buffalo_bills Posted March 14, 2011 Posted March 14, 2011 http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article366615.ece According to this article, they might. What is your opinion? Do you think they'll move or stay put?
CodeMonkey Posted March 14, 2011 Posted March 14, 2011 Nothing being done by either side, no idea where any money would come from for renovations, the Bills confident that the taxpayers won't be "unreasonable" (Read as won't balk at paying for whatever the Bills ask for), but the politicians are 99% confident a new lease deal will be made. Classic.
BuffaloBill Posted March 14, 2011 Posted March 14, 2011 My guess is that a shorter-term deal - 10 years - probably gets done. It is hard to imagine where funding for significant upgrades to the stadium comes from but it is equally questionable that ohter cities or states would be able to do much more. Lost in te "move to LA" argument is who will finance the $1 billion it will take to build a stadium there on top of the cost of the franchise.
Delete This Account Posted March 14, 2011 Posted March 14, 2011 some players might be a little slow but, to a man, i have witnessed them all moving. jw
vincec Posted March 14, 2011 Posted March 14, 2011 I know that it will not happen, but they really should just build a new state of the art stadium close to the downtown. There is nothing architecturally significant about "The Ralph" and its age and lack of amenities make it pale by comparison with other newer stadiums. What would it take to do this?
BillnutinHouston Posted March 14, 2011 Posted March 14, 2011 some players might be a little slow but, to a man, i have witnessed them all moving. jw Clearly, here's a man with his finger on the pulse of the average Bills fan.
bills1960 Posted March 14, 2011 Posted March 14, 2011 Don't see it happening. If they move theyll lose both the WNY fan base and the southern ontatrio fan base. And a move to Toronto doesnt seem likely because of how little interest theyve shown in the Bills Toronto series.
AReed Deep For 7 Posted March 14, 2011 Posted March 14, 2011 We should be good. There are alot of other teams ahead of us for most likely to relocate. For a while I thought it was Jax, but looks like Minnesota moved into the lead. Stadium is a mess, and they are alot of nay sayers about building a new stadium for them. Also, I think San Diego is up there. The move would alienate their fan base alot less being pretty close to LA (something that will be taken into consideration), their stadium also sucks, and there is plenty of competition already in the Bay Area.
Malazan Posted March 15, 2011 Posted March 15, 2011 I know that it will not happen, but they really should just build a new state of the art stadium close to the downtown. There is nothing architecturally significant about "The Ralph" and its age and lack of amenities make it pale by comparison with other newer stadiums. What would it take to do this? More money than is available in Buffalo
judman Posted March 15, 2011 Posted March 15, 2011 We should be good. There are alot of other teams ahead of us for most likely to relocate. For a while I thought it was Jax, but looks like Minnesota moved into the lead. Stadium is a mess, and they are alot of nay sayers about building a new stadium for them. Also, I think San Diego is up there. The move would alienate their fan base alot less being pretty close to LA (something that will be taken into consideration), their stadium also sucks, and there is plenty of competition already in the Bay Area. Not to mention Jacksonville...
Dragonborn10 Posted March 15, 2011 Posted March 15, 2011 I strongly felt the days of NFL football in Buffalo were numbered. But I must agree that Jax, Minn, and San Diego are franchises that seem more likely to move than Buffalo. In fact the only compelling arguement for the Bills leaving is RW dying. It's not mean to say his days are numbered - it's just a fact. The issue will be who buys the team. Look at the Oklahoma Thunder of the NBA, formerly ythe Seattle Supersonics. They were bought by an owner with ties to Oklahoma city and the lease on their arena was up. If RW dies in the next year or two and their is no long term lease tying the Bills to Buffalo, then the new owner can move them without too much difficulty. Please don't say the NFL will step in and stop them. They didn't stop Art Modell from moving the Browns a team with significantly more history with the NFL than Buffalo. The new owner by law can not be predetermined by RW unless he sells the team before he dies. He can not put any conditions on the sale of the team due to estate tax issues. I think another arguement against them moving is - where would they go? If Jax, San Diego, or Minn moves to LA where else would another team go? San Antonio? Portland? Oklahoma City? I just don't see Toronto being a long term success story. The tax implications for the players would put them at a significant diasvantage in FA. It's a minor issue for the basketball team due to relativley few FA's in the NBA as compared to the NFL. Here is my best arguement for them staying. What other tax base would vote to build a new stadium in any city? San Diego and Minn are saying no. I suspect a new tax would pass overwhelmingly in western NY and a new owner could basically dump the entire cost of a new stadium on a willing group of taxpayers who blindly sell out a stadium that is too big for their market size and for a team that has been historically bad with exception of the Kelly and Kemp eras.
RTW2012 Posted March 15, 2011 Posted March 15, 2011 The new owner by law can not be predetermined by RW unless he sells the team before he dies. He can not put any conditions on the sale of the team due to estate tax issues. I'm not so sure about this. Channel 4 interviewed an estate attorney a few years ago regarding this, and he said that stipulations can be made in his will to give preference to one group over others in an estate sale. He made it sound as though Ralph does have the power to state his preference that the team is sold to a local group. Whether Ralph has actually done this is up for speculation. Any attorneys out there want to chime in on this?
NoSaint Posted March 15, 2011 Posted March 15, 2011 We should be good. There are alot of other teams ahead of us for most likely to relocate. For a while I thought it was Jax, but looks like Minnesota moved into the lead. Stadium is a mess, and they are alot of nay sayers about building a new stadium for them. Also, I think San Diego is up there. The move would alienate their fan base alot less being pretty close to LA (something that will be taken into consideration), their stadium also sucks, and there is plenty of competition already in the Bay Area. one thing i enjoy (and im not saying your post did this) is the fact that so many bills fans think that a move from SD to LA is just common sense, but buffalo to toronto is offensive. just something to think about.
Recommended Posts