Doug Ford makes a push for Toronto to get an NFL team
The NFL hasn’t ever officially called Canada home, but one notable politician is looking to change that.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is in support of Toronto getting an NFL team, he told reporters at a press conference this week when announcing Rogers Stadium, a temporary 50,000-capacity concert venue located at Downsview Park in the north end of the city.
NEW – Premier Ford was asked if the Downsview site would be suitable for a Toronto NFL franchise “I believe so” he said “The NFL can’t keep ignoring the third largest market” “We need an NFL franchise here”
— Richard Southern (@RichardCityNews) September 26, 2024
“I believe so,” Ford replied when asked if Downsview Park could one day host an NFL stadium. “The NFL can’t keep ignoring the third largest market… We need an NFL franchise here.”
Interestingly, the plot of land that the new event venue is on is set to be redeveloped into the future for housing, so it’s not entirely clear if Ford had exactly that area in mind, or somewhere else.
Toronto has hosted several NFL regular season games before, though none since 2013. From 2008 through 2013, the Buffalo Bills hosted an annual home contest in Toronto at the Rogers Centre (not to be confused with the aforementioned concert venue).
Of course, getting an NFL franchise to Canada is much easier said than done, regardless of whether Toronto or elsewhere in the GTA finds a suitable plot of land to build a stadium on. The NFL hasn’t expanded past 32 teams since 2002, when the Houston Texans joined the league.
A more likely route for a market like Toronto to get a team would be through relocation, with the Raiders’ move from Oakland to Las Vegas and the Rams’ and Chargers’ moves from St. Louis and San Diego to Los Angeles being the most recent examples in the last decade of franchise switching their home cities.
For now, football fans in Canada are left with watching the remaining few weeks of the CFL and university regular seasons, while sticking to their TVs if they’re looking to catch some NFL action.
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