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Bills should build stadium closer to Rochester
(December 14, 2006) — The NFL Dallas Cowboys revealed specifics on their lavish new $1 billion stadium on Tuesday night, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson again is warning that the league's small-market teams are doomed under the current system, and the Buffalo News reports that 47-year-old Lancaster Raceway Park is for sale.
My mind immediately linked the three items to the future of the Bills.
It is only a matter of time before the ever-growing corporate giant NFL puts pressure on the Bills to build a splendiferous new stadium for the team to remain financially competitive and maximize the revenue split among the 32 teams.
New York state taxpayers will be called upon to build this shrine to the NFL gods. There will be much public debate on the subject — and justifiably so.
I expect that the money ultimately would be approved to build a state-of-the-art facility, including many more of the private boxes that pad the revenue of the big-market teams. I can't see how policymakers in Albany could allow the NFL to abandon western New York. Losing the Bills would be catastrophic in terms of regional morale and national recognition.
If and when the stadium is built, it should be somewhere between Buffalo and Rochester. A site near Lancaster Raceway Park, only a few miles east of the first Buffalo Thruway exit, would be ideal.
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If the Bills are to survive here, it's not going to be because of the "tons of people" coming from points East. This guy obviously forgot that Buffalo is right next to one of the fastest growing areas in North America - Southern Ontario. Between the Buffalo and Toronto corridor here is a population base of nearly 10 million people... Buffalo and Rochester - 2, maybe 2.5 million. Southern Ontario alone is projected to grow to nearly 12 million people within the next 20 years. I don't see that kind of growth anywhere in NYS, and for the Bills to survive here the team needs to be easily accessible to that population base, not the dying municipalities in Upstate NY. There are just as many, if not more, people treking from S.O. to the games compared to those from places like Roch, Syr, etc.
Secondly, building a new stadium in another suburb is stupid, pointless even. For this team, area, and city to rebound economically it needs to hit a home run. This stadium cannot simply be a football stadium - it has to be a year-round facility in a central location, not out in a suburb to be used 10 times a year.
I am 110% against a domed building, but a roof is needed for this type of facility. Maybe build a stadium with a retractable roof. The roof can be open for sporting events (Bills, etc) and closed for everything else. Buffalo needs a state of the art facility that can double as a sports venue, convention center, etc. A new building could suit all the needs. Add hotels, venues (restaurants, pubs, etc) into part of the design and turn it into a gathering place, a major municipal complex instead of just a "stadium".
Putting an all-purpose building downtown with access to the 190, 90, 33, 5, etc will do wonders for the economy and should be able to handle the traffic issues. It will still be a 60-90 minute drive for those coming from Roch (wow, a Lancaster facilty cuts that drive down a whopping 10-15 minutes), Southern Tier, parts of PA, and people having to sit at the bridges won't have to deal with the congested mess that is the Thruway and/or 219 out in the burbs.
I think a lot of people are looking at this whole issue the wrong way, and a stadium "halfway between Roch and Buf" is more a deathnail than an advantage. It needs to be more than just "a stadium", people need to look at is a hub for activity, similar to what has been done in places like Baltimore. Build where the people are, where there's a need and desire for economic development, and where it's accessible for everyone, not a few thousand travelers from the east.
(December 14, 2006) — The NFL Dallas Cowboys revealed specifics on their lavish new $1 billion stadium on Tuesday night, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson again is warning that the league's small-market teams are doomed under the current system, and the Buffalo News reports that 47-year-old Lancaster Raceway Park is for sale.
My mind immediately linked the three items to the future of the Bills.
It is only a matter of time before the ever-growing corporate giant NFL puts pressure on the Bills to build a splendiferous new stadium for the team to remain financially competitive and maximize the revenue split among the 32 teams.
New York state taxpayers will be called upon to build this shrine to the NFL gods. There will be much public debate on the subject — and justifiably so.
I expect that the money ultimately would be approved to build a state-of-the-art facility, including many more of the private boxes that pad the revenue of the big-market teams. I can't see how policymakers in Albany could allow the NFL to abandon western New York. Losing the Bills would be catastrophic in terms of regional morale and national recognition.
If and when the stadium is built, it should be somewhere between Buffalo and Rochester. A site near Lancaster Raceway Park, only a few miles east of the first Buffalo Thruway exit, would be ideal.
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If the Bills are to survive here, it's not going to be because of the "tons of people" coming from points East. This guy obviously forgot that Buffalo is right next to one of the fastest growing areas in North America - Southern Ontario. Between the Buffalo and Toronto corridor here is a population base of nearly 10 million people... Buffalo and Rochester - 2, maybe 2.5 million. Southern Ontario alone is projected to grow to nearly 12 million people within the next 20 years. I don't see that kind of growth anywhere in NYS, and for the Bills to survive here the team needs to be easily accessible to that population base, not the dying municipalities in Upstate NY. There are just as many, if not more, people treking from S.O. to the games compared to those from places like Roch, Syr, etc.
Secondly, building a new stadium in another suburb is stupid, pointless even. For this team, area, and city to rebound economically it needs to hit a home run. This stadium cannot simply be a football stadium - it has to be a year-round facility in a central location, not out in a suburb to be used 10 times a year.
I am 110% against a domed building, but a roof is needed for this type of facility. Maybe build a stadium with a retractable roof. The roof can be open for sporting events (Bills, etc) and closed for everything else. Buffalo needs a state of the art facility that can double as a sports venue, convention center, etc. A new building could suit all the needs. Add hotels, venues (restaurants, pubs, etc) into part of the design and turn it into a gathering place, a major municipal complex instead of just a "stadium".
Putting an all-purpose building downtown with access to the 190, 90, 33, 5, etc will do wonders for the economy and should be able to handle the traffic issues. It will still be a 60-90 minute drive for those coming from Roch (wow, a Lancaster facilty cuts that drive down a whopping 10-15 minutes), Southern Tier, parts of PA, and people having to sit at the bridges won't have to deal with the congested mess that is the Thruway and/or 219 out in the burbs.
I think a lot of people are looking at this whole issue the wrong way, and a stadium "halfway between Roch and Buf" is more a deathnail than an advantage. It needs to be more than just "a stadium", people need to look at is a hub for activity, similar to what has been done in places like Baltimore. Build where the people are, where there's a need and desire for economic development, and where it's accessible for everyone, not a few thousand travelers from the east.
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