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The nation is taking notice....Buffalo Area Wonders: Could It Lose the Bills?
Doug Benz for The New York TimesThe hot topic in bars like the Big Tree Inn is the decision by the Buffalo Bills to play some of their games in Toronto through 2012.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo has absorbed its share of civic body blows over the years, from the shuttering of steel plants to the exodus from its neighborhoods. So last month, when the hometown Bills confirmed plans to play eight games in Toronto over the next five football seasons, fans like Paul Isaac naturally feared it was a prelude to the team’s eventual departure for Canada.
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Doug Benz for The New York TimesLarry Norton has broadcast pregame radio shows for 20 years.
“It’s the beginning of the end, and it’s a sin because we paid our tax dollars to help make this the most exciting place to see a game,” said Mr. Isaac, who says he attends about half the team’s home games each year. “It would be a devastating blow to this town.”
The start of the football season is months away, but the Bills’ decision — seconded by team owners in the National Football League — is a hot topic in the city’s bars and boardrooms. The debate cuts to the heart of Buffalo’s hopes and qualms about its future as a shrinking postindustrial city struggling to turn itself around.
It also comes just five years after Buffalo almost lost its other professional sports franchise, the Sabres of the National Hockey League, which had declared bankruptcy. The owners of the team at the time, the Rigas family, also owned Adelphia Communications, which also declared bankruptcy after a financial scandal. Tom Golisano, a billionaire from western New York, ultimately stepped in to revive the team.
The Sabres, though, are not the Bills. The team has been a rallying point for the city and western New York since it played its first game in the old American Football League in 1960. Some fans compare the anticipation on game days to opening presents on Christmas morning. Tailgate parties start on Fridays at the stadium in this suburb 11 miles south of the city. Former players, especially those who still live in the area, are often referred to like cousins or pals from the factory.
The affection has made it difficult for die-hard fans, and businesses that rely heavily on them, to resist feeling jilted. Danny DeMarco, the owner of the Big Tree Inn near the stadium, said business picks up four days before home games as camera operators, security guards and other workers show up. He also caters tent parties for up to 100 behind his bar and makes more money selling parking spots.
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in that bar.
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