How about swapping a couple of Raptors games for a Bills game?

[Earthquake Enyart]

But what's to stop a little intra-city cooperation between Buffalo and Toronto? Why couldn't Larry Tanenbaum "give" Buffalo a couple of Raptors games – say two of the 41 for a couple of years – and in return, Toronto could get that 2008 regular season non-U.S. NFL game for which Toronto is a frontrunner?
Think about it. Tanenbaum, who rides the fastest horse in the gang known as Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, is on record with Ted Rogers, who owns the Blue Jays and the stadium formerly known as SkyDome, as wanting an NFL team for Toronto if and when possible.

So show some good faith here. Larry could let the Raps play a couple of games in Buffalo, maybe against the Knicks, who would doubtless sell out in New York state, and the Celtics or Detroit or somebody else. There are plenty of midweek crowds of 13,000 at the Air Canada Centre over the course of a long season. If anybody here missed a couple of games, they could be made optional for season-ticket holders.

The Raps could develop a large potential U.S. market, one they don't actively harvest at all – and yes, I know, it's nuts to suggest MLSE ever leaves a dollar on any table anywhere. Buffalo has a good sports history, remember, and a handful of colleges, which suggests a basketball audience of some size, even though the Braves lasted only eight seasons in the NBA in the 1970s before becoming the Clippers. (By the way, the TorBuff Braves, as we called them, played 16 "home'' games in Toronto from 1971 to '75. So there's precedent.) Sure, the Raps would have costs they wouldn't have at the ACC, but market the games right in a nice 19,000-seat building and they shouldn't take too much of a hit.

The Bills, meanwhile, also have a couple of games every December with rotten weather and 15,000 empty seats at Ralph Wilson Stadium. So pull one of those out of Buffalo in 2008 and move it the 100 miles to Rogers' stadium. Larry and Ted could sell the popcorn and get their foot in the NFL door. Plus, each city gets a little something, rather than the biggest bankroll doing all the talking.
Goofy idea? Maybe. But it makes a lot more sense than that other one.

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/184529

[Michael82]

[BillsNick]

Who the **** are the Raptors?


In other words... NO!

[Luisito23]

Rapters are straight garbage yo yo!!!...Stop trying to rip us off...





GO BILLS!!!!!!!!

[Michael82]

**** You, Toronto!!! Leave our team alone.

[RockStar36]

I agree, no Raptors games. But if the Bills are going to lose a game to this "out of country" fad that the NFL is doing, I would prefer that they go to Toronto instead of England or Australia.

[Don't Panic]

I'm not 100% in agreeance with the idea, but it is somewhat intriguing. It would put the 7 games that we do have in higher demand, which would lead to more sell-outs, which would in turn help our bid to keep the Bills in Buffalo. Ralph could charge much more in the Tornoto market, which would increase overall revenue (albeit only slightly). Plus, the Raps are on the up and up. Colangelo has two budding stars in Bargnani and Bosh... not the worst idea I ever heard.

[superbills]

The problem I see with this is you have to negotiate with the Sabres as well to bring the Basketball team here. Obviously, you would want the games in the HSBC arena, which the Sabres effectively own (through a lease from the county). Now you're talking about working this in around the Sabres schedule and any other events that are planned in the arena. Get Golisano involved, and the Sabres are going to want a cut of the action and things could get messy compensation-wise.

Toronto doesn't have to worry about this as much since the dome is used pretty exclusively by the Raptors during the football season. Not a deal breaker, but one more roadblock to consider.

[ddaryl]

The NBA is a junk league. Who would honestly waste their time attending such a borish trash.

If they want to trade then they need to pony up with something that is at least interesting to WNY'ers

[Scumbag College]

They had a college bowl game in Toronto this year, I think they called it the "International Bowl" or some sort of BS. Anyways, it looked like about 5,000 people showed up for it, all alums or students from the prospective schools. However I bet the Bills would do pretty well up there, I doubt there's a clammoring in the greater Buffalo metropolitan area for Raptor basketball to return. To make it fair, Buffalo should get 5 NBA games, since that would be 1/8th the home schedule of their games, like the Bills would give 1/8 of their regular season games to Toronto for one game.

The line about 15,000 empty seats at the end of the season isn't fair. With the years of consecutive sellouts the Bills put together with pretty average to lousy teams that have started out horribly in the beginning of the season year in and year out; coupled with a disaster of a local economy, the growing popularity of the Sabres, and the rotten NFL scheduling this year they were bound to not sellout some games sooner or later at the end of the year.

[Forward_Lateral]

What some homers don't realize is that a game in Toronto could potentially draw a ton of new fans of the Bills, who subsequently might buy tickets for games in Buffalo. What are the chances of that happenening if the Bills play in Europe? Not likely. Why not be a realist. The Bills didn't sell out 4 games. Everyone *****ed about the blackout. It can't hurt the team to have a game in Toronto, that's for sure. I'm not saying move the team there, just have one game, and see what kind of kickbacks it produces.

[Bill Brasky]

i agree F_L, but TOR must offer something better than the Raptors.

nobody cares about the NBA... except rappers and ESPN.

they wouldn't sell 10k seats here.

[RockStar36]

I still want to bring the Leafs down to play the Sabres outdoors. But thats another topic for another day.

[Bill Brasky]

leafs/sabres at the ralph... now THAT would be unreal!

[Forward_Lateral]

leafs/sabres at the ralph... now THAT would be unreal!

That would be great. See, there might be a bright side after all!

[RockStar36]

It would be huge for both teams.

[THATHURMANATOR]

We are going to have a game played in another city sometime or another why not get something in return.

[Carlton Bailey]

I eat pieces of **** like the Raptors for breakfast. How about they just give us a Raptors-Suns game, and we give them nothing in return? Works for me. I'd like to watch Phoenix, even though I'm not an NBA fan.

[THATHURMANATOR]

The Raptors are in first place.

[gr8slayer]

**** NO.