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Many Bills fans have been clamoring for years for a new stadium, in locales ranging from downtown Buffalo to Niagara Falls to even Batavia. That still seems like a long shot, though, with an expected price tag of more than $800 million.
Last fall, Wilson himself admitted that the stadium needs a lot of work, as he lobbied for extensive renovations.
“We want the state and the county to put some substantial money into fixing this stadium up,” he said. “It’s crumbling right now. But we don’t want a Taj Mahal. We just want a nice, clean place to watch a football game.”
Since that comment, the Bills have asked for stadium renovations costing between $200 million and $220 million. Some observers say that won’t be enough to ensure the stadium’s long-term viability in the NFL.
“If ‘The Ralph’ is renovated as recently discussed, the life expectancy is still a very short five to 10 years, tops,” said John Vrooman, sports economist at Vanderbilt University. “The renovations necessary to bring ‘The Ralph’ up to NFL speed would be more in the ballpark of those recently completed for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010 and the Green Bay Packers in 2003.”
Among the five stadiums older than Ralph Wilson Stadium, two – Kansas City and Green Bay – will have undergone close to $400 million in renovations by next year and another, San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, will be replaced by a $1.2 billion stadium in 2014.
Last fall, Wilson himself admitted that the stadium needs a lot of work, as he lobbied for extensive renovations.
“We want the state and the county to put some substantial money into fixing this stadium up,” he said. “It’s crumbling right now. But we don’t want a Taj Mahal. We just want a nice, clean place to watch a football game.”
Since that comment, the Bills have asked for stadium renovations costing between $200 million and $220 million. Some observers say that won’t be enough to ensure the stadium’s long-term viability in the NFL.
“If ‘The Ralph’ is renovated as recently discussed, the life expectancy is still a very short five to 10 years, tops,” said John Vrooman, sports economist at Vanderbilt University. “The renovations necessary to bring ‘The Ralph’ up to NFL speed would be more in the ballpark of those recently completed for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010 and the Green Bay Packers in 2003.”
Among the five stadiums older than Ralph Wilson Stadium, two – Kansas City and Green Bay – will have undergone close to $400 million in renovations by next year and another, San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, will be replaced by a $1.2 billion stadium in 2014.
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