Bills Stadium Situation A Big, Big Nut To Crack...

[Boatdrinks]

6 hours ago, DefenseWins said:

As I recall, Bon Jovi never actually had 1.4 Billion that the Pegula's reportedly paid for the franchise. And as for Trump, latest news reports appear to indicate that he didn't have the funds either and may have committed "bank fraud" with regard to his application/bid... I think most of us would agree that the Bills will NEVER be able to command the PSL fees nor the kind of "suite sales" that major markets could. But with the coming of "legalized gambling" that is being talked about right now in addition to the fact that the Bills regularly sell out the stadium, the Bills franchise still brings in a rather tidy sum of money into Pegula's and the NFL's coffers. Obviously, there will most likely be someone out there with the funds to purchase the team IF it were ever put up for sale, But the Pegula's don't seem to be in any particular hurry to build a new stadium and certainly they are not losing money on the team. At some point a new stadium will be built. I don't believe that further remodeling of New Era would be an option. It will be interesting to see how this all pans out... 

Bon Jovi was the “ face “ of his ownership group , but he wasn’t the money. He’s rich, but not NFL owner rich. His partners ( and probably himself) weren’t interested in the Bills ( at least not in Buffalo) past a certain price point. The Bills in Buffalo can generate more revenue, but not as much as other cities. 

[HOUSE]

Here we go with that "Patience" word again. It should be added to our language filter

[Jrb1979]

18 minutes ago, Just Joshin' said:

So you are basing a new stadium on needing different beer?

No but getting away from the Blue Collar identity would go a long way. Pricing the fans that just show up to party would go a long way.  Better food would help too. Nothing wrong with having better beer too. 

[Punching Bag]

15 minutes ago, Jrb1979 said:

No but getting away from the Blue Collar identity would go a long way. Pricing the fans that just show up to party would go a long way.  Better food would help too. Nothing wrong with having better beer too. 

Do you know who is willing to pay the most?  Opposing fans are.  They are not usually interesting in tailgating experience so a downtown stadium would be win for them and scalpers.

[Watkins90]

6 hours ago, Jrb1979 said:

I have never seen a fanbase so upset by getting a new stadium. I would love to see one built like the one the Browns play in. From what I have seen of it, it looks really nice and probably has amenities like their baseball stadium. Almost all the Cleveland area craft brews have a booth. WNY needs to get over loving their game day brews of Blue and Genny. Two of the worst beers ever. 

 

A new  domed stadium downtown is probably what's going to happen. Limit tailgating to Bills owned lots, aka no more Hammers lot, to generate more revenue and get people to spend more money in the stadium. I know a lot of you here don't want that but the team also wants to draw more family oriented people and limit the amount of drunks at games. 

Putting it downtown would cause people to tailgate in bars and other businesses, which I think would lead to an increase in revenue for the City. 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

On 6/30/2019 at 3:57 PM, Mc1320 said:

Arrowhead Stadium is just as old as New Era, so why isn’t the NFL banging on KC to build a new stadium?  Pure shameless capitalism by a bunch of greedy old men.  The Pegulas/state/county should invest $400-600 million to renovate the current stadium and tell the NFL to stuff it.

 

 After paying $1.4 billion too buy the team, there is no way the NFL can force the Bills to move regardless of the NFL by-laws.  And if the Pegulas decided to move the Bills, they will have to sell/move the Sabres and their restaurants and hotels because no one in this town would patronize anything they owned going forward.

 

...would certainly be very interesting to see what those dollars bring as far as improvements especially the $600 mil......for $242 more (today's dollars valuation), you can replicate Lucas Oil Field, domed and all......

[Jrb1979]

25 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

Do you know who is willing to pay the most?  Opposing fans are.  They are not usually interesting in tailgating experience so a downtown stadium would be win for them and scalpers.

There is nothing wrong with that. When I go to Sabres games I hit up one of the bars for some food and a couple of drinks then head to the game. 

[Mc1320]

4 hours ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

...would certainly be very interesting to see what those dollars bring as far as improvements especially the $600 mil......for $242 more (today's dollars valuation), you can replicate Lucas Oil Field, domed and all......

Fake news guy......Lucas Oil cost $720 million to build and construction started in 2006 bro. 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

On 6/30/2019 at 9:51 AM, PromoTheRobot said:

 

This could not be more wrong. 31 NFL owners would vote to move the Bills anywhere. San Antonio, Toronto, Mexico City, Norfolk, etc. No Pegula, no Buffalo Bills. Period.

You are correct. It is sad that even a small market like Green Bay would vote to move as well as crappy franchises like Miami and Jacksonville that have apathetic fan bases. 

[MJS]

I hope they just continue to invest money in the current stadium.

 

And I remember a couple years ago after they had the semi big renovation that even Jerry Jones made a comment about how he didn't think the Bills necessarily needed a new stadium. (I searched and searched for a link but couldn't find it. Anyone remember that quote?)

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

1 hour ago, Mc1320 said:

Fake news guy......Lucas Oil cost $720 million to build and construction started in 2006 bro. 

...what's fake?........

 

Broke ground	September 20, 2005
Opened	August 16, 2008
Construction cost	US$720 million[3] ($843 million in 2018 dollars[4])

[GimmeSomeProcess]

21 hours ago, Jrb1979 said:

I have never seen a fanbase so upset by getting a new stadium. I would love to see one built like the one the Browns play in. From what I have seen of it, it looks really nice and probably has amenities like their baseball stadium. Almost all the Cleveland area craft brews have a booth. WNY needs to get over loving their game day brews of Blue and Genny. Two of the worst beers ever. 

 

A new  domed stadium downtown is probably what's going to happen. Limit tailgating to Bills owned lots, aka no more Hammers lot, to generate more revenue and get people to spend more money in the stadium. I know a lot of you here don't want that but the team also wants to draw more family oriented people and limit the amount of drunks at games. 

Couldn’t agree more form the beer to the dome. It’s going to happen. They want a new convention center and this dome stadium will act as that. The county would be much more willing to give some loot for a multipurpose facility. Being so close to the border, having a state of the art convention center is a great idea. Been saying for years, the perry projects is the target. 

[RoyBatty is alive]

On 6/30/2019 at 11:56 AM, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

Can they just update the actual existing structure for safety reasons and stay where they are? Just make it so the thing isnt going to fall down. Does such technology exist?

This is exactly what is going to happen

 

We wlil be babbling about a new stadium for the next 50 years

[Royale with Cheese]

21 hours ago, Jrb1979 said:

I have never seen a fanbase so upset by getting a new stadium. I would love to see one built like the one the Browns play in. From what I have seen of it, it looks really nice and probably has amenities like their baseball stadium. Almost all the Cleveland area craft brews have a booth. WNY needs to get over loving their game day brews of Blue and Genny. Two of the worst beers ever. 

 

A new  domed stadium downtown is probably what's going to happen. Limit tailgating to Bills owned lots, aka no more Hammers lot, to generate more revenue and get people to spend more money in the stadium. I know a lot of you here don't want that but the team also wants to draw more family oriented people and limit the amount of drunks at games. 

 

That's what I think will end up happening as well.  Outdoor stadiums are awesome but a dome makes a game more comfortable for everyone.  I've got family members in their 60's that won't go to a game past October because of the weather.  

Agree with the 2nd bolded part as well.

 

[Don Otreply]

When push comes to shove, I suspect that the “P’s” will hire a smart designer/construction firm ( likely already have) who will create what the “P’s” want. Taking into consideration every aspect that is needed.  It’s not that hard to do for the pros, right now it’s about getting the financial ducks in a row.  This sort of thing takes a fair bit of time to fruition, so I suspect the announcement is approximately three years out.  Then the “P’s” will announce the new downtown location.

 

Over time the old stadium will be taken down, leaving the field area as part of the training facility. 

 

That at is how I read what’s going on at present.

 

Go Bills!!

[billsfan_34]

On 6/30/2019 at 12:51 PM, PromoTheRobot said:

 

This could not be more wrong. 31 NFL owners would vote to move the Bills anywhere. San Antonio, Toronto, Mexico City, Norfolk, etc. No Pegula, no Buffalo Bills. Period.

San Antonio- Cowboys country- most likely will never see an NFL team

 

Toronto- Look no further than that 5 year abortion 

 

Norfolk/Hampton etc... Skins country

 

There isn’t that many places left to put an NFL team, imo

[ddaryl]

22 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

Not necessarily. Some playoff games were not even sold out during Kelly years.

 

There are compromises between domes and open stadiums which help protect stands but nothing will solve roads issues.

 

Yes this is true... Is it weather based ?  If it is weather based than the reality is we need a retractable roof. Can't have people staying home because they don't wanbt to be in th elements in December / January

 

If its not weather based then maybe we are not a city capable of generating the revenue necessary, and therefore should be moved to place that can generate the revenue. I know so many here are against a roof of any kind.. but as you are pointing out even when we were winning we weren't selling out in December / January....  Although the stadium did house about 10k more those days

 

 

Myself I am all in on retractable roof option. It just makes more fiscal sense.. You will get more revenue out of a retractable roofed stadium in this area. Now the only formula is ROI for sed roof. if its positive then tis happening IMO. 

Nice option about a retractable roof is you can decide to leave it open when Miami comes to town late in the season

Edited July 2, 2019 by ddaryl

[wagon127]

On ‎6‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 3:48 PM, Just Joshin' said:

I suspect the league would have no stomach for a fight to move the Bills and all the legal/PR hassles it would bring.  I do believe they will assert max pressure to get a new stadium.

 

I am in the minority but I do not see the need for a new stadium.  This is not nostalgic but New Era meets the needs - a place to watch football in a great atmosphere.  I do not need fast wi fi, bars and restaurants.  

There are so many people, both young and old, that say watching a game in their living room is better then going to the game. Statements like this, are why New Era field isn't good enough. HDTV is so good, and the broadcast of games so high quality, that you really have no need to go to games. Similar to Movie Theatres, people don't care to go. So you need to start offering more then what you are offering now. Some people seem to think if the Sabres still played in the Aud it would be fine......

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, billsfan_34 said:

San Antonio- Cowboys country- most likely will never see an NFL team

 

Toronto- Look no further than that 5 year abortion 

 

Norfolk/Hampton etc... Skins country

 

There isn’t that many places left to put an NFL team, imo

 

St Louis?

[billsfan_34]

58 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

St Louis?

2 failed experiments already- do you see the NFL going for 3’s a charm?

[oldmanfan]

People seem to forget that Kim is a local girl. No way she moves the team away from WNY.

[Punching Bag]

3 hours ago, wagon127 said:

There are so many people, both young and old, that say watching a game in their living room is better then going to the game. Statements like this, are why New Era field isn't good enough. HDTV is so good, and the broadcast of games so high quality, that you really have no need to go to games. Similar to Movie Theatres, people don't care to go. So you need to start offering more then what you are offering now. Some people seem to think if the Sabres still played in the Aud it would be fine......

 

Well I guess higher priced beer and food is "more".  

[HalftimeAdjustment]

17 hours ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

...what's fake?........

 

Broke ground	September 20, 2005
Opened	August 16, 2008
Construction cost	US$720 million[3] ($843 million in 2018 dollars[4])

 

So... did they have to pay "market rate" for all lavor when building in Indianapolis? In all seriousness, doing something in Buffalo NY is probably more expensive than in Indy. What about demolition costs, was the land free there? I could believe $1B.

 

So let's assume that the stadium seats 560,000 for the regular season. If prices increased $20 / seat, that is $11.2m/year in increased revenue. If total cost per seat increased $50, you are talking $28M/year in increased revenue. (This seems high to me, but for the sake of argument) Assuming you can keep that increase neutral for inflation, that is a payback period of 30 years for the possible $840M stadium. How does that make sense? Obviously... if the team can pay only $300M of it and the public pays the rest, it is not a bad deal for the team. Above that it seems to get a little crazy?

[wagon127]

2 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

Well I guess higher priced beer and food is "more".  

Its crazy to think that when the sabres moved from the aud to their current arena, all we got was "higher priced beer and food." Its a much nicer looking building, better lit, cleaner, and better quality food, and more places to eat the food besides your seat. THATs what you can expect from a brand new stadium!

[Matt_In_NH]

On 6/30/2019 at 11:40 AM, SoCal Deek said:

Seems pretty simple to me. Terry and Kim need to tell the City, the County and the State that they’re willing to privately fund a new, smaller, open air stadium in Orchard Park. Build it in the parking lot of New Era and then demolish the old one. If those governmental agencies want the facility available for more than Bills games the taxpayers can fund a roof and move the entire project downtown. I’m guessing that the stumbling block is not the Pegulas.

 If you believe what the Pegula's have said publicly, they cannot or are not willing to privately fund a new stadium on their own.

[SoCal Deek]

56 minutes ago, mattynh said:

 If you believe what the Pegula's have said publicly, they cannot or are not willing to privately fund a new stadium on their own.

I don’t believe them. It’s called negotiating. If they fund it completely on their own it’ll be their stadium and they can use it for whatever they want. It’s a big game of chicken. We’ll see who blinks first. The Pegulas have the cash. The government needs to borrow it.

[Threedollabills]

As a seasonal visitor and absolute fan of both the Bills and the city, I must say that there is a lot of dead real estate that could be appropriated by the PEOPLE of Buffalo in/near the downtown core. The Bills/Buffalo ppl should do what they did in Detroit with Ford Field and Comerica Park: buy up a bunch of centralized junk property near downtown, blow it up, and slam a billion-dollar business in its place. Yes the traffic will be Hell, yes there will be mega-messes to clean up but those are dope-ass jobs to be had and the money will roll in to a point where the city will start to develop from the inside out. This will result in major investment in the core of the city, possibly even a tram/subway down the road. In my town, Montreal, the Canadiens went the downtown-route when relocating way back. Citizens paid a butt-load for It and it took some time but has totally rejuvenated downtown Mtl. The Sabres are not the Habs in terms of prestige, but the Bills are an NFL team that generates way more dough than even the Habs and so cannot leave your great city under any circumstance.  I'm a teacher as well as a 20+ yr Bills fan; just the chance that the team may relocate to the city makes me wanna try for a green card and buy one of those run-down-beauties near La Nova, fix'er up nice and join the Bills' community for real. GO BILLS! BEST GRUB IN THE U.S.A!!!

[Mike in Horseheads]

If only that easy to get property "appropriated"  and come up with a billion dollars without red tape. No offense

[Chill]

The league will split the cost with the owners. The State only has to give up maybe 25%. 

 

Can Upstate afford that?

 

No, no they can’t. 

[Johnny Hammersticks]

While I agree that all jobs are good...”dope ass jobs”?  lol

 

I am, BTW, not a fan of a downtown stadium. Build a state of the art, retractable roof studium right next to New Era.

[Just Joshin']

The Bills are not moving - that ship sailed.

[Gugny]

11 minutes ago, Just Joshin' said:

The Bills are not moving - that ship sailed.

 

The Bills are owned by a man who loves one thing and one thing only - money.  And he'll do anything for more.  Anything.

[Punching Bag]

1 hour ago, Chill said:

The league will split the cost with the owners. The State only has to give up maybe 25%. 

 

Can Upstate afford that?

 

No, no they can’t. 

 

IF Upstate contributed to a downstate stadium (they did as part of NY payment) then they (NY) can afford a stadium Upstate.

If not break the state in half as many have advocated.  In reality downstate and upstate have little in common other than taxes taken by Albany.

[Orlando Tim]

29 minutes ago, Gugny said:

 

The Bills are owned by a man who loves one thing and one thing only - money.  And he'll do anything for more.  Anything.

I disagree- at this point I think Pegula is more worried about legacy than money- he has like $6 billion I believe. I do not think he will move the team from Buffalo unless the city and state give him a terrible deal. 

[Gugny]

17 minutes ago, Buffalo Timmy said:

I disagree- at this point I think Pegula is more worried about legacy than money- he has like $6 billion I believe. I do not think he will move the team from Buffalo unless the city and state give him a terrible deal. 

 

He dismantled a top 3 defense by hiring Rex Ryan, and in the process set a record for season ticket sales.  He's a money guy.

[Inigo Montoya]

For a guy who’s all about the money, he sure seems to give a lot of it away...

 

I think the Bills are safe in Buffalo until both of the Pegulas are gone.  I pray that’s a long time away.  They both seem like good people who have their hearts in the right place.  If they were just about the money the time to move the team was right after they bought it.  Any fines they would have paid for pulling the franchise out of Buffalo would have been easily recouped in another larger market like Los Angeles.

 

 

Edited July 6, 2019 by Inigo Montoya

[Doc Brown]

3 hours ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

While I agree that all jobs are good...”dope ass jobs”?  lol

 

I am, BTW, not a fan of a downtown stadium. Build a state of the art, retractable roof studium right next to New Era.

That makes the most sense to me.  Love where the Bills are at.  Why complicate things by building it downtown?  Great tailgating, plenty of parking, and traffic isn't bad compared to most other NFL stadiums.  Retractable roof is the way to go.  Too much of a headache trying to build near downtown.

[billsfan89]

On 6/30/2019 at 9:19 AM, I am the egg man said:

The revenues for the NFL continue to grow. Pushing Buffalo about a new stadium is senseless greed.  

 

There are franchises in bigger Metro areas barely generating more revenue than Buffalo and 4 bringing in less:

 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/193553/revenue-of-national-football-league-teams-in-2010/

 

 

 

 

Business is based off of continuous growth. From the NFL's viewpoint it is just another Avenue to get some revenue and they can't set a bad precedent by having one franchise not act senselessly greedy.

[nucci]

On 7/2/2019 at 4:15 PM, billsfan_34 said:

2 failed experiments already- do you see the NFL going for 3’s a charm?

only because of the owners. St.Louis is a good football city

6 hours ago, Chill said:

The league will split the cost with the owners. The State only has to give up maybe 25%. 

 

Can Upstate afford that?

 

No, no they can’t. 

NYS helped build 2 baseball stadiums and a football stadium

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

5 hours ago, Gugny said:

 

He dismantled a top 3 defense by hiring Rex Ryan, and in the process set a record for season ticket sales.  He's a money guy.

Trollin trolling trollin