Buffalo Bills want a new stadium – and for taxpayers to foot the bill

[You Dirty Rat]

Austin City Council members not aware of possible Bills move

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/08/01/austin-city-council-members-not-aware-of-possible-bills-move/

[Joe]

[Beer__League__Hockey]

I'm like Jay Cutler here.  I want to care, but I just don't.  Move 'em, don't move 'em, whatever.

 

Although if they did move, Terrance would have to sell his beloved Sabres.  Or get a divorce from Kimbo.

[Joe]

12 minutes ago, BeerLeagueHockey said:

I'm like Jay Cutler here.  I want to care, but I just don't.  Move 'em, don't move 'em, whatever.

 

Although if they did move, Terrance would have to sell his beloved Sabres.  Or get a divorce from Kimbo.

 

This is where I am too. Screw billionaires and their looking for handouts, bailouts and taxpayer dollars. 

[The_Dude]

Unpopular comment. 
 

Im 37. I haven’t lived in WNY since I was 10. I hate New York. I can’t take my guns cause NY doesn’t have a 2nd amendment. I think WNY is beautiful but I’ll be just fine if the Bills move. Especially to Texas that welcomes me and my munitions. 

[Ann]

As talks simmer for a new Bills stadium, some of the basics already are in dispute
 

</snip>
 

A spokesman for Pegula Sports & Entertainment said the $1.1 billion figure was inaccurate, but declined to say if the figure was higher or lower.
 

A newly constructed NFL stadium for $1.1 billion, based on facilities built in the past decade or so, would be more than a bargain, but the Bills have not made public any specifics that would affect the cost – such as the number of seats or other such details.
 

</snip>
 

Jim Wilkinson, a spokesman for Pegula Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Bills and Buffalo Sabres – an NHL franchise – also said the company is not seeking any public assistance for updates to KeyBank Center, the downtown Buffalo home to the Sabres.
 

</snip>
 

The Pegula spokesman did not dispute that the company is seeking a public financing arrangement for a new Bills stadium, which people in Albany and Buffalo have been told would be in Orchard Park, adjacent to the team’s existing stadium.
 

But Wilkinson said a new stadium built – and owned – by taxpayers wouldn't be unprecedented in NFL stadium deals over the years. One frequently cited is Raymond James Stadium. The home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was built in 1998 and paid for through a sales tax increase and funds from tourism taxes.
 

</snip>

[Joe]

Also, let me say I hate news articles of ANY kind that rely on "well-placed sources."

 

Either name your sources or don't run with them. Enough of that bollocks

 

[The_Dude]

12 minutes ago, Joe said:

Also, let me say I hate news articles of ANY kind that rely on "well-placed sources."

 

Either name your sources or don't run with them. Enough of that bollocks

 

“Sources close to the situation” means ‘randos on Twitter are speculating.’

Edited August 2, 2021 by The_Dude

[Just Joshin]

2 hours ago, HOUSE said:

Austin City Council members not aware of possible Bills move

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/08/01/austin-city-council-members-not-aware-of-possible-bills-move/

I live about an hour from Austin for 6.5 months.  There have been discussions about a baseball stadium between Austin and San Antonio but nothing on a football stadium.  

[RochesterRob]

14 hours ago, Alaska Darin said:

There's definitely a negotiating tactic at play here but the optics are really bad, especially at particular moment. Threatening to move the team?  Yeah, good luck with that.

 

The greed of the super rich is only outpaced by the stupidity of people saying "it's ok because I like football."  It's not ok and it never has been, especially given how unbelievably broke American really is.

 

The reckoning is going to be very, very ugly.

  We already have people saying that stadium money can be filed under Sleepy Joe's infrastructure grift.  I should be extremely excited given the Bill's lofty expectations going into the season but to be honest for reasons such as the stadium negotiations and others I really have given little thought to it.  Sometimes I just wish I could get by turning my back on the masses that have instant gratification itch going on all the time.

[B-Man]

 

 

Don't the Pegula's employ any intelligent public relations people ?

 

My son says it's just a "trick" and when they eventually offer to pay for about 15% of it, they will look generous.

 

 

[GG1]

8 minutes ago, B-Man said:

 

 

Don't the Pegula's employ any intelligent public relations people ?

 

My son says it's just a "trick" and when they eventually offer to pay for about 15% of it, they will look generous.

 

 

 

They deep-sixed the PSE PR division during their massive cuts last year.   I'll leave it to the world to determine whether the PR has gotten better since that time 🙂

[The_Dude]

19 minutes ago, B-Man said:

 

 

Don't the Pegula's employ any intelligent public relations people ?

 

My son says it's just a "trick" and when they eventually offer to pay for about 15% of it, they will look generous.

 

 

That’s always what it is. 
 

Nobody who wants the Bills to stay should be worried. 

[IDBillzFan]

We now enter the part of the stadium story where sports journalists start explaining to us how it's wah-wah-wah not fair that someone has more money than they do after committing themselves to a career that can be performed by a toilet brush. 

 

Yeah. We get it. You ain't banking a billion at The Athletic or AP. But if you could just, y'know, report news as a journalist does, and keep your incredibly limited negotiating skills to yourself, we'd appreciate it.

[Seasons1992]

3 hours ago, The_Dude said:

Unpopular comment. 
 

Im 37. I haven’t lived in WNY since I was 10. I hate New York. I can’t take my guns cause NY doesn’t have a 2nd amendment. I think WNY is beautiful but I’ll be just fine if the Bills move. Especially to Texas that welcomes me and my munitions. 

 

 

[Spartacus]

2 hours ago, Just Joshin said:

I live about an hour from Austin for 6.5 months.  There have been discussions about a baseball stadium between Austin and San Antonio but nothing on a football stadium.  

if the Bills move to Austin, maybe they will be included in the SEC reallignment

[Seasons1992]

2 minutes ago, Spartacus said:

if the Bills move to Austin, maybe they will be included in the SEC reallignment

 

J-A would CRUSH that conference! Can't wait.

[Arm of Harm]

When Terry Pegula bought the Bills the NFL informed him that he was expected to build a new stadium. After he’d purchased the team, oil prices went sharply down. His fracking business really took it on the chin. Lots of financial pain for Pegula when oil prices are low.

 

During the last half year or so we’ve seen a significant increase in oil prices. That has to feel good for a guy like Pegula, who makes his living producing oil. But, I’m sure he’d like more time to recover financially before having to sign a check for more than $1 billion for a new stadium. 
 

The longer he can drag out negotiations with New York State, the longer he gets to wait before signing that check for over $1 billion. But he also needs to give the NFL a plausible reason for the (additional) delay. If he can tell them the delay is to get as much public funding as possible, they’d probably accept that. They’d very much like to set the precedent of a publicly funded stadium in this instance, in hopes it would encourage other cities to publicly fund their NFL stadiums. 

[mead107]

27 minutes ago, Arm of Harm said:

When Terry Pegula bought the Bills the NFL informed him that he was expected to build a new stadium. After he’d purchased the team, oil prices went sharply down. His fracking business really took it on the chin. Lots of financial pain for Pegula when oil prices are low.

 

During the last half year or so we’ve seen a significant increase in oil prices. That has to feel good for a guy like Pegula, who makes his living producing oil. But, I’m sure he’d like more time to recover financially before having to sign a check for more than $1 billion for a new stadium. 
 

The longer he can drag out negotiations with New York State, the longer he gets to wait before signing that check for over $1 billion. But he also needs to give the NFL a plausible reason for the (additional) delay. If he can tell them the delay is to get as much public funding as possible, they’d probably accept that. They’d very much like to set the precedent of a publicly funded stadium in this instance, in hopes it would encourage other cities to publicly fund their NFL stadiums. 

Terry, is that you? 
 

[Sig1Hunter]

1 hour ago, mead107 said:

Terry, is that you? 
 

Doubt it. Not enough stammering.