Mr_Blizzard Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 Right now, most everyone has great expectations for the Bills for 2011 and beyond, and I think (for the first time in years) that our hopes are justified. I really like this new coaching staff, and I hope that Nix and Co. continue to bring in better players through the draft, free agency, and waiver acquisitions. My concern, Ralph really is getting old. He's 92, and he is showing his age. If he were to pass unexpectedly, the future of the team would be in jeopardy. Someone has to be able to make major decisions about the team, and in the interim, without an owner, those decisions could be left to the courts. I hope that Ralph will sell the team to a group that will keep the Bills in Buffalo. I'm only speculating here, but if Tom Golisano or some other wealthy New Yorker bought the team while Ralph is still alive, there would not be the risk of the team's future getting lost in court battles. I think this is a big issue, and it should be dealt with sooner rather than later. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8-8 Forever? Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 Right now, most everyone has great expectations for the Bills for 2011 and beyond, and I think (for the first time in years) that our hopes are justified. I really like this new coaching staff, and I hope that Nix and Co. continue to bring in better players through the draft, free agency, and waiver acquisitions. My concern, Ralph really is getting old. He's 92, and he is showing his age. If he were to pass unexpectedly, the future of the team would be in jeopardy. Someone has to be able to make major decisions about the team, and in the interim, without an owner, those decisions could be left to the courts. I hope that Ralph will sell the team to a group that will keep the Bills in Buffalo. I'm only speculating here, but if Tom Golisano or some other wealthy New Yorker bought the team while Ralph is still alive, there would not be the risk of the team's future getting lost in court battles. I think this is a big issue, and it should be dealt with sooner rather than later. Thoughts? Ralph has been crystal clear that after his death, his estate will sell the team to the highest bidder. Period. No legal battles, no court fights. His relatives do not want the team. Nice and simple. The party who shows up with the most cash gets the team. No negotiation. Remember, Ralph is gone at that point, his wishes are clear and the trustee of the estate has little leeway. Now, if a buyer wants to move the team, the other owners have to approve it. Plus a new owner must have or have a plan for an NFL calibre stadium. So, if someone wants to move the team, they have hoops to jump through in addition to outbidding everyone else for the team. WNY has a loyal fan base and an existing stadium. Those are plusses. The minuses include the lowest ticket prices in the league, empty or low priced "luxury" suites, old worn out facilities and relative poor merchandise and other sales. So who knows how it will turn out. Maybe New York the Nanny State will come in and pay for the team and cut unemployment benefits and state services to pay for it, or raise the sales tax to 15% to pay for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1B4IDie Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 1. What decisions? Ralph Wilson is not involved in the say to day operations as much as he get credit or discredit for. The team will function just fine without him. There will be No legal battles, or moves that cannot be made because of owner approval. 2. From what 8and8 said. Subtract the stadium, that Rich Ralph stadium is hanging on by a thread. A new owner that comes in with a stadium plan will probably be approved over a similar offer with no stadium. Add the merchandise sales, Bills are actually in the top half of merchandise sales, with a decade of horrible teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Griffin Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 My concern, Ralph really is getting old. He's 92, and he is showing his age. If he were to pass unexpectedly, the future of the team would be in jeopardy. Someone has to be able to make major decisions about the team, and in the interim, without an owner, those decisions could be left to the courts. That's actually impossible at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 There is nothing that wrong with RWS as a football stadium. Sure it's no palace but I don't think you will see too many new "Jerruh-mahal's" being built in the future. Too risky. Assuming a new owner can pay cash for the Bills and won't have to carry much debt service, they are quite profitable at RWS. They could be even more profitable if they sell naming rights.("Geico Field at Ralph Wilson Stadium" anyone?) Plan for a new stadium 10-15 years in the future but stay at RWS for now. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 Team's gonna go to the highest bidder. Since we can't do anything about it, not really much point in worrying about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McD Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 Let's pool our Christmas loot together and make the Wilson's an offer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Typical TBD Guy Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 It's not all doom and gloom. 4 billionaires (Robert Rich, Jeremy Jacobs, Tom Golisano, and Terry Pegula) have publicly gone on record as stating they would have an interest in buying the Bills and keeping them in Buffalo should the time ever come that the franchise is available for purchase. An additional 2 billionaires have been rumored to have an interest (Danny Wegman and Donald Trump). Plus you have Jim Kelly and his ownership group, which may happen to include any combination of the aforementioned 6. As has already been mentioned, Buffalo has an adequate stadium and a dedicated fanbase already in place. Make the playoffs at least once a decade, and there are no issues with blackouts. Can you say the same for LA or Toronto? It should be noted that the state of California is bankrupt, and that many Canadians are not too fond of the NFL encroaching on their CFL product. So there will probably be no public funding of a new stadium, which means that a new out-of-town ownership group must pay an additional ~$1.5 billion - compared to the Buffalonian ownership competition - for their own stadium plus the relocation fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 It's not all doom and gloom. 4 billionaires (Robert Rich, Jeremy Jacobs, Tom Golisano, and Terry Pegula) have publicly gone on record as stating they would have an interest in buying the Bills and keeping them in Buffalo should the time ever come that the franchise is available for purchase. An additional 2 billionaires have been rumored to have an interest (Danny Wegman and Donald Trump). Plus you have Jim Kelly and his ownership group, which may happen to include any combination of the aforementioned 6. As has already been mentioned, Buffalo has an adequate stadium and a dedicated fanbase already in place. Make the playoffs at least once a decade, and there are no issues with blackouts. Can you say the same for LA or Toronto? It should be noted that the state of California is bankrupt, and that many Canadians are not too fond of the NFL encroaching on their CFL product. So there will probably be no public funding of a new stadium, which means that a new out-of-town ownership group must pay an additional ~$1.5 billion - compared to the Buffalonian ownership competition - for their own stadium plus the relocation fee. Danny Wegman? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OvrOfficiousJerk Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 (edited) There is nothing that wrong with RWS as a football stadium. Sure it's no palace but I don't think you will see too many new "Jerruh-mahal's" being built in the future. Too risky. Assuming a new owner can pay cash for the Bills and won't have to carry much debt service, they are quite profitable at RWS. They could be even more profitable if they sell naming rights.("Geico Field at Ralph Wilson Stadium" anyone?) Plan for a new stadium 10-15 years in the future but stay at RWS for now. PTR +1, Right on PTR. There's a quote in a 2009 Buffalo News story from the stadium manager, pretty much saying what PTR said. http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/buffalo-news/mi_8030/is_20090327/bills-anxious-stadium-funding/ai_n43024270/ It'd be hard for a new owner to argue for a new stadium when someone within the organization said right out that it's just fine for the forseeable future. Man, I love living in the City of No Illusions... Edited December 22, 2010 by OvrOfficiousJerk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 I love RWS and never want to the Bills move out of there. Especially not a stadium with a roof. it really stinks we have recently lost a couple guys in our corner: Tim Russert and Jack Kemp. However, the emergence of Pegula on the scene is a huge bonus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagon Circler Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 That's actually impossible at this point. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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