rpcolosi Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 So I'm looking at the fobres 400 richest americans and guess what I find out: Bob Rich is worth more then these "big market" owners (and is younger then most) - Robert Kraft (Patsies), Arte Moreno (LA Angels, MLB), Arthur Blank (Falcons), Ed DeBartolo (former 49ers owner), Bob McNair (texans), Jim Irsay (Colts), DAN SNYDER (Redskins), Jeffery Lurie (Ealges) not to mention his brother, David Rich, is a minister worth 1.5billion who doesn't appear to be one living a "lavish" lifestyle with that kind of bank. I'm just saying... Finally, Jeremy Jacobs and Golsiano are both in between a lot of these owners. Bottom line - I don't understand why the media keeps saying there is no one in buffalo able to buy and keep the team here. I see right there 4 possible owners who would be willing to keep the team in the city, not to mention any other possible investors interested in keeping them here. it be nice to see an actual journalist do an article on these men and their ties to the city and interest in keeping the team here. I am confident Jacobs, Rich and Golisano would all certainly be interested in owning the franchise, with Rich possibly being the best owner of the bunch. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/54/rich-l...ans_Rank_8.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarolinaBill Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 NO NO NO, your reading it all wrong, what your not seeing is the unprinted text that says how buffalo is a craphole that nobody wants to play in. They have no fanbase that supports the team, its a dying franchise, who are you to question the likes of Adam Schefter, or anybody at ESPN. Shame on you for conveying this filth to the board, nothing but lies and inuendo tha'ts what it is. Really though, its good to hear there's some people in buffalo that are CAPABLE of keeping the team in town once Ralph is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 So I'm looking at the fobres 400 richest americans and guess what I find out: Bob Rich is worth more then these "big market" owners (and is younger then most) - Robert Kraft (Patsies), Arte Moreno (LA Angels, MLB), Arthur Blank (Falcons), Ed DeBartolo (former 49ers owner), Bob McNair (texans), Jim Irsay (Colts), DAN SNYDER (Redskins), Jeffery Lurie (Ealges) not to mention his brother, David Rich, is a minister worth 1.5billion who doesn't appear to be one living a "lavish" lifestyle with that kind of bank. I'm just saying... Finally, Jeremy Jacobs and Golsiano are both in between a lot of these owners. Bottom line - I don't understand why the media keeps saying there is no one in buffalo able to buy and keep the team here. I see right there 4 possible owners who would be willing to keep the team in the city, not to mention any other possible investors interested in keeping them here. it be nice to see an actual journalist do an article on these men and their ties to the city and interest in keeping the team here. I am confident Jacobs, Rich and Golisano would all certainly be interested in owning the franchise, with Rich possibly being the best owner of the bunch. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/54/rich-l...ans_Rank_8.html Jacobs is the best bet...he has wanted to buy an NFL team for some time, and is the current owner of the Boston Bruins. From what I have heard, he is looking to unload the Bruins, to make way for pursuing an NFL franchise. Bruins fans can't stand him ("cheap" they say!!!), but we are used to that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malazan Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 The problem is that this is as much speculation as ESPN (not withstanding that ESPN *should* not be on the level of a message board, but it is) since none of these owners have expressed interest in buying the team *and* keeping it in Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpcolosi Posted January 29, 2010 Author Share Posted January 29, 2010 The problem is that this is as much speculation as ESPN (not withstanding that ESPN *should* not be on the level of a message board, but it is) since none of these owners have expressed interest in buying the team *and* keeping it in Buffalo. thats actually not correct. Golisano is on record for saying he has personal interest in the Bills staying in WNY: http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8...mp;confirm=true rich I cant find anything, and the rumors about Jacobs wanting an NFL franchise have been going on for years : http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffalo/sto.../02/story2.html "It would be something I might be interested in. It's a great product." - Jacobs and the whole cheap thing might change with a salary cap in place and more extensive revenue sharing then the NHL. notice how the bruins became more competitive once the NHL salaray cap was in place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davefan66 Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 I didn't know Rich was that, uhm, rich. That's good news as I believe he is a Buffalo backer, and even wanted a pro franchise years ago with MLB. As for the Bills staying. My belief is Ralph isn't going to tilt the sale towards Buffalo interests, but hopefully he won't go out of his way to exclude them. I'm becoming jaded by the events of the last few months as to does Ralph really care about the team. I don't really know, but his actions suggest he is trying to squeeze every penny out of this team prior to his selling (trying not to be PI). I don't really want to pin my hopes on statements made by Jim Kelly, but I can't believe someone like him would say the things he does about an ownership group like he does, unless he had options. He understands the importance of the team to many WNY'ers, so I hope he has a group in place, not just a pipe dream of his. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpcolosi Posted January 29, 2010 Author Share Posted January 29, 2010 I didn't know Rich was that, uhm, rich. That's good news as I believe he is a Buffalobacker, and even wanted a pro franchise years ago with MLB. As for the Bills staying. My belief is Ralph isn't going to tilt the sale towards Buffalo interests, but hopefully he won't go out of his way to exclude them. I'm becoming jaded by the events of the last few months as to does Ralph really care about the team. I don't really know, but his actions suggest he is trying to squeeze every penny out of this team prior to his selling (trying not to be PI). I don't really want to pin my hopes on statements made by Jim Kelly, but I can't believe someone like him would say the things he does about an ownership group like he does, unless he had options. He understands the importance of the team to many WNY'ers, so I hope he has a group in place, not just a pipe dream of his. yea the rich family is quite wealthy. the only problem wiht your logic of him "squeezing pennies" is that it absoluteyl does him no good. none. if he actually cared about being loaded and having millions of dollars, he'd sell the team while he was alive and spend the money. he is not doing that. though im sure money plays a role in how he runs the team, it si important to realize he is NOT independently wealthy - not like bob Rich, or Golisano or Jacobs. His value IS the bills. therefore he can not afford the luxury of a high priced coach or huge signing bonuses because he can not replenish his wealth. it comes right form his piggy bank. im by no means saying he is poor or we should feel like he is just getting bye. but what i am saying is his lack of external revenue streams is very indicative in how he has to operate the team. again, i really do believe it will come down to the highest bidder, and hopefully that ends up being between us and toronto. if LA is out of it, it seems very plausible the NFL, especially with Goodell would be more likely to support a bid to keep the franchise in its home city if the owner is indeed wealthy enough to pay market value - which it is clear those 4 potential owners could do. I just am shocked at how Kraft, Snyder, etc act like huge big wigs when in reality their independent wealth is significantly less then WNY's 3 wealthiest persons... and i haven't even looked beyond GOlisano in rochester. I would believe someone with Kodak, Xerox, Baush and Lomb would have similiar finances to Jacobs and Rich. lets hope for hte LA Rams or LA Raiders... I don't think Toronto will be as likely as once thought...and lets give Ralph props - that deal has pretty much been all buffalo (financially at least, its certainly been anti-bills on the field)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsPhan Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 So I'm looking at the fobres 400 richest americans and guess what I find out: Bob Rich is worth more then these "big market" owners (and is younger then most) -... I don't think Bob Rich has any interest in owning an NFL team. I'll never forget the "open letter" he wrote to MLB before his pitch to MLB was even decided on, back in 1990, that most likely doomed his expansion hopes. For some inexplicable reason, after spending who knows how much money trying to bring MLB baseball to Buffalo (including hiring Larry King to narrate his presentation video), Rich did a 180 on MLB with his "warning" letter to the current owners about how baseball spending was getting out of control and how MLB was heading to financial insanity, or something along those lines. (I can't find a link to that article, but I remember thinking; "why write this now, Bob, when MLB still has not decided on the two teams and Bufflao was still in the running??) Predictably, Miami and Denver were chosen and Buffalo lost out. Of course, Rich was a true visionary, and MLB spending has gone out of control exactly as Rich predicted. That explains to me why he is as wealthy as he is, obviously he is an extremely smart businessman. But on the same token, I'm sure he feels just as opposed to the NFL spending insanity now, as he did about what he saw MLB heading towards 20 years ago. Oh sure, NFL teams have a salary cap and all of that, but he still is a Buffalo guy, has made his fortune staying in Buffalo, and understands the Buffalo economy better then even Ralph Wilson does. So I would be really shocked to see Rich get involved with any bid for the Bills after Ralph dies. He knows a new stadium, chocked full of expensive seating and luxury suites, would be mandatory for Buffalo to continue competing with Dallas, Indy and the Giants and Jets and all the other NFL teams that have invested 5 to 10 times more into their new stadiums then our community has invested into the improvements in the Ralph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 His value IS the bills. therefore he can not afford the luxury of a high priced coach or huge signing bonuses because he can not replenish his wealth. it comes right form his piggy bank. Of course he could! He has cleared tens of millions of dollars annually. Do you really think that those other owners are reaching into their wallets to pay team salaries?? I just am shocked at how Kraft, Snyder, etc act like huge big wigs when in reality their independent wealth is significantly less then WNY's 3 wealthiest persons... They are NFL owners---and among the wealthiest men in America. They are acting like huge big wigs? and i haven't even looked beyond GOlisano in rochester. I would believe someone with Kodak, Xerox, Baush and Lomb would have similiar finances to Jacobs and Rich. Well, George Eastman, Joe Wilson and both Bausch and Lomb have been dead for many years--and their companies long ago went public, so not sure what you mean by suggesting "someone with" any of those companies would have the financial wherewithal to consider purchasing an NFL team (let alone the fact that all of those companies are now relativley minor players in Rochester and mere shells of their former selves). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbyte Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 The problem is, which one of them has 800 million in cash to spend, and can they get their money back if the team stays in Buffalo? My answer is none of them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odon59 Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 The problem is, which one of them has 800 million in cash to spend, and can they get their money back if the team stays in Buffalo? My answer is none of them! I don't argue that there is a lack of rich folks in the area, whose net worth is on par with other NFL owners. Likewise, the Bills are currently quite profitable and they have a great fan base for sure. The problem is that the Bills likely may not be profitable if an owner has to service any debt required to buy the team, not to mention any debt on a new stadium (which they will need eventually). Likewise, even if someone has the "cash" to buy the Bills outright, he's still essentially loaning himself the money to buy the team and losing possible interest on that cash so it's the same thing as debt interest. I'm not one of these doom and gloom Bills fans who thinks all hope is lost, but we have to remember that the profitability of the team while Ralph owns it free and clear could be quite different from the teams profitability when someone has to pony up the better part of 1 billion dollars for the team. Just my thoughts.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo_soul-dier Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Yeah but at the same time....who in America right now has 900 million for the team, 850 million for a new stadium and close to a billion for relocating fees associated with moving a team?? Somebody will save the Bills, because of what they mean to the area...just like Galisano saved the sabres...Im sure very few of us knew who he was until he did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfw1234 Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 I don't think Bob Rich has any interest in owning an NFL team. I'll never forget the "open letter" he wrote to MLB before his pitch to MLB was even decided on, back in 1990, that most likely doomed his expansion hopes. For some inexplicable reason, after spending who knows how much money trying to bring MLB baseball to Buffalo (including hiring Larry King to narrate his presentation video), Rich did a 180 on MLB with his "warning" letter to the current owners about how baseball spending was getting out of control and how MLB was heading to financial insanity, or something along those lines. (I can't find a link to that article, but I remember thinking; "why write this now, Bob, when MLB still has not decided on the two teams and Bufflao was still in the running??) Predictably, Miami and Denver were chosen and Buffalo lost out. Of course, Rich was a true visionary, and MLB spending has gone out of control exactly as Rich predicted. That explains to me why he is as wealthy as he is, obviously he is an extremely smart businessman. But on the same token, I'm sure he feels just as opposed to the NFL spending insanity now, as he did about what he saw MLB heading towards 20 years ago. Oh sure, NFL teams have a salary cap and all of that, but he still is a Buffalo guy, has made his fortune staying in Buffalo, and understands the Buffalo economy better then even Ralph Wilson does. So I would be really shocked to see Rich get involved with any bid for the Bills after Ralph dies. He knows a new stadium, chocked full of expensive seating and luxury suites, would be mandatory for Buffalo to continue competing with Dallas, Indy and the Giants and Jets and all the other NFL teams that have invested 5 to 10 times more into their new stadiums then our community has invested into the improvements in the Ralph. the NFL is better for owners than MLB. I've heard that RW clears $30M a year on the Bills; not sure about this, but think that is close to the number. He doesn't lose money and it's unlikely Rich or any of the others would either if they bought the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndZoneCrew Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Im sure very few of us knew who he was until he did! +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weehawk Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Of course there are potential local buyers. There always has been. But these guys didn't get rich by being stupid. I think buying the Bills in their current state (low ticket prices and lousy performance) would be one of the dumbest investments around. It has nothing to do with the area. It's about the team. Ok, let's review this again. 1) Buffalo's fan base is based on an average NFL ticket price of $35. The league average is $75. 2) The Bills are valued at $914 million. Whoever buys them is not going to pay cash and will need to do a fair amount of creative financing to buy them. 3) The new buyer is not Ralph. They did not start with a $50,000 investment and make a billion dollars out of it. In other words, the new owner(s) will need to MAXimize revenues to pay off the inevitable loans that they will need to take out for the purchase. 4) The only real ways to max out revenues is to charge more for tickets, pay less for talent, and sell out wildly expensive suites. None of these are very viable options that would help keep the team in Buffalo. 5) There's no knowing for sure, but I think it's a good bet that the fan base drops at least 30% if ticket prices are raised to the NFL average and the Bills keep losing. The key to survival is not selling out the stadium at $35 a pop. The team needs to start winning in a big way, and I dont mean one playoff game and out-type winning. I mean the AFC championship in Buffalo, and more than once in ten years kind of winning. That's what will put $75 a ticket fannies in the seats and keep the team in the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndZoneCrew Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 1) Buffalo's fan base is based on an average NFL ticket price of $35. The league average is $75. LINK? My tickets are among the lowest at $45...no way that is correct! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsZubaz Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Your right about this. There is still a lot of money in WNY. Goliasano, the Rich's, Wegman's Family etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE GUY YELLING BEHIND YOU Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Any reason why there may 2 of them on this. I really don't see Jacobs being able/willing to ditch the Bruins for a Majority stake. I've never heard the Rich's getting involved. But I definitely think a combo of these names, plus Jimbo's stake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5 Wide Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Of course there are potential local buyers. There always has been. But these guys didn't get rich by being stupid. I think buying the Bills in their current state (low ticket prices and lousy performance) would be one of the dumbest investments around. It has nothing to do with the area. It's about the team. Ok, let's review this again. 1) Buffalo's fan base is based on an average NFL ticket price of $35. The league average is $75. 2) The Bills are valued at $914 million. Whoever buys them is not going to pay cash and will need to do a fair amount of creative financing to buy them. 3) The new buyer is not Ralph. They did not start with a $50,000 investment and make a billion dollars out of it. In other words, the new owner(s) will need to MAXimize revenues to pay off the inevitable loans that they will need to take out for the purchase. 4) The only real ways to max out revenues is to charge more for tickets, pay less for talent, and sell out wildly expensive suites. None of these are very viable options that would help keep the team in Buffalo. 5) There's no knowing for sure, but I think it's a good bet that the fan base drops at least 30% if ticket prices are raised to the NFL average and the Bills keep losing. The key to survival is not selling out the stadium at $35 a pop. The team needs to start winning in a big way, and I dont mean one playoff game and out-type winning. I mean the AFC championship in Buffalo, and more than once in ten years kind of winning. That's what will put $75 a ticket fannies in the seats and keep the team in the area. The Average Bills ticket is $51.00 If you think the key to keeping a healthy franchise is ticket revenue, then you are highly mistaken. Gameday at the Ralph is like a tradeshow for a major corporation. Merchandising, Licensing, and advertising partnerships coupled with television revenue and other ancillary revenue sources are the lifeblood for these teams. Not charging 72,000 people $10 more at the gate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 LINK? My tickets are among the lowest at $45...no way that is correct! Seasons in the Rockpile work out to $30/game http://www.channel1media.com/bills/seatviews/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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