Creative Class

Mike Tanier over at Football Outsiders sees the power of the mega-region:

Buffalo has long been one of those in-between cities: small by international
standards, but large enough to host the Bills and the NHL Sabres. Now, Buffalo
is close to losing some of its big-league luster. The Bills will play three
preseason and five regular season games in Toronto, starting this year and
ending in 2012. The so-called Toronto Series is a likely precursor to a
permanent move to Canada. …

This region spans two nations: the Buffalo-Rochester area in western New York,
and the Toronto metro area in southern Canada. Toronto is the financial capital
of Canada, and if you yoke its economy onto Buffalo-Rochester’s, you get a
powerhouse mega-region.

Richard Florida, economist and author of Who’s Your City?, explains
the mega-region concept. “Mega-regions are the driving forces of the world
economy. A mega-region is an area that hosts business and economic activity on a
large scale, generating a lion’s share of the world’s economic activity and an
even larger share of the world’s innovation and technological discoveries.”
Toronto-Buffalo-Rochester (TBR) is one of just 40 significant mega-regions in
the world. According to Florida, it’s responsible for $530 billion in economic
output. It also ranks highly among world mega-regions in worldwide innovation
patents and what Florida calls “star scientists,” two indicators that TBR is
positioned to compete against other regions as a high-tech research and
industrial center.

Strapping U.S. and Canadian cities together seems a little disingenuous at
first, but Florida explains that it’s vital to everyone’s financial interests to
think outside the borders of states and nations. “Much of our public policy
ignores the rise of mega-regions and, sometimes, works against them. If we want
to bolster economic competitiveness, policy leaders across country borders and
state lines must pursue policies that take mega-regions into account.”

Buffalo and Toronto are just a few hours apart; Maple Leafs fans often travel
to Buffalo when their teams play the Sabres, and Buffalo baseball fans often
take day trips to watch the Blue Jays. By moving across the
border and closer to the center of the TBR mega-region, the Bills can acquire a
much-needed influx of corporate-caliber cash. “The Bills are like your parents
who bought their house 50 years ago,” Robinson explained. “Their mortgage is
paid off, so they don’t need a lot of income to get by.” The Wilson family can
turn a tidy profit on television revenues, but the next owners will cough up as
much as $800 million. They’ll need luxury box revenue and other income sources
to offset their initial debts. “We don’t have a deep stable of companies,”
Robinson said. “The Bills couldn’t dream of selling a PSL.” Ideally, Toronto
would provide the companies, with Buffalo providing the loyal fan base.

It’s one thing to embrace macroeconomics, but quite another to root for a
team that sings a different national anthem before games. While Bills fans are
among the most loyal in the NFL, Robinson is not sure how many
would follow the team to Canada, not when the Steelers, Browns, Jets, Giants,
and Patriots offer attractive regional rooting interests. “Over time, it would
settle into the relationship locals have with the Blue Jays,” Robinson said.
“The Bills would be a nearby team to go to.”

However, the Toronto Series, with its multi-venue format, could help fans
acclimate to the idea of a regional team. The Toronto Series allows the Rogers
group to use the novelty and rarity of NFL football to charge super-premium
prices to Toronto fans. At the same time, the Wilson family gets a $78 million
payday from the Rogers group, and can also charge slightly more for games at
Rich Stadium because of decreased supply. Over a period of a few seasons, the
Wilsons and the Rogers conglomerate could tweak the 7-to-1 Buffalo-Toronto game
arrangement. The Bills could end up playing four games in each venue, just as
the Packers split time between Green Bay and Milwaukee in the 1970s and 80s.

Some fans may abandon the Bills if they become Canadians or vagabonds, but
Florida sees a big difference between a move within the TBR region and a move
to, say, Los Angeles. “Economic development, more than ever before, is about
talent attraction and retention. Creative types are concentrating in communities
that are open, diverse, and thick with an array of amenities. Major league
sports help to create an authentic community, one that is appealing and engaging
for people of all walks of life.” The designation “major league city” still
means something in the world of high finance. Toronto will use pro football to enhance its
international profile; the official Toronto Series website
(www.billsintoronto.com) touts the city as “international, sophisticated,
ethnically diverse, fascinating and passionate about sports.” That designation
could apply to the whole TBR region, which could in turn use the Bills as a
drawing card. “Authenticity is important to creative workers,” Florida said.
“Professional sports teams, similar to a region’s arts community and its unique
neighborhoods, help make a region unique.”

The Bills are one of the few things lending “authenticity” to Buffalo;
without them (and the Sabres), Buffalo has little to offer that can’t be found
in Elmira or Erie, Pennsylvania. “The Bills are our last lingering vestige of
being a major league city,” Robinson said. “People take a lot of pride in them.”
Re-imagine Buffalo as a small part of a thriving mega-region, and the fans of
western New York can keep their allegiance to the Bills.

Even with a border in the way, the mega-region remains a big, growing  “commutable” market.  In Bos-Wash, Philly and DC are becoming the new suburbs so to speak, for those who can’t afford or can’t deal with the hustle and bustle of NYC but want a more “urban” alternative.  Buffalo can benefit from Toronto’s market size and unrelenting growth. Already, Canadians are the no. 1 immigrant group in Buffalo. Who knows?  Eventually, as housing prices continue to rise in Toronto, Buffalo may well be able to capitalize on its huge housing cost advantage, combined with its lakefront, authentic neighborhoods, universities, healthcare system, and arts and cultural assets to begin to attract talent from the mega, and perhaps, the world.

And I’ll sure be lining up for my Tor-Buf-Chester Bill’s tickets.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 25th, 2008 at 10:17 am and is filed under International Creative Class. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.