Heitz Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 This thread really went sideways quick! I wasn't even sure what the Beacon of Clarity was arguing for or against at one point. At any rate here's the Brandon interview from GR55 if anyone want's to hear what was actually said: http://www.wgr550.com/pages/14664931.php?contentType=4&contentId=1174022 I kind of like the "Fenway / Refub" plan - could work out nicely for a City like Buffalo that can't afford a new stadium...
T master Posted November 1, 2012 Posted November 1, 2012 The Niagara Falls Reporter is reporting a lease deal is imminent....announcement in 7-10 days....8-10 year deal... http://www.niagarafa...alImminent.html Wow it's awfully funny how when a group of investors come along with a real gem of a deal for a new stadium the old crap get's pushed into high gear all of the sudden ... I was just at the Ralph when the Bills made history against the Pats & i will say i didn't see where it was all that bad . Sure it's open air & if i was to look a bit harder i could have found things wrong with the old place , but the main factor in todays NFL is Jerry Jones , Robert Kraft , & other owners that don't want to share unless all are A88whole over tea cups in debt with a Billion dollar egoed out stadium !! Jerry's Texas stadium wasn't in bad shape but it's all about him , i went there & worked a concert & saw it first hand , the guy is a first class ASS BAG & just b/c he's all about spending all kinds of cash he thinks every one else should be just as far in debt to level the playing field .. I think we should get a deal done for 6 to 8 years & forge ahead on the new stadium , how often do you get investors willing to foot 70% of the bill for a 1.2 billion dollar stadium/sports museum/convention hall ? But leave it up to locals they'll run that idea out along with the long term viability of Our Bills !!
JohnC Posted November 1, 2012 Posted November 1, 2012 Wow it's awfully funny how when a group of investors come along with a real gem of a deal for a new stadium the old crap get's pushed into high gear all of the sudden ... I was just at the Ralph when the Bills made history against the Pats & i will say i didn't see where it was all that bad . Sure it's open air & if i was to look a bit harder i could have found things wrong with the old place , but the main factor in todays NFL is Jerry Jones , Robert Kraft , & other owners that don't want to share unless all are A88whole over tea cups in debt with a Billion dollar egoed out stadium !! Jerry's Texas stadium wasn't in bad shape but it's all about him , i went there & worked a concert & saw it first hand , the guy is a first class ASS BAG & just b/c he's all about spending all kinds of cash he thinks every one else should be just as far in debt to level the playing field .. I think we should get a deal done for 6 to 8 years & forge ahead on the new stadium , how often do you get investors willing to foot 70% of the bill for a 1.2 billion dollar stadium/sports museum/convention hall ? But leave it up to locals they'll run that idea out along with the long term viability of Our Bills !! I'm far from being a Jerry Jones fan but I understand how owners like him resent a Ralph Wilson type of owner. Owners such as Jerry Jones, Kraft, the owners of the Jets and Giants etc put up a good chunk of their own money to pay for a new or upgraded facility. Hunt in Kansas contributed a sizeable amount for a major overhaul of a stadium that was comparable to the stadium in Orchard Park. They observe that Ralph never paid a nickel for his stadium and hardly contributed to the multiple upgrades over the years. What they don't want to hear from this outdated owner is he complaining about money. For whatever archaic reason he wouldn't allow the naming rights of the stadium to be sold when it is standard practice. So when he whines about the necessity for the richer franchises to share more of their proceeds with him he undercuts his own claim. Is RaIph Wilson going to contribute to his current stadium's upgrade? If not, then he shouldn't get a penny. Is Ralph going to commit to keeping his team in the region whether he is the owner or not for a reasonable period of time? If not, then he shouldn't get a penny. The model for how we should handle the rennovation of the stadium is KC. It could cost in the range of $400 million or more. Instead of paying $200-225 million for a temporary and inadequate renovation they should do it right the first time instead of having to go back at a later time to repeat the renovation process all over again. The problem with getting a lease deal done and the renovations started has nothing to do with the public authorities. They are prudently representing the interest of the public The stumbling block has everything to do with an absentee fading owner who is trying to squeeze the last nickel out of his "asset" before he auctions it off.
Gugny Posted November 1, 2012 Posted November 1, 2012 I didn't have time to read through all 6 pages, so I apologize. But is someone trying to say there's a possibility of the Bills not being in Buffalo forever???? Shut the front door.
Heitz Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Multi-year deal back in the works (and the one year patch deal is off the table): http://blogs.buffalonews.com/press-coverage/2012/12/poloncarz-one-year-bills-lease-off-table-multiyear-deal-in-works.html
RyanC883 Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Heitz, thanks for the update. Sounds like great news!!
The Wiz Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Keep in mind that the details of the opt-out conditions will be just as important as the lease length. In all honesty, I have a VERY bad feeling about how this is playing out. If Ralph dies within the next 3 years, the Bills will likely beat out the Rams/Raiders/Chargers in the race to LA. !@#$ing Ralph Wilson.... Ralph is probably fighting FOR the opt-out conditions so he can be the only person to ever own the Buffalo Bills.
mattsox Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 (edited) The Niagara Falls Reporter is reporting a lease deal is imminent....announcement in 7-10 days....8-10 year deal... http://www.niagarafa...alImminent.html Great, 8-10 more years of this Crap!!! Can't wait!!!! Edited December 19, 2012 by mattsox
Best Player Available Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Multi-year deal back in the works (and the one year patch deal is off the table): http://blogs.buffalo...l-in-works.html Isn't that the paper that wrongly said a deal was imminent before. Like earlier this year? I will believe it when I see it.The only thing of interest will be the opt out clause and associated $$$$ with that. In all fairness to taxpayers it better equal the amount needed to update the Ralph. Chances of that happening are less than having a winning season with nix/gailey. If a new owner would only have to pay say less than 100 million to buy out the lease after a sale. That would be in the chump change range for the fat cat(s) that will bid up the team and move it out of Buffalo.
Dean Cain Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Dontcha think if we are fronting $200 million that the Bills could return a favor and pull the silly escapade in Toronto?
KollegeStudnet Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Stadiums older than the Ralph that still stand have had mucho makeovers... Like, Lambeau and Soldier Sadly, The Ralph is in need of a major overhaul. I was there during the KC game this season and noticed some minor and major flaws. The cinder block walls around the south end are shifting and the upper decks are forming cracks--of which have been patched. I love The Ralph, but it's upkeep is the proposed $200 mill+...but, that's just to apply minor fixes... Sadly, again I say I love The Ralph...it's going to be cost taxpayers at least double that for upkeep in 10 years. Investing in a new stadium would change that.
benderbender Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 The sad part is that the Cryptkeeper will probably outlive the agreement if there is one.
The Wiz Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Dontcha think if we are fronting $200 million that the Bills could return a favor and pull the silly escapade in Toronto? Did they make 80 million on the deal along with a percentage off of the ticket sales? That's the part I think is funny. We don't want to play half even though we took 2 games away from you and made 80 million doing it.
Malazan Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 (edited) How many times can Joe W be owned in one thread? Let's watch and find out. ----------------- Jerry's Texas stadium wasn't in bad shape but it's all about him , i went there & worked a concert & saw it first hand , the guy is a first class ASS BAG & just b/c he's all about spending all kinds of cash he thinks every one else should be just as far in debt to level the playing field .. I dislike the man too, but Dallas is one of the most profitable teams in the league and by a good margin. I don't think his stadium debt is a problem. Edited December 19, 2012 by jeremy2020
zonabb Posted December 20, 2012 Posted December 20, 2012 "I dislike the man too, but Dallas is one of the most profitable teams in the league and by a good margin. I don't think his stadium debt is a problem." Yeah's got a team that was marketed well as America's Team and he didn't regionalize, he nationalized and now internationalized! BUT.... even as profitable as that team is, he still had his hand out to the tune of $350 million in taxpayer funds. In fact, that was roughly have the orginal project estimate as Jones argreed to cover all overruns. He then used private venture capital to cover round $800M. The bottomline is, his debt on that place isn't killing him because his team is global and sells a ton of garbage merch. The reality is, the NFL is always going to have the Cowboys, Pats, Bears and other major market teams and then 20 other mid and small markets. If the NFL would recognize the value of these other markets as integral to the SPORT rather than complaining about how much more they could make in larger markets, they'd be fine. But profit matters more than the product and you'll always have owners clamoring that some team don't make enough. It's not even that they don;t many any, it's that they don't make enough. So instead of aholes like Kraft and Jones saying "Hey we do very well unde rthe NFL shield and without a viable league, we'd never exist so we're fine with the revenue sharing" they continually B word that they're subsidizing other teams... while they f'in use taxpayers to subsidize them. That is the definition of epitome and the arrogance of greed.
26CornerBlitz Posted December 20, 2012 Posted December 20, 2012 http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/19/bills-shift-focus-back-to-multi-year-lease/
Heitz Posted December 20, 2012 Posted December 20, 2012 Stadiums older than the Ralph that still stand have had mucho makeovers... Like, Lambeau and Soldier Sadly, The Ralph is in need of a major overhaul. I was there during the KC game this season and noticed some minor and major flaws. The cinder block walls around the south end are shifting and the upper decks are forming cracks--of which have been patched. I love The Ralph, but it's upkeep is the proposed $200 mill+...but, that's just to apply minor fixes... Sadly, again I say I love The Ralph...it's going to be cost taxpayers at least double that for upkeep in 10 years. Investing in a new stadium would change that. I thought this line in the Falls Reporter article was telling: "The sources say the lease will be in the 8-to-10 year range that would give all parties time to evaluate the long-term viability of the aging stadium which will need more than $200 million in renovations just to stay viable in the short term." I wonder if both sides have agreed that the money is just for "short term renovations" and what the lease expectations are for the $200MM? Will the Bills be tied to OP for 10 years or will there be a deal where they have to stay in OP for 3 - 5 years, but in the Buffalo area for 10? Obviously there will be a new owner at SOME point over the next few years, giving the Bills an out from OP, but still tying them to Buffalo for 10 years gives the new ownership group time to figure out a new stadium. So we have 10 years Buffalo, someone *please* get to work on the next Google - get rich, buy the team, build a new stadium, and field a winner!
San Jose Bills Fan Posted December 20, 2012 Posted December 20, 2012 I thought this line in the Falls Reporter article was telling: "The sources say the lease will be in the 8-to-10 year range that would give all parties time to evaluate the long-term viability of the aging stadium which will need more than $200 million in renovations just to stay viable in the short term." I wonder if both sides have agreed that the money is just for "short term renovations" and what the lease expectations are for the $200MM? Will the Bills be tied to OP for 10 years or will there be a deal where they have to stay in OP for 3 - 5 years, but in the Buffalo area for 10? Obviously there will be a new owner at SOME point over the next few years, giving the Bills an out from OP, but still tying them to Buffalo for 10 years gives the new ownership group time to figure out a new stadium. So we have 10 years Buffalo, someone *please* get to work on the next Google - get rich, buy the team, build a new stadium, and field a winner! Very good post. I think if a 8-10 year lease were done in the context of Wilson's age and the condition of the stadium, that there would be many contingencies. Like you, I could see a deal binding the club to the area rather than the stadium.
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