New "ironclad" Stadium deal reached

[Buffalo716]

3 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

It’s interesting, I read it more like he’s saying they needed to decide how much   they wanted it in the City of Buffalo (downtown) versus in the State at large…thus Orchard Park

You can also read it like that which is perfectly acceptable

 

And that makes a lot of sense

 

The stadium downtown would’ve been close to $1 billion more after infrastructure changes…The state and city would’ve needed to foot a lot more

Edited March 17, 2023 by Buffalo716

[PBF81]

2 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

There is 1000 junk articles with no verifiable sources

 

Give me one verifiable link from Terry Pegula where he threatened to move the bills

 

Well, for starters, Kim is on record as stating that they couldn't afford a stadium because they had a lifestyle to maintain.  That was in fact said by her.  It was nested in an article(s) way back at the onset of this.  It may have been only one, I don't know, but just like 30 articles all stating the same thing go up after we sign a player, so too it got around.  

 

They've made it clear that it was a passive threat.  

 

[Buffalo716]

6 minutes ago, PBF81 said:

 

Well, for starters, Kim is on record as stating that they couldn't afford a stadium because they had a lifestyle to maintain.  That was in fact said by her.  It was nested in an article(s) way back at the onset of this.  It may have been only one, I don't know, but just like 30 articles all stating the same thing go up after we sign a player, so too it got around.  

 

They've made it clear that it was a passive threat.  

 

As already mentioned 1000 times

 

Ralph Wilson did not pay for the stadium… It is owned by the county

 

a precedent Was set

 

Terry tied up most of his liquid assets in purchasing the bills… It was always well known that the county and state would have to pay most of the stadium

 

Reiterating that is not a threat

 

There is not one fortune 500 company in Buffalo… Not one fortune 500 company

And Terry Pegula does not own the current stadium… Just like Ralph Doesn’t own it

 

He showed how much he wanted the bills by paying over $1 billion for them… His commitment to Buffalo is clear with the Ownership of all three teams

 

Telling the county and state it’s your time to show how much you want to team is not a threat… Because they had to pony up

 

 

[Mr. WEO]

2 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

He never threatened to move the bills

 

At most you could call it veiled…. Which is completely different than being out right threatening to move the bills… 

 

He’s not wrong when he said the city and state need to decide how much they want the bills… That’s perfectly reasonable

 

Because He wasn’t footing the bill…. So absolutely the state and city needed to decide how much they want the bills… They can pay and keep them…. Or someone will build them a stadium

 

That’s just a fact it’s not a threat

 

You can cry and think he was threatening you , it’s called a business move… leverage 

meant the Bills…how?  Why would he ask that?  Of course Buffalo wants the Bills.  If it’s not a threat to move the team then how does it act as “hardball” “business move” ?   

 

It is, as you have finally come around to,  a veiled threat….to love the team.  PSE put that out there unprompted.  
 

He didn’t say “The Bills will never leave Buffalo. Let’s work this out”. 

[Buffalo716]

Just now, Mr. WEO said:

meant the Bills…how?  Why would he ask that?  Of course Buffalo wants the Bills.  If it’s not a threat to move the team then how does it act as “hardball” “business move” ?   

 

It is, as you have finally come around to,  a veiled threat….to love the team.  PSE put that out there unprompted.  
 

He didn’t say “The Bills will never leave Buffalo. Let’s work this out”. 

A Veiled threat It’s completely different than a real threat 

 

Hence the separate definition

 

It’s to make the state get in gear… It’s not serious

[PBF81]

1 hour ago, Buffalo716 said:

He never threatened to move the bills

 

At most you could call it veiled…. Which is completely different than being out right threatening to move the bills… 

 

He’s not wrong when he said the city and state need to decide how much they want the bills… That’s perfectly reasonable

 

Because He wasn’t footing the bill…. So absolutely the state and city needed to decide how much they want the bills… They can pay and keep them…. Or someone will build them a stadium

 

That’s just a fact it’s not a threat

 

You can cry and think he was threatening you , it’s called a business move… leverage 

 

Here's an article about three years ago, referencing the aforementioned.  The exact quote was somewhere, but if you're handy with Google I'm sure you can fid it if you really want to.  

 

Also, these are statements based upon people that met with the Pegulas for varying reasons.  Read between the lines.  It's not like they're going to come right out and say, either the state and county pony up or we're moving the team elsewhere.  How stupid would that be on their part.  If you don't like this source there were dozens of others, probably the BN too.  

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2887710-report-bills-owner-kim-pegula-talked-budget-cuts-sought-to-maintain-lifestyle 

 

Here's one of her exact quotes from a BN piece;  “I don’t even know if we can get there,” the team’s co-owner told The Buffalo News while attending the NFL spring meeting. “I know fans in Buffalo don’t want higher ticket prices, they don’t want PSLs (personal seat licenses). The state doesn’t want to give you any money, the city doesn’t ... We don’t have a billion-and-a-half dollars sitting around. We used it to buy the team.”  

 

That's from this piece three years ago;  https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/kim-pegula-on-new-bills-stadium-i-dont-even-know-if-we-can-get-there/article_c577fdb3-66dc-51ae-adee-eb4031f9de0f.html 

 

And here's an interesting piece that doesn't exactly paint the Pegulas out to be George Bailey;   https://theathletic.com/1758235/2020/04/20/as-pegulas-face-business-challenges-employees-describe-a-toxic-culture-at-pse/

 

Here's a page from their presentation that clearly depicts the Bills as being subservient to the things above it.  

 

 

Do with it as you like, not trying to stir up trouble, but any notions that the Pegulas would bend over backwards to keep this team in Buffalo were outdated at least three years ago.  It's beyond clear that their own financial (and other) interests in the matter supercede those of the Bills, their fans, the state, or county.  

 

 

[Buffalo716]

3 minutes ago, PBF81 said:

 

Here's an article about three years ago, referencing the aforementioned.  The exact quote was somewhere, but if you're handy with Google I'm sure you can fid it if you really want to.  

 

Also, these are statements based upon people that met with the Pegulas for varying reasons.  Read between the lines.  It's not like they're going to come right out and say, either the state and county pony up or we're moving the team elsewhere.  How stupid would that be on their part.  If you don't like this source there were dozens of others, probably the BN too.  

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2887710-report-bills-owner-kim-pegula-talked-budget-cuts-sought-to-maintain-lifestyle 

 

Here's one of her exact quotes from a BN piece;  “I don’t even know if we can get there,” the team’s co-owner told The Buffalo News while attending the NFL spring meeting. “I know fans in Buffalo don’t want higher ticket prices, they don’t want PSLs (personal seat licenses). The state doesn’t want to give you any money, the city doesn’t ... We don’t have a billion-and-a-half dollars sitting around. We used it to buy the team.”  

 

That's from this piece three years ago;  https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/kim-pegula-on-new-bills-stadium-i-dont-even-know-if-we-can-get-there/article_c577fdb3-66dc-51ae-adee-eb4031f9de0f.html 

 

And here's an interesting piece that doesn't exactly paint the Pegulas out to be George Bailey;   https://theathletic.com/1758235/2020/04/20/as-pegulas-face-business-challenges-employees-describe-a-toxic-culture-at-pse/

 

Here's a page from their presentation that clearly depicts the Bills as being subservient to the things above it.  

 

 

Do with it as you like, not trying to stir up trouble, but any notions that the Pegulas would bend over backwards to keep this team in Buffalo were outdated at least three years ago.  It's beyond clear that their own financial (and other) interests in the matter supercede those of the Bills, their fans, the state, or county.  

 

 

There’s been plenty of owners who threaten things without having to read between the lines

 

 

If I have to read between the lines it’s not a real threat

 

And they would never be able to keep the Sabres if they sold the bills… It would be mutiny in Buffalo

 

And Terry’s not selling his beloved Sabres

Edited March 17, 2023 by Buffalo716

[PBF81]

6 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

meant the Bills…how?  Why would he ask that?  Of course Buffalo wants the Bills.  If it’s not a threat to move the team then how does it act as “hardball” “business move” ?   

 

It is, as you have finally come around to,  a veiled threat….to love the team.  PSE put that out there unprompted.  
 

He didn’t say “The Bills will never leave Buffalo. Let’s work this out”. 

 

And where is he now?  His stone silence in all of this is concerning.  

 

Here's what he did say, he did say that he was not extending the current lease at Rich until a formal agreement was signed for a new stadium.  

 

Here's the rub, all of the articles in the meantime have plainly stated that the lease extensions would be a series of 1-year extensions.  So sign one already for just one year.  How long can they push this without a lease going into the fall?  Have they worked it out behind the scenes that on such and such a date one will be signed regardless?  Who knows.  

 

I'm not saying that it's not getting done, but there sure is a lot of weird stuff going on a few months before training camps begin, and what, about 4 months before preseason games begin.  

 

You know how many times we've heard "next 30 days" about finalizing things.  We were told that this was "Iron-clad" a year ago, a year, and they're still bickering with each other now over who's fault that it is that it hasn't been done already.  Then they tell us that there's a meeting for "final approval" but then after the meeting they say that it still has to go through other approvals.  Then it wasn't final, was it.  LOL   

 

 

6 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

There’s been plenty of owners who threaten things without having to read between the lines

 

If I have to read between the lines it’s not a real threat

 

And they would never be able to keep the Sabres if they sold the bills… It would be mutiny in Buffalo

 

And Terry’s not selling his beloved Sabres

 

BTW, not arguing with you, just providing info that you claim didn't exist.  

 

You say "his beloved Sabres," but here's the rub, Kim meant the world to him.  Terry's no spring chicken, that's why he was happy to have her run the team.  But that's not possible anymore.  At the end of the day neither you, I, nor anyone else but him knows what he's thinking.  He wouldn't be the first person in history to cash it all in over a spouse's condition.  

 

Again, not arguing, I myself and somewhere between perplexed and concerned about the entire thing.  It's taken way longer than they said.  Not sure you remember, but originally they said that they wanted to break ground during this past season.  Then it was March, now it's June.  We're pushing a year here.  

 

[Buffalo716]

54 minutes ago, PBF81 said:

 

And where is he now?  His stone silence in all of this is concerning.  

 

Here's what he did say, he did say that he was not extending the current lease at Rich until a formal agreement was signed for a new stadium.  

 

Here's the rub, all of the articles in the meantime have plainly stated that the lease extensions would be a series of 1-year extensions.  So sign one already for just one year.  How long can they push this without a lease going into the fall?  Have they worked it out behind the scenes that on such and such a date one will be signed regardless?  Who knows.  

 

I'm not saying that it's not getting done, but there sure is a lot of weird stuff going on a few months before training camps begin, and what, about 4 months before preseason games begin.  

 

You know how many times we've heard "next 30 days" about finalizing things.  We were told that this was "Iron-clad" a year ago, a year, and they're still bickering with each other now over who's fault that it is that it hasn't been done already.  Then they tell us that there's a meeting for "final approval" but then after the meeting they say that it still has to go through other approvals.  Then it wasn't final, was it.  LOL   

 

 

 

BTW, not arguing with you, just providing info that you claim didn't exist.  

 

You say "his beloved Sabres," but here's the rub, Kim meant the world to him.  Terry's no spring chicken, that's why he was happy to have her run the team.  But that's not possible anymore.  At the end of the day neither you, I, nor anyone else but him knows what he's thinking.  He wouldn't be the first person in history to cash it all in over a spouse's condition.  

 

Again, not arguing, I myself and somewhere between perplexed and concerned about the entire thing.  It's taken way longer than they said.  Not sure you remember, but originally they said that they wanted to break ground during this past season.  Then it was March, now it's June.  We're pushing a year here.  

 

And if we’re just speculating Then I’m pretty sure Terry would sell to somebody who would keep them in Buffalo 

 

Seeing his legacy is tied in Buffalo

 

And there’s a lot of corrupt lobbyists who want their piece of the pie in the stadium… That’s absolutely a fact

They’re trying to drain every last penny out of the state and county for their own needs, Not related to a football stadium

 

But since they’re getting 700 million for a football stadium they want their slice of the pie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by Buffalo716

[Buffalo Super Fan]

1 hour ago, Buffalo716 said:

He never threatened to move the bills

 

At most you could call it veiled…. Which is completely different than being out right threatening to move the bills… 

 

He’s not wrong when he said the city and state need to decide how much they want the bills… That’s perfectly reasonable

 

Because He wasn’t footing the bill…. So absolutely the state and city needed to decide how much they want the bills… They can pay and keep them…. Or someone will build them a stadium

 

That’s just a fact it’s not a threat

 

You can cry and think he was threatening you , it’s called a business move… leverage 

His lawyers did it’s semantics without the new stadium the Buffalo Bills were going to look elsewhere. Did that mean the Buffalo Bills were definitely gone maybe, maybe not depending on if there was another sucker city willing to give Terry Pegula public money like Erie County and New York State did.
 

Bottom line Terry Pegula is never going to be popular in Western New York after taking the public money of $850 million dollars. That is part of the deal he is a big boy Terry Pegula knows that and he doesn’t need to have Buffalo Bills fans all to like him. I am a Buffalo Bills fan I don’t like Terry Pegula. I think Buffalo fans have it wrong on this preferring Terry Pegula over Kim Pegula. I am the opposite I like Kim Pegula over Terry Pegula. Terry Pegula is a terrible public speaker and at times cringe worthy some of the phony stuff he does and says starting with the first press conference when he bought the Buffalo Sabres crying with the French Connection seemed phony. Kim Pegula was the one I had some belief in and unfortunately with her health issues we aren’t likely to see her putting her stamp on the Buffalo sports teams anymore which is disappointing. Maybe one of the children will take over someday but Terry “Howard Hughes Like” Pegula is a public relations disaster no more phony crying no more Stanley Cup promises. You promise something then you tank you lose credibility in Buffalo in my opinion. Go Bills! Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

[Mr. WEO]

29 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

And if we’re just speculating Then I’m pretty sure Terry would sell to somebody who would keep them in Buffalo 

 

Seeing his legacy is tied in Buffalo

 

And there’s a lot of corrupt locals who want their piece of the pie in the stadium… That’s absolutely a fact

They’re trying to drain every last penny out of the state and county for their own needs, Not related to a football stadium

 

But since they’re getting 700 million for a football stadium they want their slice of the pie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What piece of the pie are they getting?

[Buffalo716]

2 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

What piece of the pie are they getting?

You Talk about all the reports about Terry threatening to leave

 

Yet you’ve never seen the reports of all the local community groups trying to get a hold of part of that public money?

 

"Every resident of Erie County, and in fact, every taxpayer in New York state is an investor in the stadium so we all have a stake in this deal. It’s public money, it’s public land and we all have a right to a seat at the table," said Ó Súilleabháin.

 

Executive Director Of the partnership for public good

 

Lots of lobbyists are trying to touch the money

Edited March 17, 2023 by Buffalo716

[Mr. WEO]

1 minute ago, Buffalo716 said:

You Talk about all the reports about Terry threatening to leave

 

Yet you’ve never seen the reports of all the local community groups trying to get a hold of part of that public money?

 

Who are the corrupt locals asking for some of this pie?

[Buffalo716]

3 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

Who are the corrupt locals asking for some of this pie?

Most politicians are corrupt I’m using that loosely .. Not the common people politicians and lobbyists

 

They’re all trying to get in on the deal

 

"Every resident of Erie County, and in fact, every taxpayer in New York state is an investor in the stadium so we all have a stake in this deal. It’s public money, it’s public land and we all have a right to a seat at the table," said Ó Súilleabháin.

 

We all have a right at the table

 

Every group and lobbyist is trying to get in at the table

Edited March 17, 2023 by Buffalo716

[Mr. WEO]

10 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

Most politicians are corrupt I’m using that loosely .. Not the common people politicians and lobbyists

 

They’re all trying to get in on the deal

 

"Responding to the suggestion that the Bills would have a hard time moving, a Pegula Sports Entertainment spokesman told The Post: “Relocation could have been a very real possibility if the governor had not worked so hard to get everyone to the table.”"

 

“I know that they are a very valuable asset,” she said. “For them to be in a market as small as Buffalo is rather extraordinary, and I don’t take that for granted. That’s why I have to work out a deal that is beneficial to them, knowing that there is other competition out there. I’m aware of that, and it is something that I lie awake and think about sometimes.”

Hochul referred to reports from last summer describing the possibility that the Bills could move to a larger market if a stadium deal doesn’t happen.

“There are other cities that were making at least a play for the Bills, and I’m very cognizant of that,” Hochul said.

 

"A message left with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is from Buffalo, was not immediately returned. On Monday, her office released a statement to The AP, which read, “no one is more committed to keeping the Bills in Buffalo” than Hochul, and that details will be shared once negotiations are completed."

[Buffalo716]

7 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

"Responding to the suggestion that the Bills would have a hard time moving, a Pegula Sports Entertainment spokesman told The Post: “Relocation could have been a very real possibility if the governor had not worked so hard to get everyone to the table.”"

 

“I know that they are a very valuable asset,” she said. “For them to be in a market as small as Buffalo is rather extraordinary, and I don’t take that for granted. That’s why I have to work out a deal that is beneficial to them, knowing that there is other competition out there. I’m aware of that, and it is something that I lie awake and think about sometimes.”

Hochul referred to reports from last summer describing the possibility that the Bills could move to a larger market if a stadium deal doesn’t happen.

“There are other cities that were making at least a play for the Bills, and I’m very cognizant of that,” Hochul said.

 

"A message left with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is from Buffalo, was not immediately returned. On Monday, her office released a statement to The AP, which read, “no one is more committed to keeping the Bills in Buffalo” than Hochul, and that details will be shared once negotiations are completed."

Notice the language they use

 

Could have been a possibility… If a stadium deal wasn’t agreed-upon

 

Of course we were going to leave if we didn’t get a new stadium … They’ve been saying this for 20 years

 

the stadium was to keep the bills in Buffalo… It’s not a threat if Pegula sports state the obvious…. If we don’t get a Stadium someone else will pay for one

 

That’s been a known fact for 20+ years… We build the stadium or lose the bills

 

I would rather pay more in taxes and keep the bills

 

 

[PBF81]

1 hour ago, Buffalo716 said:

And if we’re just speculating Then I’m pretty sure Terry would sell to somebody who would keep them in Buffalo 

 

Seeing his legacy is tied in Buffalo

 

And there’s a lot of corrupt lobbyists who want their piece of the pie in the stadium… That’s absolutely a fact

They’re trying to drain every last penny out of the state and county for their own needs, Not related to a football stadium

 

But since they’re getting 700 million for a football stadium they want their slice of the pie

 

That's fair, and if in fact he were trying to sell the team, he's first have to find such a buyer. 

 

Remember, if we didn't already have a team, Buffalo wouldn't make the short list for expansion or a move. 

 

As you imply above, all most people care about is money first and foremost.  That slide that the Pegula's put up at whichever organizational meeting they had, did not indicate otherwise.  

 

I think that finding a buyer for an eager seller without a place to play may be a bit of a tough sell.  

 

We'll see, let's hope they break ground in June after all this nonsense and then this all amounts to nothing but worthless back and forth.  🙂

 

Not gonna say that it's not concerning though.

[Mr. WEO]

1 hour ago, Buffalo716 said:

 

 

Could have been a possibility… If a stadium deal wasn’t agreed-upon

 

 

 

the stadium was to keep the bills in Buffalo… It’s not a threat if Pegula sports state the obvious…. If we don’t get a Stadium someone else will pay for one

 

That’s been a known fact for 20+ years… We build the stadium or lose the bills

 

 

 

 

lol....

 

That was easier than I thought.

 

[Buffalo Super Fan]

Can the new Buffalo Bills Stadium host a Buffalo Major League Cricket franchise? Or a Buffalo Major League Rugby franchise or is Buffalo to broke? If the answer is Buffalo is too broke or Buffalo isn’t capable of anything new than that new Buffalo Bills stadium is going to be as useless as the old Buffalo Bills Highmark Stadium in my opinion. Go Bills! Let’s Go Buffalo 

Edited March 18, 2023 by Buffalo Super Fan

[JoPoy88]

5 minutes ago, Buffalo Super Fan said:

Can the new Buffalo Bills Stadium host a Buffalo Major League Cricket franchise? Or a Buffalo Major League Rugby franchise or is Buffalo to broke? If the answer is Buffalo is too broke or Buffalo isn’t capable of anything new than that new Buffalo Bills stadium is going to be as useless as the old Buffalo Bills Highmark Stadium in my opinion. Go Bills! Let’s Go Buffalo 

I don’t really know what the question here is. No, the new stadium is just going to be a football stadium that will host some high school championships and a few concerts a year. So what.

 

if they built a covered stadium in downtown Buffalo for $2B+, plus got another $2B+ for necessary infrastructure improvements to put it down there, it would still be a football stadium that hosts some high school championships and a few concerts a year.