BuffaloBilliever Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Could the Bills be moved? This brings me back to the days when the talk about the Sabres leaving wheeled around the newspapers. I don't know what I'd do if the Bills moved, I'd probly tie myself up outside ol' Ralph's house and see what happens there. Your thoughts? and could it even happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SACTOBILLSFAN Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I could never cheer for another NFL team, I would be free on Sundays though, because I couldn't even stand to see the LA Bills or wherever they played their games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Of course they could be moved. This is a business and if there is a way to make more money elsewhere, you better believe the RW estate will not hesitate a second to move. We are a small market, and there is no huge incentive to keep us here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBilliever Posted January 18, 2006 Author Share Posted January 18, 2006 I figured that as much, but I'd probly devote my life (I'm only 18) to gettin' enough money to buy 'em back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spun Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 If the Bills move then I am done on the NFL like I am done on the NBA thanks to the Buffalo Braves being expunged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SACTOBILLSFAN Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 If the Bills move then I am done on the NFL like I am done on the NBA thanks to the Buffalo Braves being expunged. 572178[/snapback] Hold a grudge much? I myself am done with the NBA because the product blows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Hold a grudge much? I myself am done with the NBA because the product blows. 572180[/snapback] Bingo....I haven't been able to watch a whole NBA game in years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spun Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Hold a grudge much? I myself am done with the NBA because the product blows. 572180[/snapback] When it is worth it to me I grudge. There is nothing to forgive in that story. College basketball is much more entertaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kipers Hair Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Could the Bills be moved? This brings me back to the days when the talk about the Sabres leaving wheeled around the newspapers. I don't know what I'd do if the Bills moved, I'd probly tie myself up outside ol' Ralph's house and see what happens there. Your thoughts? and could it even happen? 572158[/snapback] Of course it could - it happens every few years and the Bills are nearing critical time with the stadium again. Factor that in with the Bills owner having the Grimm Reaper riding shotgun and you have an unstable franchise on your hands. Now that I have reaffirmed the potential.... I understand from business partners, (read the guys you read of in the Business section when they disclose how much the area's CEO's make), Tom Gailisanno (sp?) has already advised Ralphs Trust that he is interested in purchasing the team to keep it local There is a catch - he will pay what he believes a franchise in WNY is worth - not one in Los Angeles, Miami or Chicago. If the Wilsons get greedy, the team could indeed be lost.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Of course it could - it happens every few years and the Bills are nearing critical time with the stadium again. Factor that in with the Bills owner having the Grimm Reaper riding shotgun and you have an unstable franchise on your hands. Now that I have reaffirmed the potential.... I understand from business partners, (read the guys you read of in the Business section when they disclose how much the area's CEO's make), Tom Gailisanno (sp?) has already advised Ralphs Trust that he is interested in purchasing the team to keep it local There is a catch - he will pay what he believes a franchise in WNY is worth - not one in Los Angeles, Miami or Chicago. If the Wilsons get greedy, the team could indeed be lost.... 572190[/snapback] hypothetical. You own the rights to a movie. A group of theater owners come to you and tell you they have a huge market for your movie and will pay you 10 percent of the revenue if they can have the exclusive license to play your movie in their market. Tom Golisano comes to you and says he will give you 10 percent of a much smaller market just to maintain that license in this smaller market. Your dad had some connection to the city, although he lived somewhere else...oh..let's say Detroit. You grew up in Detroit, have no connection with the city, and the press was not too nice to your dad in his waning days. In fact you believe the city's treatment of him kept him from getting into the Hall of Fame before he died. The difference in profit is very very significant if you go to the big market....which way do you go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kipers Hair Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 hypothetical. You own the rights to a movie. A group of theater owners come to you and tell you they have a huge market for your movie and will pay you 10 percent of the revenue if they can have the exclusive license to play your movie in their market. Tom Golisano comes to you and says he will give you 10 percent of a much smaller market just to maintain that license in this smaller market. Your dad had some connection to the city, although he lived somewhere else...oh..let's say Detroit. You grew up in Detroit, have no connection with the city, and the press was not too nice to your dad in his waning days. In fact you believe the city's treatment of him kept him from getting into the Hall of Fame before he died. The difference in profit is very very significant if you go to the big market....which way do you go? 572196[/snapback] I like the line of quesitoning - well thought out. Here is seriously how I would handle it - I would sell to Gialasanno (sp?) for the lesser amount. Not the 10% of the value as in your hypothetical as this would be exhorbinent, but I would take 20-25% less than it's declared market value, (I believe roughly $700MM today). The only reason I would do this that the investment cost me $1MM when I bought it - my family will benefit greatly from the sale proceeds. It's provided me with great pride and enjoyment while I was the owner and feel that a lot of what I got out of owneship is tied to the area the team is located, (part of the identity). That said, if the offer is too far below market value, i would have to turn it down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostsOfTheRockpile Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I like the line of quesitoning - well thought out. Here is seriously how I would handle it - I would sell to Gialasanno (sp?) for the lesser amount. Not the 10% of the value as in your hypothetical as this would be exhorbinent, but I would take 20-25% less than it's declared market value, (I believe roughly $700MM today). The only reason I would do this that the investment cost me $1MM when I bought it - my family will benefit greatly from the sale proceeds. It's provided me with great pride and enjoyment while I was the owner and feel that a lot of what I got out of owneship is tied to the area the team is located, (part of the identity). That said, if the offer is too far below market value, i would have to turn it down. 572209[/snapback] The value of the Bills has been recently assessed by Forbes at roughly $708 million. You honestly think RW's estate will sell the team at a TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT DISCOUNT??? That's about $177 million less than what they could get. Why sell the team for $531 million when you could most likely get over $700 million? I hope they do, it'd be a lot easier for Galisano or someone else local to buy, but its wishful thinking at this point. Another thing I'd like to take the board's pulse on - WHY THE OBSESSION WITH AN OWNER WITH WESTERN NEW YORK TIES? There are plenty of owners in every sport who aren't from the area in which they own a team. Now, I understand someone like Tommy G. or the Rich family or any other potential owner with ties to the area will likely NOT move the team, as they have other local interests. That said, the ONLY real local hope for the Bills is Galisano. Rich is as old as Ralph, and NFL bylaws don't allow owners to own teams in other markets, so that counts Jacobs out (unless he wanted to sell the Bruins, which won't happen... he built the freakin stadium with his own cash!). My point being, a non-WNY'er owner isn't that much more likely to move the Bills to far away places. Further, any potential purchaser will be inhereting a team with an entrenched fan base, guaranteed ticket sales, operating income among the top half of the league... as a businessman/woman, the only issue would be a new stadium in about 5 years. If they can get that off the ground, the Bills are Buffalo's for a while. But that's a huge "if." Either way, if Ralph/Ralph's estate were to sell the team to out of town interests, it wouldn't be the end of the world. The Bills are no more likely to move than Minnesota, New Orleans or Jacksonville. Its all about the new stadium... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maguire's Beer Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Rich is as old as Ralph 572259[/snapback] Um, no. Although Rich's official bio doesn't state the year that he was born, it does tell us that he earned his BA in '63, meaning that he was probably born between '40 and '42. He's about 64, not 87. That said, I doubt that the Riches have the scratch to buy the team. NFL bylaws don't allow owners to own teams in other markets, so that counts Jacobs out (unless he wanted to sell the Bruins, which won't happen... he built the freakin stadium with his own cash!). 572259[/snapback] If you had the choice between owning an NFL franchise -- one of the few businesses one can own where it is virtually impossible to lose money, due to the TV contracts and revenue sharing -- or a franchise in a league that is approximately as popular as pro rodeo, which would you choose? And just to make things more interesting, what if the NFL franchise was in your hometown? I guarantee you that the Jacobs family would sell the Bruins faster than you can say "Sportservice" if they had a chance to buy the Bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mile High Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Ahhh the weekly if the Bills move post. A week wouldn't be complete without it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahnyc Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I would expect that a trustee/executor of RW's estate would have a fiduciary obligation to get maximum value for the sale of the Bills. I read an article some time ago where RW stated that it would violate law to include a provision in his will that the Bills be sold to an owner who would agree to keep the team in Buffalo. Does anyone recall this or know if this is true? I agree that even if a local person does not purchase the Bills, it still would be possible that an owner living in another city would purchase the Bills and keep them in Buffalo. In any event, we will need strong support from the NFL, NY state (senators and governor) and local officials to make sure that the Bills stay in New York after RW is no longer the owner of the Bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF Bills Fan Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I'd think the Jacobs would step up. I know Jeremy Jacobs wanted to buy the Browns expansion team. $708 million might be too much. I see no reason why soemone from NYC (for example) with deep pockets wouldn't be interested in buying the team and operating it in WNY. Sadly the ownership groups in a place like LA could wildly outbid most anyone interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 The Bills' lease agreement currently allows them to break the lease for 25mil anytime they want. That clause kicked in in 2003 and remains until the current agreement expires in 2013. Secondly, the Bills' worth as a franchise will not be any more in LA than it is in Buffalo. As a matter of fact, given that LA has repeatedly lost franchises due to non-support in the form of low attendance and low TV ratings (consistently placed 3rd in the ratings; that's because so few games sold out to be televised locally). I've posted this many times in the past: The size of LAs 2nd largest TV market is a giant two-edged sword: If games consistently sell out it becomes more attractive to local advertisers and affiliates. If not, it's a vast waste land that routinely comes in third in the ratings which is anathema to advertisers and an embarrassment to the league in such a big market. I won't even get into the fact that there is not a good NFL facility available. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 http://www.forbes.com/lists/2005/30/Rank_2.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostsOfTheRockpile Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Um, no. Although Rich's official bio doesn't state the year that he was born, it does tell us that he earned his BA in '63, meaning that he was probably born between '40 and '42. He's about 64, not 87. That said, I doubt that the Riches have the scratch to buy the team. Um, yes. You're looking at Bob Rich Jr. He's not the money man. Bob Rich Sr. is the one with the loot. He's 90+. Bob Jr. doesn't have the cash to buy the team. His old man is worth $2.5 billion or so, but after his death much of that will go to Uncle Sam, the rest dispersed to the other children. Do your homework next time. If you had the choice between owning an NFL franchise -- one of the few businesses one can own where it is virtually impossible to lose money, due to the TV contracts and revenue sharing -- or a franchise in a league that is approximately as popular as pro rodeo, which would you choose? And just to make things more interesting, what if the NFL franchise was in your hometown? I guarantee you that the Jacobs family would sell the Bruins faster than you can say "Sportservice" if they had a chance to buy the Bills. 572340[/snapback] I guarantee you you're wrong. I live in Boston, I know the Jacobs' motivations. People in Boston hate him because he runs the Bruins and the TD Banknorth Garden (which he privately funded) as a business first... more so than other owners. He makes more money off the Bruins and the arena (his own huge investment) than he would with the Bills. He will not be selling the team or the arena any time soon. Again, do your homework Maguire's Beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Now I like Golisano as the owner of the sabres cause he saved our team from moving, but you complain about Ralph being tight when it comes to money? Golasano has the Sabres running almost 10 million under the cap so he can make the team profitable and not lose on his investment. I really doubt things are going to be different if he invested in something worth more money. He is a buisness man first, supporter of the team second. He is lucky that his team is playing as well as they are for the money he has invested in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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