fourth-largest urbanized area in this country, Philadelphia - had fewer than HALF as many people - at only 5 million people.

 

The simple truth is that you put in a team in LA in a new, modern stadium - and it would be almost like a license to print money. I predict that when a team does move to LA, and if they get decent financing/subsidy on a new, modern stadium that they will be very successful. You would almost have to try to not be successful there.

 

JDG

[stinky finger]

It wouldn't be...although being in a market in st. Louis where baseball is and always will be king isn't too great either...

Makes me wonder how the hell the Blues have managed to stay alive.

[Chalkie Gerzowski]

San Antonio?!?

 

Good...friggin'...luck.

 

Jerry "More for me, Screw you" Jones considers San Antonio to be a Cowboys market. Been there lately? You might see one, maybe two Cowboys jerseys. There's NO F-ING WAY Jones would roll over on that one - not having just plunked down a cool billion on a memorial to himself. He has a hell of a note to service. You'd have a better chance of putting a second team in New England.

 

 

I'm sure he would block a move to San Antonio... yet it is 275 miles from Dallass to San Antonio. His ego is the sphere of influence.

[yungmack]

They were not supported in LA before - not sure why it would be different now.

This is factually incorrect. The Rams were very well supported in LA. The reason they moved to St. Louis was for boatloads of money. Taxpayers in SoCal refused to be blackmailed into building a new stadium for the Rams.

 

Now, if you want to get worried about the Bills moving to another city or country, read this article in today's Los Angeles Times:

 

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-nfl-me...0,3949352.story

[May Day 10]

St Louis to Los Angeles

 

New England to Toronto

 

Miami to San Antonio

 

 

problem solved

[SF Bills Fan]

This is exactly what I thought would happen. It corrects an injustice. Georgia Frontiere moved the team because she was givin a new stadium and many incentives. she should never have been allowed. So the Rams returning is fine and they will be supported. I can still see the Jags moving there as they want an AFC and NFC team. I never thought LA was a threat to us. I see us giving another game or maybe two to Toronto, but I believe the Bills will never go there full time.

 

San Antonio and Vegas will not get teams anytime soon or maybe ever.

[RayFinkle]

Wait...so after Ralph passes it will be the LA Rams and the St Louis Bills?

[AxelRipper]

Now, if you want to get worried about the Bills moving to another city or country, read this article in today's Los Angeles Times:

 

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-nfl-me...0,3949352.story

 

 

if the NFL wants to expand out of country like they seem to, and dont want to make an NFLW (world) league... then they'd have start some expansion teams... they'd lose too much money if they moved teams out of the country... and as long as they make 2-4 more teams, it should balance out over the nfc/afc

[a player to be named later]

Wouldn't Toronto have to show that they could support a team? Do you think the Rodgers corp will sign a similar deal with the Bills after the 5 year deal comes up? Have they made money on this deal?

 

Once the LA spot is filled is there another location outside of Toronto that can support a team?

 

Lastly, I know that it doesn't make a real difference but why wouldn't the Bills raise the price on tickets? If we sell out games without going to the playoffs in a decade why wouldn't you raise up the ticket prices? It seems like there is some wiggle room to raise the prices and maybe not sell out a game or two.

[K-9]

The simple truth is that the Los Angeles urbanized area had nearly *12* million people as of the last sentence. And Riverside-San Bernadino had another 1.5 million on top of that. By comparison, the fourth-largest urbanized area in this country, Philadelphia - had fewer than HALF as many people - at only 5 million people.

 

The simple truth is that you put in a team in LA in a new, modern stadium - and it would be almost like a license to print money. I predict that when a team does move to LA, and if they get decent financing/subsidy on a new, modern stadium that they will be very successful. You would almost have to try to not be successful there.

 

JDG

 

Yeah, and as long as the local NFL ratings don't consistantly rank third in their time slot on Sunday afternoons like they did for the Rams and Raiders games previously, then the networks would care about that second largest TV market. But with ratings like those it's an embarrassment and a money loser, especially for the local affiliates.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[dave mcbride]

The simple truth is that the Los Angeles urbanized area had nearly *12* million people as of the last sentence. And Riverside-San Bernadino had another 1.5 million on top of that. By comparison, the fourth-largest urbanized area in this country, Philadelphia - had fewer than HALF as many people - at only 5 million people.

 

The simple truth is that you put in a team in LA in a new, modern stadium - and it would be almost like a license to print money. I predict that when a team does move to LA, and if they get decent financing/subsidy on a new, modern stadium that they will be very successful. You would almost have to try to not be successful there.

 

JDG

Yet of those five million people in Philly, 4.5 million actually give a sh*t the Iggles. In LA/Riverside, that number is far less despite the greater population number. I lived in LA for eight years, so I do feel like I know what I'm talking about.

[dave mcbride]

Yeah, and as long as the local NFL ratings don't consistantly rank third in their time slot on Sunday afternoons like they did for the Rams and Raiders games previously, then the networks would care about that second largest TV market. But with ratings like those it's an embarrassment and a money loser, especially for the local affiliates.

 

GO BILLS!!!

Thanks - you're absolutely right to not equate warm, breathing bodies with football fans.

[JDG]

Yet of those five million people in Philly, 4.5 million actually give a sh*t the Iggles. In LA/Riverside, that number is far less despite the greater population number. I lived in LA for eight years, so I do feel like I know what I'm talking about.

 

I hear you, Dave - but I think that the logic of the numbers is overwhelming.... Even if a Los Angeles resident is twice as likely to not care about football as a Philadelphia resident - you still end up with more football fans in L.A.

 

Compared with WNY its no contest - it comes close to being that even if an LA resident is 10 Times as likely to not care about football as a WNY resident, you still end up with more football fans in LA.

 

JDG

[Arkady Renko]

The simple truth is that the Los Angeles urbanized area had nearly *12* million people as of the last sentence. And Riverside-San Bernadino had another 1.5 million on top of that. By comparison, the fourth-largest urbanized area in this country, Philadelphia - had fewer than HALF as many people - at only 5 million people.

 

The simple truth is that you put in a team in LA in a new, modern stadium - and it would be almost like a license to print money. I predict that when a team does move to LA, and if they get decent financing/subsidy on a new, modern stadium that they will be very successful. You would almost have to try to not be successful there.

 

JDG

 

It is not as if population has changed that much since 1994. Even if LA needs modern stadiums in order to sell tickets - and you have no proof that that was the problem before - why did it have so much trouble selling out when they had the Raiders and the Rams with such a large population from which to draw?

 

The Bills generally sell out despite having a dump of a stadium.

[ntjacks79]

Los Angeles is too close to the proximity of Chargers, Raiders, and 49ers fans. If I had to move a team there - it would be a California team.

As someone who lived in California for 8 years, I really don't know what you guys are talking about.

 

It's true that LA fans attention "wanders" when a team is not winning, much more so than Buffalo fans, but you can't even think about getting a ticket (at a normal price) to any team in LA that is performing well. The Rams lack of support was much more due to on-field performance than lack of strong interest in the NFL. And as far as San Diego and the Bay Area, LA could not be more different than those two regions. LA folk would NEVER claim a team from either of those areas as their own.

 

Proximity-wise, LA is as close to San Diego as Boston to New York and to the Bay Area as Boston to Washington. So that means the Patriots are too close to the Jets and Redskins to have a team?

[a player to be named later]

I don't thing that population is the best metric to use when determining franchise viability.

 

Just another small note, not sure if it means anything, but...

 

Working in a corporate office of a franchisor some of the offices in smaller cities are viewed just as important as our larger cities. Presence in smaller cities is important to the brand of our company.

 

That being said, I'm not sure that there are many potentially profitable markets for the NFL. Is it in the best interest of the NFL to move teams to different cities other than LA?