EndZoneCrew Posted October 29, 2011 Posted October 29, 2011 How about more comfortable seats in the stadium and not bleachers? That'll be a chore! But would be worth it. No way in hell....love the bleachers! Pounding on a chairback is just not the same!
Doc Posted October 29, 2011 Posted October 29, 2011 This much I agree with, and all of that $14 million goes to the state. This part I disagree about. Two points: First, I'm unclear why you assume that any tax money paid to the state gets divided up, with 55% of the total going back to Erie County, and the state keeping only 45% of the total. How do you justify that asumption? If the state paid ANY money back to the County, why is Collins talking about the County running a $1.5 million deficit per year with respect to the Bills?' Second, you, me and Collins are all using annual figures. Collins said that the annual direct revenue to the County from all Bills-related activity is $10 million, and the annual direct revenue to NY state from all Bills-related activity is $22.5 million. So when you and I try to figure out exactly where that money goes, and we break it into different categories, at the end of the analysis it still has to total $10 million + $22.5 million = $32.5 million per year. My breakdown still adds up to a total of $32.5 million, just like Collins. But your numbers don't. You ultimately wind up concluding that there is $18.5 million in sales tax (just like me), but $31 million of "something else." That makes a total of $18.5 million + $31 million = $49.5 million. How can that be right? I agree that the best we can do here is make estimates, and I also agree that SOME sales tax revenue would be lost on a net basis. Precisely as you point out, Canadians and out of state visitors are not likely to spend money in NY state if the Bills leave NY. You suggest that the percentage of non-NY residents at the Ralph can run as high as 40%. Even if your 40% estimate is correct, that still leaves 60% of the game day fans who live in NY and will make at least some substitute purchases that generate other sales tax revenue. But Collins assumes that NONE of the lost sales tax revenue would be replaced by other in-state purchases. That can't be right. Just because we can't precisely calculate the replacement sales tax revenue, that doesn't mean we should assume it doesn't exist at all. Why do you assume that the replacement activity has to take place on those 7 Sundays? Doesn't sales tax get paid on purchases every day of the week? We know that Collins use of gross sales tax figures, rather than a more accurate net loss figure, is inaccurate. I'd like to see the details for his analysis of other types of tax revenue before deciding if public funding of the proposed stadium improvements makes financial sense. My assumption on income tax was wrong. I can accept the $32.5M number for annual tax revenue because of the Bills. If you think this is overly inflated, what do you think is a more accurate number? What number would have it make financial sense for the state to fund the stadium renovations?
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