Canadian Bills Fan Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I am not positive but I believe that the relocation fee is paid to the community that the team is departing? If that is the case it won't be waived. The lease plus relocation fee is beyond a deterrent. It is a deal breaker. That does not mean that someone will not move the team. It means that they will not for 7 years. No one in the world is going to pay an extra 50% of the value instead of waiting 7 years. The team may end up selling at $1B and then you would be adding $675M to that in order to move before 7 years. What will make the new owner more money $297M (fee to break lease drops to $28M in year 7) plus 7 years of operating in a debt free stadium or buying the team, moving the team and starting in LA (or wherever) day 1? It is not even close. The new owner cannot make up $297M (plus expenses) in 7 year period. IMO, the Bills are likely to remain in WNY past 2020 but will certainly remain in WNY until then. Also, I have been told to be on the lookout for a guy from NC (I think that was where, the details were fuzzy) who has ties to WNY. The person that told me this would be in the know. Supposedly, this guy will be a strong candidate. I'm sure we will hear many more tips like this from people "who know's someone" or "has close ties with the Bills organization" As long as it keeps the Bills in Buffalo I am happy. CBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I'm with Mango on this. If Ralph created a plan prior to his death to keep the Bills in Buffalo after he died, he will be crowned King. If he didn't, and the Bills do indeed move, it will tarnish his image. Why ? Because he COULD HAVE created such a plan and for whatever reason did not. How will you discern the difference between Wilson not having a plan and someone else deciding his plan wasn't enough? You can blame whoever you want, obviously, but the approach seems to smack of blaming ex-coaches for all the failings of the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I'm sure we will hear many more tips like this from people "who know's someone" or "has close ties with the Bills organization" As long as it keeps the Bills in Buffalo I am happy. CBF kirby is pretty solidly reliable with tips like this. reading that i take it as there is a guy interested that may be a player in it that we havent discussed, but that generally speaking, who knows what will happen with something like this even if you think all the stars are aligning, it could change at any moment and we are far from any sort of firm answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 kirby is pretty solidly reliable with tips like this. reading that i take it as there is a guy interested that may be a player in it that we havent discussed, but that generally speaking, who knows what will happen with something like this even if you think all the stars are aligning, it could change at any moment and we are far from any sort of firm answer. I agree 100% CBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahnyc Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I think Cuomo is up for re-election in November. If that is the case, shouldn't Buffalo and Bills fans put maximum pressure on Cuomo now to step up and do everything NY State can do to make sure the Bills stay in Buffalo long term? Seems like there may be a window here given the impending election in November. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papazoid Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 according to Forbes there are over 300 people worth more than 5 Billion. there will be multiple parties interested in the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA BILLS FAN Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I am not positive but I believe that the relocation fee is paid to the community that the team is departing? If that is the case it won't be waived. The lease plus relocation fee is beyond a deterrent. It is a deal breaker. That does not mean that someone will not move the team. It means that they will not for 7 years. No one in the world is going to pay an extra 50% of the value instead of waiting 7 years. The team may end up selling at $1B and then you would be adding $675M to that in order to move before 7 years. What will make the new owner more money $297M (fee to break lease drops to $28M in year 7) plus 7 years of operating in a debt free stadium or buying the team, moving the team and starting in LA (or wherever) day 1? It is not even close. The new owner cannot make up $297M (plus expenses) in 7 year period. IMO, the Bills are likely to remain in WNY past 2020 but will certainly remain in WNY until then. Also, I have been told to be on the lookout for a guy from NC (I think that was where, the details were fuzzy) who has ties to WNY. The person that told me this would be in the know. Supposedly, this guy will be a strong candidate. +1 on remaining until 2020, as for after that, I'd say it's 50/50 at best How will you discern the difference between Wilson not having a plan and someone else deciding his plan wasn't enough? You can blame whoever you want, obviously, but the approach seems to smack of blaming ex-coaches for all the failings of the team. Not at all -- we'll know definitively whether Wilson puts any conditions on the sale or if it's to the highest bidder -- if it's the later it means NO PLAN, simple as that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PastaJoe Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I think Cuomo is up for re-election in November. If that is the case, shouldn't Buffalo and Bills fans put maximum pressure on Cuomo now to step up and do everything NY State can do to make sure the Bills stay in Buffalo long term? Seems like there may be a window here given the impending election in November. He already was involved with the agreement to renovate the stadium, and setting up an exploratory group made up of state and local people to consider a new stadium. And then some people complained it was just election year politics. What else do you want done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papazoid Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I think Cuomo is up for re-election in November. If that is the case, shouldn't Buffalo and Bills fans put maximum pressure on Cuomo now to step up and do everything NY State can do to make sure the Bills stay in Buffalo long term? Seems like there may be a window here given the impending election in November. politically the state has already stepped up with the stadium improvements currently underway. his election will have come and gone before the state talks about a brand new stadium for the new owners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 kirby is pretty solidly reliable with tips like this. reading that i take it as there is a guy interested that may be a player in it that we havent discussed, but that generally speaking, who knows what will happen with something like this even if you think all the stars are aligning, it could change at any moment and we are far from any sort of firm answer. I am not saying that it is a done deal. I am just saying that this guy has not been mentioned and will be a player. A lot can transpire between now and the sale but there have been different parties to express different levels of interest (some public and some private). Who knows what types of groups will arise between now and the sale but I thought that it was worth noting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I am not saying that it is a done deal. I am just saying that this guy has not been mentioned and will be a player. A lot can transpire between now and the sale but there have been different parties to express different levels of interest (some public and some private). Who knows what types of groups will arise between now and the sale but I thought that it was worth noting. Definitely worth noting - thanks for the insight. As other have mentioned, I expect it to be fairly quiet for a bit to respect RW and family, but at some point we'll start hearing more about interested groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeMonkey Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Definitely worth noting - thanks for the insight. As other have mentioned, I expect it to be fairly quiet for a bit to respect RW and family, but at some point we'll start hearing more about interested groups. Agreed. But after the respect period things may move quicker than some expect simply due to the fact that this has been coming for several years and most, if not all, of the interested parties should already be prepared and ready to go as soon as the family and league are ready to proceed. Interesting times ahead for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanC883 Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 a friend (who frequents this forum also) texted me and said Ralph's last gift will be a reasonable plan to keep the Bills in Buffalo. Let's hope its true The more I read stories from people who knew Ralph, this would not surprise me one bit. He loved Buffalo, and the Bills, and likely has some contingency plan that he did not want to reveal to keep the focus on the current team, or for a myriad of other reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Agreed. But after the respect period things may move quicker than some expect simply due to the fact that this has been coming for several years and most, if not all, of the interested parties should already be prepared and ready to go as soon as the family and league are ready to proceed. Interesting times ahead for sure. I tend to agree with this. He was 95 years old and how many groups have we already heard. While the Bills wee not for sale they were never that far off from being for sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 When has Ralph or Mary stated she doesn't want it recently? I know RW made that statement many years ago, but it hasn't been repeated since. Maybe MW wants nothing to do with owning the Bill's, well even if I hated football I can think of one thing wose than owning the team, and that's paying around $400 mil in taxes which she could avoid by taking the team. Maybe she's the owner, but a completely silent partner. The one thing she does is show up once a month to pick up her check fro mthe profits. I'm not at all convinced that there isn't a complete succession plan in place, but for whatever reason, RW has refused to ever make it known. In the last 24 hours I've read alot about RW sense of humor. Maybe this is his last joke, surprised, the team is here forever. Or it remians in the trust forever. Trusts are often written so they will end 25 years after the last beneficiery dies which could be many years as could be young grandchildren in there. Bottom line you are right. Look Ralph put it in the will he wants the team sold. Mary said she doesn't want it so it will be sold sooner than later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdog1960 Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 as soon as the team sells, littmann and Brandon are out the door. I say they stall and manage the trust for years. would you consider that good or bad? i'd definitely vote bad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullim4 Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 it's going to cost 3 billion to move this team to L.A. 1 Billion to buy Bills 400 Million early buy out 400 Million nfl relocation fee 1.25 Billion to build a new stadium 3 Billion TOTAL This is the single biggest deterrent to moving the Bills to LA, and it is the single biggest thing working in favor of moving the team to Toronto. I don't think the relocation fee would apply if the team moved to Toronto since that city is currently considered part of the Bills market. So there's $400 million in savings. I don't know what Toronto's/Ontario's financial situation is, but if they could get an NFL franchise, I could see them funneling public money to a stadium.... so you could see savings there as well. That type of government support is far less likely in LA, where government is up to its ears in debt. If someone with connections to Canada gets the team, I think our best hope as fans is to have the team relocate to Niagara Falls, ON and have ownership build a stadium in the entertainment district there. At least the team would be closer to Buffalo than Toronto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdog1960 Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 How will you discern the difference between Wilson not having a plan and someone else deciding his plan wasn't enough? You can blame whoever you want, obviously, but the approach seems to smack of blaming ex-coaches for all the failings of the team. an argument could then be made that he could have done a deal to keep the team in buffalo before his demise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I am not saying that it is a done deal. I am just saying that this guy has not been mentioned and will be a player. A lot can transpire between now and the sale but there have been different parties to express different levels of interest (some public and some private). Who knows what types of groups will arise between now and the sale but I thought that it was worth noting. for sure - i didnt think you were implying it was done. what i put was my takeaway from your statement. interested party we may not have considered but who knows what will happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeMonkey Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 an argument could then be made that he could have done a deal to keep the team in buffalo before his demise. An argument could also be made that perhaps he has been trying to do just that for years, but there were no buyers willing to stay in Buffalo that could put together a reasonable offer. Only a couple of people would know this, and I suspect none of them are on here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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