8-8 Forever? Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 I like the plan...i really hope your right. If the Bills leave it will be a sad sad day for the NFL and Buffalo if the bills move, no one outside of WNY will blink. plse, give me a break...the media will cover it for a few days and that will be it. "decent franchise, almost no success in 50 years, loyal fan base and owner despite complete meltdown of a once prominent city, blah blah blah. no one will care because no one who wasnt born there has ever been there.
8-8 Forever? Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 Don't forget the Chargers started in Los Angeles. They want a new stadium but aren't getting one from the taxpayers. Move them 80 miles north and call them the SoCal Chargers. Would it suck for SD fans? Sure, but at least they could still drive 90 minutes and follow their team. PTR same thing for Bills in Toronto. 90 minutes and you are there. Less, actually. And bills fans could still follow their team.
Mr. WEO Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 I find that when things are put on the NFL network, it's pretty much a done deal. The Bills, Jags and Rams were mentioned and they showed Ralph Wilson on the clip that was played. I think moving the Bills and Jags is a stupid thing to do. LA won't embrace those teams. Moving the Rams back to LA is the smartest thing to do. Plus moving the Raiders into the new stadium is a good idea also. Both teams have a history in LA and the Bills and Jags don't. Yeah, the Rams and Raiders have a great history in LA! As for Toronto, the other owners would never approve of the move unless a football stadium was built. The next Bills owner would demand the same. The Skydoem is a tiny dump. As for expansion---it makes no sense and will never happen in our lifetimes. The League is already flush with crappy teams due to an extremely limited talent pool and recent expansion teams such as Jax are struggling to find fans to fill their seats.
8-8 Forever? Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 Frankly the Bills are more likely to move to Toronto than LA. Even then I can see the NFL insist that some games still be played in Buffalo. The economy sucks but the fan base doesn't deserve to lose it's team so that may be the compromise. PTR that is exactly what will happen. 6 games in toronto, 4 in the Ralph. done. no one taking on a $750m mortgage for a franchise is going to rely on income solely from the leagues smallest , poorest market to pay it off. . sucks, but WNY hasn't been able to afford the bills in a long time... the NFL is the big time financially , and WNY is less than minor league. heck the area can't even support a minor league baseball team.
BillsPhan Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 Whether the Bills go up for auction or RW lives forever, the stadium is going on 40 years old. What happens when the Bills demand and don’t receive huge taxpayer assistance to maintain/renovate/rebuild when the stadium lease expires? Excellent point. The stadium is almost 40 years old, and if the Bills end up staying in Buffalo beyond the lease, I believe a new stadium should absolutely be built. Even in today's horrible economy, and even here in NY State, millions of dollars in debt and totally disfunctional, a simple temporary sales tax increase would pay for the entire new stadium, complete with a retractable roof, if they want to go that far. Just look at Cincinnati if you don't believe that. They used a temporary sales tax increase of about 1% and used it build both new stadiums to replace outdated Riverfront. As soon as the two stadium projects were completed, the sales tax increase was repealed. Sure New York is already at 8 to 81/2% sales tax rate. But if they raised it 1% for about two years, each and every tax payer would only feel a small hit, but the huge money gain would be used to build the new stadium. (Even if an average tax payer bought $50,000.00 worth of purchases over the two years, it would only cost them an additioanl $500.00, or less then $1.00 a day.) Flame away all you want you tax experts and politcal experts and New York and Erie County state experts, they did it in extremely conservative southern Ohio and it worked. If there is a chance that some miracle WNY group really wants to keep the Bills in Buffalo after Ralph dies, paying 1% more in sales tax over a couple of years is an extremely small price to pay to help that group's cause by building a brand new stadium for the Bills to play in.
kwe61 Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 The other factor that will enhance the atractiveness of Toronto getting the Bills in the next few years is the value of $CDN vis-a-vis the $US.... 5 years ago it was 75 cents and is now approaching parity, $1=$1, and is expected to stay there for years to come as the US deficits and debt continue.... a $US750 million price tag for a franchise is a lotcheaper now in Canadian dollars than it was 5 years ago....
bkc Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 Frankly the Bills are more likely to move to Toronto than LA. Even then I can see the NFL insist that some games still be played in Buffalo. The economy sucks but the fan base doesn't deserve to lose it's team so that may be the compromise. PTR I think the hyrbrid deal is most likely 6-2 split to see if they can get the toronto thing going. The Rams should be the team to move to L.A
Sanners Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 if the bills move, no one outside of WNY will blink. plse, give me a break...the media will cover it for a few days and that will be it. "decent franchise, almost no success in 50 years, loyal fan base and owner despite complete meltdown of a once prominent city, blah blah blah. no one will care because no one who wasnt born there has ever been there. You are most certainly wrong. I have lived in Orange County, CA for the past 13 years until moving back to Buffalo, and traveled all over this great country. No one wants to see the Bills to move, and alot of people care. The Bills are a unique important franchise in the NFL. By stripping Buffalo of the Bills its another important unique experience lost. The NFL isn't stupid, it needs teams like the Bills, and many of the fans agree.
bkc Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 From just two weeks ago: “The Bills are part of the very fabric of Western New York, and in Western New York they will stay,” said Schumer in a statement. “Ralph Wilson is committed to Western New York, has had no contact with any purported suitors, and flatly told me that the Bills are staying in Buffalo. Period. I have long fought to keep the team here, and will continue to do so with every bit of clout I have. I was tremendously reassured to learn today, directly from Ralph, that there has been zero contact with this company and that there is absolutely no consideration of entertaining any of this company’s potential future offers. Buffalo Bills fans can rest a little bit easier tonight.” http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/losangel...04/daily29.html Some people on these board has dismissed what Schumer can actullay get done. I think he can do a lot, getting a staduim build is one thing . There is always this upstate/downstate thing in New York and a relatively cheap bone to throw up State is builing a staduim and keeping the Bills.
timbuk3 Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 I find that when things are put on the NFL network, it's pretty much a done deal. The Bills, Jags and Rams were mentioned and they showed Ralph Wilson on the clip that was played. I think moving the Bills and Jags is a stupid thing to do. LA won't embrace those teams. Moving the Rams back to LA is the smartest thing to do. Plus moving the Raiders into the new stadium is a good idea also. Both teams have a history in LA and the Bills and Jags don't. Interestingly, the rumors in LA are that two teams will come to LA, not one. http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/sports/nfl-foot...ngeles-20091201 Also, from what I have read, the stadium will not be built until they get a team, so not sure where they will play until stadium is built.
BillsfaninFl Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 Don't forget the Chargers started in Los Angeles. They want a new stadium but aren't getting one from the taxpayers. Move them 80 miles north and call them the SoCal Chargers. Would it suck for SD fans? Sure, but at least they could still drive 90 minutes and follow their team. PTR Sounds like Toronto 2.
StamerforPrez Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 Schumer's just puffing his political chest when he says he talked to Ralph Wilson. He knows along with everyone else that Ralph will not move the team. The real unsaid reason why the Bills are one of the top choices to move to LA is because chances are there is probably a 50/50 chance he won't be around in 2 years. I know it, you know it, LA knows it, but it's kind of a harsh thing to say outloud that your gambling on someone kicking it.
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 same thing for Bills in Toronto. 90 minutes and you are there. Less, actually. And bills fans could still follow their team. and I'll start rooting for the Maple Leafs when that happens.
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20100...for-stadium-fix
HelloNewman Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 From just two weeks ago: “The Bills are part of the very fabric of Western New York, and in Western New York they will stay,” said Schumer in a statement. “Ralph Wilson is committed to Western New York, has had no contact with any purported suitors, and flatly told me that the Bills are staying in Buffalo. Period. I have long fought to keep the team here, and will continue to do so with every bit of clout I have. I was tremendously reassured to learn today, directly from Ralph, that there has been zero contact with this company and that there is absolutely no consideration of entertaining any of this company’s potential future offers. Buffalo Bills fans can rest a little bit easier tonight.” http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/losangel...04/daily29.html they forgot to add "until he dies"
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 I don't know, I had a dream last night and listed as a blurb on the buffalobills.com Web site was "Ralph and Mary resign from ownership". Actually that was the second of two different dreams where Ralph resigned his ownership. Just never know.
AxelRipper Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 one thing... LA wants that team NOW. ralph is still alive (knock on wood) so our team is not for sale. therefore, we should be out of the question because LA wants to have their team set and ready right away so they can start building their (very impressive i must say) stadium. and if anything, we'll wind up like GB used to be, split between here and TO... and it would be blasphemy to have a retractable stadium in buffalo... they dont like opening the roof in winter, and that would just screw up all that is good about buffalo football
yungmack Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 I've lived in Los Angeles since the 1960s so let me give you my observations on the NFL putting a team here. First of all, LA is constantly referred to as "the second largest media market in the US," so the NFL needs a team there. What goes unexamined is that a huge percentage of that market is made up of immigrants from Korea, Iran, Hong Kong, China, Armenia, Russia, Israel and just about anywhere else you can think of. There is even a community of Inuits. And the largest group of immigrants are Latinos from Mexico to the tip of South America. And among these people, there is almost zero interest in American football. The native born in LA who do love pro football include a very large percentage of "immigrants" from other parts of the country who continue to support their hometown teams. No respectable sports bar here can survive without enough TVs to carry all the Sunday games. They really aren't interested in "the LA Bills." Or any other team for that matter. The final segment of the potential fan base for an NFL team are the locals, and most of them are die-hard Rams or Raiders fans who continue to follow them. Raider fans especially continue to congregate in large numbers at sports bars. Southwest flights are packed on gameday with fans flying into Oakland for the game. So they're not interested in another franchise moving here either. My estimation is that only the Rams, Raiders and Chargers have a reasonable chance of stirring up enough fan excitement to make the move viable (and the Rams are supposedly in serious talks with Ed Roski to do just that). Of course, none of that means someone won't move a team here, though it probably means that team won't be successful over time. Heck, even the Raiders couldn't sell out the Coliseum and had to run back to Oakland. I should also add that the opposition to spending even a nickel of public money is hugely powerful here (and enshrined in law) so whoever brings a team would have to self-finance everything unless they make the Coliseum home. See, the Coliseum, a big financial drain, is owned by the state, the city and the county, and about the only thing those three political entities can agree on is that it needs the revenue stream a pro football team can bring into the coffers. Competitors need not apply. So any NFL team locating within the county of Los Angeles is damn well going to play its games in the Coliseum. This, in fact, is the heart of the battle between LA and the NFL that's been going on for years now. The NFL continues to insist on a new stadium and the politicians insist on the Coliseum.
dgrid Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 and it would be blasphemy to have a retractable stadium in buffalo... they dont like opening the roof in winter, and that would just screw up all that is good about buffalo football
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