PAT BOWLEN PUSHES NOTION OF TORONTO AS A POTENTIAL NFL CITY

     Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, a Canadian citizen, "reiterated"
to the CANADIAN PRESS yesterday what he had said more than a year
ago -- that Toronto "could very well, before the turn of the
century, have a relocation" of an existing NFL team.  It is very
likely that exhibition games in '95 and '96 will be played at the
SkyDome as part of the American Bowl series (Ken McKee, TORONTO
STAR, 12/2).  Bowlen also noted that Vancouver and Montreal are
also possible sites for NFL franchises "seeking more viable
markets and modern facilities" (CP/VANCOUVER SUN, 12/2).
     BILLS GAMES IN TORONTO?  Sources confirmed that NFL
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue recently asked Bills Owner Ralph
Wilson to consider moving one or more league games to the SkyDome
at some unspecified date.  But the prospect of Bills games in
Toronto appears "unlikely," even after the Bills' current stadium
lease expires in August 1998.  Scott Brown, spokesperson for Erie
County Executive Dennis Gorski, said that the county intends to
include the "performance clause" requiring the Bills play all
league and playoff games in Rich Stadium in any new lease.  Brown
also noted that a $23M update of Rich Stadium has already begun.
Fourteen new luxury boxes are being added.  Part of the funding
is a state loan ($8M), and the county would like that to be
converted into a grant from the public coffers.  Some $1.5M has
already been granted (Ken McKee, TORONTO STAR, 12/2).  According
to CNBC's Sue Herera, Wilson said he would not oppose NFL
expansion into Toronto (CNBC, 12/1).