Larry Tanenbaum and Ted Rogers could be the newest big-money spenders interested in bringing an NFL franchise to Toronto.

Tanenbaum, minority owner of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, attended a news conference Tuesday to announce a partnership between MLSE and Rogers Communications Inc.

Ted Rogers, left, and Larry Tanenbaum may bring an NFL regular-season game to Toronto in 2007.
(Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

"I'm highly interested in an NFL team and Ted is, too," said Tanenbaum. "We hope to pursue it more rigorously as soon as the NFL gives us the word."

Rogers deferred to Tanenbaum, who owns 14 per cent of MLSE, when asked about his interest in the NFL.

Both men will attend a Cleveland Browns game as part of the lobbying process. Their first step in this process is to bring a regular-season NFL game to Rogers Centre in 2007.

MLSE president Richard Peddie was quick to point out that MLSE is not looking to purchase an NFL property.

"The interest over an NFL team is between Larry [Tanenbaum] and Ted," said Peddie. "It doesn't involve MLSE.

"If you understand NFL rules, the way we're configured, legally, we cannot own an NFL team. It sure would work in this market and maybe they'll pull it off, but it's not an initiative of MLSE at this time."

Rogers, who also owns the Toronto Blue Jays, said in an interview after the news conference that he's not in the market for an NFL team.

"We're trying to pay down our debt and increase dividends a little bit and strengthen our base," he said. "We don't want to do any harem-scarem thing."

Rogers Centre falls short 

An NFL team could cost close to $1 billion US, a price Rogers said would be too steep to pay.

"That's a harem-scarem thing," Rogers said with a grin.

While a joint effort with MLSE might possibly bring something in the future, he added: "Rogers Communications is certainly not prepared to spend $1 billion on the NFL coming to Toronto."

Tanenbaum does have other investors waiting, so he'll keep lobbying for a team.

A possible snag in the Tanenbaum-led group remains the NFL's requirement of a 60,000-seat stadium for teams.

Rogers Centre holds roughly 56,000, well short of the NFL standard that's been in place for decades.

But Tanenbaum said if Toronto is awarded a team, his group is ready to plan for a new stadium or update Rogers Centre to meet the NFL's demand.

With files from the Canadian Press