May Day 10

Stadium concerts dont really exist. Especially with a Buffalo venue as I could see it being bypassed for Toronto if its the one tour (U2) who does it. My hope is also the Waterfront will have a permanent brick and mortar amphitheatre before long. I think we have: 8 Bills Games 2 Bills Preseason Games 0-2 Bills Playoff Games 5-6 Bulls Games. Things would have to change and we would need to spur some interest, the program would have to take off and maybe upgrade in Conference. Much like temple/rutgers. I would certainly attend 1 NCAA Bowl Game of some sort, likely on a 3rd tier. 0-1 Maybe crowbar switching every other season of the MAC Championship Game with Detroit. If UB not in the MAC, likely an extra home game. 1 WNY High School Championships (lets face it, hundreds attend) 1 State High School Championships (not sure how many attend in Syracuse, but Im sure the State will want to move it to their new toy) Once in a lifetime/very rare events: NCAA Basketball Regionals NCAA Basketball Final Four Wrestlemania "Outdoor" Hockey Games So optimistically we have about 20 events with only the Bills games really selling out. UB games currently get between 8k-15k I believe and even a Bowl Game might see only 30-40K (Id be there!) Those rare events would be huge sellouts at inflated pricing and bring in many tourists. They have that RV show in RWS or at least they did. That is one convention. It would also be great if they can hold/plan some sort of giant convention/woodstock of outdoor activities such as hunting/fishing/etc. I would also say it would be a PRIMO spot for a big UFC card if NYS ever legalizes events here. It is HUGE in Canada and that stadium would easily be filled. But still. Nowehere near 100 or even close to the big ticket events Jerry's World gets.

Bowfinger

Domes dont get built anymore. The flat "roofed" stadiums or barn-style. Also, wouldnt this site require a full-scale remediation project?

Hamilton's done. Tim Horton's Field opens this Summer. No way they are going to help finance and/or approve a bigger, more expensive facility that would immediately put their investment out of business.

Well, we knew that, right? Who is fooled?

Yes. I also believe if the Bills became a legit Division contender we would see a good wave of "bandwagoners" from all over paying top dollar for 2nd market tickets and as a result we would see a rush on Season Tickets. Much like what happened with the Sabres in the mid-late 00's. It would be perfect if something like that happened just preceding the opening of a new facility and PSLs are part of the cost. Especially with less seats.

Did Duffy have anything interesting to say? As far as PSLs, Id be open to it. if its an acute $5K cost, maybe not. But if they spread it out and created a few extra perks/incentives I would probably be on board.

At least now Niagara Falls knows what they need to bring to the table

No exaggeration I would have little trouble dropping the nfl if the bills left wny. I enjoy watching ncaa much more

Ub stadium I'm sorry to say is one of the worst sports venues I've experienced. I would love to go to more ub games but the stadium is awful. It feels like you are a mile from the game.

Well... His name is "hopefulfuture". Kind of like the reggae corner of tbd

Hmmmm. Very interesting trail of thought

Warren Buffett

Would legal fees really make the cost that much more than $400 Million? I would say much less than 1% of that

The Why Guy went on this morning on how the legal process would go down

well, you also have to consider the team would probably be worth more in a "better" city. With that said, I believe the NFL could possibly be a "risky" investment at this point. It seems the whole thing is getting saturated. Last season it seemed there was some issues in a lot of places attendance-wise and not the perpetually sold-out image the NFL likes to portray. Then you have the walls caving in on them with all the head trauma stuff, alumni stuff, frivolous fan lawsuits, etc. NCAA Football is also about to enter a real gut check when it comes to the players vs institutions battle. I also believe youth and high school participation is down and will likely go down more, especially when schools/organizations shut it down to avoid lawsuits. We may be at or close to the height of NFL Football

you would think the NFL's plan/hope was Mr Wilson passing closer to the end of the lease. They would have easily sold to MLSE, etc with their new stadium all planned and ready to go, with the whole cover story that Buffalo isnt losing a team and its only an hour away. It would have been quick and we would be silenced. The NFL world would forget about Buffalo in less than a season.

I think the biggest issue is: Will the NFL want this. Approving an owner swooping in to buy, announcing the team is leaving just after the public spends $130 million or whatever in stadium improvements (bad business). Especially when all reports from WNY appear favorable and open to a new stadium. Then what will be a public court battle which would likely drag on, providing everyone in WNY every opportunity to be heard and seen. Thats a bad look. The NFL cares greatly about its image.

I think RWS is cool, and getting cooler as all the other stadiums are losing character. Its a matter of time where it becomes a destination for football fans from everywhere. Every single person from out of town (mostly New England and NYC) I take to a game goes on and on about how amazing the experience is. I think a retrofit should absolutely be in play. A huge investment should be made in playing surface. Go to grass. Players seem to hate the injury risk here.

I agree theplunge

Would all 18% suddenly swear allegiance to the new team? Plus 2 more percent? There is a considerable counter-culture in Hamilton south that goes against anything Toronto. I would suspect the hatred toward that team would create some Bills fans who would otherwise not care. Maybe the 18% would dip. Maybe not. If they are in the same Division too you can count on 1 guaranteed sellout I think the possibility of Toronto and Buffalo is interesting to think about and I wouldnt instantly dismiss the idea as automatic fail

Im fine with RWS and I believe my tickets are very underpriced. Even for a franchise who has had zero success on the field in a decade and a half.

I guess it helps to remember too that Mr Wilson wasnt planning on passing away March, 2014 as well.

I could see the last phrase. The first one, we are theorizing that the trust could possibly leave a moderate heap of money on the table for a local interest vs Ben Jobie. With a new stadium in the works, wouldnt the team overall be more valuable to a local owner?

that thought has been crossing my mind the deeper we get in this. Mr Wilson is commended for "doing all he can" to ensure the team stays, but if that was true, why wouldnt we be further on our way to a new stadium rather than this current situation in what the NFL deems as a lame duck stadium?