Posted on: December 12, 2024, 09:26h.
Last updated on: December 12, 2024, 09:26h.
Buffalo Bills’ owner Terry Pegula says his focus is on Toronto when talking further growth in value of his team, with the announcement that ten limited partners have joined the Bills’ ownership group, led by Toronto sports icons Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Jozy Altidore.
The announcement confirms reporting on the move from October.
Bills’ Value Pegged at $4.2 Billion
Carter was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in October, followed by having his jersey number retired by the Toronto Raptors, the team he entered the NBA with in 1999. Carter starred with the Raptors until his trade to the New Jersey Nets in 2004.
Altidore won a Major League Soccer championship with Toronto FC in 2017 and lists himself on his X profile as a “US soccer player, sports investor and entrepreneur”. McGrady, who is Carter’s cousin, was inducted into the basketball hall of fame in 2017, and played with the Raptors from 1997-2000.
Sports and Entertainment Juggernaut
Forbes pegs the current value of the Bills at $4.2 billion.
As baseball super-agent Scott Boras said yesterday at the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings in Dallas, the Toronto sports market is a behemoth.
It’s a sport entertainment juggernaut and should be viewed as such,” he told reporters yesterday.
The minority, non-controlling new owners were approved Wednesday by NFL team owners.
“That’s Our Market”
“I just wanted to have some partners to help us grow,” Pegula told Tim Graham of The Athletic. “The three pro athletes are all icons in Toronto. That’s our market. We’re going to grow into that market. They know that. I’ve asked them about that, and they’re willing to help.”
The other seven investors are:
- Arctos, a private investment firm
- Rob Palumbo, co-managing partner of technology-focused private equity firm Accel-KKR
- Sue McCollum, CEO and owner of beverage distribution companies Eagle Brand Sales and Double Eagle Distributing
- Theresia Gouw, co-founder and managing partner of venture capital firm Acrew Capital
- Rob Ward, co-founder, general partner of venture capital firm Meritech Capital
- Mike Joo, COO, Global Corporate & Investment Banking and Head of North America Corporate & Investment Banking at Bank of America
- Tom Burger, co-founder and managing partner of the investment firm Gridiron Capital
Bills’ Checkered History with Toronto
The Bills rely on the Toronto area for season ticket sales – pegged at 8,000 in a Postmedia study in 2020. However Bills games at Toronto’s Rogers Centre held from 2008 to 2012 (called the “Bills Toronto Series”) were met with heavy criticism over issues like high ticket prices, plus the fact the Bills were terrible at the time. The Bills had a 1-5 record in the series. The games lacked fan energy. Fan reaction to the series in Buffalo was negative.
This was all before Pegula came in as owner (2014), when there was uncertainty about the Bills’ future in Buffalo, with stories they might be moving to Toronto. One of Pegula’s first moves as owner was to cancel the series.
Under Pegula, the Bills are now established as one of the NFL’s top teams, in terms of their record anyway, and a new $2 billion stadium is currently being built in Orchard Park.
The Bills have consistently been one of the more popular targets for bettors in Ontario, according to licensed sportsbook operators.
