SF Bills Fan

My guess on this is that they took a look at the financials and saw what the Bills bring in with revenue and got encouraged. They know or believe that they can up that number significantly in Toronto. That is why Rogers is now in, too. They see a good investment. A decent investment in Buffalo but a great one in Toronto. That is why they are not to be trusted. At this point, we just really need to hope that Pegula's bid is enough to take the prize. We really need the estate trust to want to preserve the legacy of having the team remain Buffalo and we have to have faith (I know this is a stretch) in the political might of NYS state to put the clamps on the NFL and Goodell to ensure they remain in Buffalo. But, basically, I see this as a horse race between that TO group and Pegula.

Yep- I don't trust these guys any further than I can throw them. And I'm not throwing anyone very far these days because of my bad knee.

The new group that now involoves Rogers does seem like they would have the cash- but I agree that too many questions around relocation and a new stadium exist. If Goodell said we need a new stadium, then he has to be saying the same thing about Toronto. Would the NFL approve that group with a sub par NFL quality stadium and no plan for building one over Pegula with a perfectly fine and newly renovated one as well as the political power of NYS state willing to work to get a new one and Pegula possessing the ability to get it done himself if he wants. Not to mention a loyal stable fan base that will evaporate for the Toronto group. It's stability vs a bunch of maybes and what ifs. "maybe we can get a build stadium in the suburbs of Toronto somewhere?" "what if we lose the current fan base in Buffalo?" "what if this goes over like the Bills in Toronto series" the main question the NFL and Goodell need to ask is "what if the NFL fails in Toronto?"

What if they bought the team, won 5 Super Bowls in a row the moved?

I would not only stop supporting the team from that very day, I would stop watching the NFL period.

I think that tge Jags will be moving there. They are playing a game a year there, I believe. The owner Kahn (who is a proponent of keeping the Bills in Buffalo) is a London guy, I think.

That was awful. We had those guys on the ropes. Look at Stevie sitting there wide open.

Exactly. You have to think Pegula (I'll use him as I think we all agree he is the best case scenario owner) is looking at the books thinking "why build a new stadium when we have a perfectly good one that is recently renovated that will get me the biggest return on investment?" The low stadium operating costs might be the deal maker that really encourages soemone like Pegula or even an out of towner to take the plunge and buy the team to keep there for the long haul. From a practical standpoint, OP will make sense for a while. Now if the state, NFL and a private developer (Congel, Millstein, Jacobs) want to all chip is for a new stadium that will increase revenue with boxes, fancy concessions without a huge hike in rent etc. then the the new owner would be silly not to make the jump.

The fact that the stadium is paid off and rent is low may not bode well for a new stadium on the aggressive timetable that has been discussed. When the renovations are done, a new owner may opt to stay there for a while. Also, think about what selling naming rights to the stadium would do to the bottom line? If the team starts to improve ticket prices will rise and so will revenues. There is room to increase revenues.

Yep- that is spot on

In the (unlikely) event that Golisano and Pegula back out or fail, watch how quickly everyone would throw support behind Trump. If he bought the team to prevent them moving, he would be hailed as a savior. There would be fans wearing Trump hairpieces at games.

I think they should expand to LA. It is the only way that the people will really embrace the team. Otherwise they will be looking at a retread that they will support, but not like a totally fresh start. You would need to balance, so I'd say Portland, Austin or Toronto.

I'd put Pirates below all teams except 76ers at this point

In terms if true fanbase, I'd rank NY teams like this: Yankees Giants Jets Mets Bills Rangers Knicks Sabres Islanders I left Devils out but the Jets and Giants are in the equation. I think the Knicks and Rangers would easily switch places based on who is doing better that year. I may be wrong on the Bills below the Mets. Their fan base may be more concentrated on Long Island, in which case the Bils may have larger base.

I'd bet lots of coaches would go down for this

I just can't see the Bills beating the Yankees out.

I admire your grit, but day you may get whacked.

He is not off base, but it would make more sense to name them the Niagara Frontier Bills. That said, I will stick with Buffalo. It is very clear that we will probably see the Ralph Wilson Stadium name change. They can name the Field after him- I foresee something like Ralph Wilson Field at First Niagara Stadium or something like that.

Nice I'm an A's fan too. Have been since my days growing up in OP. It was nice to take 3 of 4 from the Giants this week. I think the A's will definitely end up down in San Jose in the next few years, even with that lease they signed. It is clear ownership doesn't have interest in a stadium on the Jack London land. They want to move south.

Yep- I think they still have a huge fan base there. The Raiders still technically claim LA as their turf.

They may not get that status there. And who is to say they don't chip in for a stadium? Their value will double if they go south and they will be able to get far more revenue than in Oakland

I'll sign and I think it is a great grassroots movement. At the end of the day, I think the financial goals out of reach, but they could easily raise enough to buy out a box or boxes or a lot of club seats that they could then provide to disadvantaged youth etc. The more premium seats that are purchased, the more attractive it is for any new local owner.

If you know Oakland then you realize that this is one case where this could actually be true

I appreciate the enthusiasm and he is thinking correctly, but my guess is that the NFL owners club will welcome the liquid cash and stability of Terry Pegula over Mr. Gundlach. Pegula seems like the old school guy they like. Already owns a pro team.. Builds arenas at Big Ten schools.. Builds 250 million dollar hotels. These are all high profile endeavors.

There is talk of a stadium in LA. the owner of the Rams bought a bunch of land recently and the speculation is that he will build there. That could be an option for both the Rams and the Raiders