Canadian Bills Fan Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 (edited) Wow some people kill me.... 3 months ago we were all worried that we would lose the team to LA or Toronto and now we have a local owner who would keep the Bills in Buffalo and people are complaining????????? Beggers cant be choosers. No matter how you look at it, bad football is better than no football. He also only bought the Sabres for close to $200 million so it was easy to flip for a profit. He is not buying the Bills to be cheap. If you make a $1Billion dollar purchase, I think its a pretty clear sign as to how commited you are to this franchise. By the way, in his 6 years owning the Sabres he made the playoffs 4 times and also won the Presidents trophy. I would say he has had a very succesful career as a sports franchise owner Dude give me a break. Anyone intending on keeping the Bills in Buffalo is great news. I'll worry about their roster and their record later, I just want to be able to have a freaking team to root for. Thank you!!!!!!!!! CBF Edited May 22, 2014 by Canadian Bills Fan
cgang Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 As for Golisano, I don't know how to put it any simpler... he did hockey fans in the city of Buffalo a huge favor by, essentially, buying the franchise, and stabilizing it, until he could find a more suitable owner for it. He made it pretty clear, from day one, that he wasn't a "hockey guy"... his philosophy with Darcy was, spend what you have to and I am cool with it, as long as we don't lose money. Golisano was never in on the Sabres for the long haul, and wasn't looking to make a ton of money...his greatest interest in owning the team, was to make sure it stayed in WNY. Like the Bills now, as you may recall, there were plenty of rumblings that the franchise unstable ownership situation was making them a candidate to be re-located. The league was running the team at the time...and they weren't going to wait forever for things to settle down. Golisano seems to get a lot of **** from some people... I just don't understand that at all. The guy proved, in a big way, that he is committed to WNY. Now, if his intent, as it was with the Sabres, was to buy the Bills short term, and flip them to somebody who is committed to keeping the team in WNY long-term, I have no problem with that. Agree with all of this. Golisano admitted when he bought the team team that he did not now much at all about hockey. His intent was to keep the team in Buffalo and right-size the organization. We can quibble all we want about spending on players (and no doubt he was more strict than Pegula currently is), but the fact is he left the organization better off than it was before he bought them, sold it to another guy committed to keeping the team in Buffalo too, and actually turned a profit on that sale to boot (although probably not as much if he sold the franchise to someone seeking to move it). True, he did much of this while he had some political ambitions, but there is no way to view his potential bid as anything but positive if you are seeking to keep the team in WNY. I don't know if he knows and is more of a fan of football, but I think the prospect of him bidding is a great development for WNY (much better than the Bon Jovi nonsense).
The Wiz Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Wow some people kill me.... 3 months ago we were all worried that we would lose the team to LA or Toronto and now we have a local owner who would keep the Bills in Buffalo and people are complaining????????? Beggers cant be choosers. No matter how you look at it, bad football is better than no football. He also only bought the Sabres for close to $200 million so it was easy to flip for a profit. He is not buying the Bills to be cheap. If you make a $1Billion dollar purchase, I think its a pretty clear sign as to how commited you are to this franchise. By the way, in his 6 years owning the Sabres he made the playoffs 4 times and also won the Presidents trophy. I would say he has had a very succesful career as a sports franchise owner CBF Thank you!!!!!!!!! CBF He bought the sabres for 96 Million and 30 of that was to pay off some of the Regis debt. So he really bought the team for 66 million and sold it for 189 million I believe. But everything else you said I agree with. Just getting the numbers correct for an even better comparison.
Doc Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 I've been saying Golisano was the man since he bought the Sabres. Again as long as they stay in Buffalo, he can do with them what he wants. Just as long as he doesn't hire Darcy Regier as his GM. And it's not like Pegs' fortune has done anything for the Sabres but make them the worst team in the NHL. But he'll keep them in Buffalo for the rest of my lifetime, so I don't care.
Canadian Bills Fan Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 He bought the sabres for 96 Million and 30 of that was to pay off some of the Regis debt. So he really bought the team for 66 million and sold it for 189 million I believe. But everything else you said I agree with. Just getting the numbers correct for an even better comparison. Thank you sir. I guess I cought the tail end of the report on the radio that specified the financial stats of his aquisition and sale of the Sabres CBF
Kirby Jackson Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 I heard a while back that Golisano has already gone through the vetting process of the other owners and been approved. That now sounds consistent with his pushing for pre approval so that he can take the reigns.The meeting at Sinatra's with Russ and Larry Quinn certainly would make sense. Quinn was originally in charge of the development of the arena (if I remember correctly). That conversation may very well have been about the prospects of a new stadium. Golisano could stabilize this franchise and secure their long term future. I am in favor of anyone that will make sure that the team stays. One thing working in Golisano's favor on that end is that his actions have proven that. Trump can say that he would keep the team in WNY and maybe he does but we have precedent that Golisano would.
Proteus Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 I have come to the conclusion that many commenting on current or past Sabres owners as future Bills owners, don't really follow the Sabres all that closely... true that the Sabres have bottomed out under Pegula, but nobody can deny his dedication toward building a winner. His fatal mistake was in not cleaning house when he took over...Pegula appears to be a sentimental guy... a fan, like so many of us. Not advocating, necessarily, that a house cleaning would be appropriate for a new Bills owner (this season will be an indication), but it probably would have been wise for Pegula to rid himself of Darcy immediately. Pegula put too much faith in him, when the suit was already ripping at the seams... I think he learned his lesson, he went outside the organization and got a fresh set of eyes to run the team. He let the new guy get rid of players that Darcy, and he, just didn't have the heart to do. So, yes, the Sabres bottomed out this season, with a historically bad season... but is it losing, when you are really not trying to win? Their is a method to the madness.... As for Golisano, I don't know how to put it any simpler... he did hockey fans in the city of Buffalo a huge favor by, essentially, buying the franchise, and stabilizing it, until he could find a more suitable owner for it. He made it pretty clear, from day one, that he wasn't a "hockey guy"... his philosophy with Darcy was, spend what you have to and I am cool with it, as long as we don't lose money. Golisano was never in on the Sabres for the long haul, and wasn't looking to make a ton of money...his greatest interest in owning the team, was to make sure it stayed in WNY. Like the Bills now, as you may recall, there were plenty of rumblings that the franchise unstable ownership situation was making them a candidate to be re-located. The league was running the team at the time...and they weren't going to wait forever for things to settle down. Golisano seems to get a lot of **** from some people... I just don't understand that at all. The guy proved, in a big way, that he is committed to WNY. Now, if his intent, as it was with the Sabres, was to buy the Bills short term, and flip them to somebody who is committed to keeping the team in WNY long-term, I have no problem with that. We can argue all we want about what went down with the Drury thing....but as somebody pointed out along the way, rather astutely, Drury signed a huge deal with the Rangers instead, and did absolutely nothing in New York. As I recall, they had to buy him out, and he retired three seasons later, labled a bust for the Ranges, and a bad free agent siging...so whatever the perceived damage created to the Sabres, by not re-signing Drury, it may not have been real. It could have just been another long, bad, contract on the Sabres books... Great post!
GA BILLS FAN Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 I think this is GREAT news, not that Golisano himself would be great, but it's great that there is FINALLY a local guy with more than enough money/resources to buy the team and keep it here. I'm sure there will be others. As for Golisano, first, perspectives change, his interest in the Sabres, as many have pointed out, were purely to keep the team from moving and to stabilize the franchise, otherwise, he'd still own them. With the Bills, maybe his heart is in it or maybe he will simply buy the team, secure long term lease and patiently shop for the right long term local ownership, like what he did with Sabres. Everybody should just relax, take a deep breath and let other names surface and take a different perspective on TG.
thebandit27 Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Whether or not you agree with his approach to running the Sabres, there exists very little doubt that Golisano would buy the team and ensure that they stayed here--even if he did turn around and sell a few years down the road. Were he to end up the new owner, you're looking at a new stadium, new management, etc. I heard a while back that Golisano has already gone through the vetting process of the other owners and been approved. Thanks. I hadn't heard this specifically, but I did hear that more than one potential local owner had been through a preliminary vetting process that was organized by Russ and the NFL at Ralph's behest.
Canadian Bills Fan Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 I agree!!!! I think everyone should consider this great news! CBF
Solomon Grundy Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 If Larry Quinn's name is attached, then NO THANKS!
Kirby Jackson Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 I have come to the conclusion that many commenting on current or past Sabres owners as future Bills owners, don't really follow the Sabres all that closely... true that the Sabres have bottomed out under Pegula, but nobody can deny his dedication toward building a winner. His fatal mistake was in not cleaning house when he took over...Pegula appears to be a sentimental guy... a fan, like so many of us. Not advocating, necessarily, that a house cleaning would be appropriate for a new Bills owner (this season will be an indication), but it probably would have been wise for Pegula to rid himself of Darcy immediately. Pegula put too much faith in him, when the suit was already ripping at the seams... I think he learned his lesson, he went outside the organization and got a fresh set of eyes to run the team. He let the new guy get rid of players that Darcy, and he, just didn't have the heart to do. So, yes, the Sabres bottomed out this season, with a historically bad season... but is it losing, when you are really not trying to win? Their is a method to the madness.... As for Golisano, I don't know how to put it any simpler... he did hockey fans in the city of Buffalo a huge favor by, essentially, buying the franchise, and stabilizing it, until he could find a more suitable owner for it. He made it pretty clear, from day one, that he wasn't a "hockey guy"... his philosophy with Darcy was, spend what you have to and I am cool with it, as long as we don't lose money. Golisano was never in on the Sabres for the long haul, and wasn't looking to make a ton of money...his greatest interest in owning the team, was to make sure it stayed in WNY. Like the Bills now, as you may recall, there were plenty of rumblings that the franchise unstable ownership situation was making them a candidate to be re-located. The league was running the team at the time...and they weren't going to wait forever for things to settle down. Golisano seems to get a lot of **** from some people... I just don't understand that at all. The guy proved, in a big way, that he is committed to WNY. Now, if his intent, as it was with the Sabres, was to buy the Bills short term, and flip them to somebody who is committed to keeping the team in WNY long-term, I have no problem with that. We can argue all we want about what went down with the Drury thing....but as somebody pointed out along the way, rather astutely, Drury signed a huge deal with the Rangers instead, and did absolutely nothing in New York. As I recall, they had to buy him out, and he retired three seasons later, labled a bust for the Ranges, and a bad free agent siging...so whatever the perceived damage created to the Sabres, by not re-signing Drury, it may not have been real. It could have just been another long, bad, contract on the Sabres books... Great post Buftex! Thanks. I hadn't heard this specifically, but I did hear that more than one potential local owner had been through a preliminary vetting process that was organized by Russ and the NFL at Ralph's behest. He is the only one that I heard by name. There very well may be others. This is another nice move by the Bills to assure the long term stability. If there are similar bids in and they already know that 1 of those people will be approved for ownership that may push them over the top.
sodbuster Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Is there any way the Batavia site speculation is tied to Golisano?
May Day 10 Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Golisano saved the Sabres when there was little hope. He took the franchise from the depths and made it into the type of fanbase that we have today that can have capped season tickets despite the worst period in team history. Poor decisions, and some bullheadedness. I do not believe Quinn would be heavily involved as a Pres.. He would know there would be rejection and he did have a health scare. IMO, as a huge sabres fan, the team would be in good hands.
jimmy10 Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Is there any way the Batavia site speculation is tied to Golisano? Well, it's closer to the children's hospital going up with his name on it at the U of R.
nucci Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 This is good news but many here were so fed up with Ralph and the way he ran the team that some said they'd rather the Bills move than have a crappy team. Is there any way the Batavia site speculation is tied to Golisano? Don't expect a SuperBowl in Buffalo if the stadium is built in Batavia.
sodbuster Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Don't expect a SuperBowl in Buffalo if the stadium is built in Batavia. Well I'm not expecting a super bowl in Buffalo under any circumstances, so there's no disappointment either way.
shrader Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 How long will it take before some of these rumored potential ownership groups merge together? Ego is going to play a role in that, but why not have someone like Golisano team up with someone like Pegula? They're going to have more than enough funds to make this happen and keep the team right where it belongs. And before anyone mentions any potential conflicts there, I just used the first two names to come to mind. There has to be any number of combinations that would be a good option for the Bills.
thebandit27 Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Well I'm not expecting a super bowl in Buffalo under any circumstances, so there's no disappointment either way. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised by a Buffalo Superbowl if the stadium ends up downtown (because regardless of where it ends up it will very likely have a retractable roof)
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