So...What happens next?

[PromoTheRobot]

Interesting. Link?

 

Seriously?

[FireChan]

 

 

Seriously?

 

Some sick part of me can't wait until the "we deserve a good product on the field" crowd turns into the "we deserve an NFL team" crowd.

[papazoid]

Per Rodak: Littman named executor of the estate and will control the trust.

 

IMO that sucks as he will maximize profit of the sale over any home town discount to keep the franchise in Buffalo.

 

Even the most ardent homer knows Littman will be one of the first fired when new ownership takes over. His parachute surely is golden.

 

Longtime Bills treasurer Jeffrey C. Littmann, 59, is one of the executors of Wilson's estate, and he will be part of the decision-making team in charge of overseeing the sale of the team. It's believed there are one or two other executors in addition to Littmann.

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/what8217s-next-for-the-bills-for-now-the-team-will-be-controlled-by-a-trust-20140325

Edited March 26, 2014 by papazoid

[CodeMonkey]

The Bills will not be sold for at least a couple years because it's been said that the estate must be settled first. But the team will likely be sold well before year 7 of the lease. Now it's up to us fans to show we can support the Bills. Forget about "14 years and counting..." and fill the stadium for every game. If you won't support the team now don't come here crying when they leave.

 

PTR

Not necessarily true. I recently went though a similar situation (albeit at a MUCH lower net worth). Parts of the estate that would take a long time to resolve were automatically put into a trust at the persons death so the rest of the estate could be settled quickly while the more complicated assets were settled as part of the trust.

 

I have no clue how the Wilson estate is being handled, but there are a lot of things being expressed as fact in this thread that aren't necessarily (not aimed specifically at you my robotic friend).

Edited March 26, 2014 by CodeMonkey

[BillnutinHouston]

Interesting statement from Roger Goodell on the future of the Bills:

 

“We all know they have a lease. We know the terms of [that] lease, and we also know we have to find a long-term solution to keep the Bills there [in Buffalo], and that’s what we’ll continue to work to do, but that’s not our priority right now in the next few days.”

 

Link

[Chef Jim]

It's still your call. If 2-6 is too much to bear stay home. But don't complain when the team leaves.

 

I don't care what the Bills record is myself. The experience of going to games is independent of that. I know others live and die by how the Bills do. We fans can't control how the team plays. All we can do is hope the regime in charge will be successful. But we can control the opinion of others as to how well we support the team.

 

If RWS is half empty in December the media will point fingers and say "Bills fans don't care. They won't support the Bills!" There will be no excuses about XX years with no playoffs. The media deals in black and white: empty seats = bad fans.

 

It's that simple. If cheering for a bad Bills team is too hard, then in 2019 you won't have that problem anymore.

 

PTR

 

Kind of hard for me to buy seasons from 3000 miles away. However if I lived in the area I still support the team but I would probably attend only one or two games a year. It's kind of like going to a resturant owned by a friend with ****ty food. At some point you stop going even if he is a friend.

 

Oh and if the Bills leave I will not shed a tear.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Chef Jim

[TXBILLSFAN]

Some sick part of me can't wait until the "we deserve a good product on the field" crowd turns into the "we deserve an NFL team" crowd.

Some sick part of me hopes the "we deserve a good product on the field" crowd actually GETS A GOOD PRODUCT ON THE FIELD !! Maybe you like losing, I hate it !!

Edited March 26, 2014 by TXBILLSFAN

[SDS]

Kind of hard for me to buy seasons from 3000 miles away. However if I lived in the area I still support the team but I would probably attend only one or two games a year. It's kind of like going to a resturant owned by a friend with ****ty food. At some point you stop going even if he is a friend.

 

Oh and if the Bills leave I will not shed a tear.

 

Unless of course that was the only restaurant in town. When it closes, it's gone for good.

[billsfanmiami(oh)]

NFL radio on Sirius just said the Toronto Star is saying the Bills cannot be moved before 2020. The highly reported $400 million lease buyout doesn't exist. Don't shoot the messenger!

[Chef Jim]

Unless of course that was the only restaurant in town. When it closes, it's gone for good.

 

You don't need a restaurant to eat.

 

But seriously if that's the only restaurant in town and it's a friend you have a heart to heart telling him how important it is to that town not just to have a restaurant but a GOOD restaurant.

[PromoTheRobot]

Not necessarily true. I recently went though a similar situation (albeit at a MUCH lower net worth). Parts of the estate that would take a long time to resolve were automatically put into a trust at the persons death so the rest of the estate could be settled quickly while the more complicated assets were settled as part of the trust.

 

I have no clue how the Wilson estate is being handled, but there are a lot of things being expressed as fact in this thread that aren't necessarily (not aimed specifically at you my robotic friend).

 

Was just repeating what I had read in the Buffalo News. They could be assuming as well.

 

Here is the quote:

Mark Gaughan of the Buffalo News reported Wednesday that, following Wilson’s death at age 95 on Tuesday, the club “will be placed in a trust … and no quick sale of the team is expected. In fact, the trust is likely to control and manage the team for at least a couple of years before any sale of the team is arranged, both team and National Football League sources tell the Buffalo News.”

Edited March 26, 2014 by PromoTheRobot

[reddogblitz]

NFL radio on Sirius just said the Toronto Star is saying the Bills cannot be moved before 2020. The highly reported $400 million lease buyout doesn't exist. Don't shoot the messenger!

 

Someone posted this on another thread but you should look at it. It's the Erie County County Executive, Polancarz, who worked on the lease with the Bills.

.

 

I think this guy probably knows more about the lease than the Toronto Freakin' Star does.

Edited March 26, 2014 by reddogblitz

[Mr. WEO]

The Bills will not be sold for at least a couple years because it's been said that the estate must be settled first. But the team will likely be sold well before year 7 of the lease. Now it's up to us fans to show we can support the Bills. Forget about "14 years and counting..." and fill the stadium for every game. If you won't support the team now don't come here crying when they leave.

 

PTR

It's still your call. If 2-6 is too much to bear stay home. But don't complain when the team leaves.

 

I don't care what the Bills record is myself. The experience of going to games is independent of that. I know others live and die by how the Bills do. We fans can't control how the team plays. All we can do is hope the regime in charge will be successful. But we can control the opinion of others as to how well we support the team.

 

If RWS is half empty in December the media will point fingers and say "Bills fans don't care. They won't support the Bills!" There will be no excuses about XX years with no playoffs. The media deals in black and white: empty seats = bad fans.

 

It's that simple. If cheering for a bad Bills team is too hard, then in 2019 you won't have that problem anymore.

 

PTR

 

You keep banging this drum over and over--and it's just not credible. There is no way a new owner is goign to decide whether to move the team solely on the sale of a few thousand more tickets per game. It's chump change compared to the amount under consideration for buyign a team, building a stadium, paying a relocation fee. Sellouts will absolutley not prevent an owner from moving the team--especially if he thinks he can sellout the next stadium at a higher ticket price. This is a completely unconvincing argument you are making 12 months out of every year. Now that Ralph Wilson had passed, your premise makes no more sense then it did last week/month/year.

 

If you don't think the Bills fans have adequately supported this team during this past decade-plus of mismanagement (on a national disgrace/joke level), then I don't know how you can be convinced otherwise.

[FireChan]

 

 

 

You keep banging this drum over and over--and it's just not credible. There is no way a new owner is goign to decide whether to move the team solely on the sale of a few thousand more tickets per game. It's chump change compared to the amount under consideration for buyign a team, building a stadium, paying a relocation fee. Sellouts will absolutley not prevent an owner from moving the team--especially if he thinks he can sellout the next stadium at a higher ticket price. This is a completely unconvincing argument you are making 12 months out of every year. Now that Ralph Wilson had passed, your premise makes no more sense then it did last week/month/year.

 

If you don't think the Bills fans have adequately supported this team during this past decade-plus of mismanagement (on a national disgrace/joke level), then I don't know how you can be convinced otherwise.

 

It's called trying, WEO. You don't seem to get it. If we don't sell out, it will partly be Bills fans' fault if they leave. The other NFL owners will have more ammunition. Goodell can say, "the fans don't support them."

 

PTR is saying if we sell out, at least we tried our best to keep the team here. And I agree.

Edited March 26, 2014 by FireChan

[Chef Jim]

It's called trying, WEO. You don't seem to get it. If we don't sell out, it will partly be Bills fans' fault if they leave. The other NFL owners will have more ammunition. Goodell can say, "the fans don't support them."

 

PTR is saying if we sell out, at least we tried our best to keep the team here. And I agree.

 

That is foolish. You really think the potential buyers and the NFL will blame the fans? Come on man.

[TXBILLSFAN]

It's called trying, WEO. You don't seem to get it. If we don't sell out, it will partly be Bills fans' fault if they leave. The other NFL owners will have more ammunition. Goodell can say, "the fans don't support them."

 

PTR is saying if we sell out, at least we tried our best to keep the team here. And I agree.

I'm with WEO, it won't matter. Buy tickets and go to the games because you want to go, don't do it out of FEAR or some ill conceived concept that it will matter, IT WON'T. The league and other owners know that Buffalo supports the team. We have had 14 miserable seasons supporting the team to prove it. Fans in the seats isn't the issue. SUITE SALES and TV MARKET are.

Edited March 26, 2014 by TXBILLSFAN

[PromoTheRobot]

You keep banging this drum over and over--and it's just not credible. There is no way a new owner is goign to decide whether to move the team solely on the sale of a few thousand more tickets per game. It's chump change compared to the amount under consideration for buyign a team, building a stadium, paying a relocation fee. Sellouts will absolutley not prevent an owner from moving the team--especially if he thinks he can sellout the next stadium at a higher ticket price. This is a completely unconvincing argument you are making 12 months out of every year. Now that Ralph Wilson had passed, your premise makes no more sense then it did last week/month/year.

 

If you don't think the Bills fans have adequately supported this team during this past decade-plus of mismanagement (on a national disgrace/joke level), then I don't know how you can be convinced otherwise.

 

As usual you fail to understand the gist of my post.

 

I'm not saying buying tickets will insure the Bills stay. I'm saying if we fill RWS for every game no one can claim that Buffalo won't support the Bills.

 

And while it's only a sentimental reason it does carry some weight in the court of public opinion. Browns fans we're very solid in their support of the team and when Modell took them to Baltimore it created a lot of sympathy for Cleveland and a black eye for the NFL. It's my hope the Buffalo would look like it's doing all it can to support the Bills.

 

But all that goes down the crapper if we have a couple of 40,000 attended games in December. The image of a half-empty stadium, no matter what the circumstances, would make Buffalo look Jacksonville.

 

Get it now?

[papazoid]

Buffalo Bills Lease Terms Summary

 

http://www2.erie.gov/exec/index.php?q=buffalo-bills-lease-terms-summary%20

[PromoTheRobot]

That is foolish. You really think the potential buyers and the NFL will blame the fans? Come on man.

I'm with WEO, it won't matter. Buy tickets and go to the games because you want to go, don't do it out of FEAR or some ill conceived concept that it will matter, IT WON'T. The league and other owners know that Buffalo supports the team. We have had 14 miserable seasons supporting the team to prove it. Fans in the seats isn't the issue. SUITE SALES and TV MARKET are.

 

Well we'll see in 2019 won't we?

 

In the meantime turn on any and every NFL program discussing WIlson and the Bills. Invariably this comes up: "What will happen to the team in Buffalo, a city too small to support an NFL team?" The narrative has already been written.

Edited March 26, 2014 by PromoTheRobot

[Chef Jim]

As usual you fail to understand the gist of my post.

 

I'm not saying buying tickets will insure the Bills stay. I'm saying if we fill RWS for every game no one can claim that Buffalo won't support the Bills.

 

And while it's only a sentimental reason it does carry some weight in the court of public opinion. Browns fans we're very solid in their support of the team and when Modell took them to Baltimore it created a lot of sympathy for Cleveland and a black eye for the NFL. It's my hope the Buffalo would look like it's doing all it can to support the Bills.

 

But all that goes down the crapper if we have a couple of 40,000 attended games in December. The image of a half-empty stadium, no matter what the circumstances, would make Buffalo look Jacksonville.

 

Get it now?

 

 

Dude just stop. There is a 50 plus year track record of Buffalo supporting this team. Any potential buyer would blame to product that the previous owners put on the field not the fans. That's actually a good thing.