(WGR 550) -- With the Tuesday news that Rogers CEO Ted Rogers passed away, Jim Kelley joined The Howard Simon Show to discuss Rogers and the future of his company's agreement to bring Bills games to Toronto.
“He was a remarkable individual and he will be missed," said Kelley, longtime sports columnist, of Rogers.
As for Bills' fans enduring memories of the press conference in which Rogers and Bills owner Ralph Wilson came off poorly, Kelley said that's an unfortunate reflection of the Canadian mogul.
“That press conference was not his shining hour, nor was it Ralph Wilson's, and it did some damage to this football experiment,” Kelley said. “Ted Rogers also purchased and saved the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto, and also buying the Skydome, and his impact on sports in Toronto is probably larger than anyone else in this country.”
Kelley said not to expect the "experiment" to suffer, as Rogers was not the only man pushing the Bills in Toronto.
“The gentleman who really put this together with Russ Brandon and the Bills is Phil Lind, who is a huge football fan a long-time season ticket holder of the Bills,” Kelley said. “Phil Lind was Ted Rogers right-hand man from Day One. He’s the guy who pretty much convinced Ted to take this step. I think that relationship is going to stay for the life of the deal, and I believe that Rogers Communications will still be a player if the Bills were to go on the market.”
There were reports of sluggish ticket sales, and Kelley spoke to that as well.
“As much as Bills fans were upset with Ralph Wilson’s performance (at the press conference), Toronto fans were upset with Ted Rogers. They thought the prices were too high… and that they were being gouged," said Kelley, who works for Rogers Sportsnet. “They may take a loss on the first game, but when you think about the ability to put the games on the air over Canada, I don’t think it will affect the bottom line.”
Email:
nick@wgr550.com
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