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

[Beer__League__Hockey]

16 minutes ago, Ann said:

Unless I am totally misreading your post:

That sounds a little pricey for individual seats for this area. If a PSL is $15K  that increases the cost of 9 home games by $166 per game, and $187.50 per game for the 8 game seasons. I used 10 years, no interest to figure it out.. if they add an interest rate (as you indicated), it will of course be more.
(I did not add in preseason games as those are more of a burden than a perk.)

Will the PSL be considered "paid" for home playoff games? If so:

8 home games = $187.50 additional charge per seat
9 home games = $166 additional per seat
10 home games = $150 additional per seat
11 home games = $136.35 additional per seat
12 home games = $125 additional per seat

You think your PSL would be $8K over 10 years? That would work out to an additional $100 per seat on an 8 home game season, $88.88 additional in a 9 home game season.

With PSLs it does not appear that any seat will be under $200 per game (the average ticket price right now is $113 ($92 - $275)).  If the numbers work out to 5x what they are now (all in) as you seem to indicate, that would be $460 - $1,375 per seat!!

The Bills better hope they are competitive and in the playoff from here on out. If they were to go 17 years without playoffs again, the stadium income could become very grim indeed.

 

The way they describe the PSL is it is a one time, transferrable seat license.  I fully expect in year 15-20 of the stadium life they will go around with their tin cup and re-up the PSL requirement, as "improvements" will be needed in 2040.  Until then, the PSL covers any and all playoff games -  so yes the cost per ticket would go down if the team was playoff caliber every year.

 

The PSL is one thing, but setting that aside the 5x cost vs. today was the shocker to me.  My $800 seasons would become >$3,000.  And that's if I could even get them.

Edited April 20, 2022 by Beer__League__Hockey

[Ann]

He's been tweeting updates about the happenings on-site for the new stadium:

[Spartacus]

7 hours ago, Beer__League__Hockey said:

The way they describe the PSL is it is a one time, transferrable seat license.  I fully expect in year 15-20 of the stadium life they will go around with their tin cup and re-up the PSL requirement, as "improvements" will be needed in 2040.  Until then, the PSL covers any and all playoff games -  so yes the cost per ticket would go down if the team was playoff caliber every year.

 

The PSL is one thing, but setting that aside the 5x cost vs. today was the shocker to me.  My $800 seasons would become >$3,000.  And that's if I could even get them.

dude-

even with the CRT math'

800 x 5 = 4k for tickets

plus PSL

use it buy a bigger TV

 

[Ann]

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[Keukasmallie]

[Read the title of this topic]; guess what, we will!  The Pegula's only skin in the game will be covered by ticket sales; so not even a slight chip off their general team holdings.  True they are responsible for demolishiing the old stadium and repurposing the land.  You just know they'll find a way around most of that expense....somehow.

[Alaska Darin]

47 minutes ago, Keukasmallie said:

[Read the title of this topic]; guess what, we will!  The Pegula's only skin in the game will be covered by ticket sales; so not even a slight chip off their general team holdings.  True they are responsible for demolishiing the old stadium and repurposing the land.  You just know they'll find a way around most of that expense....somehow.

It's politicians and billionaires.  Let's not pretend anyone expected a different result.  This is what happens if you wanna have an NFL franchise in your city.

 

George Carlin said it best "there's a big party being thrown and most of us are never going to be invited."

[Ann]

He's really getting beat up for this:
 

 

[Alaska Darin]

11 minutes ago, Ann said:

He's really getting beat up for this:
 

 

A dumb NY Democrat? Really? 

[Ann]

6 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

A dumb NY Democrat? Really? 

Makes me wonder what would have happened if Hochul wasn't a fan of the team.

[Nanker]

On a side note, that photo of Timmah makes him look like he’s on steroids for something… AIDS perhaps? He’s got chipmunk cheeks - a telltale. 

[Ann]

Poll: NY voters disapprove of tax subsidies for Buffalo Bills stadium

 

 

 

[Alaska Darin]

Bee - Oh - Oh, HHHHH - Oh - Oh

 

Too bad it's a done deal.  You've wasted plenty of taxpayer money on shit no one cares about.

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

Bee - Oh - Oh, HHHHH - Oh - Oh

 

Too bad it's a done deal.  You've wasted plenty of taxpayer money on shit no one cares about.

 

Yep.

 

Would prefer the politicians not give massive subsidies to billionaires, but the state was going to blow that money on something.  Glad it's heading to WNY rather than NYC.

[Spartacus]

2 hours ago, Ann said:

Poll: NY voters disapprove of tax subsidies for Buffalo Bills stadium

 

 

 

does that mean Polancarz is getting voted out of office?

 

 

Edited April 25, 2022 by Spartacus

[Arm of Harm]

On 4/20/2022 at 5:24 AM, Beer__League__Hockey said:

New stadium intel:

 

So as a season ticket holder (~20 years?), my friend got to attend a "focus group" to better understand what "amenities" the average Bills fan want to see in the new stadium.  All the typical blah blah talk about microbreweries, grand concourses like an airport, covered heated seating, etc.  He said that took 20 minutes and all of the 15 people in the focus group had glazed eyes by the end of the dog & pony show.  Then they broke out and individually discussed tentative ticket cost/PSLs - what they all came for.  He said it was very cloak & dagger the way they did it.  Mind you he sits at the ~40 yard line (section 132 I think) - The season ticket cost were working out to be approx. 5x of today's value per seat, and the one time PSL was in the $15k range for a seat.  The PSL can be payment planned with interest over 10 years max.  He kept calling it his new mortgage.

 

They don't have an actual stadium chart yet, but the example seating chart they rolled out looked sort of like SoFi stadium with lots of thin rings/sections.  No more massive 300 level.  He guessed he'd have top move up to the 500s or 600s to keep his costs under control, but they didn't show him those seats & cost - just the equivalent to where he sits today.  He also had doubts about finding a seat that he'd accept as well (higher but between the 30 yard lines is what he'd consider), and suspects most long time season ticket holders with more seniority will move up and push others with less tenure out (like me @ 4 years).  I might get a crack at the big money seats - great...

 

Big picture (my opinion here), the lower bowl 100s & 200s will then be owned by permanent stubhub resellers, as the average joe will not be able to pay $12.5k season ticket costs plus the PSL.  It's great the Bills will stay in OP, but the prospects of going to a game don't sound like a fun way to burn money.  Guessing here - my 300 level seasons ($800 for 10 games) would probably get me into 2 games in the new stadium.

To make a long story short: season tickets will no longer be affordable for the middle class or working class. These same middle and working classes are subsidizing the stadium through their tax money. 
 

Government handouts often come with strings attached. In this case, the government could have said, “If you want our handout, you need to keep the majority of your tickets priced less than $ ______ .”  The fact this did not happen is yet another demonstration of how little relevance the working and middle classes have to those in power. 

[Spartacus]

2 minutes ago, Arm of Harm said:

To make a long story short: season tickets will no longer be affordable for the middle class or working class. These same middle and working classes are subsidizing the stadium through their tax money. 
 

Government handouts often come with strings attached. In this case, the government could have said, “If you want our handout, you need to keep the majority of your tickets priced less than $ ______ .”  The fact this did not happen is yet another demonstration of how little relevance the working and middle classes have to those in power. 

call BS on the outrage over ticket prices.

 

people spend a lot more, on stupid stuff every day

How much are they forking over for cable, streaming, cell phones, premium services

 

if they really want to go to Bills games, they will.

I would have expected more  from the "greatest fans in the NFL"

[KD in CA]

5 minutes ago, Arm of Harm said:

To make a long story short: season tickets will no longer be affordable for the middle class or working class. These same middle and working classes are subsidizing the stadium through their tax money. 
 

Government handouts often come with strings attached. In this case, the government could have said, “If you want our handout, you need to keep the majority of your tickets priced less than $ ______ .”  The fact this did not happen is yet another demonstration of how little relevance the working and middle classes have to those in power. 

 

Buffalo is probably one of the few places where that didn't happen ten years ago, mostly due to the stadium. 

 

The options are to stay in Buffalo, build a new stadium and jack up prices, or, move somewhere else, build a new stadium and jack up prices.

 

Maybe it would be different if I lived in Buffalo, but I rarely go to pro sporting events due to the ticket prices.

[Alaska Darin]

4 minutes ago, KD in CA said:

Maybe it would be different if I lived in Buffalo, but I rarely go to pro sporting events due to the ticket prices.

Same and I refuse to sit in gen pop with the rest of the commoners. 

[Arm of Harm]

42 minutes ago, Spartacus said:

call BS on the outrage over ticket prices.

 

people spend a lot more, on stupid stuff every day

How much are they forking over for cable, streaming, cell phones, premium services

 

if they really want to go to Bills games, they will.

I would have expected more  from the "greatest fans in the NFL"

 

 

According to Beer League's post, season ticket prices are expected to be $12,500 per year, excluding the PSL. Suppose a husband and wife want to spend the next ten years going to Bills games. That's $250,000 over the course of ten years, plus the cost of 2 PSLs. You know what you could buy for $250,000? A house. How you spend your money is up to you, but I personally don't intend to simply donate the value of a house to a billionaire, even if people blow a lot of money on stupid stuff every day.

[Alaska Darin]

1 hour ago, Arm of Harm said:

 

 

According to Beer League's post, season ticket prices are expected to be $12,500 per year, excluding the PSL. Suppose a husband and wife want to spend the next ten years going to Bills games. That's $250,000 over the course of ten years, plus the cost of 2 PSLs. You know what you could buy for $250,000? A house. How you spend your money is up to you, but I personally don't intend to simply donate the value of a house to a billionaire, even if people blow a lot of money on stupid stuff every day.

I will never understand how people waste money on sports.  I watch almost everything from the comfort of my nice house on my huge HD television.  Football is "BY FAR" the worst in-person live sport.  It's big because it is perfect on television.

 

About the only thing I'll waste money on is the Stanley Cup playoffs but it's a completely different thing when you're in the building.  I still don't buy anything when I'm there because &#%$ your $12 beers and "best restaurant in town" food prices.