After losing four straight games, the Bills' December games are "becoming a tougher and tougher sell," according to WGRZ.com. There are "still 12,000 tickets available for the" team's game against the Titans Sunday. For the Dec. 11 Miami game, "13,600 seats remain." And for the team's matchup against the Broncos on Christmas Eve, "there are still 24,800 tickets left." But Bills brass are "trying to brighten that picture through a variety of deals, such as the December package that offers savings of up to $9 per ticket as well as military discounts." Bills CEO Russ Brandon said, "I would like to say that we're in good position but it's going to be a challenge for us. It's a lot of inventory to move in a short amount of time." When asked if the team would buy tickets to avoid a blackout, Brandon said, "We're looking at the standpoint that, that's done in some markets, but in this market our business model really calls for us to be sold out." He added that "buying up seats themselves would devalue season tickets altogether." Sixty-percent of Bills December home games were "sold out in the last decade." And in the '90s, the "Super Bowl years, the stadium sold out only 55 percent of the time in December." Brandon said that it all "has to do with the time of year." And "like before, they're trying with everyone from fans to corporate sponsors to get those thousands of unsold seats bought up before Thursday's blackout deadline" (WGRZ.com, 11/30).
ANOTHER BLACKOUT? The Dolphins yesterday said that they "are 'hopeful' the Raiders game will be televised locally, which likely will require the team to again buy tickets before" today's blackout deadline (MIAMI HERALD, 12/1).
