TheFunPolice Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 Pittsburgh should be the model for any new Bills stadium, IMO. Good, basic, clean stadium that fits the identity of the team. Can you imagine a Steelers dome? MAYBE you could lure a Super Bowl here, but I doubt it. Other than that, you would be taking away a big part of what makes Bills football great (when the team is winning). We are about to start watching playoff games. There will be snow, crazy fans, wind. It adds to the ambiance of the games. A dark, sterile, ugly dome just cannot compete with a place like Gillette Stadium (I almost threw up when I typed that) in the snow. Imagine a dome over Lambeau Field. It would be freaking sacrilegious! I say the same thing is true for a dome in Buffalo. I do have ONE caveat. The Arizona dome is an AWESOME stadium. It is so bright with natural light due to its construction that it's almost like being outside. They even have a grass field that gets rolled outside into the sun between games (that wouldn't work here obviously). Arizona NEEDED a dome because it's like 100 degrees there half the time. But overall, pro football should be played OUTSIDE in the elements. It's part of what makes this game great. "Oh you must not be a season ticker holder! It's cold!" Boo hoo. It's cold in New England*. It's cold in Cleveland. It's cold in Chicago (the windy city) It's REALLY cold in Green Bay. Dangerously so half the time. It's cold in Pittsburgh. It's cold in New Jersey. It's cold in Philadelphia. It's cold in Denver. It's cold in Seattle. It's cold in Baltimore. It's cold in Cincinnati. It's cold in Kansas City. So are Bills fans softer than fans in those cities? Not at all. Just look at the Jets game! Bills fans sold out the stadium and went to watch the team go 8-8. Imagine a world where the Bills are actually GOOD again! January. Snow falling. Home playoff game in the divisional round! Now imagine a cold, sterile, dark, airplane hangar like half the NFL domes are. No comparison. Open air stadiums are cheaper and just plain better. The stadium sells out most years now as it is. Lower the capacity a bit, add some new cool features, and field a winning team. There ALREADY is demand for Bills tickets now. PLEASE NO DOME IN BUFFALO! (unless it's pretty much a copy of Arizona)
LeGOATski Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 I agree with you. However, I've been to Arizona's dome plenty of times and it's nothing like being outside. Open stadium, please.
Kirby Jackson Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 I would be really, really surprised if they didn't have a roof. The Bills need to sell more expense seats and in order to do so they need an environment that caters to the business community.
TheFunPolice Posted January 5, 2016 Author Posted January 5, 2016 It has to be open air. I was just looking at the St. Louis proposed (although probably unlikely to happen) stadium, which would be open air instead of a dome. Most NFL domes look like they found an abandoned airplane hanger, strung up some cheap fluorescent strip lights, and put down some of that cheap green outdoor carpet you can buy at Home Depot. It's freaking awful to watch. I can't imagine it's much fun to go to either. The waterfront is all about EMBRACING the outdoors lately. The skating rink is packed down there when it opens. Enough people WANT to be outside (yes, even in winter!) that it won't be an issue if the Bills build an open air stadium. It's not an issue now, and they have one of the larger stadiums in the NFL! Chicago's Soldier Field holds 61,500. A SELLOUT in Chicago (a much larger city) would be one of the worst attended games in years in Buffalo! I would be really, really surprised if they didn't have a roof. The Bills need to sell more expense seats and in order to do so they need an environment that caters to the business community. I understand this concern, but how do all these other cities do it? Are rich people in other cities tougher?
B-Man Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 Only eight games a year. This year, how many fit your "romanticized" Bill's snowy weather ? Build a Dome. There will NEVER be a Super Bowl here regardless, but perhaps the building could be used for other things. Part of the reason of putting it downtown...............
TheFunPolice Posted January 5, 2016 Author Posted January 5, 2016 Only eight games a year. This year, how many fit your "romanticized" Bill's snowy weather ? Build a Dome. There will NEVER be a Super Bowl here regardless, but perhaps the building could be used for other things. Part of the reason of putting it downtown............... It's not just the snowy weather. It's that football is a fresh air, sunshine, OUTDOOR fall sport! Who wants to sit in something that looks like a WWII underground bunker when it's blue skies and 70 degrees on a perfect fall day? Football is an outdoor sport. Domes suck. Can you imagine the Buffalo Bills being at a disadvantage playing outside in the playoffs on the road?
Augie Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 I've only seen football inside a couple domes, but they both lacked that "game day ambiance" you'd like. The new one going up in Atlanta looks pretty cool though. Crazy retractable top in multiple sections. Maybe the best of both worlds. Or the worst? I'm actually torn on this as I see both sides. http://mercedesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Falcons-stadium.jpg
LA Grant Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) Dome is less romantic, but far more utilitarian and better for the region as a whole. It should be a dome, ideally in downtown. EDIT: But at the same time, I'm torn. TheFunPolice summarizes the argument for open air stadium nicely and I agree with that too. Edited January 5, 2016 by LA Grant
TheFunPolice Posted January 5, 2016 Author Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) Atlanta's new stadium looks like a spaceship! LOL Could you have a retractable roof but always have it open for football and close it for other uses? Edited January 5, 2016 by TheFunPolice
MDH Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 It's not just the snowy weather. It's that football is a fresh air, sunshine, OUTDOOR fall sport! Who wants to sit in something that looks like a WWII underground bunker when it's blue skies and 70 degrees on a perfect fall day? Football is an outdoor sport. Domes suck. Can you imagine the Buffalo Bills being at a disadvantage playing outside in the playoffs on the road? No doubt, as a fan, open air is definitely better. There really isn't much debate on this, at least Imo. But as an investor, why would you build an open air stadium in the Buffalo area? Nobody is spending a billion dollars on a stadium simply to give the fans the best game day experience. They're doing it as an investment. The building would get so much more use with a roof and, as such, make you more money.
Maddog69 Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 Build a dome to make it easier and more attractive for an older, more upscale, classier clientele to attend the games. Get rid of the drunken idiots that make the city and the fanbase look foolish. I have no issue what drinking and tailgating but getting absolutely plastered and making and ass of yourself has to be stopped.
TheFunPolice Posted January 5, 2016 Author Posted January 5, 2016 I don't know. Cleveland did it. Pittsburgh did it. Green Bay kept theirs. Bigger cities probably have dozens of other large venues for other events, so it's less of an issue to have a football dome for conventions or whatever. But those three are a lot like Buffalo. Is it even worth building new? Would a retrofit of the Ralph for 1/2 the price be a better cost/benefit type deal? All the infrastructure is there. Roads, practice facilities, etc.
Not at the table Karlos Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) I would like a retractable roof stadium but only if the roof would have to be open for all bills games. Let UB use it. Build it downtown. With a patriotplace type thing and a football version of harborcenter. IIRC Goodell said a while back that if a new stadium fits all the rules for hosting a super bowl that the NFL would try to bring one to that city. Edited January 5, 2016 by Not at the table Karlos
TheFunPolice Posted January 5, 2016 Author Posted January 5, 2016 could they have a retractable roof with the rule that it would be open for all Bills games? I'm not sure how it would work with rain/snow getting inside though
Augie Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 Build a dome to make it easier and more attractive for an older, more upscale, classier clientele to attend the games. Get rid of the drunken idiots that make the city and the fanbase look foolish. I have no issue what drinking and tailgating but getting absolutely plastered and making and ass of yourself has to be stopped. So, you'll have to pay CASH for your Kiko jersey?
nucci Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) It's not just the snowy weather. It's that football is a fresh air, sunshine, OUTDOOR fall sport! Who wants to sit in something that looks like a WWII underground bunker when it's blue skies and 70 degrees on a perfect fall day? Football is an outdoor sport. Domes suck. Can you imagine the Buffalo Bills being at a disadvantage playing outside in the playoffs on the road? in Buffalo? Build a dome to make it easier and more attractive for an older, more upscale, classier clientele to attend the games. Get rid of the drunken idiots that make the city and the fanbase look foolish. I have no issue what drinking and tailgating but getting absolutely plastered and making and ass of yourself has to be stopped. in Buffalo? j/k Edited January 5, 2016 by nucci
Never NEVER Give-up Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 A SB here is possible because deals for them are made at the time stadiums are in the planning stages for construction. An open air SB in Buffalo will not happen - too likely that weather will have an impact. What I agree with and would like to see is a dome like AZ, but to maximize home field, keep it open during cold days and in playoffs. Close it for rain and the SB game itself.
Not at the table Karlos Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 could they have a retractable roof with the rule that it would be open for all Bills games? I'm not sure how it would work with rain/snow getting inside though I don't see why not. Make all the seats weather resistant like an outdoor stadium would. Make some seats heated for the whiners or put those heaters we have in the club seats. Only reason I would like a retractable roof is so it doesn't sit vacant most of the year.
Canadian Bills Fan Posted January 5, 2016 Posted January 5, 2016 I cant see it not being a dome. I'm sure the Pegula's are thinking to themselves that if they are paying for a new stadium, that they are serious about a future Super Bowl bid. Lets be honest, this isnt the 90's Bills anymore. Weather is no longer an advantage for us Not to mention that if its a dome, the stadium can be used for more events all year round CBF
TheFunPolice Posted January 5, 2016 Author Posted January 5, 2016 What about the moisture though? I wonder how feasible it really is. Would it be like leaving your windows open in the rain at home?
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