TBN: Wilson wants talks on stadium lease

[Johnny Bugmenot]

Wilson wants talks on stadium lease
by Tim Graham and Mark Gaughan


Ralph C. Wilson Jr. doesn't want a Taj Mahal for his Buffalo Bills. He's not interested in the field-level patios, martini lounges or nightclub suites that can be found in other AFC East stadiums.

The Bills owner told The Buffalo News he's ready to extend the team's lease agreement with Erie County if fundamental improvements can be made to the 38-year-old stadium that bears his name.

"I'm willing to sign a lease that will keep the team there and keep the team competitive," Wilson said in a phone interview late last week. "We're not looking to have a palace, just a football stadium.

The Buffalo News (http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article560879.ece)

[Jan Reimers]

The good news is, Ralph still knows he owns a football team, and that it leases a stadium from Erie County.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

Bend over Erie County.

[ddaryl]

Bend over Erie County.


how much revenue do the Bills bring that offset the money that is placed into the stadium..


I'll bet the farm that Erie County at the worst breaks even from their investment

[YardRat]

how much revenue do the Bills bring that offset the money that is placed into the stadium..


I'll bet the farm that Erie County at the worst breaks even from their investment

Collins claimed his office's research showed the Bills provided the state with $20 million in direct revenues each year, mainly from taxes on payroll and ticket sales.

[Don't Panic]

how much revenue do the Bills bring that offset the money that is placed into the stadium..


I'll bet the farm that Erie County at the worst breaks even from their investment

In the article Collins said $20 million a year.

What I found interesting were Wilson's comments about improvements. He seems to have big ideas. I really hope he's willing to put some of his own money in if the plans are really ambitious.

[ddaryl]

In the article Collins said $20 million a year.

What I found interesting were Wilson's comments about improvements. He seems to have big ideas. I really hope he's willing to put some of his own money in if the plans are really ambitious.
Over the years Ralph has never demanded huge investments into the stadium.. but he has pushed for modest improvements. I beleive he used his own money in the 90's to upgrade the video screen to a state of the art model at the time.

$20 million a year is decent coin.... SO if the upgrades happen ever 10 years that's
$200 million..Guessing 1/2 that goes into the roads and such around the area, that could leave $100 million to be invested in the stadium itself....


then their is the whole benefit to local business angle that I'm not sure if it's figured into that $20 mil ###

[BillsWin]

Hate to say it but I think Wilson is circling the drain and he's just now trying to leave something to Buffalo. A longterm lease would be a good start.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

how much revenue do the Bills bring that offset the money that is placed into the stadium..


I'll bet the farm that Erie County at the worst breaks even from their investment

How much are these stadium renovations going to cost, $100, 200, maybe 300 million? Arrowhead was renovated in 2010 for $375. How does the county make that up by the Bills generating $20 million a year?

[PromoTheRobot]

How much are these stadium renovations going to cost, $100, 200, maybe 300 million? Arrowhead was renovated in 2010 for $375. How does the county make that up by the Bills generating $20 million a year?

How? By charging the ticket holders. If there is, say a $10 surcharge per ticket, you can raise almost a half-billion in 10 years. Those who use the stadium ought to shoulder the lion's share of the costs.

PTR

[Cleve]

Ralph's hoping to get some free stuff from an already financially strapped New York State in order to bump his annual net profit up from $40 million to $41 million or whatever. Meanwhile, this should be a banner year for him since he's spending under the salary cap - probably break $50 million in profit.

Typical. All he does is take.

[buffalopowereye]

By that logic, the bills should pay the lion's share if the cost. The reality is that the Bills are, at least to the eyes if people othe than the Wilsons, a community and state asset. We'll all have to chip in to keep the team - ticketholders and stakeholders such as the county and state alike.

Frankly, I am stunned that Collins has not been more proactive about this issue during an election year. I really hop Andy Cuomo doesnt use the Bills as a chip against Collins, too. AC has his eyes on a big white prize, and Collins is one if a few republicans who might cut AC's margin of victory in the next gov's race. Anyone with AC's ambitions is going to want to win that race with an exclamation point. That is, if course, unless Collins is not around next year ...

[YardRat]

How? By charging the ticket holders. If there is, say a $10 surcharge per ticket, you can raise almost a half-billion in 10 years. Those who use the stadium ought to shoulder the lion's share of the costs.

PTR

Wouldn't that be subject to the revenue sharing rules, or are surcharges exempt?

[trapezeus]

where are our tea party bills fans that hate government hand outs like health care and regulations that prevent fraud but are clamoring for NYS to simply pay the randsom?

i'm torn on this because i love the bills, but i truly hate that rich welfare is way head of people who really need the help.

[better days]

In the article Collins said $20 million a year.

What I found interesting were Wilson's comments about improvements. He seems to have big ideas. I really hope he's willing to put some of his own money in if the plans are really ambitious.

His plans don't sound all that ambitious to me. He said people go the the Stadium on Sunday to watch a football game, not eat a fancy dinner in a glitzy resturant.

I think he just wants basic improvements which will benefit the fans such as more & improved rest rooms.

[PromoTheRobot]

Wouldn't that be subject to the revenue sharing rules, or are surcharges exempt?

My guess if that surcharge was mandated by the county or state it would be exempt. But I'm guessing here.

FYI, I screwed up the math. That would only raise about $50M, not $500M.

PTR

[PromoTheRobot]

where are our tea party bills fans that hate government hand outs like health care and regulations that prevent fraud but are clamoring for NYS to simply pay the randsom?

i'm torn on this because i love the bills, but i truly hate that rich welfare is way head of people who really need the help.


The county owns the stadium. Not the Bills. If you rent an apartment and ask for improvements do you pay for them? No. Plus RWS is 40 years old. Stuff wears out. All Ralph is asking for is to keep the stadium from falling down. Geeez, how greedy! :shocked:

PTR

[PromoTheRobot]

Ralph's hoping to get some free stuff from an already financially strapped New York State in order to bump his annual net profit up from $40 million to $41 million or whatever. Meanwhile, this should be a banner year for him since he's spending under the salary cap - probably break $50 million in profit.

Typical. All he does is take.


The guy can sell the Bills for a billion dollars tomorrow if he was so greedy. But no, he'd rather squeeze a piddly million out of WNY. Blah blah blah. BTW, what do you think pays for the contract extensions for Fitz, etc?

PTR

[Night Train]

In the article Collins said $20 million a year.

What I found interesting were Wilson's comments about improvements. He seems to have big ideas. I really hope he's willing to put some of his own money in if the plans are really ambitious.

He donates enough to other causes/buildings which number in the multi millions. It will indeed be interesting to see how much of his own $$ he puts up. May go a long way in defining his legacy locally.

The county/state certainly won't provide much $$, IMO (since there is none). We'll see.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

The county owns the stadium. Not the Bills. If you rent an apartment and ask for improvements do you pay for them? No. Plus RWS is 40 years old. Stuff wears out. All Ralph is asking for is to keep the stadium from falling down. Geeez, how greedy! :shocked:

PTR

You are all over the place here. I really don't know a lot of places that rent out places and pay you to stay there. If you do, please let me know, I want to live there.

[EricStratton]

I'm sure one exists but I'd love to see the economic impact study for Erie County and the local area, not the NYS impact.

In an area like Buffalo with only two big teams and no college impact to speak of it would seem to be big.

A 10 year extension would go a long way towards avoiding the lure of the LA stadium builders and really lock the Bills into Buffalo for the next buyer once Ralph is gone.

This is a good move on his part, no matter what his motivation is.

[Nighthawk]

Haha, the people complaining, just don't get it. This team either gets a new stadium or massive renovations at the Ralph or it is gone...live with it, it is what it is and the Ralph is a dump.

[PromoTheRobot]

You are all over the place here. I really don't know a lot of places that rent out places and pay you to stay there. If you do, please let me know, I want to live there.

If you live in an apartment and you negotiate for a new lease, and the roof is leaking, do you pay to fix the roof or the landlord?

PTR

[TacklingDummy]

Taxpayer dollars should not be used to fund any sports stadium.

[Johnny Bugmenot]

where are our tea party bills fans that hate government hand outs like health care and regulations that prevent fraud but are clamoring for NYS to simply pay the randsom? I don't see any tea party types clamoring to pay a ransom anywhere. Besides, this isn't the Spin Zone.

[Nighthawk]

Taxpayer dollars should not be used to fund any sports stadium.

And we should be able to find a cure for cancer...

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

If you live in an apartment and you negotiate for a new lease, and the roof is leaking, do you pay to fix the roof or the landlord?

PTR

If I don't pay rent and I get paid to live there?

[PromoTheRobot]

If I don't pay rent and I get paid to live there?

The Bills pay rent to Erie County.

PTR

[Johnny Bugmenot]

If I don't pay rent and I get paid to live there?
In all fairness, who else is going to rent a 73,000 seat stadium in suburban Buffalo? It's not that far from market rate. The days of megaconcerts are over and it's not like other sports teams are clamoring at the opportunity to play there.

[ddaryl]

How much are these stadium renovations going to cost, $100, 200, maybe 300 million? Arrowhead was renovated in 2010 for $375. How does the county make that up by the Bills generating $20 million a year?

Ralph said modest renovations... $20 million a year times 10 years (which is how long a modest upgrade should last) = $200 million

$300 million is not modest... and if it's $300 million might as well start breaking ground on a new stadium

[ddaryl]

Taxpayer dollars should not be used to fund any sports stadium.

BS.. if there is a R.O.I. then it would be stupid not to... That is if they bring in more tax revenue then they spend o nthe stadium it's more then worth it, creates jobs, and other positives.

If the country / state was getting fleeced then I agree, but this is not the case with the Bills. The County benefits

[better days]

If you live in an apartment and you negotiate for a new lease, and the roof is leaking, do you pay to fix the roof or the landlord?

PTR

So you would rather the Bills moved as you would. Well, NOT ME. That is a FALSE analogy.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

The Bills pay rent to Erie County.

PTR

They do?

Erie County Taxpayers pay like 800,000 per game for the Bills to play there. Erie County Sheriff detail alone costs taxpayers $240,000 per year.

Ralph gets handed $43 million dollars from the NFL for just owning a football team from television revenue.

[ChristopherWalken]

Interesting fact: Of all 32 teams, only 5 have older stadiums than the Buffalo Bills.

They are:
Lambeau (1957)
Candlestick Park (1960)
O.co Coliseum (1966)
Qualcomm (1967)
Arrowhead (1972)

*Oddly enough all grass

Anyway, Lambeau is in the process of increasing seats, rectifying parking and the audio/video board to be completed 2012

49ers are moving from Candlestick in the not so distant future as they are expected to get a new stadium in Santa Clara. Construction is slated for 2012

O.co Coliseum: Raiders are having ongoing talks about sharing the new stadium in Santa Clara with the 49ers...that is if truth to rumor doesn't unfold about the Raiders moving back to LA.

Qualcomm Stadium: A recent proposal to renovate the Chargers stadium could prevent the team from bolting to LA. Of course this discussion is all preliminary but San Diego has arguably some of the best weather in the country and where better to watch an outdoor football game?

Arrowhead: Revieled its upgrade plan in 2007 and were completed in 2010. The 375$ million in renovations included: concourses that nearly doubled in size, allowing fans to get to their seats – and back to the action on the field – in less time; more restrooms; a greater variety of food and beverages to enjoy; a broad range of bars, concessions and seating areas within the concourses; and club lounge spaces. Other additions will feature an upgraded sound system, new video board displays - including a 360 degree ribbon board around the lower fascia of the stadium - a new press box, and a new group seating area - the Horizon Level.


I guess my point is why not The Ralph? Seems like its time and its not as if Ralph is asking for a new stadium - just an upgrade to the current structure. Being that they've recently upgraded boxes, and audio/video boards, the rest seems to be simply small structrual items like concessions, bathrooms, locker rooms etc...

I don't have a problem with this.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

In all fairness, who else is going to rent a 73,000 seat stadium in suburban Buffalo? It's not that far from market rate. The days of megaconcerts are over and it's not like other sports teams are clamoring at the opportunity to play there.

I am not sure what this has to do with anything.

[Cleve]

BTW, what do you think pays for the contract extensions for Fitz, etc?


The 9th most profitable team in the NFL? And he's paying those extensions and still profiting $40 million+ a year, again 9th most profitable team in the NFL.


AFAIK, he's spending way under the cap this year.


If we do give in and pay this money for stadium upgrades, let's for cryin' out loud change the damn name of the stadium to something patriotic or community based, instead of stroking Ralphie's huge ego.