Latest Bills Ownership Rumors From Ed Kilgore

A new stadium is the worst thing that could happen to the Bills and a horrible development idea for Buffalo's shoreline. How a facility that is used 10 times a year would make sense on prime waterfront land is beyond me? Ok, so you are going to hold other events there, then it gets used maybe 15 times a year. Not a great use of prime land. Also, what makes the Bills unique is the game day experience and there is no chance of duplicating the current experience in a new stadium, the economics of the situation will just not allow it. A new stadium means PLS's, and ridiculously higher ticket prices, and even worse concession/parking prices which are going to price out the average fan. Why would we be in favor of this? What you are saying is - build new expensive stadium, tap into the high dollar Toronto market, and push out the average WNYer. How is that a good thing? The worst part of it all is that a fancy new stadium with all the shiny bells and whistles is terrible for the game. These billion dollar stadiums are over the top and distract from actually watching the game. There is so much other stuff going on that takes away from what is happening on the field. I heard a quoute from Ralph Wilson where he was laughing at Jerry Jones for building something that was too big for the game itself. Ralph Wilson stadium is a fantastic place to enjoy a day of NFL football. It might not be the prettiest, but it does have the most to offer which is wonderful site lines from anywhere in the stadium and fantastic tailgating. People that actually go to Bills games want more bathrooms, better concourses, and short consession lines. Not a billion dollar palace that limits tailgating and prices the average Bills fan right out of the market.

What would we do with the old stadium? What use would it have?

Even if they believe the new stadium would be "mostly" built with private funds, you can bet that they would want all new infrastructure built -- roads, utilities, etc., all at taxpayer expense.

They will probably also want some public guarantee, so that if the stadium fails to turn a profit, the private investors will still get their money back from taxpayers. Of course, it WILL lose money, and taxpayers will be on the hook.. But that's how they can claim it's privately financed.

Anyone who comes up with a $1 Billion for the team and $450 Million for a stadium - doesn't need Jim Kelly hanging around and sucking up their oxygen.

I don't understand all the negativity. If someone wants to buy the team, keep them here for all the fans and contribute greatly to a new stadium in DT or in the Niagara region, we should all be extremely happy. Why the opposition? Why not just embrace the team? Why chase them away?

Having an NFL team in the city greatly increases our national and international presence. Cities are not only identified by their businesses and communities but also by their entertainment. Sports teams are included in this category and how foolish it would be to throw away something that is coveted by so many wealthier cities. Don't mess this one up. We only will get one shot!

The best reason for not putting a new stadium on the lake or river is that you loose all access via roads on one half of the stadium. Unless you like 2 or 3 hours of traffic coming and going.

If 6 roads now go to the Ralph, there could only be two or three against the lake.

Think how much of a bottleneck there is at Darien Lake with only one main road in and out

I can't believe you guys. The following rant is based on the assumption that you are Bills fans. Granted some people don't care much about the Bills and their annoyance with using tax money for football is understandable. Outside of that, How dare you bad mouth Jim Kelly? The guy is a super star hall of fame quarterback who took us to the limelight in football for 7 or 8 years in his prime. 5 AFC championship games in 6 years. Won 4 of them. Decided to stay in Buffalo. Loves Buffalo and talks it up any chance he gets. Instrumental in getting Mario Williams to come here. Wants nothing more than to keep the team here at all costs, forever. And he realizes that in this day and age and financial climate that Buffalo really has NO business having a football team at all. We're lucky to even have the Bills anymore. It's not 1960. Our population has dwindled ridiculously and today we would never ever get one.

So if a new stadium is what these Billionaire owners (whose interest in Buffalo we're lucky even to HAVE) need to make the team stay here, then we GIVE it to them. Whatever it takes. It is SO SO valuable to civic pride and national recognition to have an NFL franchise. We need to hold on to it. If Galisano or Pegula or Rich or Jacobs or Kelly's group or WHOMEVER is willing to come in and save the franchise we LET THEM. We thank them. That tax money would just be spent on something else that is not tangible. If not for Galisano and Pegula the Sabres would be gone to someplace like Columbus and the hockey arena would be an empty shell.

So yes, we let them build their stadium. Sure, put it downtown. We let them put a hotel in it, a convention center, whatever. Retractable roof. We ask them to position it so the front entrance is down nearby a walkable downtown and the back has Plenty of room for 60,000 fans for tailgating. Maybe between downtown and the Larkin district - plenty of vacant space for this to happen. If it's built right it will still be a cool place, not a sterile boring, unaffordable place. And this is the most important part - you make it so that High Schools and Colleges and various groups use the facility EVERY DAY of the year for sports programs, conferences, whatever. This brings plenty of foot traffic downtown. Win, Win. Give them their tax guarantee, watch how - if done right - this could be a catalyst to downtown. But ONLY if it's used by multiple groups on a daily basis. If it's only used 8 or 10 days a year, then it belongs someplace like Orchard Park. That's why The Ralph makes sense way out there. OK, rant finished....thanks for reading....

First off...to the people who cry about the use of "Prime Waterfront Land"...get over it. There are public housing projects on some of the best "Prime Waterfront Land" and I would love to discuss how that use is better than a public stadium.

Second to this, there is so much room downtown for a new stadium it's ridiculous to be worried about using it for a stadium. Seriously.

It does not matter if you're talking about the Outer Harbor, First Ward or the Lower West Side...there is plenty of room. Plenty.

As for the stadium only getting used 10X a year...people who claim this show they have never left Buffalo. The PRIMARY purpose would be Bills Games. Secondary purpose could be everything from college sports to soccer or rugby tournaments all the way down to outdoor concerts. Some stadiums are used 80% of the time. Some are used 10% of the time. It really depends on who is running the show. That said, Buffalo has a history of FAIL when it comes to this but that does not mean it's not possible.

A lot also depends on if it is open to the elements.

As for the financing...skeptical bear is skeptical. Is there enough corporate money in the region to support this? I do not think so but would be happy to be wrong.

Regardless...people need to accept one fact. When Ralph dies there is zero chance the Buffalo Bills stay in OP for the long term. They will either move or build.

If you want the Bills to stay in Buffalo, you need to be OK with them building a new stadium. It's as simple as that.

I like the thought of UB using any new stadium, but it is unrealistic at this point. A new Bills stadium will probably seat around 60,000. UB football averages maybe 15,000 per game to their on-campus stadium in Amherst. To play in a NFL stadium, they would need to tarp off the entire upper level and both endzones, creating a cavernous environment void of any character or excitement. Look at any Temple home game... they play in the Eagles stadium and by all accounts it is a horrible situation.

Also, there will probably be no more than 2 concerts per year in a new stadium. Pittsburgh, with a new-ish Heinz Field, hosts very very few concerts. Acts simply aren't playing stadiums right now. Even the biggest bands (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Springsteen, Neil Young, Black Keys) are only playing arenas. If someone isn't playing a stadium in NYC or Chicago, they sure as hell aren't playing one in Buffalo. Even the idea of hosting a festival is far-fetched. Lollapalooza in Chicago, one of the country's most famous and largest festivals, sells about 90,000 tickets per festival day. To have a festival in a Buffalo football stadium, you would need a similar draw (60,000 in stands + ~10,000 on field) which just isn't happening.

Basically, my point is that a stadium will be used for 7 football games a year (assuming we continue to play 1 in Toronto) and at the very most for 5 other events. Thinking it will be a silver bullet is foolish... just ask Pittsburgh. I am not opposed to a downtown stadium, but we have to be realistic in our expectations of what it will achieve.

Actually, putting a stadium in Niagara Falls is probably the best way to keep the Bills a viable franchise. Only a ~20min ride from the city (even closer for dense Northtowns) and is much more accessible to Southern Ontario fans.

I wish UB could gain enough notoriety to fill (or almost fill) a stadium that they could share with the Bills. If UB were to become successful, it would be a great weekend for a football fan to go to a Bulls game on Saturday and the Bills on Sunday. The endzones simply need to say "Buffalo" in blue and white. We could milk the "blue collar Buffalo" thing for all it's worth...while drawing thousands of visitors down town that would have otherwise spent their time and money in Orchard Park and Amherst.

North of the city between between two of the border crossings to canada would be a great location to make access easier for Ontario. Maybe it could even be an excuse to clean up a nasty NF brownfield!

I dont care about the NFL taxpayer subsidies personally.

Has anyone looked at the lavish pay and benefits civil service employee's get along with their job security.

Has anyone looked at do nothing jobs of city and county gov: streets dont get swept, paved, plowed or potholes filled, etc....students get an education subpar to the developing world.

Has anyone seen the money we waste on consultants pie-in-the-sky never going to happen plans that are either already downscaled or get downscaled or never happen at all.

At least Buffalo gets national recognition with every practice and game and article...in ways...that the BNMC would never spend marketing Buffalo in a million years.

This is why were missing the big picture:

I remember the same debate when Buffalo was considering the original site for Rich Stadium in the early 70's. We were talking about a stadium on the waterfront or a domed football/baseball stadium in Lancaster. Orchard park became the eventual site because we could not get our act together.

The argument against the waterfront location was the same as we are having today - too few event dates, traffic problems, and most importantly - waterfront land was too valuable to use for as stadium. Well 30 years later we never developed the waterfront and were still making the same arguments about how valuable it is. Were also playing the same public unions, bad consultants, urban sprawl, taxes games we played 40 years ago.

Heres the Big Picture:

The greatest reason to build a downtown/waterfront stadium is that it moves the Bills games 45 minutes closer to Toronto.

The key to a sustainable economic future for Buffalo is Toronto; not historic/cultural tourism, Canalside, the $1 Billion New York State fund, the Elmwood District, or new political leadership. Its tapping into a hugely growing 3M+ person market that's centered 90 minutes away.

So lets build a stadium in downtown Buffalo or the waterfront. And then lets let the Bills get Toronto companies to buy skyboxes and fans to buy seats.

Then, when these companies/fans come to Buffalo 8 or so times a year, lets give them a reason to stay overnight on Saturdays, (theater, bars, canal-side, whatever). Lets make it easier to cross the border, Lets include the Sabre's in the mix, and most importantly, lets market Buffalo to every person and company that crosses the border for a Bills game or whatever.

More importantly, lets do this in a strategic fashion, recognizing that Toronto is our future.

NO! Gillett is a crook! a terrible owner and terrible man. Keep the bills out of his lying cheating hands.

I hope at least one of the potential "new" owners would push the model that Greenbay has.

Any news/rumors of any groups that are behind the scenes or otherwise is a big plus in my opinion.

You would think that the NFL would want to retain the only team that actually plays IN New York State!!!

I wish success to the place of my birth.