Jim Kelly's magical mystical ownership group

[GoBills!]

Cross Tom golisano off the list he has moved on and loves it down here in Naples fl,

 

Danny wegman can't his sister actually runs the company he is just a spokesman and still loves to party

 

Kelly would be a spokesman more then a heavy investor...mario Williams has more money then Kelly...

 

Terry P could pull it off or finance a portion and be the true king of buffalo...

 

 

[Mango]

Just a thought after seeing that Rochester DnC article about the Bills moving. Ralph says the team will not move as long as he owns it. Could Ralph be saving us from the league plan to move the team. Ralph could sell now but the team could then move within his lifetime

[Bud Adams]

Kelly would be a spokesman more then a heavy investor...mario Williams has more money then Kelly...

 

This.

[hondo in seattle]

We can all speculate but none of us knows whether or not the Bills will be sold to the highest bidder. Certainly Kelly and some others have hinted that there is a succession plan in place and that plan keeps the Bills in Buffalo. But nobody is releasing details so it's hard to know if that plan truly exists and how secure it is. We'll find out when Ralph passes and that's when I'll worry about it.

[ThurmasThoman]

I really dont read about it anymore man. Its way out of anyones hands at this point. I will say this though, they day the Bills leave Buffalo I will never watch or support the NFL again. Thats the way it goes for me. As far as Mr Wilson goes, he owns this as a business and owes nobody or any fan anything. We chose to support or buy a ticket to fund this thing. Business is business and it sucks but the mighty dollar rules all in the end. Enjoy them while we have them is about all that can be said at this point.

Unless Ralph leaves the Bills to Kelly in his will. The Bills aren't going to LA, there are 10 million people from Rochester to Toronto and Buffalo is right in the middle. Only NYC and LA have more, they ain't goin nowhere!

It's always possible.

 

I live in Cleveland. We NEVER thought it was possible.

 

to the OP.

 

you have to realize that your question will never be answered to your satisfaction, because you are asking the question to a forum of fans of... THE BUFFALO BILLS.

 

and asking this forum of bills fans, the franchise that has multiple motherf*cking CATCHPHRASES (wide right, music city miracle) for heartbreak if the team will eventually complete the long con and move away? that's like calling the suicide hotline and asking the operator: "quick - tell me the best joke you've heard tonight."

 

as you can see from the bolded section above, its ridiculous to think this team is going ANYWHERE. theres 10 million between rochester and toronto--people who passionate as all hell not about the NFL and fantasy football, but the buffalo bills. and if the league realized that about cleveland,ohio, of all places, it's not going to make the same mistake about buffalo, new york.

 

the absolute, end of the world, sky is falling, we're doomed scenario that we can discuss (and should MAYBE come to terms with) is the ultimate regionalization of this team, and the phrase The Niagra Bills. The patriots were once the boston patriots, and play their games a good hour outside the city themselves. what this would mean (new stadium, higher ticket prices, more free agents, more wins,) could be addressed in a new thread, if you wanted to do something new around here.

 

but from the highest executive, to the lowest fan, EVERYONE associated with the buffalo bills expects the worst. it's why we lose, it has infected the soul of the organization like a cancer of the blood. to post on this forum, you must disregard the multiple reports from everyone associated with the LA project, and the nfl, that continuously list the rams chargers and raiders as the teams that are going to be targeted for the move. since the LA ball started rolling 3 years ago there has been not a single. solitary. shred. of a hint, of a whif of a leak that has mentioned that the league has even entertained the idea of uprooting the bills. meanwhile, they continue to negotiate a new lease on the stadium, and a new 5 year deal with toronto.

[ajzepp]

For those of you who aren't fans of Philly sports, the sixers were actually a good example of how a guy like Jim Kelly could be a very significant player in a bid to buy the team. One of my favorite people on earth is Mr Pat Croce. Pat was a physical therapist for the Sixers to start. He ended up becoming pretty successful in the physical therapy world and a millionaire, but more on the level of a top pro athlete from the 90s than say, Bill Gates. In other words, just like Kelly, his role in the group wasn't to provide the financial backing. The owner of the team, of course, was Comcast. But Croce was named President and he was the functioning face of the franchise and the decision maker. He was great in that role and those of us who lived in Philly when this guy was in charge were pretty damn happy with the results he brought.

 

I'm not saying this is exactly the way a Kelly-led group would do it, but just pointing out that this was one example - a successful example - of what it may look like.

[It's in My Blood]

Did Pegula invest millions into downtown Buffalo purely for a better hockey experience/possibilties of an All Star bid, or was that just a baby step in ultimately building a Buffalo sports mecca where the Bills/Sabres would play their games?

 

Perhaps wishful thinking, or possibly a pre-cursor of things to come? (hey, I can dream)

[Mr. WEO]

I stopped reading the OP after "Danny Wegman and Donald Trump". What did I miss?

[filthymcnasty08]

Man, the cynics! Kelly never claimed that HE was going to be the owner but rather a football personality/figurehead associated on some level with the group of owners. I'm thankful that we have him as someone that had a HOF career here during our best years and speaks from the heart about staying in/loving the community/fans. I think he will be vying for, and rightfully so, a big visible position up top (like a John Elway in Denver) when the turnover occurs. Have to clear out the garbage we have there now....the pigs have been at that trough and skimming for far too long.

[bowery4]

See I never understood how a group can own the team, but limited partnerships seem to happen in the league, with Mary Owen being so involved with the team maybe RW does have an heir to the throne and they will only sell a part of the team.

It is obvious to me that RW thinks this is all, in his best interests to not play out before he dies or even signs a lease for that matter. It is possible he is right having bought the team for 50Gs and made it into a billion dollar entity. All that being said if they move even to TO, I might well, be so done with this team.

Go Bills!!

[Nostradumbass]

I heard Guy Fieri is part of the potential ownership group

[LiterateStylish]

[Phil Hansen Forever]

Everything is quite clear now: the Buffalo Bills will be sold to the highest bidder upon Ralph Wilson's death in order to maximize his family's inheritance. Never mind what we all think of Ralph Wilson anymore. That isn't what I want this thread to devolve into...

 

So the battle for the Bills will likely be between:

 

1. the best Buffalo ownership group

2. the best Toronto ownership group

3. the best LA ownership group

 

Needless to say, things look very grim for the team's future in Buffalo. LA is the third largest metro area in North America with 18+ million people and an economy that absolutely dwarfs WNY's. Toronto checks in at about #8 with 7 million people and an economy that also dwarfs Buffalo's. There are rich guys out there who have $$$ signs in their eyes over the potential....

 

All Buffalo has are:

 

1. various internet rumors of interest from Terry Pegula, Tom Golisano, Jeremy Jacobs, Bob Rich, Danny Wegman, and Donald Trump.

2. a very loyal fanbase that has taken 53 years and 3 generations to build.

3. a serviceable NFL stadium (something that neither Toronto nor LA have at the moment).

4. Jim Kelly prancing around Orchard Park over the past few years, seemingly quite confident that the Bills will stay in Buffalo.

 

Ok, enough of my preamble. Here's my general question for the message board: what the !@#$ is up with this alleged ownership group that Jim Kelly has assembled? If it exists, why can't us Bills fans know a little something more about it? Why aren't the various WNY sports journalists asking more pointed questions about it? Does anyone here know ANYTHING about any of this?

 

This is getting really !@#$ing ridiculous. Bills fans have put up with a lot of bull **** over the years with this team. If we're no longer deserving of an NFL franchise, then we are at least entitled to some !@#$ing answers.

 

I can't agree with that. What if Ralph just gives the team to his daughter who is already an executive within the organization and primed to take over, as if she might be already doing right now? Has anyone even considered that Ralph has outsmarted everyone so far and slipped his daughter in early to learn the business from the ground up?

Edited September 16, 2012 by Phil Hansen Forever

[mousetrap08]

DO YOU HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL OR SOMETHING THAT SHOWS THE FUTURE IF YOU DO LET ME BORROW IT SO I CAN BUY A WINNING LOTTO TICKET AND I WILL BUY THE TEAM MYSELF.

[Nostradumbass]

Joke not subtle enough for you?

[All_Pro_Bills]

I can't agree with that. What if Ralph just gives the team to his daughter who is already an executive within the organization and primed to take over, as if she might be already doing right now? Has anyone even considered that Ralph has outsmarted everyone so far and slipped his daughter in early to learn the business from the ground up?

Willing the team to his daughter would be an estate tax event but leaving the team to his wife would not be neither a capital gain or estate tax triggering action. As suggested by a couple other posters it would be nice to see the media 'press' the team management and ownership for some answers with regards to the future of the team.

 

Right now the team and the county are in negotiations for a lease renewal with the team wanting $200 million in stadium improvements. The state and county want some kind of gaurantee that they are not going to dump $200 million into a stadium that might be empty in a couple years. As one of the governers spokeman plainly stated 'the only party not committed to keeping the Bills in Buffalo is the Bills'.

 

One major problem I see with moving the team is the typical #1 reason has been the local market is not supporting the team, low attendence, etc. This is not the case here but that's not to say economics are not going be take a back seat.

[Phil Hansen Forever]

Well, you got me on that one. But his wife is much younger than he is, so that might be the issue. Just transferring the title and allowing his daughter to continue to run the business. Ralph is no idiot. He didn't get to be a near billionaire by not being smart. He had plenty of opportunities over the years to move the team, but chose not too.

 

I don't always agree with his coach selections, and certainly not his miserly ways, but you can't argue with getting great tickets for about $100 under that of other larger/newer stadiums. My wife and I have visited several others over the years, and can never find great seating for under $175 except in Buffalo. He could easily demand a ticket increase and get it, but has chosen not to do that.

 

From all accounts, his daughter is pretty smart and football savy. You never know, but if I were him and wanted to continue the legacy, I would bring family in to keep it going.

[7boogiewoogie]

My brother knows Jill Kelly fairly well and she told my brother that Jim will never let the BILLS leave and the plan he has is real and will be put in place after Ralph passes but out of respect and some strategy it has not become public knowledge

[Fan in San Diego]

I really dont read about it anymore man. Its way out of anyones hands at this point. I will say this though, they day the Bills leave Buffalo I will never watch or support the NFL again. Thats the way it goes for me. As far as Mr Wilson goes, he owns this as a business and owes nobody or any fan anything. We chose to support or buy a ticket to fund this thing. Business is business and it sucks but the mighty dollar rules all in the end. Enjoy them while we have them is about all that can be said at this point.

 

I like RW, but the dude should work out a deal ahead of time to keep the Bills in Buffalo. I think it sucks how he is handling it. They don't have to set a price now even wait until the moment of truth and then set the price.

[Buckeye Eric]

 

 

I guess I was hoping to collect some "insider" info from people connected to this situation who know things that the public doesn't know.

 

 

I 'm pretty sure those with insider knowledge spend absolutely zero time on this board