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So much for the notion that playing games in Toronto will scare away season-ticket holders for a team based in Buffalo.
The Bills have announced that they have sold 50,000 season tickets for 2008. It’s their highest total since 1993, the team’s last of four straight Super Bowl seasons.
This certainly highlights the passion and commitment this region has for the Buffalo Bills and NFL football,” said COO Russ Brandon. “With nearly four months remaining before the season opener, we expect momentum to continue.”
In 2007, the Bills sold 48,236 season tickets.
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Is there anything else to do in Buffalo?
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:29 pm
It’s too damn cold there during football season to do anything else.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:30 pm
WOW! Could it be that the only way to see a Buffalo Bills game in person in 2008 would be to either become a season ticket holder, a sucker for ticket scalpers or an ebay/stubhub sucker? What a change that would be for them! I never thought I would see the day with my beloved Bengals either but here we are, sold out to season ticket holders for the past 3 seasons consecutively going into the 4th! Kudos to you Buffalo!
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:32 pm
I wonder if the likely move of the Bills to Toronto in 2013 is actually spurring the additional ticket sales. Could people who live in between Toronto and Buffalo be buying season tickets in anticipation for the eventual move so that they don’t get wait listed if the Bills move to Toronto and the demand for season tickets outweigh the supply. Assuming they play in the Roger Center, there aren’t many seats available.
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May 22nd, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Does Buffalo have a population of 50,000?
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:36 pm
how about not go 1-15… just for a start.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:38 pm
it kinda shocks me that there are that many Bills fans out there…
still waiting on my steelers season tickets……..only about 19 years 248 days and 8 hours to go and then they will be mine!!!
go Stillers/Pens!
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:38 pm
How many of those are bought by Torontonians?
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:41 pm
what canadian province is buffalo in?
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Laugh @ the dolphins?
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Buffalo has always had devoted followings of their sports teams. The biggest travesty in the NBA was the loss of the Buffalo Braves to the West Coast move (they’re the Clippers now). Dolphin fan, Buffalo has much more intense and devoted fan base than any fan base in Florida for any sport.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:45 pm
There is just as much to do in Buffalo as Miami, its just colder.
This is just an example of true fan loyalty in a tough city.
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Rating: 3.8 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:45 pm
What really hasnt been discussed is the fact that each year between 30-45% of season ticket holders are Canadians that make the drive down from the Toronto area. My guess is that the surge this year is at least partly due to Canadians buying seasons tickets to get front of the line access to the games played in Canada.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
“Is there anything else to do in Buffalo?”
Well, I thank them on a near daily basis for their wings…
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Well…10 of my buddies (All living in Canada) bought season tickets to have firts dibs for Toronto tickets and, if the Bills ever land in Toronto, will have first dibs for seats there too and know of other Canadians who have done the same, which may play a large role in why they sold more season tickets as of recent!
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Rating: 4.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:59 pm
I think the fact that season ticket holders are paying for two less games since they have one preseason and one regular season game in Toronto. Plus people from Toronto wanting to get a shot at tickets for the games in the Rogers Centre.
Anyone wondering about fan dedication should watch a Marlins home game and see how Miami sports fans support their team.
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May 22nd, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Not sure about numbers - but a few of you have hit on one key aspect:
We [four Torontonians] bought Bills Season Tickets [which are dirt cheap] - for the primary purpose of getting dibs on the Bills’ Toronto games, which we have now purchased.
We will definately head down for many of the games in Buffalo, because it is a blast. However, I am sure there are a tonne of people from Toronto who did this, and that is a big reason for the rise in season ticket sales.
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May 22nd, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Maybe it’s their fanbase trying to tell everyone they don’t want their team moved.
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May 22nd, 2008 at 1:24 pm
I’m a Pats season ticket holder, and 15 year fan. But my next favorite teams are the Bills and the Browns. I go to Buffalo ever year for the Pats/Bills game, and it’s a pretty fun environment. Better than dealing with the drunk fair-weather Patriot fans that I’m normally used to.
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Does this have anything to do with the recent shut down on the CBA? I remember Buffalo was the most vocal in how much the or-gan-I-zation hated the agreement. It seems curious that a couple of days after the agreement was officially canceled, the Bills are suddenly shouting about how financially sound they are. whatever. I’m sure the season ticket number is more like 35,000 with 10,000 requests for season tickets. Either way, Ice Cube said it best: “I got the phat, mad skills/and I wont choke like the Buffalo Bills.”
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May 22nd, 2008 at 2:16 pm
“make sure you see us before we move”
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May 22nd, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Just curious: are the tickets printed in French?
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Yeah, Miami and Buffalo are similar: models on the beach, palm trees, pretty darn close.
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May 22nd, 2008 at 3:42 pm
They only have to pay for 7 regular season games and 1 preseason game - so the season tickets are cheaper.
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May 22nd, 2008 at 3:56 pm
It’s probably the product of (1) the team should be better this year and (2) less tickets to buy so the overall package is cheaper.
As much as Canadians seem to want to flip this into an indicator that the Bills should move across the border, if fans in Toronto wanted first crack at Toronto games, they should have bought Argos tickets which would have given them priority. So I doubt that was much of it.
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