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Carl Paladino: Put new stadium in Cobblestone district


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1 minute ago, Misterbluesky said:

Looks like the Islanders (ice hockey) are getting a new expensive arena.

Thanks,Albany.

 

1 minute ago, Misterbluesky said:

Looks like the Islanders (ice hockey) are getting a new expensive arena.

Thanks,Albany.

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3 hours ago, Rochesterfan said:

If you go to many other stadiums - tailgating is very limited. 

Just curious as I left town in the late 70s, but isn't tailgating an integral part of being a Bills fan....of the Buffalo fan experience? And won't they lose a LOT of fans if they take that away?

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On 8/8/2019 at 3:33 PM, Rochesterfan said:

 

 

I would agree it would be bad if everyone parked there and tried to leave at the same time, but look at other stadiums downtown- Baltimore, Cincinnati, Detroit, etc.  they have parking for about 8-10,000 cars around the stadium at most. For example: You have to use the light rail in Baltimore that drops you off right at the stadium.  

 

Buffalo already has the free light rail metro service that deliver people from other areas down to the Harbor.  Not to mention the fact that some of the concerts down town have attracted 40,000+ just to canal side - so the volume of people can be handled.

 

The experience will be vastly different from the OP experience and the first couple of preseason/regular season games will be a nightmare- just as it is in OP when they changed the traffic patterns a couple of years ago and no one knew where they were going.  Then everyone settled into a pattern and people meet up and it becomes a new normal.

 

 

 

 

Buffalo light rail 6 miles Baltimore 21 miles Big difference. 40,000 for concerts at canalside??? I doubt that highly. Guns and Roses was in the 30,000s at NEF. 

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Just a random question, is Buffalo still losing people year over year, or has it stabled out/started gaining people again?

I know the business landscape has changed quite a bit, but last time I was there it seemed like a lot was needed in infrastructure & renovations. Never lived there, but I love the place so much & am always fascinated reading about the area.

A new stadium would go a long way in securing the team, but I know it's not so simple. I only wish we had done it sooner, as other rust belt/midwest teams managed to find a way & not break the bank. It's only getting more & more expensive as time goes on, so hopefully a solution is in sight.

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2 hours ago, Hammered a Lot said:

Buffalo light rail 6 miles Baltimore 21 miles Big difference. 40,000 for concerts at canalside??? I doubt that highly. Guns and Roses was in the 30,000s at NEF. 

 

 

From a 2016 AP article about regrowth downtown in Buffalo with Canalside.

https://www.apnews.com/411cf9338ef74df8b77279ef6899ae42

 

“BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo’s blossoming Lake Erie waterfront district saw a surge in tourist visits over the summer.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office says Canalside crowds topped 1.5 million people, up from 1 million a year ago.

Planners have added more food venues and scheduled more concerts, cultural events and other draws to an area that until recently offered little to visitors.

The Thursday night concert series drew 133,000 people, with artist T-Pain seeing the biggest crowd of 40,000.

 

This was from 2016 - and the number of visitors have continued to grow.

 

That is also a Thursday night and people start arriving downtown before people start leaving work - so it handled the initial incoming traffic and outgoing work bound traffic.

 

The 6 miles of light rail is enough to spread out the parking across the city.  I also believe they would need to utilize the Amtrak line that runs North and South, but does have a downtown drop-off already right near the 190 and Michigan just east of the area.  That would allow the creation of some larger “Tailgating” lots in the more spread out Southtowns if they want that.

 

The concerts routinely draw 25,000 people and those are just the people at the concert - there are hoards of other people in the area that are not counted within the concert goers.  I believe they routinely handle 30-40,000 people on the concert nights - it is again a spread out leaving time, but the number of people is not going to be the issue. It is going to be traffic flow and timing on the routes that will need work.  The logistics will be a bear to work out.

Edited by Rochesterfan
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11 hours ago, John in Jax said:

Just curious as I left town in the late 70s, but isn't tailgating an integral part of being a Bills fan....of the Buffalo fan experience? And won't they lose a LOT of fans if they take that away?

They want to limit tailgating, in hopes of limiting the obnoxious drunks that go to the games. The Bills may lose a lot of tailgating fanbase but will gain a bunch of fans that want a more family friendly environment. 

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On 8/8/2019 at 3:10 PM, jeremy2020 said:

 

Yea, why should people be able to live in the area they work in...and poor people give up their rights by being poor when it inconveniences me.

It’s not only poor people Jeremy. There was a bunch of news of people renting apartments there due to location that had serious means. I have no problem with poor people living there, but at the very least the HUD should remodel or rebuild. It is a disgusting eye sore. Period. 

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On 8/10/2019 at 7:44 AM, Jrb1979 said:

They want to limit tailgating, in hopes of limiting the obnoxious drunks that go to the games. The Bills may lose a lot of tailgating fanbase but will gain a bunch of fans that want a more family friendly environment. 

 

Plus they want to funnel some of those fans to bars and restaurants inside the stadium or around town that the Pegulas might own or have a cut of.  You don't make money off tailgating. 

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On 8/2/2019 at 1:21 PM, SoTier said:

 

If you are talking about the CBD, yes it is mostly empty because  most buildings are filled with traditional 9-5, M-F type enterprises, but there are businesses there -- mostly restaurants, bars, gyms, theaters, etc.   Most are small places, but that doesn't mean that they should be kicked to the curb in order to build a sports palace that's used maybe 30 times a year at best.  Moreover,  'Downtown' is more than the CBD; Canalside and Erie Basin Marina are part of downtown, too, and the businesses there are packed on Sundays, especially in the summer and early fall.  The buildings these businesses in are on the tax rolls; a city/county/state owned stadium wouldn't be.

 

There are about 5-7k people living in the CBD and the outlying parts of downtown like Waterfront Village, Johnson Park,  the Theatre District. These people would find their lives signifcantly impacted by crowds of 70k people filling their streets, parking illegally, etc  The residents of the Marine Drive apartments and the Waterfront Village would find it difficult if not  impossible to get in or out of their neighborhoods on game days/nights.

so build it further into the Perry Projects then.

 

and all the complaints are just weird. So I would not buy a house I like and want due to 10 days a year I will see a football crowd around the area for about half the day? A day I can sell 25 or more parking spaces on my yard for $25 to $50 per car? With my older family taking care of that $1200 profit every game while I walk a couple blocks and go to the game?

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40 minutes ago, cba fan said:

so build it further into the Perry Projects then.

 

and all the complaints are just weird. So I would not buy a house I like and want due to 10 days a year I will see a football crowd around the area for about half the day? A day I can sell 25 or more parking spaces on my yard for $25 to $50 per car? With my older family taking care of that $1200 profit every game while I walk a couple blocks and go to the game?

I have a friend in Dallas who does exactly this. He is laughing all the way to the bank.

 

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14 minutes ago, stuvian said:

We have the best tailgate in the entire league because we are not downtown in a major city. There are no good downtown NFL tailgates. If it moves downtown we lose what we enjoy today. Long live Orchard Park 

 

 

Nobody loves the tailgate more than I but I don't think a downtown stadium will take the party out of Bills fans.    

 

Tailgating is about the people and it's what we do.    There might be a few more limitations......no open flames etc......but Bills fans take the tailgate with them everywhere right now so I have a hard time thinking it would ever turn into a "show up an hour before the game" or "just tailgate with a veggie tray with the people in your car" environment.

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Just now, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Nobody loves the tailgate more than I but I don't think a downtown stadium will take the party out of Bills fans.    

 

Tailgating is about the people and it's what we do.    There might be a few more limitations......no open flames etc......but Bills fans take the tailgate with them everywhere right now so I have a hard time thinking it would ever turn into a "show up an hour before the game" or "just tailgate with a veggie tray with the people in your car" environment.

Name one good downtown tailgate in the NFL?  BTW do you work for Roger Goodell ? 

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2 minutes ago, stuvian said:

Name one good downtown tailgate in the NFL?  BTW do you work for Roger Goodell ? 

 

 

Name one that was good BEFORE it was moved downtown and then sucked.

 

OP is fine right now and maybe for the next 5 or even 10 years.........but long term there is a trade-off if the Bills want to compete enough financially for it to be worthwhile for the large markets to continue to share revenue with them.     A modern, downtown environment would create the opportunity for more revenue.

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Arguments can certainly be made for both locations. The biggest draw back for the Pegula’s is the fans who get drunk for the games, the potential liability is through the roof, this can not be argued.  If the fans were even a little self policing it would likely not be as big a problem for them, but they aren’t.  In fact fans outwardly encourage the behavior.  So what’s an owner to do?  Build the new stadium we’re that style of tailgating is naturally curtailed, where the location complements their other massive investments, why in the world would they do that??  hmmm...,

 

Go Bills!!!

Edited by Don Otreply
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On 8/2/2019 at 5:25 PM, Formerly Allan in MD said:

If you think an NFL stadium doesn't attract commerce, check out the Pat's pad.

I'm not totally disagreeing with you, but there are a lot of key differences between Foxboro and here (Orchard park or anywhere else)

 

-The pats stadium (And Patriot place) is within 30-40 miles of a couple million people who have pretty easy access to the area.

-Whether it was in 'patriot place' or not...that area is a much better area in general to support a bunch of restaurants, a luxury theater, a mini-mall and a Bass pro.  Not only because of my point above (population density) but also the wealth in the area. A lot of BIG companies, a lot of TECH companies employ a lot of people and pay high wages right off of Rt. 128 not too far from the Stadium.

-Having lived in the area a while back and visiting the area a couple times per year...Patriot place isn't a slam-dunk as it is.  Stores come in and close down every year, and when you visit there on a Summer afternoon sometimes..I wonder why even more don't close down because it can be a ghost town in some of those shops.

 

An NFL stadium may help attract commerce to a certain extent, but you aren't going to get even a 'mini Patriot place" unless they area was already 80% of the way there to support that kind of thing before the stadium.  I don't think there is a place in WNY where we could have that now...due to population density and wealth.

Edited by mjd1001
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37 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

I'm not totally disagreeing with you, but there are a lot of key differences between Foxboro and here (Orchard park or anywhere else)

 

-The pats stadium (And Patriot place) is within 30-40 miles of a couple million people who have pretty easy access to the area.

-Whether it was in 'patriot place' or not...that area is a much better area in general to support a bunch of restaurants, a luxury theater, a mini-mall and a Bass pro.  Not only because of my point above (population density) but also the wealth in the area. A lot of BIG companies, a lot of TECH companies employ a lot of people and pay high wages right off of Rt. 128 not too far from the Stadium.

-Having lived in the area a while back and visiting the area a couple times per year...Patriot place isn't a slam-dunk as it is.  Stores come in and close down every year, and when you visit there on a Summer afternoon sometimes..I wonder why even more don't close down because it can be a ghost town in some of those shops.

 

An NFL stadium may help attract commerce to a certain extent, but you aren't going to get even a 'mini Patriot place" unless they area was already 80% of the way there to support that kind of thing before the stadium.  I don't think there is a place in WNY where we could have that now...due to population density and wealth.

 

Actually Gillette and Patriot Place are in suburban nowhere. Miles from Boston or Providence. Also, you want to talk access? Rt.1 north or south are the only way in or out. It's a zoo post game.

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