Kellyto83TD Posted March 30, 2014 Author Posted March 30, 2014 Furthermore, if "the bottom line is MONEY," why didn't Ralph Wilson move the team? Because Ralph was extremely old school and he wanted his legacy to be he kept the team here. Now I don't know what to tell you but the reality is, its all about money these days. Ok I have to wonder, WNY Economy sucks. How the hell are they going to fund a new stadium? Fans and even WNY politicians say they can't afford more than what the ticket prices are now. WTH do you think ticket prices will be in a new stadium? PSL's are between 1500-8000 for the new Vikes stadium. My brother has season tickets and showed me the letter he got from them. And who thinks the majority of Bills ticket holders could afford a PSL let alone higher ticket prices?
machine gun kelly Posted March 30, 2014 Posted March 30, 2014 They will have to raise prices to get a shot even if a modest one. A winning product will get fans to pay more even if only $10 more per seat. If they place a new stadium is Niagara Falls, it is even closer to Toronto, and Rochester, and both cities have much more corporate dollars. For Rochester, traveling to Niagara falls cuTs at least 40 minutes off their drive. That's nothing for someone to buy a suite. That's the key. Suites, higher priced seats, and yes, a stadium license for naming rights. We can only hope. God I wish Pegula or Jeremy Jacobs mans up for a purchase. Golisano doesn't have the net worth at 2.1 billion. Pegula at 3.2 billion and can off load the Sabres for $200 million would make sense. Especially if NYS doesn't want the disaster of losing the Bills and finds the money for the majority of a new stadium.
uncle flap Posted March 30, 2014 Posted March 30, 2014 Because Ralph was extremely old school and he wanted his legacy to be he kept the team here. Now I don't know what to tell you but the reality is, its all about money these days. Ok I have to wonder, WNY Economy sucks. How the hell are they going to fund a new stadium? Fans and even WNY politicians say they can't afford more than what the ticket prices are now. WTH do you think ticket prices will be in a new stadium? PSL's are between 1500-8000 for the new Vikes stadium. My brother has season tickets and showed me the letter he got from them. And who thinks the majority of Bills ticket holders could afford a PSL let alone higher ticket prices? 1. Since you already decided a quote from 3 years ago has no bearing on this topic, I doubt reminding you of Pegula's quote about owning the Sabres will further bolster my case that there is a substantial emotional and civic contingent to the topic, and to my contention that it is not simply about the money. Does 3 weeks ago count as "these days?" Because that's when the Bills decided to postpone the Toronto series - which is also widely understood to be a precursor to canceling the remainder of the series altogether. If it were all about the money as you say, I doubt the Bills would have cut that cord, despite not making as much money as they had in the previous deal. 2. Do you actually not know how a new stadium could be funded? Or are you contending that it couldn't be? I personally don't know what parties would contribute and to what extent those parties would respectively contribute in terms of percentages, as we don't know the location/design/cost of a new stadium. However, Buffalo and WNY is on the upswing, the population has finally stopped its trickling decline, and Cuomo is sending boatloads of cash here. I think it's interesting that Ciminelli is developing the RiverBend project and has been named to the New Stadium Working Group by the Bills. The state has ponied up millions over the years for stadium upgrades and renovations. I don't think it's a stretch for them to do the same for a new stadium, or a retrofit, if either of those options are on the table. 3. Who are the fans and politicians claiming that they/we can't afford higher ticket prices? With few exceptions, I've seen the opposite, at least in the sense that a common sentiment among fans is "I would be willing to pay X amount more per ticket if it meant that the Bills stayed in Buffalo." The Sabres put together a couple good runs and now they have a waiting list for season tickets, and generally a lucrative secondary market. The Bills could certainly do the same. People with more expertise than you or I will determine whether or not there will be PSLs; and if there are PSL, what they will cost. I won't speculate on what people can and can't afford, but I have no reason to think that they couldn't afford an increase. I'm not rich by any means, but as you originally proposed in this very thread, I would certainly give up going out to dinner a couple times a year if those few hundred dollars meant I could keep my season tickets, and so would every fan that I know. I pay what I pay for season tickets because that's what they cost. If they cost more, I'd pay more. Fortunately for me, it wouldn't be a hardship. I get that your contention is that most people aren't like me and couldn't afford an increase in ticket prices, but I don't know what you're basing that on. Same with your apparent contention that the state can't afford to subsidize a stadium. They certainly could, and although it's totally valid to think that they wouldn't, outside of an on-the-record statement eliminating that possibility, I'll remain optimistic.
T master Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 And it is up to the fans. But bottom line, no more lowest ticket prices in the NFL. Think on this, if you add just 25.00 per ticket that is 200.00 total per year to the ticket holder or someone buying all 8 home games. Lets say 200.00 more per year for say 65000 seats = 13 million in new revenue each year. Add to that you sell the naming rights to the stadium, that can be 5 mill more per year. Now I get the sentimentality of keeping ralphs name on the building, fine let mary pay 5 mill per year to keep it there out of the sale of the Bills. If you want to keep the Bills in Buffalo, its not about being sentimental, its about Business and that extra 5 million matters. Then there is the fanbase. It will be tough to convince 24 owners to let the Bills move. First off this team has about 30 mill per year (in a couple articles I have read) taxable Profit after all the debt is paid each year. That should be 18 million or so net. Then add to that the potential 20 mill or so listed above. Now lets say they have a net profit of say 30 mill per year, you also history of the NFL that is still huge AND a fan base that sells out even if the team sucks, let alone wins. Increase ticket prices, get naming rights, make sure luxury boxes sell and put a winner on the field and it is going to be damn near impossible for a new owner to move. I agree with most all you have said but don't forget there are a more than a few money hungry greed mongers that own teams & don't think it is far that the smaller market teams can survive with out grossing as much as the bigger teams such as the Cowboys do . Which happens to be owned by one of the mongers i speak of. Jerry thought Ralph was old school & guys like Ralph are the ones that kept the balance I'm just afraid now that the balance has shifted into the gluttony & a greed motivated NFL which it has been moving there over the years . I just hope Roger can keep the wolves at bay & allow a great franchise as our Bills to stay where they are instead of having the end all be all being making $6.5 mil rather than $5 mil ..
CodeMonkey Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 I just hope Roger can keep the wolves at bay & allow a great franchise as our Bills to stay where they are instead of having the end all be all being making $6.5 mil rather than $5 mil .. I know that Roger made a statement recently about wanting to keep the Bills in Buffalo and that is a very good sign. But at the end of the day he will do whatever is best for the entire NFL and all of it's owners. As a very wise man, Mr. Spock, said ... “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” (or “the one”). The question is, will there be a white knight that will step in and allow the Bills to stay in Buffalo.
hondo in seattle Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 The fans cannot keep the team in Buffalo. There aren't enough fans. According to Peter King, Buffalo was the 18th biggest market in the U.S. when Ralph created the franchise. Buffalo's now the 49th biggest market. Not only is Buffalo already a small market team, comparatively speaking, it keeps getting smaller. In another 50 years, we'll be the 75th biggest market. Buffalo just doesn't promise the same bright future that other cities might. On the other hand, it's far, far cheaper to keep the Bills here than move them. No relocation fee. No fee for breaking the lease. No stadium expenses to be had by the owner. Depending on who's dong the math, this could be $1 billion in savings by keep the team local. So while we fans can't keep the team here, one rich fan could. A billionaire with a connection to WNY could have a reasonable business case for buying the Bills and keeping them in Buffalo.
PromoTheRobot Posted April 1, 2014 Posted April 1, 2014 (edited) Buffalo by itself is small but there is almost 8 million people within a two hour drive of RWS. NFL TV ratings in L.A. are better now than when they had a team. Buffalo is not some sink hole for a team to vanish in. It has a long history of supporting the Bills. That support, while decent, is not at the sellout-every-game level. (Please, we all know the reasons.) But everyone will be scrutinizing how we do for the next few years leading up to the sale. God forbid we have another 6-10 season with half-filled December games because every NFL pundit will declare Buffalo unfit for the NFL. PTR Edited April 1, 2014 by PromoTheRobot
The Real Buffalo Joe Posted April 1, 2014 Posted April 1, 2014 He lives in Florida now, not Rochester. He can still fly back and forth to games. Plus he may live in Florida, but he still does buisness in Buffalo, and may own a suite that he doesn't even use himself and gives away. Ralph never lived in Buffalo his whole life. Now I get the sentimentality of keeping ralphs name on the building, fine let mary pay 5 mill per year to keep it there out of the sale of the Bills. If you want to keep the Bills in Buffalo, its not about being sentimental, its about Business and that extra 5 million matters. Could we make it something like, First Niagara (or whatever sponsor) Field at Ralph Wilson Stadium?
billsfan_34 Posted April 1, 2014 Posted April 1, 2014 As I appreciate your enthusiasm its just not how the NFL works anymore. The stars will have to align for the Bills to stay long term.
Formerly Allan in MD Posted April 1, 2014 Posted April 1, 2014 Pegula, Galisano have both been white knights before and have both said they would everything they could to help ensure the Bills stay in buffalo. Jacobs, Rich, and anyone that may be involved with Kelly's ownership group (regardless of he's around or not) would surely have a stake in keeping the team in Buffalo. What about Wegmans?
PromoTheRobot Posted April 1, 2014 Posted April 1, 2014 Could we make it something like, First Niagara (or whatever sponsor) Field at Ralph Wilson Stadium? That would be a good compromise, like they did at (Invesco Field at) Mile High. Geico Field @ RWS?
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