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Very good article here regarding the Bills and the lease extension... Glad to see a writer echoing some of the thoughts myself and other have had regarding a new lease: http://www.buffalonews.com/city/colu...icle701298.ece
-Bill
To truly protect taxpayer backs in this deal, the county needs to bring in a sports economist who knows the lay of the NFL land. It needs a hired gun familiar with recent or pending deals in, among other places, Jacksonville, Minnesota and Cincinnati. It needs someone who knows the pecking order of cities that covet teams and how to best tie the Bills to Buffalo. The people sitting with Ralph Wilson will know every rut and rock of that landscape.
The Bills likely want upwards of $100 million in taxpayer-funded stadium enhancements. The 2013 expiration date on the Bills lease gives the county a chance to tie stadium improvements to the terms of a new lease. That includes everything from length of the deal to–most importantly, given the fragile health of the 93-year-old owner–provisions that make it as financially painful as possible for the next owner to abandon Buffalo.
The Bills likely want upwards of $100 million in taxpayer-funded stadium enhancements. The 2013 expiration date on the Bills lease gives the county a chance to tie stadium improvements to the terms of a new lease. That includes everything from length of the deal to–most importantly, given the fragile health of the 93-year-old owner–provisions that make it as financially painful as possible for the next owner to abandon Buffalo.
The relatively modest investment in a consultant could save millions in lease terms. It could better cement the team to the town. Beyond that, any sports economist will slap down the argument, which the Bills are sure to make, that the team brings economic benefits.
“Economists pretty much agree that having a team or a [better] stadium brings very little in the way of economic impact,” said Robert Baade, an economics professor specializing in sports at Lake Forest College in suburban Chicago. “The benefit is primarily in enhancing the psychology of a community.”
“Economists pretty much agree that having a team or a [better] stadium brings very little in the way of economic impact,” said Robert Baade, an economics professor specializing in sports at Lake Forest College in suburban Chicago. “The benefit is primarily in enhancing the psychology of a community.”
The team is reportedly amenable to a “clawback” clause, which reimburses taxpayers for the cost of stadium improvements if the team leaves. But Baade told me that teams typically try to pro-rate the payback, depending on when the team leaves. Sports economist Zimbalist recently told me that spending upwards of $100 million on the stadium should, in return, bring a lease extension of at least 20 years. It is the sort of guidance we will get if we have a consultant at the table.
With the Bills hanging in the balance and more than $100 million to ante up, the stakes are high. Let’s not get played for suckers.
With the Bills hanging in the balance and more than $100 million to ante up, the stakes are high. Let’s not get played for suckers.
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