jtrain351209 Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 So with the money issue surrounding the team, and the fact that we are playing games in Toronto to make extra money, why haven't the naming right to the Ralph been sold? Yes, Ralph is a great owner, and has done alot for the team, but the Bills are one of the few NFL teams without their stadium name having been corporately sold. I realize that having the name of the stadium be HSBC.com Stadium instead of Ralph Wilson Stadium sucks, but would you rather have the stadium name change, or the team move? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVUFootball29 Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 What company in the area has the money and interest in paying for it? Maybe Billy Fuccillo so that every game would be HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In-A-Gadda-Levitre Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 I have heard from several people that Ralph acquired the naming rights just before the 1998 season, when he negotiated with Erie County for stadium and practice field improvements. He apparently hates the practice of selling the name to a corporate sponsor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VOR Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Why hasn't Jerry Jones sold the naming rights to "Cowboys Stadium?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBlood Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Why hasn't Jerry Jones sold the naming rights to "Cowboys Stadium?" Jones is pissed that the offers he has recieved are not good enough and he is going to wait for the economy to bounce back over the next couple of years so he can field better offers. Dont expect Cowboy stadium to be named any time soon. As for Buffalo I dont buy the "Ralph hates selling the naming rights to a corportae sponsor" crap. Hes ok with taking a game out of Buffalo for profit but godforbid the stadium is not named after him....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyBillsFan Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Why care? None of you will see a dime of that money either way. Worry about something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VOR Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Jones is pissed that the offers he has recieved are not good enough and he is going to wait for the economy to bounce back over the next couple of years so he can field better offers. Dont expect Cowboy stadium to be named any time soon. As for Buffalo I dont buy the "Ralph hates selling the naming rights to a corportae sponsor" crap. Hes ok with taking a game out of Buffalo for profit but godforbid the stadium is not named after him....... Even if Ralph had sold naming rights 11 years.ago, it wouldn't have prevented a game(s) from moving to Toronto. Naming rights at best would have brought-in $1.5M or so a year. It's just that Jones is a hypocrite for criticizing Ralph for not selling rights, and ge ends up doing the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Jones is pissed that the offers he has recieved are not good enough and he is going to wait for the economy to bounce back over the next couple of years so he can field better offers. Dont expect Cowboy stadium to be named any time soon. As for Buffalo I dont buy the "Ralph hates selling the naming rights to a corportae sponsor" crap. Hes ok with taking a game out of Buffalo for profit but godforbid the stadium is not named after him....... So Jones is pissed about not getting good enough offers and doesn't sell the naming rights and that's fine? But, Ralph does the same thing and he's somehow seen as bad? So more of the whatever the Bills and Ralph do is bad; whatever anyone else does is good mentality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcalvin79 Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 So Jones is pissed about not getting good enough offers and doesn't sell the naming rights and that's fine? But, Ralph does the same thing and he's somehow seen as bad? So more of the whatever the Bills and Ralph do is bad; whatever anyone else does is good mentality. not just anyone else, only that idiot who owns the so-called America's team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Why? Its easy, you need an interested buisness willing to part with a couple million a season to pay to advertise their buisness name on the side of the stadium. How many local buisnesses have that kind of money to spend on advertisement in this economy, and how many non local buisnesses are willing to spend that much for the naming rights to a stadium in orchard park? And who cares? Taking Ralph Wilsons name off the stadium and putting a sponsors name on it won't save the team financially and keep them from playing a game in Toronto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Even if Ralph had sold naming rights 11 years.ago, it wouldn't have prevented a game(s) from moving to Toronto. Naming rights at best would have brought-in $1.5M or so a year. It's just that Jones is a hypocrite for criticizing Ralph for not selling rights, and ge ends up doing the same. Exactly. The money just isn't significant. I suspect Ralph Wilson's standards would have cracked if someone would have made him a serious offer, say 5 or 10 mill a year. But that won't happen in Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endless Ike Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Why? Its easy, you need an interested buisness willing to part with a couple million a season to pay to advertise their buisness name on the side of the stadium. How many local buisnesses have that kind of money to spend on advertisement in this economy, and how many non local buisnesses are willing to spend that much for the naming rights to a stadium in orchard park? The ravens play in M&T Bank stadium.... this shows that there's at least one local business willing ot pony up, and that the business that buys the naming rights really doesn't need to be "local" at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo_Stampede Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 So with the money issue surrounding the team, and the fact that we are playing games in Toronto to make extra money, why haven't the naming right to the Ralph been sold? Yes, Ralph is a great owner, and has done alot for the team, but the Bills are one of the few NFL teams without their stadium name having been corporately sold. I realize that having the name of the stadium be HSBC.com Stadium instead of Ralph Wilson Stadium sucks, but would you rather have the stadium name change, or the team move? I wonder how it works, but I dont even think Ralph owns the stadium, so maybe naming rights is something done by the county? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 The ravens play in M&T Bank stadium.... this shows that there's at least one local business willing ot pony up, and that the business that buys the naming rights really doesn't need to be "local" at all. M&T put their name on Ravens Stadium as a way to 'introduce' themselves to an important new market for them. What big national company is looking to introduce themselves to Buffalo? And what big WNY company needs to advertise that fact? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 I wonder how it works, but I dont even think Ralph owns the stadium, so maybe naming rights is something done by the county? The county game Ralph the naming rights as part of the last lease deal, so he can do whatever he likes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 So with the money issue surrounding the team, and the fact that we are playing games in Toronto to make extra money, why haven't the naming right to the Ralph been sold? Yes, Ralph is a great owner, and has done alot for the team, but the Bills are one of the few NFL teams without their stadium name having been corporately sold. I realize that having the name of the stadium be HSBC.com Stadium instead of Ralph Wilson Stadium sucks, but would you rather have the stadium name change, or the team move? The team is reportedly pursuing the lottery angle to raise some more revenue, but stadium naming is not approved? RWS, formerly known as Rich, was one of the first to having a corporate name on the stadium. If RW is so anti corporate naming, it means he's not truly dedicated to using all possible revenue streams. What changed between 73 when the place was built and 98 when RW got the ability to rename the place after Rich's deal ran out? The Bills are making no long term plans at all right now. The stadium lease ends after the 2012 season, there are no naming rights, and certainly no discussion of a new stadium. RWS is one of the older in the league and with the NFL becoming a stadium building league, falling further behind in developing a franchise. They were so desperate for funds (which RW said will not be used on players) that they outright sold games to Toronto, with more on the way. Nearly every other stadium in the NFL has sold naming rights. What difference does it make what the place is called? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 What changed between 73 when the place was built and 98 when RW got the ability to rename the place after Rich's deal ran out? The Buffalo economy went in the shitter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 The county game Ralph the naming rights as part of the last lease deal, so he can do whatever he likes... I don't knowif they Gave him the naming rights, but Erie County, IIRC, decided to name the stadium after him when Rich was no longer going to pay for naming rights Also, IIRC, Ralph never wanted to name the stadium after himself, but went with it when Erie County named it after him And yes, it doesn't have to be a local company, but Buffalos best bet would be for a local company cause I highly doubt there are many big companys that want to spend millions for advertising at a stadium located in Orchard Park thats used less then 10 times a year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 I don't knowif they Gave him the naming rights, but Erie County, IIRC, decided to name the stadium after him when Rich was no longer going to pay for naming rights Not sure how legit this site is, but it matches my recollection: Linky "Recently, Wilson went through tough lease negotiations with politicians in the Western New York area. Wilson lobbied for improvements to the stadium and practice facilities, making Rich Stadium, a state of the art facility. He also bargained to aquire the naming rights to the stadium and at the start of the 1998 season, Rich Stadium will have a new name. It is not known what that name will be, as of yet, but Wilson has stated that he will not sell the name to corporate sponsors, a modern day, greedy practice that he loathes. Like him or not, you have to respect his integrity for that." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonidas Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Why care? None of you will see a dime of that money either way. Worry about something else. Thank you. The question "would you rather have the stadium name change, or the team move?" is pure idiocy. One has nothing to do with the other. The team won't move until after Ralph dies. The next owner will have the option to sell the naming rights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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