Bills/Erie County Agree In Principle on 1 Year Lease Extension

[BLeonard]

Per WGR Twitter: http://ja.twitter.com/WGRZ/status/245895009587580928



WGRZ‏@WGRZ

Erie Co. Exec. says he has agreed to, in principal a 1 year lease extension with the #Buffalo #Bills.


-Bill

[BLeonard]

Dunno why, but my Spidey senses are tingling on this one... IMO, something's going on here....

-Bill

[gonzo1105]

I just read somewhere that if the Bills didn't get a new lease they would have missed the deadline for nfl stadium funding. This is probably why they agreed on a 1 year deal and will continue trying to hammer out a long term deal. I wouldn't worry that the Bills are being primed to be sold or relocated.

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I just read somewhere that if the Bills didn't get a new lease they would have missed the deadline for nfl stadium funding. This is probably why they agreed on a 1 year deal and will continue trying to hammer out a long term deal. I wouldn't worry that the Bills are being primed to be sold or relocated.

[HAMMER]

I just read somewhere that if the Bills didn't get a new lease they would have missed the deadline for nfl stadium funding. This is probably why they agreed on a 1 year deal and will continue trying to hammer out a long term deal. I wouldn't worry that the Bills are being primed to be sold or relocated.

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I just read somewhere that if the Bills didn't get a new lease they would have missed the deadline for nfl stadium funding. This is probably why they agreed on a 1 year deal and will continue trying to hammer out a long term deal. I wouldn't worry that the Bills are being primed to be sold or relocated.

This is not good at all. The fact that Ralph's health seems to be declining and the Bills do not have a long term lease in place is a bad, bad combination. All bets are off when he dies, spare me the Jim Kelly and his "Backers" BS because that is what it amounts to. The highest bidder will get the Bills, the highest bidder will seek the market that will provide the highest return on their investment. That market is NOT Buffalo. Pretty soon I will have no football team to root for if Buffalo leaves and the Chargers leave. I have no idea what I would do besides cry. Two great football cities with oodles of tradition are looking like they won't have teams for long.

[DraftBoy]

So they are operating just like the US congress and President over a budget, by essentially agreeing to a continuing resolution.

[gebobs]

I guess the asking price for the franchise is higher than the market will bear.

[TacklingDummy]

Dunno why, but my Spidey senses are tingling on this one... IMO, something's going on here....

-Bill

If Wilson dies they dont want the next owner to be tied into a long lease.

NY State should hold off releasing any of the $84 million they were to spend to keep the Bills in Buffalo until a long term lease is signed.

[BLeonard]

If Wilson dies they dont want the next owner to be tied into a long lease.

NY State should hold off releasing any of the $84 million they were to spend to keep the Bills in Buffalo until a long term lease is signed.

Possibly... But I dunno why Erie County and NYS would care about the new owner being ties to a new lease... Dunno why current Bills execs would care, either... Chances are, new ownership will bring in it's own execs.

It could also be because they (NYS and Erie County) might be starting to realize that, in order to stay in WNY, the Bills will need a new stadium. At best, a new lease on RWS is only going to be for 10 years or so...

If they (again, NYS and Erie County) are going to put hundreds of millions of dollars to keep the Bills in WNY, why not work on a new stadium and keep them here for 30 or so years, instead of going through the same stuff again in 10 years?

With a new stadium, the Bills would be able to take even greater advantage of the NFL's G-4 loan program.

-Bill

[gebobs]

Possibly... But I dunno why Erie County and NYS would care about the new owner being ties to a new lease...
They don't.


Dunno why current Bills execs would care, either
Because they get paid by the current owner whose family would stand to lose a ton of cabbage if the franchise is saddled with a long-term lease.


With a new stadium, the Bills would be able to take even greater advantage of the NFL's G-4 loan program.Wazzat?

http://www.fieldofschemes.com/news/archives/2011/12/4761_nfl_establishes.html

Oh!

[BLeonard]

Because they get paid by the current owner whose family would stand to lose a ton of cabbage if the franchise is saddled with a long-term lease.

I highly doubt a long-term lease would affect the current paychecks of the current Bills execs...

Like I said, chances are, when a new owner (or ownership group) takes over, they're going to bring their own execs in and the current Bills execs will be looking for work elsewhere, anyway.

This thread, which I posted earlier, is also relevant to the conversation: http://www.billszone.com/fanzone/showthread.php/213902-Bills-say-stadium-lease-talks-stalled

The Bills say the lease talks have stalled, while the Lt. Governor says otherwise:



Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy disputed claims that negotiations have stalled, saying state representatives have been in constant negotiations with the team and local government for the last several months.

"Let's set the record straight: the governor and this administration are actively negotiating in good faith with the Bills," Duffy said in a released statement.

"Keeping the Bills in Buffalo is critically important to the state and the region. And this administration is committed to doing everything we can to ensure that the Bills remain in western New York," Duffy said. "If taxpayers are going to be asked for substantial financial support for stadium improvements, they must be assured of a long term commitment by the Bills to stay in Buffalo regardless of future ownership."


If the Bills are indeed committed to keeping the team in WNY, as they say they are, there's no reason that the bolded statement should be an issue to them. With inflation, stalling, even for a year, is only going to raise the final price tag, regardless if the renovate RWS, or look to build a new stadium.

-Bill

[Night Train]

OMG ! Twitter lied ! No deal in place.

We're moving and doomed. Everything and everyone sucks.

http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120912/CITYANDREGION/120919682/1002

[BLeonard]

OMG ! Twitter lied ! No deal in place.

We're moving and doomed. Everything and everyone sucks.

http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120912/CITYANDREGION/120919682/1002

*Sigh*

I see some of us are having trouble reading today...

Let's try this again:



Erie Co. Exec. says he has agreed to, in principal a 1 year lease extension with the #Buffalo #Bills.


-Bill

[Skooby]

Yeah, this reeks of near term future issues.

[gebobs]

I highly doubt a long-term lease would affect the current paychecks of the current Bills execs...

Like I said, chances are, when a new owner (or ownership group) takes over, they're going to bring their own execs in and the current Bills execs will be looking for work elsewhere, anyway.A long-term lease can do nothing but decrease the value of the franchise. Unless Wilson is planning on selling the team to a buyer committed to WNY and resigned to the fact that his heirs won't net as much from the sale, why would he want to do that?


If the Bills are indeed committed to keeping the team in WNY, as they say they are, there's no reason that the bolded statement should be an issue to them.
I agree completely, but talk is cheap. I don't think anyone is sure that they are thus committed. I hope to hell they are. Wilson stands to make a tidy capital gain either way. My fantasy he wills the team to the city after strong-arming the NFL into giving the franchise similar status to Green Bay.

[X-Era]

If you thought the Bills were moving, this helps you make your case.

If you thought the Bills were staying, this helps you make your case.