Typical TBD Guy Posted September 25, 2005 Posted September 25, 2005 Well the stadium is freshly renovated, ralph doesn't owe a dime on it (if my memory serves me correctly), and my personal opinion is that if the bills move, they will be moved out of his cold dead hands (and that won't happen... there is a contingency group in place, take my word for it) 452412[/snapback] Can you elaborate on this contingency group? I hope you're right, because at this point, I feel like we are more or less at the mercy of the NFL's profit whores once Ralph dies.
Bills Addict Posted September 26, 2005 Author Posted September 26, 2005 Just a reminder, the story about the Bills stadium is on channel 7 at 11pm.
PTS Posted September 26, 2005 Posted September 26, 2005 Strong rumor has it M&T Bank gave Ralph's daughter -- the person who would retain ownership of the Bills when Ralph passes -- a HUGE cash loan. When Ralph passes away, she will then need to transfer ownership of the team to M&T or she'll have to repay the loan plus a ridiculous amount of interest and fees. Bills ain't going anywhere.
UConn James Posted September 26, 2005 Posted September 26, 2005 From the Business First article, linked from the frontpage: What's the benefit of building a new stadium? If it were located downtown, it could complement and spawn other developments. It would also lock the Bills in place with a 30-year lease, presumably with a no-escape clause. (The Vikings are committing to such a lease.) Pardon me if $100M-200M+ in public money chipped in for building a new stadium (probably more after every politician will include his/her own little side projects e.g. how the Vikings stadium will have housing, nature preserves, and an alien spacecraft landing site) is a damn expensive way just to extend the lease and get rid of the escape clause. Nevermind asking how the WNY economy and businesses will be able support the stadium's luxury boxes (the cash crop of the NFL) when it's already stretched pretty tight with what we've got.
Bills Addict Posted September 26, 2005 Author Posted September 26, 2005 Contract clause allows Bills to relocate at the end of the season The roar of Bills fans will come to a screeching halt if the team leaves Buffalo. The current lease at Ralph Wilson Stadium runs through 2013, but an escape clause allows the Bills to leave at the end of any season. For now, there's one thing keeping the team here, owner Ralph Wilson. He tells the sports business journal: "I think as I look over my life, my contribution has been giving Buffalo a football team and keeping it here." But 86-year-old Wilson says his family is not interested in owning the team when he passes on. That's something Councilman Antoine Thompson fears. So he has collected 2,000 signatures so far in a petition to eventually move the Bills downtown to a new stadium, preferably on the waterfront. High hopes for a new stadium along the waterfront, include everything from a new convention center to a new hotel. Of course we've seen many ideas like this fail in Buffalo. Will this one be any different? Emil Everett says it can be. Everett is an investment advisor in NYC and the head of the Monday Quarterback Club, which brings businesses and the Bills together. Despite city and county control boards, he says a new stadium is possible. “The financing can come thru the private sector with a comb of tax breaks and credits to make it financially viable for large corporation to take advantage of private financing like this.” Everett says the concept has worked in other cities and there's a return on the investment. http://wkbw.com/bills.aspx
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