Ralph Wilson is convinced Toronto is ready to support an NFL franchise. Asked then to assure Bills fans he’s committed to keeping the team in Buffalo, the 89-year-old declined to guess.


“Don’t worry right now,” was the best answer he could provide at a news conference Wednesday announcing the Bills would begin playing an annual regular-season game in Toronto beginning this season through 2012. Based on what Wilson saw during a half-hour drive from the airport to a downtown hotel, he was convinced Canada’s financial capital and North America’s fifth largest sports market was ready for the NFL.


“I can answer that in the affirmative,” Wilson said. “It reminds me of my trip to Dallas a few months ago. They’re building in Dallas, Texas, everywhere, cranes, brand-new structures. And I see the same thing here in Toronto. It’s no secret, Buffalo is diminishing in size,” Wilson said.


Toronto will formally land on the NFL map later this year, when the Bills become the league’s first franchise to play an annual regular season game outside the United States. The deal also includes the Bills playing three preseason games ( one every other year, starting this year ) in Toronto.