NBA's Raptors to host 'Bills Night' as the latest collaboration between the teams
The Buffalo Bills’ push into Southern Ontario will take another step Tuesday night. The Toronto Raptors will host a “Bills Night” for their 7:30 p.m. home game against the New York Knicks at Scotiabank Arena.
Tracy McGrady, left, a minority owner of the Bills, chats with wide receiver Keon Coleman before a game against the Texans on Nov. 20 at NRG Stadium in Houston.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
The Buffalo Bills’ push into Southern Ontario will take another step Tuesday night.
The Toronto Raptors will host a “Bills Night” for their 7:30 p.m. home game against the New York Knicks at Scotiabank Arena.
As part of the festivities, Raptors legends Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady – both of whom are minority owners of the Bills – will be heavily involved. They will host a pregame fireside chat with fans, then be courtside during the game, hyping up the home crowd.
“We really couldn’t ask for better partners than them,” said Kate Hussmann, the Bills' chief strategy officer.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen talks with Vince Carter, one of the team's minority owners. Carter will be a big part of the NBA team's
"Bills Night," to be held Tuesday against the Knicks. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Hussmann is in charge of leading the Bills’ push into the lucrative Southern Ontario market, which includes the Greater Toronto Area, which is home to an estimated 7.1 million people.
Obviously, that’s a huge market that the Bills understandably want to tap into. As part of that, the team announced a partnership in September with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment – a massive conglomerate that owns the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, the NBA’s Raptors, Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts.
Since September, the Bills have partnered with MLSE on a number of different events, including youth football camps that have reached about 1,500 participants, Hussmann said. Additionally, Real Sports Bar & Grill in Toronto hosted watch parties for five regular-season Bills games and both of the team’s playoff games. Those watch parties had more than 1,500 fans in attendance.
“We’re very aligned with MLSE on this. This is a long-term partnership and unique partnership, a partnership between two North American sports brands in different sports leagues that aren't part of the same ownership entity,” Hussmann said. “It's one of a kind, so we hope to continue to explore all of the unique ways that we can work together. Thus far, it's been a very fruitful relationship.”
Each fan in attendance Tuesday night will receive a “Bills Night” black T-shirt that features the Raptors’ mascot carrying a football and the phrase “Hey-Ey-Ey-Ey!” written across the top – referencing the Bills’ famous “Shout” song. A Bills logo appears on the sleeve.
“Bills-Raptors night specifically is just a continuation of this partnership,” Hussmann said. “We want to offer our fans the best sports experiences possible, collectively. We think joining the Raptors brand with the Bills brand is a really unique way to do to that. Clear synergy, obviously, with Vince and Tracy now being part of our ownership group. Both being Raptors legends, it's a fun way to put a bow on that partnership.”
Some members of “Bills Mafia” are also expected at the game – and beforehand, to introduce Buffalo’s tailgate culture to Toronto. The night will also feature several Bills-related game-presentation elements.
Hussmann said that fans from Southern Ontario make up about 10% of the Bills’ season-ticket base entering the first season in the New Highmark Stadium. Traditionally, about 8-12% of single-game tickets are sold to fans in Southern Ontario, a number that the Bills are curious to see if it holds. Perhaps most importantly, about 18% of the deposits made for new season tickets have come from Southern Ontario, which shows a clear appetite for the Bills’ brand.
Ultimately, success of the partnership can be defined in different ways. Broadly, the Bills want more people in Canada, specifically Southern Ontario, talking about the team, wearing its logo and watching games. To that end, the team has done merchandise collaborations available only in Canada. It has sent franchise legends to the watch parties in Toronto. It's part of a long-term outlook.
“We’re seeing interest from Southern Ontario brands wanting to align themselves with what we feel like is one of the most authentic fan bases in the U.S., so that's a big initiative of ours too, is how do we partner with the right brands in Southern Ontario?” Hussmann said. “I think we've seen a general excitement from our fan base. … We want to understand who these fans are in Southern Ontario and understand what they're looking for from the Bills and how we can reach them.
“What better way to do that than to get 19,000 people at a sold-out Raptors game wearing the Bills logo? These are obviously sports fans. They might be football fans, but we want them to be Bills fans.”
As Hussmann referenced, the Bills are taking a long-term view of their relationship with MLSE. With quarterback Josh Allen in his prime, the Bills are an annual Super Bowl contender. That, coupled with the opening of a new stadium, means demand is not a problem right now.
Hussmann’s focus is on the future, though, so tapping into the corporate dollars in Toronto is important, as is reaching the next generation of fans who will eventually become ticket holders.
“The point of growing the youth fan base specifically and focusing on youth sports in conjunction with MLSE is what's the next generation of Bills fandom look like?” she said. “Is it the child who is growing up in Toronto who might be playing both cricket and football, and want to make sure he's introduced to football and has exposure and early opportunities to become a fan. Because those are the buyers who will come down the pike.”