The Buffalo Bills announced today that they will postpone the 2014 game in Toronto and will have a full slate of games at Ralph Wilson Stadium in 2014. This is a move that some saw coming. The Bills will now host the standard eight regular season home games at Rich Stadium in Buffalo this year.
There were various reasons as to why this decision was made. Team President/CEO Russ Brandon spoke about this at a press conference today. One reporter asked Brandon if the atmosphere at the Atlanta Falcons game had anything to do with the decision. Brandon’s reply was;
“I think that’s a fair comment. Obviously we’re trying to build a fan base north of the border and this year I would say it was a neutral crowd. Some of that had to do with how we played over the last six years has really not been conducive to building a lot of fans that were NFL fans, but we’re trying to make them Bills fans. We’re going to continue to try to do that through a variety of initiatives that we will be working with Rogers over the next year in a very robust sponsorship and partnership that we will have that will cater to fans above the border.”
That answer gave signs that games in Toronto may be something that they will revisit in the future. One of the things that the Bills felt that was lost was “a more robust fan experience.” Brandon said that he wants to work with sponsors to create more of a home field advantage. He did say that he thinks that the Toronto and South Ontario marketplace is a key part of the Bills long-term viability.
Unfortunately, the Bills have not enjoyed a lot of success in the recent years. Brandon did cite the new regime as a reason for optimism.
“I think it’s been a roller-coaster from the standpoint of just the losses. That’s on us. We take full responsibility for that. We’ve made strides in a lot of different ways. We have Doug Whaley and Coach Marrone have every resource available to them. Starting with Doug with the full complement of the salary cap and the full composite of the roster to put the best product out on the field he possibly can and what he feels is best. There is nothing else that matters to anyone in this organization than winning and I feel we’re on the right path.”
The new challenge will be selling out the eight home games at Rich Stadium. Bills fans are passionate but they are tired of the losing. They will need to make some moves this off season to generate a buzz going into organized team activities. According to overthecap.com, the Bills have $25.6 million in salary cap space. They neglected to use the franchise tag on Jarius Byrd but can opt for a less expensive safety in this year’s draft class. There are options for them with the ninth overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft. One way to add excitement would be to select a dynamic play maker such as wide receiver Mike Evans from Texas A&M or North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron. Either way, the Bills fans will be expecting things to move in the right direction in 2014.
