Pretend I am the new owner of the Bills

[I 90]

Selfish prick.

 

Buy the team and make Ricky Santos the quarterback. I love it when a plan comes together.

[Tcali]

Let's say my uncle just left me $5 billion dollars. Somehow I convince Ralph Wilson to sell me the Bills. Here's my view on what it would take to not only keep the Bills in this area, but to make them a successful franchise, at a par with Dallas, Washington, and New England. I should warn you that most folks will hate this idea, but I see the choice as this, or the L.A. Bills.

 

1) Sell the name of RWS Stadium: I would always keep Ralph's name somewhere on the stadium but I think it's insane not to sell naming rights. It's not just PR for Buffalo. Your name on an NFL stadium is national rep. Imagine "Gieco Stadium at Ralph Wilson Field".

 

2) Rename the team "The Buffalo Bills of Niagara." It's not so different from "L.A. Angels of Anaheim" Niagara is a name that means something on both sides of the border. The team would no longer be "Buffalo" in the city sense, but the "Buffalo Bills" as in William Cody. The team would become a regional franchise.

 

3) Play 3-4 games each year at the Rodgers Center (aka Skydome). One pre-season, and two or three regular season games. Tickets for those games would range from $100 to $250 each. (luxury seating considerably more.) That should make revenies for those games somewhat equal to what a game at RWS would earn.

 

4) I would work on building a new stadium...IN ONTARIO!! That's right, I said it! I'd move the frickin' team to Canada. Not all the way to Toronto. Somewhere between Niagara Falls and Hamilton. St. Catherines strikes me as a good location.

 

Why? Because the Bills are doomed in Buffalo. It may take 5, 10, or 15 years, but Ralph is right. We only have a few years left to enjoy this team. And those few years may suck because we won't have enough revenue to compete.

 

So if the Bills are doomed to leave, would you rather have them in California, or 20 miles from where they were born? I really believe after the initial shock, people would still follow the Bills in Canada. Especially if the team was a consitant winner.

 

This is the price of having an NFL franchise. Old-timers will howl that it's not what they are used to. They want the Bills in Buffalo, with cheap tickets, cheap parking, and the option to stay home and let the other guy buy a ticket. After bitching and moaning for a while, these same people will be just as glad having every game on TV.

 

I see a big opportunity for the Bills to become Canada's franchise in the NFL by playing in Ontario, thus tapping into enormous revenue. The kind of revenue that would make Bob Kraft and Jerry Jones drool. Sure, fewer current Bills fans will get to go to games. You'll have to cross a border to get there. But how many current Bills fans will pay $60-$80 for cheap seats? Not too many. And, sadly, that's what ticket prics are going to have to be. Maybe even PSL's too!

 

There you have it. Love to hear your thoughts, but keep them constructive. No F.U's unless you have a better idea to offer.

 

PTR

Mostly dumb ideas.

[Bills Fan888]

Willis?

I was thinking the same thing.

[The_Real]

Oh, boy. I want to see how many "go to hell" posts YOU have at the end of the day.

 

 

Go to hell.

 

T_R

 

 

P.S Drink some more of the koolaid. No team in the NFL is doomed as long as they have the salary cap, Television deal, and Revenue sharing. If you believe Ralph you are fooling yourself. Ralph just wants to make 40 or 50 million a year like the Giants. He himself said his profit margin is 7 million. AWWWWWWW POOR RALPH.

[Bills Fan888]

Oh, boy. I want to see how many "go to hell" posts YOU have at the end of the day.

Go to hell

[respk]

You have the right idea, the franchise must build a stadium that regionalizes the franchise. However, it should be kept in the US. A new stadium should be built between Buffalo and Rochester. It's the only way to keep the franchise in WNY, I think.

[RuntheDamnBall]

Let's say my uncle just left me $5 billion dollars. Somehow I convince Ralph Wilson to sell me the Bills. Here's my view on what it would take to not only keep the Bills in this area, but to make them a successful franchise, at a par with Dallas, Washington, and New England. I should warn you that most folks will hate this idea, but I see the choice as this, or the L.A. Bills.

 

1) Sell the name of RWS Stadium: I would always keep Ralph's name somewhere on the stadium but I think it's insane not to sell naming rights. It's not just PR for Buffalo. Your name on an NFL stadium is national rep. Imagine "Gieco Stadium at Ralph Wilson Field".

How about "Geico Stadium at Steve Stojan TwoBillsDrive Field." I'm sure somebody around here can pony up the Benjamins.

2) Rename the team "The Buffalo Bills of Niagara." It's not so different from "L.A. Angels of Anaheim" Niagara is a name that means something on both sides of the border. The team would no longer be "Buffalo" in the city sense, but the "Buffalo Bills" as in William Cody. The team would become a regional franchise.

Weird.

3) Play 3-4 games each year at the Rodgers Center (aka Skydome). One pre-season, and two or three regular season games. Tickets for those games would range from $100 to $250 each. (luxury seating considerably more.) That should make revenies for those games somewhat equal to what a game at RWS would earn.

You're obviously not a Blue Jays fan. I am one and their turf is dreadful. Hello, career-ending injuries for our beloved Bills.

4) I would work on building a new stadium...IN ONTARIO!! That's right, I said it! I'd move the frickin' team to Canada. Not all the way to Toronto. Somewhere between Niagara Falls and Hamilton. St. Catherines strikes me as a good location.

Everyone thinking this is certifiably nuts now that a passport is going to be required to cross the border. However, the duty-free business would be off the charts. They'd need to open up about 40 more lanes.

Why? Because the Bills are doomed in Buffalo. It may take 5, 10, or 15 years, but Ralph is right. We only have a few years left to enjoy this team. And those few years may suck because we won't have enough revenue to compete.

 

So if the Bills are doomed to leave, would you rather have them in California, or 20 miles from where they were born? I really believe after the initial shock, people would still follow the Bills in Canada. Especially if the team was a consitant winner.

 

This is the price of having an NFL franchise. Old-timers will howl that it's not what they are used to. They want the Bills in Buffalo, with cheap tickets, cheap parking, and the option to stay home and let the other guy buy a ticket. After bitching and moaning for a while, these same people will be just as glad having every game on TV.

 

I see a big opportunity for the Bills to become Canada's franchise in the NFL by playing in Ontario, thus tapping into enormous revenue. The kind of revenue that would make Bob Kraft and Jerry Jones drool. Sure, fewer current Bills fans will get to go to games. You'll have to cross a border to get there. But how many current Bills fans will pay $60-$80 for cheap seats? Not too many. And, sadly, that's what ticket prics are going to have to be. Maybe even PSL's too!

 

There you have it. Love to hear your thoughts, but keep them constructive. No F.U's unless you have a better idea to offer.

 

PTR

No FU necessary. I think that the scenarios are this

A. Bills stay right where they are b/c:

1) An owner who is content with the more limited range of business possibilities (inherently more limited than the Redskins, for example) comes up to bat, or

2) An owner like Golisano who is far more creative with regard to marketing and front-office comes up to bat, or

3) some combination and the NFL wises up wrt revenue sharing, knowing that it's because of the competition and the 32 individual teams and fanbases that this league works at all. It can't have it both ways.

 

B. Bills to Toronto because, while not a lot of Bills fans would like it, it's close enough for many of them, Toronto's a great city, and the bitterness would be eclipsed by the need for football. About half the fanbase would desert and a good many would be gained for at least awhile, IMO. Big opportunity for a lot of Canadian fans to enter the picture. I don't really think the Niagara region or St. Catherines etc is a hot idea. NF NY is equally dead/dying, and it still usually takes a 'name city' to build enough recognition for a team. I wouldn't like it, but I wouldn't hate it.

 

C. Bills to LA/Vegas etc, the worst of bad scenarios. I'd never watch NFL football again, that's a promise. Too many good college games and other sports, and too much commercialism in the NFL to continue on if the one thing I unconditionally loved about it was gone.

 

I'm obviously hoping for an 'A' scenario.

[TDRupp]

Let's say my uncle just left me $5 billion dollars. Somehow I convince Ralph Wilson to sell me the Bills. Here's my view on what it would take to not only keep the Bills in this area, but to make them a successful franchise, at a par with Dallas, Washington, and New England. I should warn you that most folks will hate this idea, but I see the choice as this, or the L.A. Bills.

 

1) Sell the name of RWS Stadium: I would always keep Ralph's name somewhere on the stadium but I think it's insane not to sell naming rights. It's not just PR for Buffalo. Your name on an NFL stadium is national rep. Imagine "Gieco Stadium at Ralph Wilson Field".

 

2) Rename the team "The Buffalo Bills of Niagara." It's not so different from "L.A. Angels of Anaheim" Niagara is a name that means something on both sides of the border. The team would no longer be "Buffalo" in the city sense, but the "Buffalo Bills" as in William Cody. The team would become a regional franchise.

 

3) Play 3-4 games each year at the Rodgers Center (aka Skydome). One pre-season, and two or three regular season games. Tickets for those games would range from $100 to $250 each. (luxury seating considerably more.) That should make revenies for those games somewhat equal to what a game at RWS would earn.

 

4) I would work on building a new stadium...IN ONTARIO!! That's right, I said it! I'd move the frickin' team to Canada. Not all the way to Toronto. Somewhere between Niagara Falls and Hamilton. St. Catherines strikes me as a good location.

 

Why? Because the Bills are doomed in Buffalo. It may take 5, 10, or 15 years, but Ralph is right. We only have a few years left to enjoy this team. And those few years may suck because we won't have enough revenue to compete.

 

So if the Bills are doomed to leave, would you rather have them in California, or 20 miles from where they were born? I really believe after the initial shock, people would still follow the Bills in Canada. Especially if the team was a consitant winner.

 

This is the price of having an NFL franchise. Old-timers will howl that it's not what they are used to. They want the Bills in Buffalo, with cheap tickets, cheap parking, and the option to stay home and let the other guy buy a ticket. After bitching and moaning for a while, these same people will be just as glad having every game on TV.

 

I see a big opportunity for the Bills to become Canada's franchise in the NFL by playing in Ontario, thus tapping into enormous revenue. The kind of revenue that would make Bob Kraft and Jerry Jones drool. Sure, fewer current Bills fans will get to go to games. You'll have to cross a border to get there. But how many current Bills fans will pay $60-$80 for cheap seats? Not too many. And, sadly, that's what ticket prics are going to have to be. Maybe even PSL's too!

 

There you have it. Love to hear your thoughts, but keep them constructive. No F.U's unless you have a better idea to offer.

 

PTR

 

Interesting and I won't flame b/c something will need to be done differently to stay competitive. I think some of these ideas are workable solutions and I think it would be real interesting to build a new stadium very close to Niagara Falls. Think of the non-traditional customers that would go to a game from a far because they could incorporate a visit to the beautiful falls. Hey, I know it may sound stupid but really perceptions nationally and locally are key and TV shots of bery nearby falls during/leading up to the game would help market the games as tourist events.

 

Possibilities...

[swede316]

"I think it would be real interesting to build a new stadium very close to Niagara Falls."

 

I've got the perfect spot for ya....The Summit Park Mall....Tear that down and build a Stadium there.....Would need to increase the size of NF BLVD and River Road though.

 

 

The only idea I agree with is sell the naming rights.

[smokinandjokin]

Go to hell.

 

T.R.

 

P.S Drink some more of the koolaid. No team in the NFL is doomed as long as they have the salary cap, Television deal, and Revenue sharing. If you believe Ralph you are fooling yourself. Ralph just wants to make 40 or 50 million a year like the Giants. He himself said his profit margin is 7 million. AWWWWWWW POOR RALPH.

 

Very nice. Way to look about 3 years into the future.

 

I agree, don't cry for Ralph. He's taken a minimal investment and watched it grow into a franchise worth several hundred million dollars. However, Ralph is going to die. He is an old man, and I think PTR was just facing facts that down the road, the status quo might not fly. I don't boohoo Ralph for making "only" $7M per year on the Bills. However, what happens when Ralph passes on, and a young brash owner (like, maybe the Maloof brothers from Vegas) buys the team? No ties to Buffalo, what's the point of keeping them here and making "only" $7M per year, when they know they can move to LA or Vegas and make New York Giants money?

 

Golisano is the only safe bet right now...Anyone else buys the team, I can't imagine them staying in Orchard Park, or even WNY. Loyalty and tradition ain't schit. If the Browns can move, anyone can move.

[boltuprite]

this is so stupid...where to begin.

 

First off THE ROGERS CENTRES capacity for football is only about 52,000. (tto small)

 

Secondly, who pays to build this stadium in Ontario? Taxpayers? forget it,

Private sector? I doubt anyone would be willing to finance an NFL stadium outside the U.S.A., especially in Canada.

 

NEXT

[PromoTheRobot]

Good to see so much debate over my post. I expected most people to hate the idea. A few understand that this is more about securing a competitive level of revenue for years into the future.

 

Sure the Bills can stay in Buffalo, but us so-called fans have shown that we won't support a loser. So how good will the Bills be when just about every other NFL team can spend us into the ground? How many sellouts will there be? It will just be a long, slow, painful death for the team, followed by moving vans heading to L.A.

 

Canada is an opportunity for the first NFL team that claims it. I say "why not the Bills?" The same people who B word about ideas like mine are the same ones who stayed home the last three home games. Wake up and look at what teams like Dallas are doing to increase their revenue base. That's where the NFL is heading. Unless they find gold bars buried under RWS, the Bills have no long-term future in WNY.

 

Frankly, this is just the typical Buffalo woe-is-me loser mentality. It's why so many people have to move away.

 

PTR

[TKO]

Let's say my uncle just left me $5 billion dollars. Somehow I convince Ralph Wilson to sell me the Bills.

 

Why would you buy the Bills instead of the Patriots?

[Beerball]

Frankly, this is just the typical Buffalo woe-is-me loser mentality. It's why so many people have to move away.

 

PTR

I guess if you are equating your take on WNY mentality to the areas inability to attract jobs that pay a decent wage then in a round about way you may have something of a point.

 

People leave because the need work.

[apuszczalowski]

First off THE ROGERS CENTRES capacity for football is only about 52,000. (tto small)

You don't think Ted Rogers wouldn't be willing to upgrade the facility again like he just did for the Jays this year if it meant having a NFL franchise in it?

 

Also, Whats the Capacity of the Rogers Centre then? was under the impression it was close to 70-80 thousand and you don't lose any for football. (not sure on this, I have only watched ball games in there, no Argos games.

 

And yes, building a stadium in any other Southern Ontario area (especially in Niagara probably won't happen unless the team is shared accross Niagara and is built primarily by an independent company, maybe that guy who owns the Steelback Brewery that wanted to buy Ottawas CFL team, or the Penguins and build them a new arena would be interested?)

 

Putting a new stadium closer to Rochester isn't going to bring in many more fans, probably not more then it would lose by moving farther away from the border. Putting a stadium in the city (maybe on the waterfront?) would be a better option because it a. brings people into the city, and b. may bring in more Canadaian fans, and possibly Canadian buisness support

[MattF2000]

You have the right idea, the franchise must build a stadium that regionalizes the franchise. However, it should be kept in the US. A new stadium should be built between Buffalo and Rochester. It's the only way to keep the franchise in WNY, I think.

 

 

I definitely agree with this statement. Rochester has a population of about 220,000 and Monroe County has a population of around 750,000. Buffalo has a population of about 285,000 and Erie County has a population of around 950,000. I think if the stadium was in between the two cities, and not on the otherside of Buffalo, attendance could be improved. Combing the two cities population would be big enough to make the top 30 biggest cities in the country. So there is enoguh people between the to cities. I also believe Rochester makes up a decent portion of season ticket holders.. This could definitely be increased if it was a little more convenient. Maybe I'm wrong on this one but I think Rochester's per capital income is also higher. I guess it would just make sense for a future Stadium, if it were to ever happen, to be in between the two cities, which when combined have some decent clout people/money wise, even if it was still relatively closer to Buffalo than Rochester. The idea of moving the team to Canada, other than Toronto is completely outrageous. And I really doubt it would move to Toronto. The NFL has had discussions about playing regular season games in Canada, Toronto being one of the cities, but they chose not to recently because of the Argonauts or something.

[yall]

All those years the Bills have shown profitability have been years in which league wide revenue sharing was intact. It allowed the Bills to have the cheapest prices, while still having enough for the cap and profit. With the new CBA Buffalo will no longer qualify for all of the revenue sharing they received in the past. Even worse the salary cap is rising at a rate reflecting the entire league, most of whom qualify for all of the revenue sharing. If we want to remain competitive and meet the demands of the increasing cap we will have to raise prices. Eventually we won't be able to raise prices anymore because the Buffalo economy dictates such. We would either lose profits by overspending or spend less then other teams and try and stay competitive. Either situation isn't exactly enticing for Ralph, and I imagine it's even less enticing for a buyer. These are the real problems that face us over the next 5 to 10 years. We need to continue acknowledging them and get creative in how we can keep our team profitable and competitive in Buffalo.

 

I thought the revenue sharing percentages were roughly the same. Do you have a link to support this? Not trying to be argumentative, just curious...

[Cornerville]

Some pf Promo's ideas are crazy, but his comments about the naming rights and a new stadium and increased ticket prices is dead on.

 

Originally idiots at ESPN thought that Ralph was losing his mind when he was saying the new CBA was just a deal to help the big boys...and he was reluctant to agree to the CBA and not have a knee jerk reaction like other owners...and it turns out about 1 year later, a good amount of owners now feel differently about the CBA and agree with Ralph...how about that, taking time to think things through before having a knee jerk reaction?

 

Buffalo needs a new stadium...but I would go about it with a differnet twist:

 

Make the stadium state of the art but also make it very fan friendly for tailgating and promote that feature. We all know tailgating is a big part of the NFL....if the Bills move downtown and lose out on the experience of the tailgate, that would hurt the Bills in the long run.

[RuntheDamnBall]

Some pf Promo's ideas are crazy, but his comments about the naming rights and a new stadium and increased ticket prices is dead on.

 

Originally idiots at ESPN thought that Ralph was losing his mind when he was saying the new CBA was just a deal to help the big boys...and he was reluctant to agree to the CBA and not have a knee jerk reaction like other owners...and it turns out about 1 year later, a good amount of owners now feel differently about the CBA and agree with Ralph...how about that, taking time to think things through before having a knee jerk reaction?

 

Buffalo needs a new stadium...but I would go about it with a differnet twist:

 

Make the stadium state of the art but also make it very fan friendly for tailgating and promote that feature. We all know tailgating is a big part of the NFL....if the Bills move downtown and lose out on the experience of the tailgate, that would hurt the Bills in the long run.

Agreed! What do you find unfriendly about tailgating at the Ralph? Do you think there are aspects of other stadiums that would work better for tailgating at a Buffalo stadium?

 

WRT the knee-jerk reaction I think a lot of owners felt their hands were forced by the players and that the dawn of a cap-less era would be worse for teams than a bad collective bargaining agreement. It was knee-jerk but not completely baseless, and the idea of a work stoppage had to put some genuine fear in the hearts of the owners. The NFL is far too much of a cash cow, even at 'limited earnings' of $7M for the lesser franchises.

[Cornerville]

Agreed! What do you find unfriendly about tailgating at the Ralph? Do you think there are aspects of other stadiums that would work better for tailgating at a Buffalo stadium?

 

WRT the knee-jerk reaction I think a lot of owners felt their hands were forced by the players and that the dawn of a cap-less era would be worse for teams than a bad collective bargaining agreement. It was knee-jerk but not completely baseless, and the idea of a work stoppage had to put some genuine fear in the hearts of the owners. The NFL is far too much of a cash cow, even at 'limited earnings' of $7M for the lesser franchises.

 

 

Im sorry i misexplained myself...i have no issues with tailgating at the Ralph..it is great....what I meant to say was if the Bills built a new stadium downtown..i doubt the parking lot would be anywhere near the size of the ones at the Ralph...thus making tailgating less fan friendly...think about the issue with the Jets moving to Manhattan...not as drastic but I hope I am making sense LOL