BillnutinHouston

You are 100% correct about this. Any doubters need only look at the seating plans for the Vikings new stadium. Those plans are fascinating. In a new stadium configuration you will pay much more than the current $900 per year for season tickets between the 35s, but you also may have access to the corridor area where the players walk by so you get the chance to high five the players. People will pay for this type of experience. I will.

Thank you sir. I feel much better now.

Pegula - $1.71B

I really dislike out of control behavior, and I go to every opener where you really see the "amateurs", but I have to say that I've rarely seen ridiculous behavior. When I do I just turn my back to it or walk away. I just haven't seen anything bad enough to detract from the energy and excitement of being there live. It might also depend on where you sit in the stadium.

Agree!

I wonder if the manipulation JW is talking about has to do with Jacobs' pending tax break for the proposed new Delaware North HQ.

Aren't we all.

Jeffrey

Outstanding. He's the one I've been hoping for.

OK I think I'm more embarrassed about this guy than I am about the guy that fell off the upper deck.

It's easy to look at it from a resentful frame of mind, but why not choose to take another, more empowered view of the situation? How about, gee, I can pay $10K to sit in nice seats AND do my part to keep the team I love? Why not? I get that some people just can't afford PSLs by themselves, but I hope folks start pooling their resources and doing group buys. (And yes I will do MY part when the time comes, just as I do now).

What was your point in posting this?

I've been saying this ever since the trustees were named. No way that Ralph would put his family in harm's way by naming his wife and niece to the trust unless he was confident that the team would stay local.

Honest question, not rhetorical: why can't we ask if this is speculation?

Here's what I want to know. The local guys we know of who have an interest, namely Jacobs and Golisano, seem as though they're willing to put up money but possibly, not necessarily enough to win outright. Reports indicate that Jacobs isn't interested in being a primary owner. And we have Golisano's recent statement that he'll bid, but at a reasonable price. I'd like to know who, other than Jacobs, is willing to be parts of a local ownership "team". For example, is Golisano willing to join Jacobs and other local "super friends" to put together a winning bid if they can't win as individuals? Or are they so ego driven that they want to be individual owners or nothing?

Even bringing up Irsay is completely inappropriate in this case. Mr. Wilson has consistently opposed franchise relocation and Mrs. Wilson's personal interactions with both the community and individual fans has more than earned her the benefit of the doubt as well. The Wilsons are the complete opposite of the Irsays.

The new Bills owners might disagree with your second statement. And that's understating it to the extreme.

I'll vote for you if you promise to find out if contributions to the BFA are tax deductible. I emailed the BFA months ago about this, and got absolutely no reply. The lack of response is pretty stunning for a group looking to build popular support.

A new owner, and it's not close.

Interesting note from Kryk source (in recent article): --A prominent East Coast sports-franchise sale and relocation expert told QMI Agency in early April that Niagara Falls might make the most sense of any new stadium location in Western New York, as much as anything because it would draw more ticket-buyers from the Golden Horseshoe. "I don't think you're going to lose your season-ticket holders from Buffalo," the expert said. Well, not a lot of them, probably, but surely some -- especially if something isn't done to widen or augment the pair of narrow, two-lane I-190 bridges on either end of Grand Island, and their bottlenecking $1 tollbooths. Would the additional Canadian ticket-buyers more than make up for the ticket drop among Western New Yorkers? Almost certainly. "I think what ends up happening in that circumstance is you might go up from 18% season tickets from Canadians (as is the case now, the Bills say) up to 25% or 30%," the source said. "You'd actually position yourself better for sponsorship and advertising. It could be great for the whole region. I think it would work out very well. It would play well, too. I could see more synergies from MLSE or Rogers or whoever is involved. There are a lot of cross-promotional perspectives." The new owner is going to have as much or more say in the location than anyone. I suspect that the entire ownership selection will revolve around the complete package of not only who can pay market value for the team, but also where they want the new stadium and how viable that owner's stadium plan is from a public funding standpoint. I further suspect that conversations between prospective owners, the trustees, the Governor and the league will all be happening simultaneously and will have to come together in one package in order for someone to be declared the new owner. Many have rightly pointed out that the Toronto series has not successfully stamped the Bills brand onto the hearts of Toronto sports fans. But if the team was partly Canadian owned, that could change. Between the symbolism of an American-Canadian ownership group and building a new stadium in the "Niagara region", I could see where a prospective owner would feel that they are on a solid financial foundation to put in a winning bid on the Bills. I'm not going out on a limb by saying that almost everyone will find something to be disappointed about when the new ownership and stadium location is announced. But to me, the biggest concerns are 1) keeping the team in WNY and 2) building a solid financial foundation for the team going forward. I don't want to have to rely on the NFL welfare system (revenue sharing) or some philanthropist to keep my team afloat into the future, and by leveraging the wealth and corporate sponsorship north of the border, maybe I don't have to.

You're asking if appearances matter. My answer would be, a little, but not nearly as much as winning. If he helps you win you keep him.

For STHers. As I recall, club seat holders could order starting yesterday, and non-club holders can order starting Wednesday.

Red hair ring? Do you mean "red herring"? Now that was funny.

Marcell's just taking care of business like he said he would.

In the trust I trust. If the trust signs off on a deal that includes Canadian interests, I believe the team will stay south of the border, probably in a new stadium. What will be key is the ownership percentages.