THATHURMANATOR
05-20-2008, 07:44 AM
http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/350831.html
I am for the 1 game a year(just wish it wasn't the Miami game but I am already over that)
Buffalo Bills fans should hope the team’s venture into Toronto is a colossal success. That looks like the best hope for the long-term survival of the Bills in Buffalo.
The odds are not great that the Bills will remain in Buffalo when the estate of owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr., 89, puts the franchise up for sale, given the current economic landscape in the NFL.
It’s easy to see how someone from one of the biggest markets in North America –Los Angeles or Toronto –could pay upwards of $1 billion for the Bills in an open auction and make the investment work.
It’s hard to see how someone who wants to keep the team in Buffalo could make a winning bid for the franchise –unless the Toronto experiment helps the Bills shake off their small-market burden.
A financially strong franchise would give some of the Bills’ most powerful supporters –in particular NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and U. S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer –more leverage in trying to influence an outcome in Buffalo’s favor.
“If the franchise is viable, I will fight to keep it in Buffalo,” Goodell told The News.
The key to that statement, of course, is the qualifier “if the franchise is viable.”
“I am committed to doing everything I can to keep the Bills in Buffalo,” Schumer told The News. “They’re the heart and soul of Buffalo.”
Schumer’s influence was helpful in the passage of an enhanced revenue-sharing plan that NFL owners approved last year. He said there would be no shortage of prospective buyers interested in keeping the team in Buffalo who will come forward when the time comes.
“I am working closely with Roger Goodell, and we are lucky that we have a commissioner who not only is from Western New York but remembers that he’s from Western New York. I believe he is truly committed to helping us keep the Bills in Buffalo.”
Schumer also said he has no doubt Wilson is doing everything he can to try to ensure the Bills’ financial viability.
“If Ralph wasn’t committed to Western New York, he could have sold this team for a lot of money many times in the past to someone who would have moved it away.”
I am for the 1 game a year(just wish it wasn't the Miami game but I am already over that)
Buffalo Bills fans should hope the team’s venture into Toronto is a colossal success. That looks like the best hope for the long-term survival of the Bills in Buffalo.
The odds are not great that the Bills will remain in Buffalo when the estate of owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr., 89, puts the franchise up for sale, given the current economic landscape in the NFL.
It’s easy to see how someone from one of the biggest markets in North America –Los Angeles or Toronto –could pay upwards of $1 billion for the Bills in an open auction and make the investment work.
It’s hard to see how someone who wants to keep the team in Buffalo could make a winning bid for the franchise –unless the Toronto experiment helps the Bills shake off their small-market burden.
A financially strong franchise would give some of the Bills’ most powerful supporters –in particular NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and U. S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer –more leverage in trying to influence an outcome in Buffalo’s favor.
“If the franchise is viable, I will fight to keep it in Buffalo,” Goodell told The News.
The key to that statement, of course, is the qualifier “if the franchise is viable.”
“I am committed to doing everything I can to keep the Bills in Buffalo,” Schumer told The News. “They’re the heart and soul of Buffalo.”
Schumer’s influence was helpful in the passage of an enhanced revenue-sharing plan that NFL owners approved last year. He said there would be no shortage of prospective buyers interested in keeping the team in Buffalo who will come forward when the time comes.
“I am working closely with Roger Goodell, and we are lucky that we have a commissioner who not only is from Western New York but remembers that he’s from Western New York. I believe he is truly committed to helping us keep the Bills in Buffalo.”
Schumer also said he has no doubt Wilson is doing everything he can to try to ensure the Bills’ financial viability.
“If Ralph wasn’t committed to Western New York, he could have sold this team for a lot of money many times in the past to someone who would have moved it away.”