Carl Paladino: Put new stadium in Cobblestone district

[red hots]

1 hour ago, Formerly Allan in MD said:

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

On its own I would say its a hard sell, but if you have additional tenants, in the Pats case, an MLS team, to fill the void in the summer months, or other venues in the immediate area such as a ballpark or an arena, it can provide a steady stream of events for the area and its businesses year round. 

 

In the case of Buffalo, a new stadium for the Bills alongside the KeyBank Center, Harbor Center, Coca Cola Field can provide a steady stream of events on a year round basis. 

[yall]

6 hours ago, 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.

 

Fair point. I was referring to commercial impact, not residential.

[Augie]

3 hours ago, Formerly Allan in MD said:

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

 

I live in Atlanta about 3 miles from the Braves new stadium in The Battery. It’s surrounded by restaurants, shops, bars, hotels, offices, theaters and apartments. Granted there are SO MANY more baseball games, but it’s been a game changer for the area. There would have been some new development nearby regardless, but the area is really booming. I love the Battery more on days when there is NOT baseball! 

 

I am NOT saying this will happen in WNY, as I don’t really know the area well enough to guess. But I know it CAN be VERY helpful development. 

[May Day 10]

Baseball 81 dates in the summer is not comparable of 8 dates, many of them in poor weather

[Augie]

Just now, May Day 10 said:

Baseball 81 dates in the summer is not comparable of 8 dates, many of them in poor weather

 

Not to nitpick, but it’s 8, plus 1/3 credit for a couple preseason, and all the playoff games we will host in the years to come!   ?

 

But seriously, Most people I know STAY AWAY on game days, but they love the development around it for use the rest of the year. Of course, you don’t get the same development investment without the stadium and many game days, but it was definitely positive in impact. 

 

Again, I don’t care where the Bills stadium is as long as it’s a WNY address. I just really like the Battery and it made my neck of the woods a better place. 

[BaaadThingsMan]

That cobblestone is a B word to walk on anyways. I damn near turned an ankle bout six or seven times

[Mike in Horseheads]

I have some nice land in Horseheads I own. I think the stadium should be here, easy access off I86 and NY 14. If Carl can do this so can I

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, May Day 10 said:

Baseball 81 dates in the summer is not comparable of 8 dates, many of them in poor weather

 

10  dates. Then there's 6 more dates if you bring UB Football in. What else?  MLS franchise? Monster truck shows?

[Augie]

4 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

10  dates. Then there's 6 more dates if you bring UB Football in. What else?  MLS franchise? Monster truck shows?

 

MLS games in Atlanta beat the hell out of Falcons games. Bigger, more involved crowd, greater vibe. Shocked me! Plenty of other opportunities for the venue, as well. 

[PromoTheRobot]

2 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

MLS games in Atlanta beat the hell out of Falcons games. Bigger, more involved crowd, greater vibe. Shocked me! Plenty of other opportunities for the venue, as well. 

 

I could see Buffalo getting behind an MLS team. All you need is 20K avg. 

[Augie]

1 minute ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

I could see Buffalo getting behind an MLS team. All you need is 20K avg. 

 

In Atlanta they drop screens/banners to cover the upper level. It’s a rockin’ event! You literally DO NOT SIT during play. If you do, it’s just to check out the tush in front of you. 

 

It didn’t hurt that the first time my son’s GF had passes to the Suntrust Club. You go hours early and it's open bar with free food and drink. Not steamed hot dogs....we’re talking carving stations. The players literally run thru to get from locker room to the field.  New marketing opportunities OP will never have. It’s SWEET! 

 

Went general admission too, and loved it. Not quite the same, but still a blast! 

[May Day 10]

I would love mls, but its a pipe dream here... and cart before the horse.  

[EmotionallyUnstable]

Idk if this has been covered, but I've seen a lot about the rebirth of the city in this thread. Despite all the growth in business and renovations we see at face value, it is important to note that the City of Buffalo is grossly behind budget. In fact, the past few school years they have had to borrow for the Buffalo Public School accounts just to make their payments/bills. So I ask, with a clear deficit and Mayor Brown refusing to raise taxes, how exactly is this stadium being paid for? 

[SoCal Deek]

21 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

You forget that half the stadium is in the ground, making expanding concourses impossible. And with an upper deck in questionable shape, how do you support a roof over seating?  Build new or nothing.

Not true at all. In fact having half the stadium in the ground makes both of those improvements much cheaper. (I’m an Architect.) The expanded concourse structures are simply built like conventional buildings, at grade level and you walk straight into the vomitiories (look it up) of both the upper and lower deck. And because the stadium is sunk into the ground it makes cantilevering a roof over the two sidelines not nearly as tall and therefore much less structurally  challenging.

[Locomark]

The big question is how much land is there for parking & tailgating. The tailgate experience in OP is great because of the open and expansive parking. I have a feeling that the parking will become a series of choppy lots and maybe even some multi story garages like it is in many cities. That stinks. There is little reason to stick it there because it has no sweeping vista of the water. I really don’t get that idea for those 2 reasons. Keep it in OP and build the new stadium right next to the old one. For one or two seasons you may have to have a creative parking solution but it could be done without having the Bills have to play at some second tier stadium like the Chargers did. 

Edited August 3, 2019 by Locomark

[PromoTheRobot]

What if they used the land at the Central Terminal for stadium parking and tailgating, and ran a rail shuttle downtown from there?

[Jrb1979]

1 hour ago, Locomark said:

The big question is how much land is there for parking & tailgating. The tailgate experience in OP is great because of the open and expansive parking. I have a feeling that the parking will become a series of choppy lots and maybe even some multi story garages like it is in many cities. That stinks. There is little reason to stick it there because it has no sweeping vista of the water. I really don’t get that idea for those 2 reasons. Keep it in OP and build the new stadium right next to the old one. For one or two seasons you may have to have a creative parking solution but it could be done without having the Bills have to play at some second tier stadium like the Chargers did. 

A stadium downtown will have smaller tailgating area, probably in Bills owned lots. Its also their way of getting people to go to the bars near the stadium to tailgate. With everything the Pegulas have done to downtown, why wouldn't they put a new Bills stadium there. 

 

Bills fans seem to be the only fanbase against a new stadium. Most other fanbases would love to have a new stadium. I would love a stadium like Atlanta has. Nice big concourses and better amenities. 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

...with the Harbor, you take away 25% of directional accessibility.....and (just my opinion) you would need a massive overhaul of the infrastructure to accommodate the traffic, probably BILLIONS..... and with the "lightning speed" of the Feds, downtown stadium may open by 2042....I'll be in "Hell's Kitchen" by then....

Edited August 3, 2019 by OldTimeAFLGuy

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

I'm not against the idea in theory. I would love it if we could remake the waterfront into a gorgeous piece of sports arena work. However, I am aware of the following:

 

A) The argument that downtown stadiums bring in tons of revenue to local establishments tends to be B.S. Very few people want to go right around the stadium while a game is happening unless they are going to the game already. During the games, and when there are no events, it is wasted space.

 

B) how bad is traffic on the night of a Sabres game when it lets out? Imagine that, with extreme lowball figures, to be three times worse on an NFL gameday.

 

Fixing that alone would be a massive infrastructure and public transportation upgrade. While I do think that might benefit the city as a whole, that's a buttload of money before we even consider the stadium construction costs.

 

 

[EmotionallyUnstable]

13 minutes ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

I'm not against the idea in theory. I would love it if we could remake the waterfront into a gorgeous piece of sports arena work. However, I am aware of the following:

 

A) The argument that downtown stadiums bring in tons of revenue to local establishments tends to be B.S. Very few people want to go right around the stadium while a game is happening unless they are going to the game already. During the games, and when there are no events, it is wasted space.

 

B) how bad is traffic on the night of a Sabres game when it lets out? Imagine that, with extreme lowball figures, to be three times worse on an NFL gameday.

 

Fixing that alone would be a massive infrastructure and public transportation upgrade. While I do think that might benefit the city as a whole, that's a buttload of money before we even consider the stadium construction costs.

 

 

 

Sabres parking can be simple or a nightmare. For those who don't mind walking, you can find pretty cheap or even free parking and hoof it to the stadium. If you want to be closer, you are forsaken to the congested crowd of 18 thousand plus all trying to go the same way on a single street. 

 

A DT standium with the current infastructure is not practical IMO.