thebandit27 Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 So here is one way an out of town owner could buy the bills and break the lease. Let us say that a prospective owner is willing to part with a total of 3 Billion. He offers 1.5 Billion to the trust. That should blow all other offers out of the water. He then offers the county 1.5 Billion to buy out the lease. The politicians run for cover as they usually do and vacillate. A taxpayer group sues to bring the issue to a referendum. The voters go to the polls to vote on a 1.5 Billion dollar windfall. If it is a Toronto group the deal even gets sweeter because most of the pro take the money and run folks do not go to the games anyway and they are not going to buy seat licenses and they get to watch the Niagara Cascade play on TV anyway. I am no financial genius so if I thought of it you can bet the smart guys have too. Now just ignore the legalities, skip the owners vote, skip the relocation fee, factor in the $1B for a new stadium plus the NFL Relocation fee and you're home. No sweat.
Dibs Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 And dropping.... which you didn't mention... probably as a result of an aging population. As I just wrote in another thread.... these are meaningless rankings because they measure the percentage of viewers. So Buffalo as a high percentage, lets arbitrarily say 50% of the 2.5M or 1.25M. That number is obviously used as a proxy for fans but the NFL sees it as a proxy for income. What if in LA, which every says isn't an NFL market, they weekly pulled on 15% of the population. That's 15% of 17M people, or 2.55M people, or equivalent to everyone on the Bills market watching! Yeah this doesn't include the southern Ontario market and the numbers would be higher but the point is, simple math folks. From a business standpoint, you can't argue that big cities mean big money and big profits. I'm not too sure how relevant a lot of this is. Firstly, as pointed out by a previous poster(sorry cant remember who), the NFL is already being shown in LA. This would mean that the existing ratings numbers would need to be subtracted from the new ratings numbers(if a team were to move there). On top of that one would need to further subtract the numbers lost from the ratings numbers in the original city(which if it is Buffalo would surely be quite a large reduction) in order to get a true figure of new(extra) viewers. Secondly......and correct me if I'm wrong but the TV rights have already been sold for a pre-set amount through to & including the 2022 season. This means that any increased TV ratings won't garner the NFL any extra revenue until a new deal is formed for 2023 onwards.
TheFunPolice Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 Money fixes every business/political problem there is... It might take a LOT but there are people hell bent on moving this team, so I wouldn't be so dismissive. The bottom line is that given the obscene money involved in the modern league, the NFL would be doing Buffalo a favor by helping to ensure the future of the team in WNY. That in and of itself is a major cause for concern.
xsoldier54 Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 Seriously, if you were one of the mega billionaires what do you care or worry about if the stadium is empty for a number of years? What p****s me off is that right after the bills are sold and then moved the NFL will enact rules to make moving a team more difficult. ...I mean jeepers you can just feel it's going to happen. Btw, all the while as the sales process plays itself out a few silent voices descending on deaf ears will try and remind purchasers and nfl fans that there are 7-10 million people within 100 miles of Buffalo to no avail. Any smart businessman cares if the stadium is empty for six years. They would lose millions and that is not smart business.
K-9 Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 So here is one way an out of town owner could buy the bills and break the lease. Let us say that a prospective owner is willing to part with a total of 3 Billion. He offers 1.5 Billion to the trust. That should blow all other offers out of the water. He then offers the county 1.5 Billion to buy out the lease. The politicians run for cover as they usually do and vacillate. A taxpayer group sues to bring the issue to a referendum. The voters go to the polls to vote on a 1.5 Billion dollar windfall. If it is a Toronto group the deal even gets sweeter because most of the pro take the money and run folks do not go to the games anyway and they are not going to buy seat licenses and they get to watch the Niagara Cascade play on TV anyway. I am no financial genius so if I thought of it you can bet the smart guys have too. Why would we just assume this fictional out of towner garners the required 3/4 vote of the four voting trustees as well as the 24 votes needed by the current NFL owners? I'm gonna go out on a limb and state that there are more than 9 owners that would prefer a buyer keep the Bills in Buffalo. GO BILLS!!!
Pondslider Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 While anything can be interpreted diffrently and the commissioner can change things the NFL relocation rules state that a team that is well supported can not simply relocate a team to make more money. " Article 4.3 also confirms that no club has an "entitlement" to relocate simply because it perceives an opportunity for enhanced club revenues in another location. Indeed, League traditions disfavor relocations if a club has been well-supported and financially successful and is expected to remain so. Relocation pursuant to Article 4.3 may be available, however, if a club's viability in its home territory is threatened by circumstances that cannot be remedied by diligent efforts of the club working, as appropriate, in conjunction with the League Office, or if compelling League interests warrant a franchise relocation. " http://m.startribune.com/?id=148181325 There are a lot of things that would have to happen for the team to simply up and move. Not saying it can't happen but the area can do a lot to try to keep the team right here. No matter who buys it. . The league has already said the team needs a new stadium in Buffalo. If something firm cannot be put together here but one of the bidders emerges with a plan that involves a new stadium there's no reason for the league not to support that move.
TheFunPolice Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 Why would we just assume this fictional out of towner garners the required 3/4 vote of the four voting trustees as well as the 24 votes needed by the current NFL owners? I'm gonna go out on a limb and state that there are more than 9 owners that would prefer a buyer keep the Bills in Buffalo. GO BILLS!!! Here's my worry: Yes, they would all PREFER it! They LOVE WNY! It's a great place, with great passionate fans, and all that tradition.... BUT The economic realities blah blah blah You can see it coming a mile away. This is going to be bad news week with constant stories about how a stadium isn't worth it, how the $$ won't be there, how there are groups who want to move the team, PSL's ect.
SRQ_BillsFan Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 The. NFL. Relocation Rules also state that a larger transfer fee (relocation) fee could apply based on the perceived enhancement in the value of the franchise. In effect the other 31 owners would be able to split the value added to the team if it moves to say, LA. The owner would not necessarily reap all of the rewards. http://m.startribune.com/?id=148181325
Canadian Bills Fan Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 No. I wont allow it. No one can have my Buffalo Bills except Buffalo! *crosses my arms* CBF
Nanker Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 Well, I for one am solidly behind some multi-multi billionaire buying The Bills AND moving them to LA - PROVIDING- they relocate every willing Bills fan AND their entire family to Southern Cal. Bring it, B word!
Coach Tuesday Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 Sounds like we still don't know for certain what is going to happen. But I bet if we keep this thread going, eventually we'll be able to predict the future.
K-9 Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 Here's my worry: Yes, they would all PREFER it! They LOVE WNY! It's a great place, with great passionate fans, and all that tradition.... BUT The economic realities blah blah blah You can see it coming a mile away. This is going to be bad news week with constant stories about how a stadium isn't worth it, how the $$ won't be there, how there are groups who want to move the team, PSL's ect. Ah yes, "the economic realities." I've seen no evidence to suggest the Bills can't continue to thrive in WNY. The ONLY disadvantage is corporate sponsorship. And yet, given all that great corporate sponsorship advantage in LA, they've been how long without a team? There are very real "economic reasons" for that reality as well. For every LA, NY, Chicago, Boston, and Dallas, there's a Buffalo, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Green Bay. And for every billionaire bidder who wishes to relocate, there is one that wishes to keep them where they are. GO BILLS!!!
Captain Hindsight Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 How does Polancarz acknowledging there are bidders looking to move the team turn into "OMG THE TEAM IS GONE!" This^ I read that this morning and my first thought was "Well no ****" I will support the Bills and The NFL as long as the team is here. If they ever move, the NFL will be dead to me. But I refuse to let wild speculation affect me now. I know nothing about the lease and I won't pretend I do
4merper4mer Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 Here's my worry: Yes, they would all PREFER it! They LOVE WNY! It's a great place, with great passionate fans, and all that tradition.... BUT The economic realities blah blah blah You can see it coming a mile away. This is going to be bad news week with constant stories about how a stadium isn't worth it, how the $$ won't be there, how there are groups who want to move the team, PSL's ect. You mean like Bob Kraft who shakes your hand while he is pi$$ing in your pocket? The Bills will have some backing to stay from teams like PIT, NYG, KC, GB, CIN They will have some douches who actively want them moved like DAL, WAS, HOU and there will be many that sway in the wind. If Kraft votes for the move he will have some lame excuse to cover his butt and make him look like an owner respectful of tradition. If he votes to have them stay he will want to be the hero. These guys in the middle are tricky to figure.
A Dog Named Kelso Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 How much time does it take to make a billion dollars? There is a lot of speculation that someone(or group) would willingly overspend to reap the rewards of a larger market. The only way the one can recoup that is to resell the team. If a person wants to waste money on buying a team I am not really sure the small ongoing returns, from the larger market, would really matter to them. It all seems like a ridiculous notion: Here is a extra 1.5 Billion to provide a price premium, moving fees and lease termination so I can make an extra 20 million a year?
MarkAF43 Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 wait, I can't keep up. are we back now to doom and gloom? Is all the hope and optimisim gone? Man, they need an app for that so I can keep up.
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 So in the past week have seen three different threads here, one about how the entire NFL team to LA has a bout worn out and lost energy, this one that states the Bills will move their after the lease runs out, and a third based on Steven Ross's comments that a team will be moving to LA within five years. So which one is it?? On Mike and Mike this morning they were discussing the Ross comments, and they don't think it will be the Bill's BTW!
CodeMonkey Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 4- The lease is as iron-clad as a lease can be (I did take time to read it); but we all know a buyer that wants to relocate team will fight the lease and we'll need politicians to stand firm against the temptation to take a $400M (or more) settlement Or potentially less as well. If the Bills try to relocate during the lease, and if the county takes the Bills to court, and if the judge rules in favor of the Bills, the judge could make the county prove the $400 million in damages. If they cannot to the judges satisfaction, he could award a lesser payment. On the other hand ... If the Bills try to relocate during the lease, and if the county does not take the Bills to court, I believe they would get the $400 million penalty payment.
Hplarrm Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 I think a lot of folks are really misreading this situation. Only one thing is pretty certain. The NFL will go where the biggest dollars are. The misread is that the biggest dollars for the NFL as a whole or for an individual owner is NOT from whatever billionaire or billionaire based consortium buys the team, the real money is with the TV networks which pays the NFL billions of $ so that the Nets get more eyeballs for them to sell commercials for beer, cars and other stuff. Many folks seem to feel that the key to this is to understand whether a small market like Buffalo can find a way to compete with a larger market like LA, Toronto, or whatever. It can't. Fortunately for Buffalo that doesn't matter. The big bucks for the NFL is seeking to find new eyeballs in Mexico City, Tokyo, Stuggart, Beijing and yes Toronto. However, even given a choice between having a new franchise in TOR or the existing money of the current franchise in Buffalo, the NFL answer is almost certainly BOTH. Buffalo's primary value to the voting members of the NFL is that it helps them sale and tell a story to new franchises and viewers of an original AFL/NFL team. The NFL would be seriously messing with the story it is telling and selling if it was constantly awash for 6 years with film of wailing and teeth gnashing of how just to get more $ it is abandoning and maybe killing Buffalo. Add to that the potential risk to the limited anti-trust exemption which Shumer/Gilllebrand would mount (this fear apparently was a key to Cleveland beating the NFL and keeping the Browns Modell pulled an Irsay. My sense is that Polancarz through out the possible new outside WNY owner unless we have a new stadium to increase local and NYS leverage for a new stadium.
SRQ_BillsFan Posted June 2, 2014 Posted June 2, 2014 (edited) The league has already said the team needs a new stadium in Buffalo. If something firm cannot be put together here but one of the bidders emerges with a plan that involves a new stadium there's no reason for the league not to support that move. Certainly, I think it's a given a new stadium is required by the NFL no matter who buys the team. A new owner would have to bargin on a new stadium with the state/county/city in good faith. If there is an impasse the NFL will step in and try to resolve it to keep the new owner semi honest. . Edited June 2, 2014 by SRQ_BillsFan
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