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This whole thing about the stadium is pretty funny. What if a potential owner were to form a corporation called "Stadium Builders Inc" and appoint a CEO remaining as a director. Then if they win the bid... The independent corporation which is not a party to the lease handles all of the stadium stuff and gets it ready for the move. I do not believe the lease agreement can become binding on pre existing actions or entities who are not parties.. Even if it stinks to high heaven this would be a hard case to win. And the ultra wealthy have a lot of legal advice to avoid breaking the non-relo clauses AFTER they sign it. I just don't see any way for the clause to affect actions initiated before the person tales ownership of the Bills.

If the Toronto group wins the bid and pretends to want to stay in Buffalo I will continue following and rooting for the team. After all regardless of whether the owner took the team to Toronto in 2020, if the BUFFALO Bills win the SB in 2018 it is still the Bills winning. As soon as the move is declared I will cease all support but not before. Also I will never believe any group is keeping the team in Buffalo until they sign a new long term deal.

If the NFL expands to non-US countries, what will be the effect of the CBA? Could the draft - a system in which players have their rights given to specific teams as part of a union contract - be expanded internationally while remaining compliant with US law? Let's say you are a college player drafted by the London Teacups and you don't want to go live in the UK. However, under NFL rules you are not allowed to play for another team. You sue because the CBA (that you did not agree to) requires you to leave the United States of which you are a citizen in order to obtain employment. Something does not seem quite right about that, since by moving to and playing in the UK you will be required to subject yourself to UK laws, labor agreements, taxes, etc... (Yes, teams play one game per year there now, but that is an entirely different matter not unlike being asked to travel internationally by your US-based employer). Flip side, let's say a player is in the UK and does not like one of the CBA rules and sues the NFL in a European court. Will all of the things which the NFL is allowed to do fly in the UK? Are the same drug testing procedures even legal there? What about the handling of retirement benefits / pensions? Healthcare issues and privacy acts? I am sure the NFL has many highly-paid lawyers looking at these issues. However, if those lawyers find danger signs... the team in UK will just not happen.

It would be interesting to know but it could have been anything. We've seen plenty of players tear their ACL when planting and turning (non-contact). I know someone who jumped a foot in the air and tore their ACL on landing. Another person tore theirs jumping over a wave at the beach. Admittedly those are non-athletes but how many times have you seen an NFL player tear their ACL while just running around the field?

Is it your position that any taxpayer contribution above $0 is a bad deal? Even compared to (say) income and sales tax derived from the Bills? No doubt a fully public financed stadium would be a swindle. But $0 is a weak number for public funds. Sure the owner is rich but there is a price to be paid for having an NFL team in your area. Is there a non-zero cutoff you find acceptable or are you a flat "No" on public funding of any kind? Can we agree that no public funding = no lock in beyond the current lease?

Hope some tax breaks are going to be on offer... WNY has a reputation as a hard place to do business. Leadership could fix that.

At least for now. Tomorrow could be another story.

What kind of Buffalo themes can we have? Snowbank - Build a large mound of snow (artificially created when necessary) and put seats in it. Maybe run a ski lift to get fans on top. Would replace a whole section. Orchard Park Falls - build an artificial waterfall in part of the stadium, falling from an upper deck. Sell the top of the falls seats for a premium and make the "Splash Zone" seats below cheap. It would certainly be a distinctive look, would give the TV something to show right before or after the real Niagara Falls shot, and probably has some advertising or product placement potential. Windmill - rip out a block of seats and mount a giant windmill on one end of the stadium. Just like the lakeshore, keeps the stadium "green". Bass Pro Coming soon sign - Self explanatory. Any other ideas?

But "Warrow" that is OK? By the way you know I am just messing with you.

If I recall from his spat with Nevergiveup I do not think he enjoys being called "Warrow". Not sure what his view on "Jon" is either.

No he doesn't... NFL teams are not allowed to have local TV contracts.

The wealth comes significantly from people living outside the city limits so this study is a bit misleading. The city is relatively small population wise. Do you believe 26% of people in the suburbs live below the poverty line? Thanks. To everyone else who says the market can't afford PSLs... If the team overprices them, they won't sell, and the price will come down until it hits the market value. As long as taxpayers are not on the hook for PSL sale failure what's the issue? As long as they are locked in for a longer period let them try to raise revenue. If everyone who says the area is too poor is right they will fail. However if we give up without trying and the team moves failure is guaranteed. If the team ends up moving I believe all the taxpayers will get in return is $28M.

Do you think the community would raise $1B to buy the team if it was allowed?

It would be interesting to know if an irrevocable trust can own an NFL team. After all, if you followed this strategy, you would no longer be the legal owner, the trust would be. If there's any previous examples where a team had been transferred to a trust before the owner's death, that would be a sure sign. If not... maybe it's not allowed? If you read the non-relocation agreement (not just the lease) you will see that it specifically requires the team to play their games there and that compliance is spelled out in the number of games played per season. It's not just a lease.

Of course the NFL can refuse to accept any bid. So such a lawsuit could be fruitless based on the fact that the highest bid is worth $0 if the NFL likes another bid better.

That would be fine with me too, as long as he gets 7+ sacks again this year.

Just pretend that "Niagara" is a middle name. I am OK with Buffalo/Niagara Bills if that somehow increases the value. Or, Buffalo Niagara Bills... Just like the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. As long as they do not move out of the area.. and no they shouldn't dump Buffalo out of the name.

In most complex sales there is some grey area over the "best" bid. If two bids come in relatively close to each other, there is probably a ton of leeway to accept the lower offer. If there's a huge separation, not so much. That's why putting a solid stadium plan for the WNY area together is so important. If there is an expectation of $300M in public financing here, vs $0M in Toronto, it absolutely factors into the bids different groups will offer. The "Ballmer paid $2B" scenario only applies to a few multi-billionaires over $10B... some of those people are already out of the running.

How much did they charge Art Modell? So - if LA is more profitable, and raises the value of a franchise so much - why haven't any of the other teams whose leases have come up moved? How about people who could (supposedly) just break their lease? Aren't there at least 10 franchises that would immediately see an increase and value, and start making more money, by moving to LA? Why? More difficult than breaking the lease/non-relocation agreement? Or more difficult than letting the franchise linger in limbo for 6 years then moving it? So, there are at least 10 teams who would benefit more from relocation than the Bills, right? $400M (if dedicated to WNY, not NYS as a whole) might be enough to get taxpayers to support a buyout, $1.5B is way overpaying.

Because he was out racing?

That is correct. Example (4-year period): http://www.panthers.com/tickets/psl-club-seats.html

A little issue here: tickets cost on a per game basis. You took 70K*$100 = $7M. However, based on an average season ticket cost of $500 that is 70K*$500 = $35M per season. http://www.buffalobills.com/tickets/season-ticket-pricing.html Also, the average revenue per seat is probably a little higher. If each person spends $15/game on associated costs (parking, concessions, whatever) then they could easily see revenue of $1M/game = $8M/season on top of that from the "regular fans". The luxury boxes are all-inclusive up to a certain point, I am sure there is some associated additional revenue but given there are fewer people, it probably isn't too much.

Hey, it's probably available CHEAP.

Looking at the map, I stumbled across a similar area, off Transit between Genesee and the 90. Looks like wasted space at least from the air. And, I've heard of it. Git 'er done.

If by "dome" you mean "roof" then I agree. But I thought you were firmly in the "they are leaving" category. So why build a stadium if the team is leaving?