Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula would not oppose an NFL franchise in Toronto, according to Sun Media’s John Kryk.
Pegula, who outbid Jon Bon Jovi’s Toronto-based group as well as Donald Trump for the franchise after the death of long-time owner Ralph Wilson last March, told Kryk on Tuesday that his vow to keep the Bills in Western New York doesn’t mean he’d be against an NFL team in Toronto.
“I don’t think I would have a problem with it if they could support the team,” Pegula said. “It’s a big enough market.”
More intriguing than Pegula not having an issue with a team in Southern Ontario is the fact the new Bills owner was asked just that when the league approved his purchase of the Bills.
“I believe I was asked that question when I was approved as an owner, and it was an affirmative answer to the league. I said I would support it if Toronto had a franchise,” Pegula told Kryk. “There are a lot of people there.”
As Kryk points out, in North America only New York City — which already has two teams — and Los Angeles — which looks to be on the verge of at least one — have larger metropolitan populations than Toronto and its surrounding area.
The NFL has experimented in the city before with the Bills-in-Toronto series, which was cancelled after running from 2008-2012 not long after the Pegulas took over in Buffalo.
However, none of this means a team will be in Toronto any time soon. Numerous roadblocks stand in the way of such a move, including the area’s lack of a stadium and the uncertain future of the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts.
