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"We need to look beyond the regionalism, and we have to look at if we get the money to rebuild the stadium, where do we go in ten years?" asks Termini. "Do we move to another city or do we try to save the team now. We can't be shortsighted. A 45 minute ride should not be detrimental to keeping the team in Buffalo."
Hamilton's Canadian Football League team has announced plans for a new stadium in a couple of years. "The Tiger-Cats stadium is going to be small," says Termini. "What I'd like to see happen is before this is done, that we change it to a larger stadium, so there's only one stadium. Canadians have already raised the money for that stadium, so it would be easier to put the stadium up." Termini believes it would be an 80,000 seat stadium in Hamilton, just like Orchard Park. "There will be more than 5 million people between the metropolitan areas of Toronto and Buffalo, you'll have the fifth most populated area in North America."
As for whether games can be sold out in Hamilton, Termini says there will be less of a challenge "because you're attracting all those people from Toronto because this will only be a 45 minute ride from Toronto, and a 45 minute ride from Buffalo. It's the perfect spot for a stadium when you're looking at the population of the area."
Termini is floating the idea at the moment, so there's no firm timetable, and has no idea what the cost of a Hamilton stadium would be. "We probably wouldn't see anything for at least three years," estimates Termini.
He adds the NFL would be "relieved" to have the Bills play in Hamilton. "They're looking to keep a team here in Buffalo. Instead of disappointing fans here, you'll keep your fan base, and you'll also be able to put a team in Toronto, and I think this satisfies everyone," believes Termini. He adds the Bills Toronto series would not longer be needed with home games in Hamilton.
