There have been several failed attempts to establish a professional American football franchise in Toronto in the past. A Toronto group submitted a bid for an American Football League expansion team for the city in 1960, the expansion fee set at $125,000, with plans to play in the league's second season in the following year. Toronto interests continued pursuing an AFL team for several years, with the league naming the city as a potential expansion market in 1965. In 1964 a Toronto group applied for a United Football League franchise, but ultimately withdrew their bid for a team. Following the season, a Toronto group attempted to purchase the Canton Bulldogs of the UFL to relocate them to Toronto. When the Continental Football League was established for the 1965 season with former UFL teams, the Quebec Rifles of the UFL were admitted and transferred to Toronto to become the Toronto Rifles due to a lack of a suitable facility in Montreal. The Rifles competed in the Continental League from 1965 to 1967, but the owners pulled out in the middle of their final season after having lost a reported $400,000 in their final full season. The league took over the club and planned to have it play all of its games on the road, but several weeks later the team folded.