Sources Say Rogers Stands To Lose C$4-5M On Preseason Game
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Rogers Could Lose Up To $5M On Thursday's
Bills Toronto Series Preseason Game |
Thursday’s Steelers-Bills preseason game at the Rogers Centre drew 48,434 fans, but sources said that the game will run Rogers Communications “between [C$4-5M] in the deficit sheet,” according to Joe Warmington of the TORONTO SUN. The sources said that ticket prices for the game were “so high, they couldn’t sell them and ended up handing out up to 17,000 tickets to the public to make sure the Rogers Centre appeared sold out.” A Rogers source said, “They couldn’t sell the tickets and tried to paper the room to not embarrass themselves and save face to the NFL. They were handing out tickets to Rogers employees all day.” However, Bills Toronto Series GM Adrian Montgomery said, “Rogers is not bringing the Bills up to Toronto to make money. … This is about giving back to the city” (TORONTO SUN, 8/15). Rogers Vice Chair Phil Lind said, “We’re trying to prove to ourselves and the league and everybody else that Toronto is an NFL town as well as a CFL town. … If we can prove this experiment, I think the contract of some games in Buffalo and some games in Toronto makes a lot of sense.” But one exec, who “does business with the Bills and had purchased a private box with 50 seats last night,” said of Toronto’s efforts to impress the NFL, “If [Bills Owner] Ralph Wilson passes away, none of this will make any difference anyway” (TORONTO STAR, 8/15).
SMOOTH OPERATION: Bills COO Russ Brandon said after Thursday’s game, “Operationally and logistically, we went through a lot as an organization, but overall we’re just extremely pleased” (ESPN.com, 8/15). Bills TE Robert Royal said of the Rogers Centre, “Overall, I think it’s a pretty good atmosphere. It feels great. It is a beautiful dome. I think it’s going to do well for the NFL.” Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger added, “The stadium is awesome. [But] the turf leaves a lot to be desired” (GLOBE & MAIL, 8/15). In Rochester, Sal Maiorana writes Toronto “clearly showed that it wants this series of eight games to be successful” (ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 8/15).
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| Rogers Centre Lacks Buzz For Bills |
LACK OF BUZZ: ESPN.com’s Tim Graham wrote under the header, “Toronto Welcomes NFL With A Yawn.” Graham wrote the response to the game “has been a resounding whimper” (ESPN.com, 8/14). The GLOBE & MAIL’s David Naylor writes the game “didn’t have an electric atmosphere and lacked the kind of buzz that accompanies an NFL regular-season game,” though that is “expected from what was essentially a dress rehearsal.” But what was evident is that while Southern Ontario “may be rich in NFL fans, it is not necessarily rich” in Bills fans, as there were “significantly more Steelers jerseys among” the crowd (GLOBE & MAIL, 8/15). Also, before the game, a group of 20 people, “dressed in white T-shirts bearing the logo of the [Bills] with a slash drawn through it and clutching tiny Canadian flags,” chanted “The Bills belong in Buffalo” (ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 8/15).
BUSINESS SENSE: In Buffalo, Bob DiCesare writes under the header, “Bottom Line: Toronto Deal Makes Sense.” DiCesare writes, “A walk around suite level at the Rogers Centre explains the rationale behind these games.” Fidelity Investments has a box at the stadium, as do Dell, Home Depot, Franklin Templeton, Coca-Cola and GE. The eight game Bills Toronto Series represents the franchise’s “best chance at mitigating the disadvantage that goes with being one of the financial runts in the NFL litter” (BUFFALO NEWS, 8/15). However, the TORONTO SUN’s Warmington writes the game had “too much of a corporate feeling. For example when you see the hotel rooms in the Rogers Centre, and the Hard Rock Café covered up with banners so the people in the rooms can’t watch the game, it feels kind of stuffy and elitist” (TORONTO SUN, 8/15).
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