billsrock61 Posted October 24, 2012 Posted October 24, 2012 http://www.whec.com/sports/stories/S2808730.shtml this new sports museum sounds like it will be a success as well that is tied into this new stadium... the more and more i read about this, the more and more i see it happening...the only thing i hear that concerns me is space for transportation and parking..
Punch Posted October 24, 2012 Posted October 24, 2012 Although this idea in it's current state is not practical, I agree with those suggesting it's foolish to dismiss it out of hand. Solutions to longstanding problems don't come out of the womb fully formed. It would be nice to see the Bills and the local government try to chip away at the logistical issues rather than blow it off.
sodbuster Posted October 24, 2012 Posted October 24, 2012 http://www.whec.com/.../S2808730.shtml this new sports museum sounds like it will be a success as well that is tied into this new stadium... the more and more i read about this, the more and more i see it happening...the only thing i hear that concerns me is space for transportation and parking.. Yeah, the D&C article this morning made it seem like it could happen. Regardless, I still think it will be tough to sell 70k tickets for a 6-10 team, no matter where they play or what kind of building they play in.
Punch Posted October 24, 2012 Posted October 24, 2012 http://www.whec.com/.../S2808730.shtml this new sports museum sounds like it will be a success as well that is tied into this new stadium... the more and more i read about this, the more and more i see it happening...the only thing i hear that concerns me is space for transportation and parking.. The proposed sports museum is exactly the kind of permanent year round attraction needed for the City of Buffalo--- and certainly not the ONLY one. The Strong National Museum of Play is an incredible place to visit and attracts throngs of visitors year round. If they're involved then that further proves this is a legitimate progressive idea. Again, a lot of issues need to be worked out, but to completely dismiss it from the outset is depressingly shortsighted. Perhaps all too typical for City government and the Bills.
CountDorkula Posted October 24, 2012 Posted October 24, 2012 It almost sounds to good to be true. Which in New York State seems to be a common thing, and that scares me.
bills1960 Posted October 24, 2012 Posted October 24, 2012 Have any new stadiums been started since the '08 crash of the economy? Minnesota just started to build one. Can't imagine they're in much better economic conditions than Buffalo at this point.
Keukasmallies Posted October 24, 2012 Posted October 24, 2012 Ok, build it on a really really big barge; then, when the team moves to a new city, the new owner can just move the stadium, too. And it will save the taxpayers in the new city a passel of $, and only one set of taxpayers (those in NYS) will get screwed by the whole deal!!!
Best Player Available Posted October 24, 2012 Posted October 24, 2012 Minnesota just started to build one. Can't imagine they're in much better economic conditions than Buffalo at this point. What? have you ever been to the twin cities? Didn't think so.
sodbuster Posted October 24, 2012 Posted October 24, 2012 Minnesota just started to build one. Can't imagine they're in much better economic conditions than Buffalo at this point. Thanks, I needed a laugh. But this brings up another point. How many people in the Buffalo area will be able to afford season tickets in the event this goes through? This isn't NYC or DC or even Dallas. http://visualeconsite.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/income_map.gif
Bufcomments Posted October 24, 2012 Posted October 24, 2012 Even though i love the outer harbor here something to think about. Why not expand UB Bulls stadium into a Dome. Yep right on the UB campus. Has plenty of space for parking. Easy road access and closer to the Canadian border. You can still build a new Convention center Downtown. You can make the land at the Inner Harbor a huge Park with bike trails, an outdoor mall, more housing. Like Home instead of Condos. Maybe the money would be better spent just upgrading what we have.
Dennis in NC Posted October 25, 2012 Posted October 25, 2012 Yes but to be multi purpose it needs to be doomed, maybe they will keep open for all Bills games though. Needs to be "doomed" - Ha!
Hammered a Lot Posted October 25, 2012 Posted October 25, 2012 I no longer live in WNY, but the fact that the Bills and Erie County politicians have already shot this down is ridiculous. $200m to improve RWS shouldn't even be on the table. Stop letting Ralph hold WNY hostage. A long term solution is needed. $200m isn't scaring any new owner from moving the team. I'm not saying it has to be this new proposal, but if you build a new stadium, it pretty much guarantees Bills will be here for next 40 years. $400m from NY state to guarantee Bills will be here for 40 years plus possibility of state-of-the-art stadium and all that comes with that (jobs, downtown revival, etc.) versus $200m to polish a turd that in no way deters Bills from moving is a pretty easy choice. What % is pretty much? So how many PSL will you be buying in the new stadium?
CountDorkula Posted October 25, 2012 Posted October 25, 2012 Thanks, I needed a laugh. But this brings up another point. How many people in the Buffalo area will be able to afford season tickets in the event this goes through? This isn't NYC or DC or even Dallas. http://visualeconsit.../income_map.gif Sabres season tickets are roughly 54 a ticket. they play 41 home games. thats $2,214 a year for tickets. Bills (I would have to assume) play 8 home games a year. Even if a ticket went up to 150 a seat thats $1,200. $1,000 less. People can afford it, they would rather see a winner. IMO if the Bills are good, this is not an issue. The only difference is that the Sabres have show life in the recent past.
zow2 Posted October 25, 2012 Posted October 25, 2012 I pay $1,100 for two nice season tickets at RWS. My buddy in Baltimore paid $6,000 ($3k each) for two PSL's several years ago for Ravens games and the two tickets cost him $1,800 per year (these are lower level corners, worse than my lower level sideline seats at RWS). Yes he pays more but the market allows him to resell his tickets anywhere from 75% to 175% more than he pays for them. I am lucky to resell my Bills tickets for face value unless it's the home opener or possibly the Patriots game. So i guess my point is that Buffalo is a great bargain for NFL football but I doubt this area can support PSL ownership and high ticket prices, unless a sudden windfall of corporations buy in the luxury suites to offset some costs.
Shoutbox Posted October 25, 2012 Posted October 25, 2012 I think we should forget the retractable roof idea and settle for a plain old dome. This would substantially cut back on overall cost and make this thing more likely to happen. The outdoor purists need to get over it. Fans (especially the casual new ones from Toronto) are more likely to attend November/December games in a dome. And most of the Bills players are from the South anyway. There really is no weather advantage for our guys.
Marv's Neighbor Posted October 25, 2012 Posted October 25, 2012 This deal does not pass the smell test! As I understand it, it's all coditioned on the one NFTA location. No doubt we need a Stadium, but leveraging the whole deal to one specific location tells me that somebody stands to get very very rich while passing the "savings" on to the taxpayers. There are too many other WNY locations to tie everything up over this one parcel of land.
Metal Man Posted October 25, 2012 Posted October 25, 2012 Doesn't this dollar amount seem a little high? Lucas Oil Stadium cost 720 million, estimated 777 million today for inflation according to wikipedia, and that also is a retractable roof. The stadium has a smaller capacity but it doesn't seem right to me that 10 thousand more seats and a sports museum would double the cost...
papazoid Posted October 26, 2012 Posted October 26, 2012 A waterfront stadium is a bad idea on so many levels that I hardly know where to begin. For starters, a stadium and its vast expanse of requisite parking swallow up stretches of prime waterfront land for a use that is not enhanced by nor dependent upon water. Indeed, the place would sit unused for upwards of 350 days a year. Why not just seal off the waterfront with a giant wall? http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121025/CITYANDREGION/121029414/1002
Fan in San Diego Posted October 26, 2012 Posted October 26, 2012 Yeah, the D&C article this morning made it seem like it could happen. Regardless, I still think it will be tough to sell 70k tickets for a 6-10 team, no matter where they play or what kind of building they play in. It definitely should have far less seats than that. I suggest 55K to 65K at the most.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted October 26, 2012 Posted October 26, 2012 72,000 seats is way to many, should be somewhere between 55,000 and 65,000 at the most. It definitely should have far less seats than that. I suggest 55K to 65K at the most. And again, the Bills have the cheapest ticket prices in the league, no corporate community to speak of, and a demographic that does not support PSLs. In other words, the stadium would have to have at least 70K seats in order to generate revenue from a volume model.
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