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  1. sonyactivision

    1 ratings12345
    May 27th, 21:50

    What are the taxes like when you inherit a property like the Bills which cost the deceased virtually nothing, and then sell it for hundreds of millions? How do you hide that especially if you just shafted a whole community to get the dough? Methinks it wouldn't be easy. And just how rabid and committed are those fans in Toronto? Would they even bother to raise a wine glass at the winning touchdown? They're not Yankees/ Manchester United material. Pro Football is better with the Bills in Buffalo. Yes, definitely.

  2. needles

    1 ratings12345
    May 27th, 14:31

    @BuffaloSkyline,

    I myself have said to myself; Self, I'm moving if the Bills move. I won't actually do it though.

    Although, I'll NEVER root for Pittsburgh, Cleveland, NY etc. I'm a Buffalo fan true and blue. I think I speak for alot of Buffalo fans when I say we're not bandwagoners. If we were we would have jumped off the Bills/Sabres wagon a looooooong time ago. I'll never root for a team from another city. Proximity would give us Cleveland or TO by the way, not Pittsburgh. Oh, but Cleveland doesn't win a big league championship every 5 yrs. See where this bandwagon thing comes in now?

  3. mbhxam

    1 ratings12345
    May 27th, 11:32

    Bye bye BIlls...Would love for them to stay, but the economics don't work considering the HUGE debt load the new team will have. Oh well...could be an opportunity...how many millions does the county and state give to the bills every year and what economic impact do those millions actually provide/return??? Imagine all those millions of dollars going to things like the arts, waterfront development, and other economic development opportunities. I only hope that when the Bills leave, the state (i think the state gives the bills money) and the county re-allocate those funds to benefit Buffalo and its surrounding suburbs...

    And no, I will not root for the Toronto Whatevertheirnamemaybe...

  4. BuffaloSkyline

    1 ratings12345
    May 27th, 14:51

    I thought about that. I love Buffalo being the underdog. I hope the Bills win something before 2012,.

  5. eliotspitzer

    1 ratings12345
    May 27th, 15:40

    Atwater -

    I agree with your points but everyone should keep the larger context in mind - the area has lost a considerable amount of population since 1989 so even if the job count is the exact same as it was in 1989, the overall employment picture would be better now than it was in '89.

    of course, one would want to factor in the average compensation associated with these jobs as if the area lost five $100k a year jobs and gained ten $15k jobs, that's not a good trade. Which is why people should look at per capita GDP to get a better sense of overall economic health.

  6. reflip

    1 ratings12345
    May 27th, 12:28

    How about "the Buffalo Bills of Greater Toronto."

    It's not like this is without precedent. The Jets and Giants both play in New Jersey. "New York" assumes "metro area."

    Sabres/Leafs = Islanders/Rangers.

  7. rydog71

    1 ratings12345
    May 27th, 12:02

    I think a lot of people forget how passionate Buffalo sports fans are. Once the Bills move their WNY fan base will dwindle. Toronto is only 2 hours away but yet the majority of WNYers route for the Yankees, Sox and Indians over the Blue Jays. We do have Maple Leafs fans but most are from right across the border.

    How does the moving of the team from the middle of the region increase the fan base? Does anyone really think Rochester fans are more likely to drive the the 3 hours to game in Toronto. Not to mention the new regulations for crossing the border. I've been to a lot of games and would guess a lot of fans can't even cross the border.

  8. Jamnjazzz

    1 ratings12345
    May 27th, 13:17

    There are no guarantees the Bills move to Toronto if (when?) they move. It's open bidding the way Wilson wants it to play out and granted, T O, is rich and booming now. At that unknown time in the future when Ralph is no longer with us, who ever wants the team most ($$$) will get the team. Anyone, anywhere is a possibility to enter the crap shoot, geography be damned.

    Also, keep in mind that right now, the Canadian dollar is flourishing compared with a few years ago. If the bidding happens in 5 years, whose to know what the situation will be. Depending on $$ exchange rates Rogers could be either frozen out of the bidding due to no value in the Canadian $$ or at a real big advantage. Look at the fortunes of the Blue Jays, much of their problems were contributed to by a weak Canadian $.

    And there are always people like Mark Cuban, just looking for a new toy. Although I at least like the fact he is passionate about his.

  9. rb66

    2 ratings12345
    May 28th, 12:15

    The Bills will not leave Buffalo.

    So many Chicken Littles. The sky is falling, the sky is falling!

  10. BuffaloNY

    3 ratings12345
    May 28th, 02:09

    This "article" is a joke. Excellent job cutting and pasting the exerpt from this knowledgable blogger. Good to know you're using crediable, non-bias sources. This guy has never been to Buffalo, his source on the city was some buisness columist from the Buffalo News. The most amazing part is that a website entitiled "BUFFALO RISING", would use a blog by someone who said "But while the city of Buffalo is dying, the nearby region is flourishing" Buffalo is not dying, Buffalo is a city on the rise. Ouir day in the sun is fast approaching. Wait until the Medical Campus and the UB 2020 plan are complete and say Buffalo is dying.

  11. AtwaterLouse

    2 ratings12345
    May 29th, 17:22

    Jhill - Your comment about me wasn't boring at all. I notice you complain a lot about others here, sometimes with personal attacks (bafoon (sic), lunatic, tool, dumb wench, douche bag). Not much idea talk from you - usually just hooray when you agree, or insults when you disagree.

    Keep ordering people to shut up and insulting them. You've found words BR approves of. RisingDamp and any others BR may have banned should've been so clever as to write 'douche bag' and 'dumb wench' instead of whatever they wrote.

    Those are great contributions, and please start sharing more. There's need for interesting comments here to help balance out my boring ones. Readers might enjoy your views on many exciting topics. How do you feel about parking lots? What did you think about the lost duck? Are bikes good or bad?

    For me, you might want to try Avoid User. Just one click hides my boringness from you forever! I'll be leaving pretty soon anyway, but click Avoid User so you won't be bored until then. Bore jhill once, shame on me. Bore jhill twice, shame on jhill.

  12. ExWNYer

    3 ratings12345
    May 27th, 12:55

    If the Bills move to Toronto, they would lose their loyal fan base in Buffalo with many fans either swearing off the NFL (like me) or moving to other teams like the Browns and Steelers. I seriously doubt the Rochester fan base would migrate and few would make the drive to Toronto. After the move, for a few years, the team (whatever they were called) would be a novelty and the stadium would be filled. I hardly think that the ticket prices could remain at the level that they are charging now for a full season of pre-season and regular games. I doubt many Buffalonians would drive up to Toronto to pay $200 to see a team stolen from them. The history and the passion that the Bills have with the fans in Buffalo would not exist in Toronto. If there are a few losing seasons, I think you'd see empty seats. The Bills haven't been in the playoffs in 10 years and they sell 50,000 season tickets in Buffalo? Won't happen Toronto. The only certainty if the Bills move is that I will have alot more time on Sundays. And I'm the kind of fan that the NFL and the Bills worked hard for decades to make and retain as a loyal customer.

  13. RPreskop

    1 ratings12345
    May 27th, 18:56

    With the rapid rise of huge, prosperous megacities like Toronto, Canada it is going to be virtually impossible for small and mid-sized cities like Buffalo, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Cleveland, and Kansas City to remain profitable in the NFL. This is largely due not only to rapidly growing media markets in other countries but much more the excessive salaries football players demand and the skyrocketing profits that billionaire team owners are earning. American football has become very popular not only in Canada but also in Mexico and overseas. Eventually the NFL will become a huge international football organization. It is all about making big money and the regional economies of small to mid-sized markets is just not strong enough to satisfy the greedy billionaire owners of the NFL. So kiss the Bills goodbye sometime in the near future.

  14. doc

    1 ratings12345
    May 28th, 12:30

    Wilson could make sure the BILLS stay in WNY but he won't. He could sell he team before he dies. But he won't. And what's up with Robinson saying Toronto is only a few hours away? It's 1.5 hours away at the most. Who is this guy kidding? Very inaccurate to the point where you don't fully trust anything the Negative News prints especially Robinson. Basically what Robinson wrties turns out to be his own opinion and that's not news.

  15. SLEEPL8

    1 ratings12345
    May 28th, 12:58

    allfit. well said. good stuff.

  16. gaustad

    1 ratings12345
    May 27th, 23:59

    Everyone in this town should be embarassed for the city of Buffalo.

    If the Bills leave, you will see this city evaporate very quickly. Too many people live and die for the Bills. Its a way of life for them.

    It is unfortunate that with Rochester and Toronto so close by, that something can't be worked out to keep the team here, but I guess our politicians just aren't savvy enough.

    I do agree that a lot of this has to do with the location. An old stadium in Orchard Park will attract no one. A new stadium downtown will attract corporations from outside the area.

    As for Mr. Wilson. What kind of sick game is he playing....... " Hey. I'm 90 and I am going to die any day now and when I do your football team is history." What an {edit}.

    If the guy had any integrity he would make arrangements to keep the team in Buffalo and lets us move on with our lives. What does he need 800 mill for when he is dead, or even now for that matter,

    Wilson doesn't give much credit to his loyal fan base. They couldn't even sell out games in LA.

    Come on Ralph, stoip being so greedy....no need to squeeze ever last nickle. Do the right thing.

  17. tjhorner1

    3 ratings12345
    May 27th, 23:05

    It sounds to me like WAY too many people have given up WAY to soon! Seriously people? Really? Fight for what's yours, and take nothing as a given. If we give up before the fight starts, we're sure to lose.

    We are WNY....we are WAY better than that! We have more coprorate sponsership than Jacksonville, New Orleans, and Green Bay, and a tradition greater than at least two of those cities. 3 milliion people plus live within 75 miles of Buffalo, and that doesn't include TO population. If they tell us we suck, and we believe them, then maybe we do suck. I still believe that we are the most resilient people in the entire country.

    It is WAY too early to give up!!!

  18. allfit

    4 ratings12345
    May 28th, 08:13

    I am concerned about what the relocation of the Bills would do to the already fragile esteem of this area. We have yet to recover from the loss of championship games almost 20 years ago, imagine what will happen if the Bills leave all together. I am not saying that I am against the move, the Bills are in business to make money and unfortunately Buffalo is not in a position to provide them with the resources necessary to do so. We had the opportunity to compete with other markets, but we missed those opportunities time and time again.

    We have let more than enough opportunities slip by, we have watched our downtown crumble for decades and now feel that a few lofts and restaurants signify a building boom. We are still more interested in blaming others for our decline and still haven't really accepted our responsibility for what has happened to Buffalo.

    I am concerned for Buffalo's future more than I am about the Bills' future. There are companies interested in moving to the area, like Citigroup, that refuse to bring their executives anywhere near the downtown area. Why? because downtown Buffalo is an embarassment! We need to focus on that first, accept responsibility for why this has happened and understand that it is not about reshuffling people to the suburbs. This is about an area that is difficult to work with, that is corrupt and over-taxed. We live in a city that cannot get out of its own way to improve and develop. Someone mentioned in another post that we should fight the Seneca's because they are not playing fair, I challenge you to see that it is the City of Buffalo that is not playing fair. Our government is sponsored by the unions and have done their best to ensure that Buffalo maintains the rugged "blue collar" image of tthe past. We haven't accepted that the US is no longer a Blue Collar country, we have moved on as a people but the City of Buffalo remains mired in the past.

    It is no surprise that we are in decline, and small boost of collective esteem offered by Buffalo Rising is not a bad thing, as long as we aren't trying to create an altered state of reality. Buffalo tries too hard to hang on to the past, sort of like the middle-age woman who hangs out at the college bar to try to feel young, it just doesn't work that way, no matter how much you work out or how much make-up you put on. We need to take a critical and honest assessment of the region, good and bad, and really embrace who we are and what we need to do to move forward as Buffalo (not Cleveland, or Pittsburgh, or Toronto). Even then, it is going to take a great deal of effort and resources to see meaningful change.

    Read through the posts above and you will see that our argument for keeping the Bills in Buffalo is emotion and nostalgia. Statements like "they are the Buffalo Bills, not the Torbuffer Bills" or "hmmph, If they leave then I just won't watch them anymore"... gee that will sure show them. These are not the things that will keep the Bills here, we need to improve our position in the country, we need to make significant change instead of basing our esteem off ill-researched top 100 lists and over-priced landscaping by the waterfront.

  19. sally

    3 ratings12345
    May 27th, 11:24

    Couldn't tell the truth from reading this article. Mr Robinson is the most negative of the New's alarmingly negative staff of reporters. Tell him that we added jobs at a pace higher that the state and national average over the past year and he will go back to whatever year he has to in order to show negativity. If our employement totals are 80,000 higher that 1989 he will only point out that they are 2,000 less than 2001. He is the master at lying with statistics.

  20. sally

    3 ratings12345
    May 31st, 13:56

    OK so the news is not being negative Louse. Then explain to me why they insist on pointing out that the Buffalo Metro is the fourth smallest in the league when they could just as easily point to the MORE RELEVANT fact that 12 of the 31 other teams have FEWER AMERICANS (without Canadians)living within 90 miles of their stadium than do th Bills. They could also point out that fewer than 8 teams have more TOTAL PEOPLE (with Canadians)living within 90 miles of heir stadium than do the Bills.

    The NFL considers each teams market to be a 90 mile radius of he stadium so why aren't those figres presented for comparisin?

    If smaller market areas than Buffalo such as Kansas City, Cincy, Tenessee, Carolina don't have to be constantly told by their local paper that they are unworthy of a team hy does our local paper have to constantly browbeat us?

  21. AtwaterLouse

    3 ratings12345
    May 27th, 12:36

    Sally - Since 1989??? Over the 18 years since 1989, you want us to think an 80,000 increase is impressive? 4400 per year? In a metro of 550,000 jobs? That's avg annual growth less than 1%. That's not stagnating compared to the U.S.?

    Tell him that we added jobs at a pace higher that the state and national average over the past year and he will go back to whatever year he has to in order to show negativity. If our employment totals are 80,000 higher that 1989 he will only point out that they are 2,000 less than 2001. He is the master at lying with statistics.

    I didn't even look back to 1989, I'll accept your claim of 80,000 growth since then. That's still very weak.

    Over the past 10 years since 1998, one need not lie with statistics, or cherry pick a particular year to see there's been very stagnant employment hovering around 550,000.

    See the table at bottom of this page, and 2nd graph from top.

    Annual totals from Bureau of Labor Stats for Buffalo metro area.

    Year: work force, employment

    1998: 582605, 550926

    1999: 577420, 546557

    2000: 578522, 553783

    2001: 573470, 545606

    2002: 580960, 548312

    2003: 581206, 546649

    2004: 584479, 550612

    2005: 584237, 553290

    2006: 583318, 553785

    2007: 576759, 549216

  22. jhill

    2 ratings12345
    May 27th, 11:52

    This article is a re-tread from a Bills web-site that I go on, and seriously......this article states nothing new!

  23. styler

    2 ratings12345
    May 27th, 20:01

    I don't understand why the 'News chooses to be so negative. Really. The article itself appears to be of suspicious motive. There is no news here, no new happenings, no point other than to sell an idea. Who are they trying to sell their ideas to and why? Although not usually one to believe conspiracy theories, sometimes I feel like the city of Buffalo is like a frog who is being slowly boiled to death in a sea of negative press and ideas by a chef in the kitchen of a private billionaires club. That way, they won't cause much of a fuss when their heart finally dies.

    Buffalo without the Bills is like Notre Dame without their football team.

    Without the Bills, there will be nothing worth coming back for. The oft-talked-about phenomenon of former WNYers longing to come back to the region will slowly disintegrate, much like a college alumnus without a banner to raise. The charging buffalo is the symbol of our cultural identity. I know a great many common people here in NYC. Exactly zero of these people have heard of the Albright-Knox. However, all of them recognize the Buffalo Bills logo, although a large number do not claim to be football fans.

    Without the Bills, I sincerely doubt any connection I have to the region in which I grew up will continue. Oh, I may check back to this site once a year to see what else the city has not been able to build or accomplish, but that's all I can promise for sure. The hope may not die, but the relevance will.

  24. RonR

    5 ratings12345
    May 27th, 18:55

    It is all about the stadium folks. Look at it this way. The Sabres can draw TONS of Toronto fans when they come to town and it is an away game. Toronto can sell tickets to the Bills for $300 in Toronto but has trouble selling $75 tickets in OP. Ever think of why? LOCATION..LOCATION..LOCATION.

    Having the stadium out in OP is the death of a regional team. IF, and this is a huge IF, the stadium was downtown, the Bills could not only attract more fans but Corporate sponsors. Think about the type of people who spend luxury box money. Do you think they are the same type of people who tailgate or like traffic out of OP? Hell no.

    Rochester has money. Not a lot but in comparison, not a lot to spend it on. No professional teams. Toronto has a lot of money and no NFL. Buffalo sits between the two. I am very confident that a downtown stadium next to the new casino is an EASY sales pitch for a CEO. Even easier for the regular joe in Rochester to Toronto. That same pitch in OP is much much harder.

    Added to this, it is POSSIBLE that HS rail COULD connect Buffalo to Toronto and Buffalo to Rochester in the next 25 years. Doubt it but it is POSSIBLE.

    So to say that Buffalo could not support a new team in OP is 100% correct. However, Buffalo COULD support the Bills in a new downtown dome is highly possible.

    Getting the damn thing built is another story....

  25. allentwnguy1

    3 ratings12345
    May 27th, 20:00

    Let them go.

    A lot of corporations and franchises expect all kinds of customer/fan loyalty then return nothing when it comes time to give a little of that loyalty back. I believe in the past 10 years there hasn’t been a year where attendance has been below 80%.

    The public built the stadium for the bills in '73 for 22 million. When the lease (anyone know if they actually pay rent?) was up in '98 they got 63 million in renovations to stay in NY…63 million divided by 80 games (10 years x 8 home games per season) is $787,500. Do we make more than 787,000 in sales tax on a game? In ’07 they got the HD jumbotron scoreboard, 5.2 million. The Bills get all rights to everything sold in and outside of the stadium including selling of the rights to name the stadium, parking fees, food and drink etc. The County (public taxes) gets the “rights” to operate, maintain and repair the stadium.

    I know we may get some revenue from fans staying in the area and partying but it seems like this is a loosing proposition for the area. Yeah it’s nice to have a team but at what expense? There is talk about building a new stadium down near the lake. New state of the art stadiums are costing a little over a BILLION dollars. GULP!!!

    If Toronto fans can afford the $200 for a ticket to see the Bills play, more power to them. I can’t see many Buffalo fans running to Toronto with the boarder crossing, the cost of gas and food and then paying $200 for a ticket.

  26. sally

    2 ratings12345
    May 27th, 16:41

    Louse - like i said it all depends on which end points you choose to use - you can color the economy any way you wish, The News chooses to be relentlessly negative.

    Here is data different than what you posted. Total Buffalo metro employment 1992 528,600 in 2000 it was 558,300. approximately a 7% gain in 8 years. Couple it with a slightly decreasing population (18,576 for the entire decate of the 1990's) and you have a strong job market.

    Source: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/apr03/rpt304.pdf page 7

  27. AtwaterLouse

    2 ratings12345
    May 27th, 14:26

    Then you shouldn't post a pretend number as you did and imply it's real. That's lame.

    I did not waste my time going back and looking up the data for 1989.

    By the way, the 80,000 gain since 1989 you first wrote looks like a very bad guess. The BLS web site goes back only to 1990, but the 90, 91, 92, 93 job numbers (556379, 544599, 540429, 539579) were very close to what we still have in 2006 and 07 (553785, 549216).

    So the stagnation goes way back. People can shoot a messenger like Robinson, or the BLS, or me if it makes them feel better.

    I'm not saying anyone should care about the numbers. Everyone can decide for themselves whether that's important. But one need not twist anything to show the past two decades has been very flat and stagnant. From one year to the next sometimes it goes up, but not as a sustained longer term trend. Taking multi-year rolling averages would smooth out any manipulations that you're vaguely accusing Robinson of. There's no way to show any long term growth trend since the 80s, 90s, 00s. It's anyones guess whether that will change at some point in the future here but we should acknowledge reality and move on.

  28. SLEEPL8

    2 ratings12345
    May 27th, 11:10

    The truth hurts.

  29. bobbyraz49

    2 ratings12345
    May 27th, 20:38

    Here's an idea !!! Let the Seneca's buy the Bills . Then build a dome stadium on sovreign land ! Right next to the casino !

  30. chris_h_23

    2 ratings12345
    May 27th, 11:27

    Unfortunatly I think that the Bills moving to Toronto is inevitable. I think it has its good and bad points. The bad point is that the Buffalo Fans would have to drive to Toronto to go to the Bills games for one and a good point would be the new money available for Erie County because our tax base wouldn't have to subsidize the team. I am not sure how I feel exactly and it if would benefit or be a detriment to the city. If it would help with the development of the city and the waterfront I wouldn't be opposed to seeing them move.

  31. AtwaterLouse

    2 ratings12345
    May 28th, 11:55

    Sally - Interesting interpretation.

    Total Buffalo metro employment 1992 528,600 in 2000 it was 558,300. approximately a 7% gain in 8 years. Couple it with a slightly decreasing population (18,576 for the entire decade of the 1990's) and you have a strong job market.

    You're saying metro Buffalo's weak 7% job growth 1992-2000 (when U.S. average job growth was over double that for those 8 yrs, 15.5%) wasn't so bad because the area lost people during the 90s.

    That's ignoring cause-effect. The population drop was in reaction to the area's job weakness in the first place. What other reason could there be? Weather didn't get worse. People didn't leave because of Super Bowl losses. Job growth was over double elsewhere. Leads to a lot more options and career potential.

    Buffalo was one of very few U.S. metros to lose population 1990-2000. Other than Buffalo, the 10 largest metros to have loss were Pittsburgh, Dayton, Syracuse, Scranton, Youngstown, Utica, Binghamton, Johnstown, Wheeling, and Jamestown. http://www.demographia.com/db-usmet2000.htm

    Would you say those 10 metros have strong job markets too?

    Over the longer interval 1990-2007, U.S. average job growth was 23% while metro Buffalo's zig-zagged up and down basically stagnant, flat, steady - choose a polite word. Yes with such up-down numbers, it makes a difference which end points are used, but over any 3+ yr interval it's weaker than the much more upward U.S. average - often badly.

    I agree with BuffaloNY's comment that Buffalo isn't dying. None of those other 10 shrinking metros are dying either. All will be around for a long time. 'Strong job market' isn't how I'd describe them however. That doesn't mean any are bad places to live. I don't see the 'city on the rise' that he sees here, but that's subjective.

  32. benfranklin

    2 ratings12345
    May 27th, 13:54

    On it's face, it looks like a done deal. However, there are at least a few things working in our favor.

    A foreign investment in the league raises a number of issues. What would the salary cap be tied to (which currency)? If the value of the canadian dollar continues to increase, how will U.S. owners be compensated for a franchise that increases in worth faster than any other franchise? Will U.S. owners be leary of a franchise that would be competing on what could be a different basis? ( A billion dollar franchise in Toronto, four years ago, would be worth 1.6 billion today. This won't escape the notice of Kraft, Jones, Snyder, et. al.)

    Number two, have the commissioner negotiate some type of deal with Rogers cable to carry the NFL in Canada, that makes owning the Bills somewhat less attractive/or impossible. Goodell is from Jamestown, he'd prefer the Bills not leave Buffalo on his watch. Some small print in a contract stating foreign rights can't be conferred to a company with an interest in an NFL team might cost the league some money, but it could keep the Bills here.

    Number three, I'm not the only person who's noticed military air coverage over the stadium on game day (since 9/11). Who offers security in Canadian airspace, over a stadium, on game day? What other security measures would be in place? A vocal senator (I can think of two) saying 'terrorism' could drive a wedge in a deal, or at least drive up the price of foreign ownership.

    The goal would be to increase the cost of Toronto ownership. I'd suspect a Toronto bid might need to minimally be 300 to 500 million higher than a Buffalo bid, in order for owners to approve it. How this would work with the settlement of an estate, I do not know. (You'd assume the judge would want the highest bid... but if the owners don't accept it, is it valid for the judge to take a secondary offer?) I assume we'll all learn a lot about estate law over the next few years.

  33. BuffaloSkyline

    3 ratings12345
    May 27th, 14:06

    If the Bills move, alot of Buffalonians will move. Theres not many jobs here in the first place and sports really brings this city together. I see a decline in Buffalo if this happens. Much like another person said - It's all about Pittsburgh after this.

  34. gaustad

    3 ratings12345
    May 29th, 22:02

    AllFit - great remarks, I seem to have more in common with people on this site every day.

    Atwater - JHill adds no value to this site. I always enjoyed being called a bafoon or tool or douchebag by him. He knows very little and has seen very little.

    He is one of those kids that has too much to drink at a bar, spews from the mouth, and has nothing to back it up.

    It is too bad that a guy like Rising Damp, with true life experience gets banned, but senseless cahtter from JHill is tolerated. It appears that none of his comments are ever edited.....why?

  35. sally

    3 ratings12345
    May 27th, 13:16

    Louse - my point was not to rehash the Buffalo economy - my point was how negative the Buffalo News is in general and how negative Mr. Robinson is in particular. I did not waste my time going back and looking up the data for 1989. The fact is the news will pick whatever point in time to make a comparison that puts our region in the worse possible light. For example in January they will say that the area lost x number of jobs from December but not mention that the number of jobs is up from the previous Janauary. But have a month like June that is lower than the previous June and they will say that we are down x number of jobs since the previous June. But at the same time they will not mention that June had 5,000 more jobs than May.

    They are very selective in what stats they publish. I don't know why that is, my guess is it's because their reporters are frustrated that they are working for the Buffalo News and not the NY Times.

  36. reborngreen

    2 ratings12345
    May 27th, 22:57

    I'd like to help the Bills pack their bags. As someone who has lived near the stadium I can safely say that they've done nothing for the local economy.

    All the Bills have ever done is to create a reason for more drunks to be angry. Then again they've also given the "community" a false sense of pride. But it's an illusion, marketing, propaganda for the capitalist swine who run the organization.

    It's enough to make me want to shout: "Hey Bills, get outta town!"

  37. jhill

    2 ratings12345
    May 29th, 12:48

    Could Sally and Atwater's post be more BORING? Please do us all a favor and just call each other to settle the argument!

  38. beethoven81

    2 ratings12345
    May 28th, 00:38

    GOOD!...I hope the Buffalo Bills go away...finnally Eire County Tax payers will not be forced to pay subsidies to a multimillionaire owner of a football team. How sad is it that tax payers have to had over money to someone who owns an $800 million dollar organization!. This is a perfect example of the stupid decisions that are made by our local "leaders" and why this city is the way it is. The only thing that keeps me here is the fact that I attend school here.....like most of my fellow UB students, I too will leave when I graduate to somewhere where people are not lining up to pay taxes to finance a loosing team owned by a multimillionaire...way to go erie county tax payers! I hear more people complaing at the thougth of the bills leaving than at the fact that every road way is a full of pot holes!

  39. gaustad

    1 ratings12345
    Jun 1st, 01:47

    kooksapalooza - excellent comments - AGREED!

    I know it sounds unrealisitic, but somehow, someway, Buffalo will manage to keep this team here. It's really all we have! Too much to lose for local politicians, state gov., and the league.

    We can't develop our waterfront, but watch how fast, agressive, and savy all involved become in 5 years when the terms of the agreement are up!

  40. AtwaterLouse

    0 ratings12345
    May 29th, 17:50

    Yes Sally of course I understand your opinion. You've been clear, and I just disagree that Robinson and News business reporters cherry-pick to make long term trends sound worse. From what I've read, I don't consider any of them liars as you called D.R. which inspired my comments in this thread. Same with Business First reporters who write similar points.

    No matter what dates you or they chose, Buffalo lags way under U.S. job growth over any 3+ yr period I saw in the web tables, including the weak 7% period whose end points you chose 92-00 and called a strong job market, under half the 15% U.S. avg. Very weak, considering roughly half of areas are higher than avg, and Buffalo so far under it. If we call that 'strong', then what's something that really is average? 'Super strong'?

    I just don't get the messenger shooting mind set. As I said, having comparatively weak sub-strong job growth and declining right-sizing population don't have to mean an area isn't good other ways. But they, with demographics, income data, etc., can help explain things people sometimes wonder about in BR comments such as why some chain stores don't locate here, or why major league baseball wouldn't seriously consider Buffalo (sorry reflip, won't happen).

  41. SLEEPL8

    0 ratings12345
    May 27th, 11:59

    I have to agree with mbhxam. I definitley will not be a Toronto whatever fan. I love the Buffalo Bills but when they go to toronto this guy becomes a Steelers fan. Pittsburgh is a cool city and an easy drive down I79 for a couple games every year. They are a very well run franchise. If the Steelers ownership is ambitious they will throw some money at marketing their team in Buffalo in 2012 when the Bills head out. I wish we could build a stadium in Genesee county for 2012 so that we could really be the Buffalo/Rochester Bills. I know that isn't feasible for Genesee County or New York state. It would definitely boost the fan base and allow for higher ticket prices and corporate sponsorhip. The stadium would be 45 mins from each city and would bring the team within that 45 min drive of an extra million or so people. It makes sense to me. Please everyone feel free to tell me all the reasons why I am wrong...

  42. probuff

    0 ratings12345
    May 28th, 00:29

    gaustad i agree that we need to attract sponsors and suite buyers from outside the area, but am not convinced that a stadium downtown would do the trick.

    i think we need to work with niagara falls, ontario to build a stadum there.

    putting the bills in NFO would put the bills significantly closer to toronto's corporate dollars but also keep them close to home for all of us. in NFO, they would be an hour from TO and 45 minutes from most of us. it requires us to give a bit but doing so would allow us to reap substantial benefits- defrayed costs of supporting the team, a long term future we can be confident about, a linking of buffalo, niagara falls, and toronto in north america's collective psyche, & a kick in the pants toward regionalism.

    having a stadium in NFO would also serve as an impetus for larger border crossing capacities and maybe even commuter rail trom toronto to buffalo, through niagara falls. both would help WNY's economy grow in light of the economic strength in ontario and favorable exchange rate.

    call them the buffalo niagara bills!

  43. sonyactivision

    0 ratings12345
    May 29th, 20:56

    Ok, Keith, here's one: save 5,000 houses.

  44. rb66

    0 ratings12345
    May 27th, 20:44

    The Bills will not leave Buffalo.

  45. AtwaterLouse

    0 ratings12345
    May 31st, 22:57

    Sally - Sure, I can explain that easily. You took him out of context about being the fourth-smallest.

    explain to me why they insist on pointing out that the Buffalo Metro is the fourth smallest in the league when they could just as easily point to the MORE RELEVANT fact that 12 of the 31 other teams have FEWER AMERICANS (without Canadians) living within 90 miles of their stadium than do the Bills.

    Here's what Mark Gauhan wrote May 21 (in an article focusing on GB Packers revenue, btw):

    http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/billsnfl/story/349479.html

    ... The Packers Pro Shop is 8,500 square feet, massive by pro merchandising standards, and is a huge revenue producer. It took in $17.5 million in 2006. The gross revenues from the Pro Shop and from renting out the atrium were about $23 million. That might be as much as $20 million more than many other teams make from their stadium merchandise stores.

    The Packers also have no worries about season-ticket sales. Their stadium has been sold out with season tickets every year since 1960. The waiting list for season tickets is more than 74,000 names long.

    In terms of television markets, Green Bay is 69th in the country. New Orleans is next smallest at 54th. Jacksonville is 50th and Buffalo is fourth smallest at 49th.

    U.S. television markets (and advertising rates) don't count Canadian viewers, so that's why it wouldn't be meaningful to mention Canadians in that context in that point he was making in that article.

    Far from ignoring Ontario fans in the Bills market, the News has discussed that many times over the years - including another Gaughan article the same day (same link, except 349452 instead of 349479).

    They shouldn't have to mention Canadian fans even more often just so Sally can't play 'gotcha' by taking them out of context when they don't mention it.

  46. reflip

    0 ratings12345
    May 28th, 15:04

    The biggest economic impact the Bills have is that they employ a lot of people, many of whom make millions. Presumably they contribute to the local economy. The location of the stadium is irrelevant considering they play a whopping 8 home games a year. Building a downtown football stadium is a horrible idea, considering the amount of parking that will be required to make it feasible and the fact that there will only be notable activity at the site on 8 Sundays a year.

    I would, however, take a MLB team with a downtown, 35K seat stadium ala PNC Bank Park in Pittsburgh. That would give us an outdoor, professional sports team that plays the bulk of its schedule in the summer months when Buffalo weather is beautiful. Weather in general is not an issue considering teams in Cleveland, Detroit and Denver draw very well in outdoor stadiums. In fact, if Cleveland can support basketball, football and baseball, why can't Buffalo support professional hockey (analogous with basketball), football and baseball? It would give us continuous professional sports - when hockey ends, baseball starts (assuming no playoffs, like this year). When baseball ends, hockey starts.

    Whether the Bills go or not, I say we make a pitch for a MLB team. 81 home games a year, played 7 days a week. Even if they only average 8,000 fans per game, they'll equal the number of people who go to Bills games each season.

    Also, the fact that the Bisons don't draw well is not a valid counter-argument. Minor league sports do not attract large crowds as a rule. In Canada, where hockey is ingrained in the culture, nobody cares about AHL hockey. Unless the team is championship caliber, in any sport, minor league teams have very poor attendance.

  47. stephenjames716

    0 ratings12345
    May 28th, 07:44

    every time someone thinks about the bills moving a baby angel dies

  48. Keith

    0 ratings12345
    May 28th, 17:05

    If the future owners of the Bills are going to treat the situation in purely monetary terms, let's try the same exercise. To stay in Buffalo, they will want a new stadium. The newest stadiums that I know of are the Cowboys Stadium (>$1 billion) set to open in 2009 and the $1.4 billion, 82,000-seat Meadowlands football stadium for the New York Jets and Giants, set to open for the 2010 football season. I had trouble tracking down all of the details but let's say government entities (you the taxpayer) will have to pay half or $600 million. What else could we do with that money? 1. Set up a facility and sequence the genomes of 10,000 people. Roswell Park trained many of the scientists instrumental in this like Claire Frasier and J. Craig Venter. Roswell also mapped the original genome for the public effort in preparation for sequencing. This project would build on this experience as well as take advantage of the supercomputer at the Bioinformatics center. It is a natural fit for the life science campus and it would set up Buffalo as a center in bioinformatics--an important industry for this century. 2. Set up a facility and build 10 custom-made supercomputers. Computing power is always in short supply among researchers, and building these will attract the knowledge workers that start companies. 3. Build a hatchery for fish that fisherman like to catch like the Lake Sturgeon. In 1885 2,359 tons (5.2 million pounds) of Lake Sturgeon came from Lake Erie, now there are very few Sturgeon left. Think of the income Buffalo would get if fisherman were using it as a base to catch these 300 pound monsters. 4. Tax rebate! 5. Tear down all the empty buildings in Buffalo, turn the land into parks. Give the rest of the money back as a rebate. 6. Please think of your own ideas and add your comment.

    I see so many opportunities for this money that would expand the economy and improve the quality of life more than keeping the team.

    Cost of Meadowlands: sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2743655 Cost of Supercomputer: statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/05/25/0525bigbrains.html Lake Sturgeon history: fws.gov/midwest/sturgeon/biology.htm

  49. Keith

    0 ratings12345
    May 29th, 19:53

    Alright, no one seems to have taken my bait, so I will write a shorter version. What else could we do with the $750 million bucks besides build a new stadium for the Bills? Write your ideas in the comments.

  50. Auburner

    0 ratings12345
    May 28th, 21:59

    Well, if Jim Belisle from Research In Motion does not get the Sabres perhaps he can create a first in sports history, a tri-city team. With the uniforms and logo merchandising he could make a case for building 3 new football stadiums for: The Buffalo Blackberries, Rochester RIMS and Toronto Terminators...

  51. icecreamsub

    0 ratings12345
    May 27th, 12:53

    the move makes sense but to see a Superbowl parade on Yonge street would really sting

  52. sally

    0 ratings12345
    May 29th, 10:53

    lOUSE - you are obviously incapable of getting my point which is that the news picks and chooses it's reference points in order to put the most negative possible spin on the Buffalo area. I am curious as to why they continually do this. BTW the population loss during the 1990's was not due to people moving away - which per the Census Bureau is actually BELOW the national average. It was rather based upon two factors 1) lower than average IN migration and 2 a much lower than average birth to death ratio. The ratio no doubt is a reflection of an older than average population. The mass out-migration from Buffalo occurred from the 1977-1984 period and has been well documented by the Federal government.

  53. kooksapalooza

    0 ratings12345
    May 31st, 18:27

    I was reading on some bills messageboards that the cost of relocating a team is approx 1 billion dollars (something like 998,000,000)...usually that fee is split amongst owners in the league. I know a lot of people who are not bills fans and are against the bills moving. They consider the bills an original and say they would never want them to relocate. If other people are so optomistic and encouraging why are the people of our city so feaking depressing. On top of the near billion itll cost to acquire the team and the billion to move the team, for the team to move it needs approval by commissioner Roger Goddell (a WNY native) and something liek 2/3 of the owners, who will have to foot the bill for the move. Plus if nobody has bothered to check it out...the toronto games arent even sold out yet...so much for having a great place to relocate to huh? Buffalo has more season ticket holders than they have sold single seat tickets. Im not saying there is no way in hell the bills are gonna leave...not by any means...im just saying...why are u all so keen on it happening...and given the thigns i mentioned and the fact that theres so much talk about it 5 yrs before it coudl even theoretically happen....i think itll be a LOT of work to get a move done and it will meet a lot of resistance by buffalo and NY state (who only has the bills who play in NY)

  54. gka_76

    0 ratings12345
    May 28th, 08:53

    Lets just hope that UB continues to improve and someday we can all watch them play big time NCAA football Saturdays and have an extra day to recover from tailgating before going to work on Monday.

  55. AtwaterLouse

    0 ratings12345
    May 31st, 23:06

    Can you provide even one quote where the Buffalo News said Buffalo is 'unworthy of a team', or are you exaggerating?

    Never mind 'constantly', how about even one quote?

    ....If smaller market areas than Buffalo such as Kansas City, Cincy, Tenessee, Carolina don't have to be constantly told by their local paper that they are unworthy of a team why does our local paper have to constantly browbeat us?

    If you're suggesting Mark Gauhan secretly wishes the Bills leave Buffalo and that's why he mentioned Buffalo being the 4th-smallest NFL TV market without right there discussing Canada, that sounds crazy. His NFL reporting is considered prominent nationally. If he wants to leave Buffalo he'd have many opportunities.

    For anyone to think the Buffalo News organization wants the Bills to move is also bizarre. Not only do the Bills spend a lot of money every year directly buying ads from them, but the News single copy sales and web hits must have a good jump around Bills game days.

    Their 3-part series last week about the future of the Bills was very objective and balanced. It wasn't at all saying Buffalo is unworthy. It presented possible scenarios with pros and cons of each, along with yes some possibilities that are unpleasant for Bills fans to read. Their job isn't to omit all unpleasantness as the way some web sites might feel they should do sometimes.

    Your exaggerated characterization sounds very different from what they wrote.

    http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/350831.html

  56. magnum

    0 ratings12345
    May 27th, 13:51

    The Future of the Bills -TorBuffChester?

    Um, it's BUFFchesTOr.