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Book tells of up-and-down negotiations that led to Bills stadium lease deal


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11 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

And then many thanks to those Rogers kids that didn't want to spend their found millions on an NFL team.

Just count our blessing Ted Rogers passed before Ralph.

 

it seem once they divided his money by three his son didnt control enough of it to complete the sale.  I maybe be wrong, but I always believed Ralph intended to sell to Rogers and move the team to Toronto regardless of what he said.  I believe the lesgue wanted it as well.   Unfornately I never cared for Ralph as sn owner, just one persons opinion.

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7 hours ago, MacGyver said:

 

OMG...  WAT?

 

It's actually something that has been theorized for probably like 20, 30 years now. However, I don't see it ever cited as something that will happen within the next 10 years. I think we are more likely 50 years away from that stuff having a strong impact on the local economy, it it ever does.

 

Also, when these bigger markets feel a pinch who knows what kind of technology or solutions that will be developed by the area facing a crunch. They surely aren't just going to go belly up and say oh well.

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7 minutes ago, clearwater cadet said:

Just count our blessing Ted Rogers passed before Ralph.

 

it seem once they divided his money by three his son didnt control enough of it to complete the sale.  I maybe be wrong, but I always believed Ralph intended to sell to Rogers and move the team to Toronto regardless of what he said.  I believe the lesgue wanted it as well.   Unfornately I never cared for Ralph as sn owner, just one persons opinion.

What evidence do you have that he "intended" to sell the team to Rogers? He never did and he lived a LONG life. I think Wilson could be a bit stingy with his money, but his legacy was the Buffalo Bills. Based on what I've observed, he was more concerned with keeping his money than amassing more. 

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11 minutes ago, clearwater cadet said:

Just count our blessing Ted Rogers passed before Ralph.

 

it seem once they divided his money by three his son didnt control enough of it to complete the sale.  I maybe be wrong, but I always believed Ralph intended to sell to Rogers and move the team to Toronto regardless of what he said.  I believe the lesgue wanted it as well.   Unfornately I never cared for Ralph as sn owner, just one persons opinion.

 

Truth be told, Toronto is better able, financially, to support  and NFL franchise.  However, the NFL has forgotten in its quest for revenue that there is a fan base that matters.  Buffalo has the most loyal fan base in the league.

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23 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said:

What evidence do you have that he "intended" to sell the team to Rogers? He never did and he lived a LONG life. I think Wilson could be a bit stingy with his money, but his legacy was the Buffalo Bills. Based on what I've observed, he was more concerned with keeping his money than amassing more. 

No evidence, like I said, I maybe wrong, just what I believed.  one persons opinion.

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6 hours ago, WhoTom said:

 

"Gaining a non-relocation agreement, which included a $400 million penalty "bomb" if the team were to move, was a sticking point. Instead of that agreement, the team wanted lease language in which the Bills promised to reimburse the state and county stadium for renovation costs if the team moved."

 

I'd say it was a little of both, since the Bills' proposal would have included a $210M relocation penalty.

 

 

So, in the original quote, it cites the $400 Billion ("B" as in Bills) and in the next paragraph $400 Million ("M" as in Matt Milano). Quite a difference. I haven't read the book but I can't imagine Ralph EVER would have agreed to a $400 BILLION non-relocation penalty. On the other hand, $400 Million doesn't seem like that much at all if you're a multi-billionaire. If you're an immensely wealthy businessman and the team would be worth 3-4 times its value in WNY if it were relocated to LosAngeles, for example, $400 Million would seem like peanuts, no? 

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2 hours ago, clearwater cadet said:

Just count our blessing Ted Rogers passed before Ralph.

 

it seem once they divided his money by three his son didnt control enough of it to complete the sale.  I maybe be wrong, but I always believed Ralph intended to sell to Rogers and move the team to Toronto regardless of what he said.  I believe the lesgue wanted it as well.   Unfornately I never cared for Ralph as sn owner, just one persons opinion.

IMO the entire Toronto series was about Rogers laying the groundwork to move the team to Toronto. I don't doubt for a second that Rogers expected to outlive Wilson and be in perfect position to buy the team.

 

Once Rogers passed away I believe his $$ was tied up in a family trust, making it impossible for his heirs to access enough to buy the team. I think he never thought it would matter because he was so much younger than Ralph, but once Rogers died the whole plan to move the team to Toronto pretty much died as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, 2ForMacAdoo said:

So, in the original quote, it cites the $400 Billion ("B" as in Bills) and in the next paragraph $400 Million ("M" as in Matt Milano). Quite a difference. I haven't read the book but I can't imagine Ralph EVER would have agreed to a $400 BILLION non-relocation penalty. On the other hand, $400 Million doesn't seem like that much at all if you're a multi-billionaire. If you're an immensely wealthy businessman and the team would be worth 3-4 times its value in WNY if it were relocated to LosAngeles, for example, $400 Million would seem like peanuts, no? 

I’m certain the B was a mistake, it was $400 million. It may not seem like much, but it was apparently a strong enough deterrent to do it’s intended job. T Pegs paid 1.2 billion for the Bills, so it’s one third of the price paid. Mere mortals may think that would be chump change, but we don’t know how an actual billionaire would think about that situation. Fortunately for Bills fans, it had at least some effect on the bidding process. 

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1 hour ago, 2ForMacAdoo said:

So, in the original quote, it cites the $400 Billion ("B" as in Bills) and in the next paragraph $400 Million ("M" as in Matt Milano). Quite a difference. I haven't read the book but I can't imagine Ralph EVER would have agreed to a $400 BILLION non-relocation penalty. On the other hand, $400 Million doesn't seem like that much at all if you're a multi-billionaire. If you're an immensely wealthy businessman and the team would be worth 3-4 times its value in WNY if it were relocated to LosAngeles, for example, $400 Million would seem like peanuts, no? 

 

The team was appraised at around $1B, if I recall correctly, so adding a $400M penalty essentially raises the price by 40%. Maybe it would be worth more in a different market, but that's a pretty big risk, especially when everyone knew the Pegulas wanted it and they were willing to overpay.

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7 hours ago, 17years&waiting said:

I'm amazed that people are taking a politican's word as absolute truth.  Especially because the people that could dispute this story are: deceased (RCW) and discredited (Russ Brandon) or the same political party (Cuomo/Schumer).  

 

Isn't there a potentially competitive Congressional seat up in Erie County next year?  Build some street credit, try to establish yourself as a hero, and then try to win the seat.  

 

Sorry, I don't trust politicians.  Regardless of political party.  Especially not politicians whose only career work is in government.  

 

You know who I trust less than politicians? Billionaires.

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6 hours ago, WhoTom said:

 

The team was appraised at around $1B, if I recall correctly, so adding a $400M penalty essentially raises the price by 40%. Maybe it would be worth more in a different market, but that's a pretty big risk, especially when everyone knew the Pegulas wanted it and they were willing to overpay.

 

Also, add in the NFL relocation fee, as well as the price of a new stadium.

 

I also recall there to be some wording about not being allowed to even talk stadium anywhere but erie county, which made it extra sticky.

Edited by May Day 10
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16 hours ago, Cynical said:

 

I agree with all of this.

You just do not drop a 60-65k seat stadium into the downtown area where nothing of that size presently exits now, and think some parking decks and widening a couple of roads will be all that's needed.

 

If we assume the economy improves and there is population growth, so will the demand for real estate and housing. Land acquisition will become even more problematic.

 

 

Then how on Earth does every other city with a downtown stadium manage to exist? Some cities have two stadiums and an arena downtown. What keeps Cleveland from sinking into Lake Erie putting all three downtown?

 

What is it about downtown Buffalo that makes it so unusable as a stadium site? Was there a transportation crisis when they built Pilot Field?

4 hours ago, Joe in Winslow said:

 

You know who I trust less than politicians? Billionaires.

 

You voted for one.

Edited by PromoTheRobot
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4 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Then how on Earth does every other city with a downtown stadium manage to exist? Some cities have two stadiums and an arena downtown. What keeps Cleveland from sinking into Lake Erie putting all three downtown?

 

What is it about downtown Buffalo that makes it so unusable as a stadium site? Was there a transportation crisis when they built Pilot Field?

 

Have you ever tried to leave a Sabres game when everyone stays until the end? 

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2 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

 

Have you ever tried to leave a Sabres game when everyone stays until the end? 

 

Every game I attend. I'm on the Metro rail within 10 minutes. What's your point?

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Just now, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Every game I attend. I'm on the Metro rail within 10 minutes. What's your point?

 

Oh.  Being in a car, it can take over an hour to get out of downtown.  This is why people bolt from that arena all through the 3rd period, even in a close game.  Maybe if they connect metro rail with Grand Island, it could work...

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Just now, Joe in Winslow said:

 

What's the deal with the Metro rail, is it more than one line?

 

 

It's a light rail/subway that runs from the arena to UB North campus. It's just one line though they talk about adding more forever.

 

But it's free riding above ground so I usually park by Fountain Square and ride to the arena, then ride back. Is it crowded? Sure, but so is any large event.

2 minutes ago, billsfanmiami(oh) said:

 

 

Good for you. For the thousands of people that drive, it sucks.

 

A little planning solves a lot of problems. See above.

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