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Bills’ Niagara Falls rumblings might serve as a compromise between Buffalo and Toronto

The discussions of where the Buffalo Bills will eventually end up are continuing in the wake of owner Ralph Wilson's March death, and, as expected, they're largely shaping up as a tug-of-war between groups that want to see the team stay in Buffalo and groupsthat want to move them to Toronto. Both groups have powerful and well-heeled members, and both have points on their side; keeping the Bills in Western New York maintains history and matters to the region, but moving them to Toronto would help them tap a richer, more populous market. This week saw a new wrinkle thrown in, though, the almost literally Solomonic idea of splitting the difference and basing the team in Niagara Falls, New York. From John Wawrow of The Associated Press, here are the details:

Don't rule out Niagara Falls as a potential future home of the Buffalo Bills.

Several officials told The Associated Press that a newly formed Bills stadium task force of public and private leaders seeking to bolster the team's long-term viability is considering sites that would put it closer to the team's burgeoning Ontario fan base.

''We're looking at Niagara County,'' Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy told the AP this week. ''We're open to looking at a number of venues.''

Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster confirmed Niagara County was discussed as an option during the inaugural meeting last week of the newly formed New Stadium Working Group committee.

Duffy made clear ''that all options should be on the table,'' Dyster said, adding that includes Niagara County and even Batavia, about halfway between Buffalo and Rochester.

That goes beyond the group's initial directive, which was first limited to seeking potential stadium sites in Erie County, where Buffalo is located.

There's plenty to support that idea. Moving the team to Niagara (21 miles and less than half an hour from Buffalo proper, 35 miles and a 42-minute drive from the team's current home in Orchard Park, NY) would maintain the Bills as a Western New York team and still hopefully allow them to attract many of their existing American fans, but it would also put them closer to the heavily-populated cities of Southern Ontario (and the rich corporations that have their headquarters there). It also avoids the complications that would arise from basing a NFL team in Canada proper, which could include political and legal challenges (which happened before when someone tried to bring American football north and has been discussed again), but also could include the difficulties in getting publicly funded stadiums built north of the border, something typically much more challenging than it is in the States.

In a lot of ways, this would be an ideal outcome for the CFL. An NFL franchise in Niagara would likely take Toronto proper off the table as a NFL destination, and while having the Bills closer to Ontario would increase their competition with the Argos and the Tiger-Cats for fans and corporate sponsors, that increase likely wouldn't be disastrous. Yes, the CFL's Ontario teams would have to be on their game both on and off the field to survive and thrive in the shadow of the NFL, but this is a lot less troubling than even having the Bills play occasional games in Toronto (and even that isn't that bad, really). While having a NFL team closer to the border would pose some competitive challenges for the CFL, it would also effectively remove the NFL's nuclear option of relocating a franchise to Toronto—and that's a trade the Canadian league would likely gladly take.

However, while this might be a great resolution for the CFL, it does have some drawbacks for the other stakeholders involved. That's why it's a compromise, after all (and it's notable that even Solomon's much-lauded decision involved the threat of compromise rather than an actual compromise). While putting the Bills in Niagara keeps them from leaving the state, it might still be seen as too far for many Buffalo residents, businessmen and Erie County executives (this would put them in neighbouring Niagara County), and it could be seen as not far enough for those who want the team to tap the Toronto market more substantially. Moreover, the city of Niagara Falls, NY itself has just over 50,000 people, not even enough to fill a NFL stadium; while there's no question that many fans would make the trip from Buffalo and its surrounding areas, a bigger debate is if Buffalo businesses would find it worthwhile to sponsor a Niagara team, as you're not likely to pull in too many corporate sponsors in a town that small.

That's part of why this is just one of the options being discussed by the 20 members of the Bills' New Stadium Working Group. Wawrow's story mentions that they're also in talks with the University at Buffalo about a stadium partnership in the Erie County town of Amherst, and the group's looking at plenty of other alternatives in both Niagara County and Erie County. The Toronto interests may well end up making a play to get the Bills themselves, too. For the moment, this is all just talk (and the Bills' stadium lease means they're likely not going anywhere through at least 2019). The Niagara discussion is certainly interesting, though, and it could represent a way forward that works for the Bills, Toronto and the CFL.