May Day 10

I dont have need for Sunday Ticket, as I attend pretty much all home Bills games at this point. I would, however, consider a pay-per game type of option. If I dont want to watch the Eagles/Cowboys 4PM game, and the 49ers play the Cardinals and I have a bunch of fantasy guys playing... I would consider paying a few bucks. I had Directv for a long time. Once AT&T bought them, they stopped caring. CS reps were basically told to stonewall anyone looking for discounts and they really tried to push their AT&T packages as well as the Directv streaming option as opposed to satellite service. Cut the cord on that awhile back and its been great. Had Hulu for awhile, switched to Youtube TV... but now we actually dont have anything besides Prime, Netflix, Disney, and HBO Max (we had those things anyway). Apple is awful though. I hope the NFL doesnt give them any sort of exclusivity. Apple's entire business model relies/leans on exclusivity and high pricing.

I think it was all but determined that Ted Rogers was going to buy the Bills and they would relocate to Toronto once Ralph Wilson passed away. We ended up getting 'fortunate' at a couple junctures there, first with Rogers' passing and his family not being in lockstep (nor sharing his eagerness for the NFL). The pricing model in Toronto and the general irrelevance of the Bills also hurt the optics of Toronto's appetite for NFL football. Then you had Ralph Wilson live long enough to need to renew the lease and upgrade the Stadium, which came with getting a nice amount of public money, which accompanied the NRA. Pretty short by NRA/lease standards, but Mr Wilson passed away near the beginning, before the paint was dry on the renovations, which was a far point from the end of the NRA which came with a pretty harsh buyout (along with the relocation fee, purchase price, and a new facility). At the same time, you had the emergence of Terry Pegula, who cashed out several billion dollars and really was/is passionate about sports, and just happened to invest heavily in the sports landscape here. It was a perfect storm.

As mentioned a lot, cost downtown is a huge obstacle, with marginal payoff. Also, remember, there is going to be an ask for the KeyBank Center. Weddings, conferences, business lunches, concerts are all adequately housed there. If they ask the city/county/state to kick in $500 million in road and other infrastructure upgrades (and get it), good luck getting public funding for the facilities themselves. Traffic is a giant elephant in the room there. The narrow street grid approach to the not-so-convenient 190 on ramps create gridlock. Subway isn't a reasonable answer. That is also a billion dollar project, all for a city with limited commerce downtown and whose wealth is concentrated in the 2nd ring suburbs. I'm sure their surveys sorted it all out, but I would bet a small amount of people who attend bills games live in buffalo proper. What buffalo needs is for economic development in the way of multiple fortune 500 companies to headquarter downtown. There isn't a magic pill for that besides steady leadership, continued smart progress, and trying to be as favorable to business as possible. Our access to freshwater and climate seems like it will be an increasingly appealing feature.

The big problem is, you cant really luck into success in the NHL like you can the NFL. At least sustained success. NHL there is a lot more depth to the front office in the way of amateur scouting (16-18 year olds across the globe playing in apples to oranges leagues) and development. The CBA/guaranteed contracts are not forgiving at all and you pay for mistakes for many years with no relief. Maybe you can get lucky and hit on a goalie on a hot year who can carry them into the playoffs. Thats it. The whole organization needs to be bleached at this point and someone who knows what they are doing needs to build a professional outfit from the top-down Kevyn Adams as an NHL GM is an absolute joke.

Prosecuter messed up. Cosby wasn't treated fairly. Doesn't mean he isn't a monster... but our legal system failed in giving him his rights.

Have the patriots ever bowed down to their own player's demands? Gilmore is good. I get that... but with a new deal, you would be paying him top cb dollar well into his 30s (he is 31 now I think?). The wheels come off at cb pretty quickly in the 30s. I would especially be concerned coming off a lower extremity injury. 1 year raise to keep him happy and you have the space? Sure, I'd do it

I'm left on a lot of social issues. This is a disaster. Completely unqualified with no relevant experience. Snuck in because the people couldn't even bother to vote Brown was a steady hand and buffalo has been moving in a better direction under his leadership. He certainly has his warts and we can do better, but not this. We need someone who is friendly to business and big business.

I'm sure they have collected plenty of data on all fronts and will feel confident with whichever investment/plan they choose. Motocross and monster truck rallies probably don't justify the extra time and money downtown

So arguably the 2nd or 3rd best team in the league doesnt have any of the best players. great job

From a fan's perspective, weather becomes another interesting, defining characteristic for the game. People say "the Colts game" and everyone recalls it and can remember a number of plays and the result. Without the weather in a Ford Field environment, that game is very forgettable. Im in favor of situating the stadium to reduce wind on the playing field and protect fans from it, as well as some sort of roof covering (for noise as well). That is enough here. We will get the unique weather cataclysm, but its all part of the show and what makes the league and this team interesting

If you look though, those brown strips are actually brick, would probably look a lot better in reality.

I really like that rendering. It reminds me of a hybrid of Lincoln Financial Field, Seattle's stadium, and the old Cleveland Municipal/War Memorial Stadium.

If the stadium was done in-place, I would think they would just expand the crater in the ground. Would probably be cheaper than it would to demo, then backfill/compact it (thats a lot of backfill). That will still be really expensive if they need to do that after-the fact. Really looking forward to more information/renderings. Really hoping it resembles Seattle's stadium. Also, give our crowd an acoustic sound deflecting roof and it will be really loud.

It's simple. They want to establish that after 2023 it's not a foregone conclusion they rubber stamp a lease extension But eventually, in the interest of cooperation, they will agree to extend the lease through that bridge time period in exchange for more funding from the state and county. And there is no doubt there were meetings with buffalo. Downtown was one of the final and most likely options and the organization did all due diligence. I'm sure buffalo threw up roadblocks because that's what they do, and that probably went into the decision to remain in orchard park, along with many other factors.

That I can buy and it is plausible. But to think this is all a ploy to strong-arm Byron Brown and the City of Buffalo into building a covered stadium downtown is fantasy If they wanted a covered stadium downtown, they would be floating that option, insisting its the only way the Bills can remain economically viable, and leaning hard on the County and the State for that. Also remember there would likely be many hundreds of millions in infrastructure to accompany the stadium... It would be a very pricey thing (and why I have predicted all along we are likely looking at Orchard Park for this when all the $s are calculated). So if they did pull the switcheroo and introduced this much more expensive option down-town, Im sure the State and County would point to the original 'plan' in Orchard Park

The Bills dont negotiate with the 'city'. Its an EC and NYS thing. I dont get how floating the idea of a Stadium in Orchard Park would be a threat to anybody. Nor does the promise of a more economical option of an outdoor stadium.

I wonder if they got this Jerry Jones firm on-board to be the bad guy. I always thought it would be a very awkward situation with pegula and his/their whole persona of being unquestionably committed to Buffalo and they seem to always want to be liked by the fans and community (in fact, Terry said to his people that was his primary goal when he first bought the Sabres) So it would be weird for the Pegulas to play any sort of hardball in these negotiations, and I wonder if the State would really take advantage of that, Im pretty sure Polancarz/EC will/would. So they got this firm to come in and lob the threats and all that.

716 was poorly run. Lots of potential but it fell on its face for the most part. It's rare I ever heard anyone rave about it, or even have anything other than complaints. I'm very easy to please and they were about 0 for 3 for me. It's to the point that we considered Labatt house once and decided not to because it was a pegula operation and probably sub-par. Southern Tier will show how to run that kind of thing the right way.

I wonder if they are planning on using the crater there from the existing stadium (and/or expanding that).

I have been stuck down there for multiple hours due to Sabres gridlock after a playoff ot game. When I go to Sabres games I always leave early due to the nightmare. A bills game is unimaginable there without re-working the entire grid and 190. I'm sure the study brought that to light.

Ultimately, downtown would have cost a ton of money in land acquisition, demo, and infrastructure/roads/highways. There just aren't enough potential events over the winter that the arena can't handle to make it worthwhile.

IMO the cost of a new, somewhat modest outdoor facility there in Orchard Park would about = renovating without the restrictions of being bound to the existing structure. Orchard Park makes the most sense, and I have been saying it for years because the infrastructure is there. Downtown cannot handle Bills traffic. It would be a nightmare and people would leave in the 3rd quarter every game. Sabres games with 19K fans is a nightmare gridlock. They would essentially have to find additional hundreds of millions to rebuild the Buffalo roadway and highway system (money that could go directly into a new orchard park facility). Indoor/Outdoor. I can see both sides. I have been on the side of outdoor, but with a bit more wind/roof protection. I get bored with the miscellaneous nature of indoor games. Outdoor weather effects add to the majesty and individuality of games. You recall a Bills game, you recall the score, a few plays, something that happened in the lot, and the weather.

I heard about this a few weeks ago and still am generally confused at how/why the Bears are looking for a new stadium. Wasnt Soldier Field fit with all the bells and whistles for a huge price-tag not too long ago?

with no scouting staff or much of a front office, after an uncertain season where some amateur leagues didnt even play

The thing is, a UCF would open up the playoff against a #5-#12 team which is much more reasonable/beatable. If they lose the game against Wisconsin or whoever, then they have no place to complain or wonder 'what-if?' and hang fake championship flags. They win that and they will slot in against 1 of the top 4. A good chance Alabama, but they would wreck Notre Dame anyways to get to the NCG. Upsets do happen though.