zonabb Posted May 17, 2014 Posted May 17, 2014 Batavia is the location you select when you decide to throw location theory right out the window. Absolute joke of an idea. Lots of open space is all it has going for it and when you consider the actual important variables, it's not even a legitimate option. You can start right away with the likelihood of losing Buffalo-area and Toronto area season ticket holders. I wouldn't attend games if my drive increased from 30 to over 60 minutes. Traffic will be a nightmare... one road in, one road out. Imagine the waits at the tolls. And sure, it might get a handful more Rochester and Syracuse fans to games but on balance you lose Buffalo/Ontario fans. The biggest reason is likely that county funding is necessary, as well as state, and that county doesn't have the funds Erie would. And finally, what owner in his right mind would want his team practicing and playing in the middle of nowhere? You want a bunch of millionaires to live in a rural setting or drive 45-60 minutes to the facility? Sorry, if Buffalo has problems with young millionaires wanting an urban lifestyle, this won't help. In an era of increasing gas prices and when we should expect to see more urban living and less auto-dependency the last place you put a stadium is in a corn field in Batavia. This site is a total non-starter. They have a marketing guy running the county who tried to explain on the radio the other day why it has advantages over other locations and he failed miserably. This is honestly the dumbest idea in the stadium discussion.
Bills Fan of St Augustine Posted May 17, 2014 Posted May 17, 2014 Still like the idea of a stadium north of the city and west of Amherst. NFs would require the bulk of game day traffic through GI and across two bridges. OP is not central for any large group. No way is NF only 10 mins closer to Toronto than OP unless its by plane or helicopter...
mrags Posted May 17, 2014 Posted May 17, 2014 When all is said and done. All I give a chit about is the Bills staying in WNY. If that's Batavia. I'll accept tht and ecstatic. The only losing scenario would be if they move out of the area all together (Toronto, LA, Etc...) Can we all agree on that?
May Day 10 Posted May 17, 2014 Posted May 17, 2014 Oh yeah for sure. I go off about the nf idea being stupid. But if construction were announced I would be doing flips
SRQ_BillsFan Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 (edited) The state is broke and the county is going to need to come up with some money. While Erie county is also broke it is the largest by far. Not to mention the monies already spent on the Bills which was brought up. No way the Bills leave Erie county. While I would hope it would be downtown once they start looking at costs it will have to end up being a piecemeal retrofit of the Ralph. No owner will put more than a couple hundred thousand into a stadium to stay in the area. I also do not think Erie county and the state are going to come up with $500,000 or more. The taxpayers will revolt. Just watch when all of this starts to determine where the money is going to come from. By piecemeal of the Ralph I mean spead across two seasons so they can play in the middle of it. . Edited May 18, 2014 by SRQ_BillsFan
sodbuster Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 The state is broke and the county is going to need to come up with some money. While Erie county is also broke it is the largest by far. Not to mention the monies already spent on the Bills which was brought up. No way the Bills leave Erie county. While I would hope it would be downtown once they start looking at costs it will have to end up being a piecemeal retrofit of the Ralph. No owner will put more than a couple hundred thousand into a stadium to stay in the area. I also do not think Erie county and the state are going to come up with $500,000 or more. The taxpayers will revolt. Just watch when all of this starts to determine where the money is going to come from. By piecemeal of the Ralph I mean spead across two seasons so they can play in the middle of it. . Thousand? Don't you mean million?
Speedy G Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 Batavia is the location you select when you decide to throw location theory right out the window. Absolute joke of an idea. Lots of open space is all it has going for it and when you consider the actual important variables, it's not even a legitimate option. You can start right away with the likelihood of losing Buffalo-area and Toronto area season ticket holders. I wouldn't attend games if my drive increased from 30 to over 60 minutes. Traffic will be a nightmare... one road in, one road out. Imagine the waits at the tolls. And sure, it might get a handful more Rochester and Syracuse fans to games but on balance you lose Buffalo/Ontario fans. The biggest reason is likely that county funding is necessary, as well as state, and that county doesn't have the funds Erie would. And finally, what owner in his right mind would want his team practicing and playing in the middle of nowhere? You want a bunch of millionaires to live in a rural setting or drive 45-60 minutes to the facility? Sorry, if Buffalo has problems with young millionaires wanting an urban lifestyle, this won't help. In an era of increasing gas prices and when we should expect to see more urban living and less auto-dependency the last place you put a stadium is in a corn field in Batavia. This site is a total non-starter. They have a marketing guy running the county who tried to explain on the radio the other day why it has advantages over other locations and he failed miserably. This is honestly the dumbest idea in the stadium discussion. 1st of all, are you on the stadium committee? 2nd, as long as they stay in WNY, I don't care where the new stadium is built. #GoBills
Hammered a Lot Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 (edited) Can someone explain how Batavia is in the mix as a potential new stadium site? I keep thinking this is a joke but it continues to be in the conversation, at least in media reports. I will grant that Batavia has land and good Thruway access, but what else? How does a Batavia site add to Buffalo's or Niagara Falls' critical mass for economic development purposes? How does it entice popular or corporate support from Southern Ontario and put a stake in the heart of Toronto's NFL ambitions (which in my opinion is critical to the long term survival if a Buffalo franchise)? Last week it was Niagara Falls. This week it's Batavia turn. Next up it's downtown Buffalo's turn. Then UB or is it New York University at Buffalo's turn and then finally the remodel of Ralph Wilson Stadium and/ or the new stadium on ECC South property will be talked about. Edited May 18, 2014 by Hammered a Lot
purple haze Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 (edited) 1st of all, are you on the stadium committee? 2nd, as long as they stay in WNY, I don't care where the new stadium is built. #GoBills�� I appreciate your sentiment, but you should care. If it's a brand new stadium it more than likely won't simply be a new stadium, but a new development that incorporates hotel, entertainment, retail, etc. along with that stadium. Should that be in Niagara Falls or downtown Buffalo? Batavia? That's like a modern day version of the move to Orchard Park. Putting the place in the middle of nowhere. When all is said and done three places are the most likely: Downtown B-lo, Amherst-UB, Niagra Falls. I would bet on Erie County bc EC has the most invested in the team through the years. Edited May 18, 2014 by purple haze
mrags Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 Thousand? Don't you mean million? yeah. I was gonna say that this whole argument seems off. Something wrong with post for sure. Couple hundred thousand??? If that were the case, hundreds of people in the WNY area would be stepping up to the plate. It's chump change. Hundreds of millions guy, hundreds of millions.
oman128 Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 I know a Grape Farmer in the Silver Creek area with about 400 acres, he's ready to sell his land,retire and move to Florida. I know a Grape Farmer in the Silver Creek area with about 400 acres, he's ready to sell his land,retire and move to Florida. Wine for everyone at the games.
mrags Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 I know a Grape Farmer in the Silver Creek area with about 400 acres, he's ready to sell his land,retire and move to Florida. I know a Grape Farmer in the Silver Creek area with about 400 acres, he's ready to sell his land,retire and move to Florida. Wine for everyone at the games.
LabattBlue Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 (edited) If I was a betting man, after all these studies/meetings/site visits take place, the new stadium will end up adjacent to RWS(one of the surrounding parking lots), or in place of the current stadium. PS IMO...this would be the best choice. Edited May 18, 2014 by LabattBlue
Rockinon Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 Thurman Thomas's wouldn't mind moving to Batavia with his sports bar in Batavia Downs all ready. BTW, stopped in there a few weeks back and the place was hopping. They had a hell of a good band playing in there. I know you folks that live in Buffalo would hate to see the team move outside of Erie County, but Batavia is not that much of a stretch. Shoot, I travel over 6hrs from Potsdam, NY to get to the Bills games. If you aren't willing to travel 1hr to go to a game, well........just pitiful.
PromoTheRobot Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 In other posts I've raised the concept of Canadians crossing the Rainbow Bridge by foot, rather than by car, to maximize border efficiency. But another idea is a "football train" from Toronto to downtown Buffalo. Canadian fans can ride in and customs officials can do their job while the train is moving. No need to stop at the border.
bananathumb Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 Just to throw light on distances for Canadians to get to Batavia, Mapquest times the trip from the CN Tower (just a random address) in Toronto to Batavia Downs as 2 hrs. 17 mins and from the CN Tower to RW Stadium in Orchard Park as 2 hrs 8mins. So at least the distance for Canadians is irrelevant. Meaning, they wouldn't be any less inclined to attend.
jimmy10 Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 Is Batavia in the blackout radius? By quite a ways, yes. Just to throw light on distances for Canadians to get to Batavia, Mapquest times the trip from the CN Tower (just a random address) in Toronto to Batavia Downs as 2 hrs. 17 mins and from the CN Tower to RW Stadium in Orchard Park as 2 hrs 8mins. So at least the distance for Canadians is irrelevant. Meaning, they wouldn't be any less inclined to attend. Thanks for looking into that. I was thinking the difference from southern Ontario wasn't too drastic.
SRQ_BillsFan Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 Thousand? Don't you mean million? Yep, missed a lot of zero's. Big big difference.
Recommended Posts