The Wiz Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 It would dilute the talent in the NFL to much otherwise id be fun Wouldn't that be a good thing though? More teams would be evenly matched as opposed to having 3 or 4 powerhouses year in, year out. Granted you are still going to have players want to play for better teams when they become FA's but still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Wouldn't that be a good thing though? More teams would be evenly matched as opposed to having 3 or 4 powerhouses year in, year out. Granted you are still going to have players want to play for better teams when they become FA's but still. See: NBA, NHL. The Saints were not powerhouses every year. The 49ers have not been pwerhouses for years until now. Ditto the Giants. The Cowboys and Broncos and Raiders haven't been powerhouses in a while, neither have the Bills. No more NFL teams please. They already have the Bucs, the Browns, the Chiefs, the Raiders, the NFC West, the AFC West... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homey D. Clown Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I wouldn't mind seeing the league add a new franchise in LA, I hate to see any team move anywhere, it makes the league and it's owners look greedy, and the profits are already ridiculous. On a side note, if any teams should move to LA, it makes perfect sense to see the LA Raiders, and the LA Chargers. Both teams could have a following in that city. Any other franchise move just really doesn't look good on paper. And as for the Bills, we will find out soon enough, and if they do move, even to Toronto, I won't be one that follows them as a fan. If they don't play in my home town, I could care less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DallasBillsFan1 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Question: several weeks ago there was some chatter about renovations for The Ralph for roughly 200 million. If they approve and go through with renovations and are complete by say 2014, what happens if Mr Wilson passes after? Is it possible that the Bills move leaving a $200m+ stadium with no NFL team? Highly unlikely I imagine ... I guess Erie County, New York, and taxpayers would need some iron clad assurance that the team stays local. Your thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevWarRifleman Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Question: several weeks ago there was some chatter about renovations for The Ralph for roughly 200 million. If they approve and go through with renovations and are complete by say 2014, what happens if Mr Wilson passes after? Is it possible that the Bills move leaving a $200m+ stadium with no NFL team? Highly unlikely I imagine ... I guess Erie County, New York, and taxpayers would need some iron clad assurance that the team stays local. Your thoughts? I say you have a real good point. I know weirder things have happened. But it doesn't seem logical to me that the county government & taxpayers would embark on a $200 mil.plus stadium project w/o some ironclad provisions in place first to keep the Bills in WNY regardless if Ralph does or doesn't die before it's completed. That's my take on it, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAWNDO Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Question: several weeks ago there was some chatter about renovations for The Ralph for roughly 200 million. If they approve and go through with renovations and are complete by say 2014, what happens if Mr Wilson passes after? Is it possible that the Bills move leaving a $200m+ stadium with no NFL team? Highly unlikely I imagine ... I guess Erie County, New York, and taxpayers would need some iron clad assurance that the team stays local. Your thoughts? I think this is the reason there is "rumors" about what happens with the Bills after Ralph passes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Question: several weeks ago there was some chatter about renovations for The Ralph for roughly 200 million. If they approve and go through with renovations and are complete by say 2014, what happens if Mr Wilson passes after? Is it possible that the Bills move leaving a $200m+ stadium with no NFL team? Highly unlikely I imagine ... I guess Erie County, New York, and taxpayers would need some iron clad assurance that the team stays local. Your thoughts? All they can do is make the Bills sign a lease that has a substantial lease breaking clause and hope it deters the next owner from leaving. This is why the next owner should be negotiating the lease, not Ralph and the current crew. It's crazy for the Bills and the County/State to be working under this cloud of uncertainty. It's unnecessary. Sell the team Ralph, or give up the ghost already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 The Lease will have a clause in the deal that will require a substantial fee be paid in order to break the lease should a new owner come in and decide to move them. The fee would probably cover the majority of the renovation costs prorated to the amount of time left on the lease (so if they spent $200 mil and the lease is signed for 10 years, the out clause after year 2 might be 80% of the $200 mil). They can't force Ralph to sell the team or have someone else come in and negotiate the lease as the "future next owner" if Ralph doesn't sell them before hand or secretly have someone lined up already. Its his team, and it will be until he decides to sell or dies. (You guys really like to tell others what they should/shouldn't do with their money and property, but I can guarantee you would kick and scream if someone told you how to spend or what to do with your stuff) As for Toronto and the fans there, They support their own teams just fine win or lose. When was the last time a pro sports team left Toronto? The Leafs play to a packed arena win or lose. The Raptors play a sport thats not as popular in Canada and just last year were in the middle of the pact for attendance (17th averaging just under 17k a game) and they have made the playoffs a hand full of times in their existence. The Jays haven't been to the playoffs since winning the '93 world series and have been an average (.500) team most of that time. They average a little over 20-22k a game most nights in another sport more popular in the US. Their MLS soccer team has a good following despite being horrible also. The problem with the attendance at the Bills toronto series has been ticket prices. The Bills haven't put a good product on the field at the Rogers Centre and yet they were trying to charge ticket prices comparable to the top market teams in the league. People in Toronto can be fickle about supporting someone elses stuff. Toronto views itself as the centre of Canada and they support whats theirs. The ticket sales and attendance numbers wouldn't be any worse then what you see at RWS if they were moved and put into a football stadium in Toronto. As for the issues with the border, suck it up, us Southern Ontario fans had to do it to continue to help support the team in Buffalo...... All they can do is make the Bills sign a lease that has a substantial lease breaking clause and hope it deters the next owner from leaving. This is why the next owner should be negotiating the lease, not Ralph and the current crew. It's crazy for the Bills and the County/State to be working under this cloud of uncertainty. It's unnecessary. Sell the team Ralph, or give up the ghost already. its done all the time They can't go and force Ralph to sell or find the "future next owner" of the team now because they are afraid to negotiate a lease in case soemone comes in and wants to move them. They have 3 choices, continue to operate with the team using the stadium without a lease, sign one year leases with Ralph for the team to continue to play there, or negotiate a long term lease with a substantial penalty clause for breaking the lease early that a new owner would be responsible for covering the reno costs. Only the last one has any type of possible assurance that the team would stay in Buffalo for the immediate future, the first 2 only protect the county from spending money and possibly losing money by renovating a stadium they could be stuck with without a tenant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevWarRifleman Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 The Lease will have a clause in the deal that will require a substantial fee be paid in order to break the lease should a new owner come in and decide to move them. The fee would probably cover the majority of the renovation costs prorated to the amount of time left on the lease (so if they spent $200 mil and the lease is signed for 10 years, the out clause after year 2 might be 80% of the $200 mil). They can't force Ralph to sell the team or have someone else come in and negotiate the lease as the "future next owner" if Ralph doesn't sell them before hand or secretly have someone lined up already. Its his team, and it will be until he decides to sell or dies. (You guys really like to tell others what they should/shouldn't do with their money and property, but I can guarantee you would kick and scream if someone told you how to spend or what to do with your stuff) As for Toronto and the fans there, They support their own teams just fine win or lose. When was the last time a pro sports team left Toronto? The Leafs play to a packed arena win or lose. The Raptors play a sport thats not as popular in Canada and just last year were in the middle of the pact for attendance (17th averaging just under 17k a game) and they have made the playoffs a hand full of times in their existence. The Jays haven't been to the playoffs since winning the '93 world series and have been an average (.500) team most of that time. They average a little over 20-22k a game most nights in another sport more popular in the US. Their MLS soccer team has a good following despite being horrible also. The problem with the attendance at the Bills toronto series has been ticket prices. The Bills haven't put a good product on the field at the Rogers Centre and yet they were trying to charge ticket prices comparable to the top market teams in the league. People in Toronto can be fickle about supporting someone elses stuff. Toronto views itself as the centre of Canada and they support whats theirs. The ticket sales and attendance numbers wouldn't be any worse then what you see at RWS if they were moved and put into a football stadium in Toronto. As for the issues with the border, suck it up, us Southern Ontario fans had to do it to continue to help support the team in Buffalo...... its done all the time They can't go and force Ralph to sell or find the "future next owner" of the team now because they are afraid to negotiate a lease in case soemone comes in and wants to move them. They have 3 choices, continue to operate with the team using the stadium without a lease, sign one year leases with Ralph for the team to continue to play there, or negotiate a long term lease with a substantial penalty clause for breaking the lease early that a new owner would be responsible for covering the reno costs. Only the last one has any type of possible assurance that the team would stay in Buffalo for the immediate future, the first 2 only protect the county from spending money and possibly losing money by renovating a stadium they could be stuck with without a tenant Thanks for the input from a Southern Ontarioan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 The Lease will have a clause in the deal that will require a substantial fee be paid in order to break the lease should a new owner come in and decide to move them. The fee would probably cover the majority of the renovation costs prorated to the amount of time left on the lease (so if they spent $200 mil and the lease is signed for 10 years, the out clause after year 2 might be 80% of the $200 mil). They can't force Ralph to sell the team or have someone else come in and negotiate the lease as the "future next owner" if Ralph doesn't sell them before hand or secretly have someone lined up already. Its his team, and it will be until he decides to sell or dies. (You guys really like to tell others what they should/shouldn't do with their money and property, but I can guarantee you would kick and scream if someone told you how to spend or what to do with your stuff) Well, that's kind of my point. All of this hand wringing would cease if he sold the team tomorrow. I would think that if I am lucky enough to last as long as Ralph in has his extremely charmed life, I would say "I really don't need to be the sole owner of this team anymore...what more does it bring me? Especially as frail as I am now". I would seal my legacy right now and let all of my faithful fans who have watched me manage this franchise so poorly for over a decade and who are now suffering the mental anguish of my not letting them know the fate of their beloved Bills that I am sellng the team to a group of individuals that will keep the Bills in Buffalo. At that point in life, I could still be a fractional owner. Nothing would change--I could still not go to owners meetings or games. I would be comfortable knowing hundeds of millions of dollars went to my beloved family and any remaining generations of Wilsons would be set financially in perpetuity. I would do it that way because it would be so easy and perfect for everyone. But hey, that's me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv's Neighbor Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 The RAIDERS are going to LA. Their Staduim will NOT be renovated, and they are no longer a good draw in Oakland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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