Should another relocation cause the Bills to consider building a domed stadium? A Q&A with Bills COO

[bmur66]

13 minutes ago, ArtVandalay said:

Just fine with the roof constructions they have today, Minnesota is a great comparison, they used a material called ETFE, translucent and super slick. Check it out,  I read about it last week during the storm when this topic came up, pretty cool. 

 

https://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/sports/a19066/minnesota-viking-football-stadium-roof/

 

 

Interesting. I wonder whey they didn’t choose that?

[ArtVandalay]

2 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

That stadium is remarkably well done. Did not feel like a dome because there was so much light and it had large open concourses. 
 

I just can’t see a dome for multi-purposes in OP; too far away from hotels, restaurants and bars that you would need to draw people to big events.  And the cost to rebuild the infrastructure downtown to make it feasible there would not justify the cost. 
 

You might get a higher level NCAA tournament round there every few years, and maybe a big concert every few years, but there are no regular events big enough to justify the cost of putting a dome downtown, in my opinion. The Sabres would have to play there to make it worth keeping open all winter. 
 

There, I think I have settled the matter for all of us and we can all move on now.  No more dome talk. 
 

 

 

Patriot Place is Foxborough hosts major concerts all the time there, people drive from surrounding areas and love it. Unless Buffalo can't support providing an audience, it would work just fine for concerts and the like. 

[Augie]

Relocation due to snow has happened twice in 49 years. The stadium decision is made. If you don’t like it, I suggest you get over it rather than make yourself miserable over something you have no control over. But, feel free to be you, of course. 

[LittleSammy]

2 hours ago, North Buffalo said:

Find a place in North Buffalo/Tonowanda area near UB... usually a lot less snow... maybe a dome would be nice.???

You hit the nail on the head. The new stadium, be it dome or no dome, should have been built outside of the damn snow belts in OP. Preferably on the north side of town. Yeah, they get snow too, but not like OP. I believe there was talk at one time about putting it in Lancaster near the T-Way with it's own dedicated T-Way exit, etc? 

[WotAGuy]

24 minutes ago, ArtVandalay said:

Patriot Place is Foxborough hosts major concerts all the time there, people drive from surrounding areas and love it. Unless Buffalo can't support providing an audience, it would work just fine for concerts and the like. 

Patriots stadium is open air so not sure how that applies here.  And isn’t Patriot Place basically a mall?

[akcash]

If we had a dome last Sunday in Orchard Park the game still would have been moved to Detroit. 

[1st&ten]

12 hours ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

Lucas oil cost $720M in 2008. In today’s dollars, that comes out to about $996M.

 

The open air stadium the bills are building is like $1.4B!! 

This might be correct dollar wise but I doubt it is price wise, look at the prices of building supplies right now. Concrete is out of site.

[Saxum]

2 hours ago, North Buffalo said:

Find a place in North Buffalo/Tonowanda area near UB... usually a lot less snow... maybe a dome would be nice.???

 

I have NEVER seen anyone from Tonowanda at the game.

And as a student who went to UB and walked through the snow they do sometimes get hit bad with snow.  In fact one year there was more snow on North Campus than my family's home in Steelton, Blasdell.

30 minutes ago, Augie said:

Relocation due to snow has happened twice in 49 years. The stadium decision is made. If you don’t like it, I suggest you get over it rather than make yourself miserable over something you have no control over. But, feel free to be you, of course. 

 

Some like being miserable and they want others to follow their lead.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

2 minutes ago, 1st&ten said:

This might be correct dollar wise but I doubt it is price wise, look at the prices of building supplies right now. Concrete is out of site.

No doubt. But that is a result of recent mass inflation. The spike in those construction costs from 2020 to now is massive. My hope is that inflation overall comes down. But even if it doesn’t, that means the $1.3B for the Bills current stadium is going to be a lot higher too.

 

I still think there is a design comparable to Lucas that will be cheaper than what the Bills are currently building now. (If they wanted something nicer, Minnesota is the model).  If they don’t want a roof, that is fine. But I don’t think they can blame the higher costs on that decision. 
 

I just don’t get the decision. Outside of Met Life (considered one of the worst stadiums in the NFL), no one is really building open air stadiums anymore. Vegas, Atlanta, Indy, Minn, now Chicago— all closed stadiums. Open air is a thing of the past. It’s an absurd decision from a basic ROI. 

[Meatloaf63]

14 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

As long as it covers the entire WNY area since people would still need to be able to drive to stadium.

 

Neither game would have been held if there was a dome.  There was a driving ban good part of time up to game,

 

No surprise article is from Tim Graham Cracker.

You are talking about an event that happens only once every 5 to 10 years, the rest of the people are talking about the crappy weather games that happen five out of eight times a season.

[WhoTom]

15 minutes ago, Meatloaf63 said:

You are talking about an event that happens only once every 5 to 10 years, the rest of the people are talking about the crappy weather games that happen five out of eight times a season.

 

The thread topic is specifically about those rare events. The other crappy weather games have been discussed in literally every other stadium thread.

 

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by WhoTom

[klos63]

15 hours ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

Setting aside the obvious reason of a dome giving our team a major advantage, I just don’t understand the ROI of an open-air stadium.

 

they could build a stadium similar to Lucas Oil for not much more than they are spending now, and could be in the running for all sorts of other major sporting events (even the Super Bowl), and use it for a host of other events. 

Imagine a 7 foot snowstorm super bowl week. For many reasons, a super bowl will never be in Buffalo.

[brianthomas]

1 hour ago, Limeaid said:

 

I have NEVER seen anyone from Tonowanda at the game.

And as a student who went to UB and walked through the snow they do sometimes get hit bad with snow.  In fact one year there was more snow on North Campus than my family's home in Steelton, Blasdell.

 

Some like being miserable and they want others to follow their lead.

well unless you checked everyones ID's at the gate week in week out, it'd be a challenge knowing where all 60k+ people came from. I know at least 10 people from Tonawanda who go to the games including myself, i wonder if you know us or just didnt see us those days?

 

Ive lived in kenmore the past 8 years. Think we had 1 storm in all that time that gave us a few feet, my relatives in OP & Hamburg?... it can be a few times a year. And we could get into the future forecast predicting the lakes staying warmer later into the season as being the norm to expect for the future, where the potential for stronger lake effect storms would be on the rise in the years/decades to come. But on average our snowfall amounts are a foot or 2 less per year total in comparison. If you're familiar with how lake effect works, you're aware of why the snow belt is where it is & that is where our new stadium will be built.

 

We had decades to study all the impacts of stadium locations to this region & in the end we chose to build a smaller one next to the old one. And i think it is a legitimate issue spending tax payer money building a stadium not suited for our team or our region. Like only we could be okay with that with our expectations so low, just happy anything is being done at all, everything else be darned. Thats pretty much the sense i get from everyone who supports it. Yeah we're not completely thrilled with it but at least its something & the team will stay here... just be happy!

[Mrbojanglezs]

Orchard park in the heart of the snow belt without a dome is so dumb. If they go forward with no dome as expected, then the field and all the seats better be heated to melt the snow 

Edited November 24, 2022 by Mrbojanglezs

[PromoTheRobot]

They should reconsider OP and look at Amherst by the UB campus. Less snow and UB could also use it. (I still want a dome.)

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

23 minutes ago, klos63 said:

Imagine a 7 foot snowstorm super bowl week. For many reasons, a super bowl will never be in Buffalo.

I think the hotel capacity would be more of a driver. But they have held the Super Bowl multiple times in Detroit, so I am not sure the weather would necessarily drive the decision. But maybe.

[Mister Defense]

1.  It is awful to watch football in domes, like watching in a big living room. Football is meant to be played outside.

 

2.  Most dome teams are soft and they are not very good, historically.  Think: Detroit, New Orleans, Minnesota (once they got a dome), Dallas--a giant, cavernous mess, The raiders,  Colts, Falcons, Texans, Chargers, Rams and Cardinals.  Yes, some SB wins there, but overall, soft, inconsistent teams that almost never seem to measure up to their potential. 

 

3.  Tailgating dies when domes arrive. Imagine the difference in pregame and post game atmosphere with a dome.  No thanks.

 

But, it's silly to keep talking about this--the Bills did a great thing and rejected the ridiculous calls for a dome on the new stadium, something that would have ended the Bills as we know them.  One of the best decisions in franchise history.

 

Go Bills!  31--20, for a great Thanksgiving.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by Mister Defense

[Meatloaf63]

1 hour ago, WhoTom said:

 

The thread topic is specifically about those rare events. The other crappy weather games have been discussed in literally every other stadium thread.

 

 

Whocares Tom, I’m stating facts thread policeman 😂

[B-Large]

Damn good toss by Goff 

Moving the ball with ease… bend downs break is hard to watch 

[BuffaloBills1998]

Are you gonna dome the roads as well?? I’m so sick and tired hearing about a dome stadium. ***** the dome, you can’t handle the cold then stay home and crank up your heater and watch the game from your TV