BLeonard
12-27-2012, 10:08 PM
If you want to read it in it's entirety , the link for the PDF is here: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/assets/pdf/A21984671221.pdf
I figured, for those who don't want to read it all, I'd provide a "cliff notes" version:
In the event injunctive relief is not granted or available to the County, ECSC or the State for a breach of the Non-Relocation Agreement during the term of the 2013 Stadium Lease, the Bills will be subject to liquidated damages in the amount of $400,000,000. The Bills will have a one-time option to terminate the 2013 Stadium Lease and the Non-Relocation Agreement on the seventh anniversary of the 2013 Stadium Lease, upon notice to ECSC and the County and payment of a termination fee of $28,363,500.
So basically, no "free" out at any time. The Bills can, on the 7th anniversary of the Lease, get out of it for the $28 million number. Any other time, before or after that, is the $400 milllion number.
Each lease year during the 2013 Stadium Lease term, the Bills shall authorize ECSC to make use of Team logos and trademarks valued at $800,000 per lease year in connection with materials and goods sold, distributed and otherwise used in connection with the promotion of the Buffalo, New York area by ECSC. Such use shall be subject to the prior approval of the Bills, in each instance, which approval may not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. In addition, during each lease year, the State of New York (the “State”) shall be given access to that portion of the Stadium (to be depicted in the 2013 Stadium Lease) to be used by the State for purposes of encouraging and fostering economic development, tourism and public awareness for the State and Western New York, and for other charitable or public functions during events that are scheduled at the Stadium (the “I ♥ New York Hospitality Center”).
The bolded tells me that Erie County plans on doing something each season to try and get people and businesses to come to the area, while using a part of the stadium to hold the event(s).
The Bills shall pay a base rent of $800,000 on an annual basis. Such rent, when paid, shall be credited to the Bills’ portion of the Annual Capital Improvement Allowance.
In the previous lease, the Bills only paid rent if their ticket sales were over the NFL Average Net Ticket Revenue, which was a good reason for keeping ticket prices low... It'll be interestng to see if the ticket prices go up, down, or stay the same, especially if the Bills do well during any part of this lease.
The references in the 1998 Stadium Lease and that certain Construction Coordinating Agreement dated as of August 1, 1998, among the County, ECSC and the Bills, to the marketing plan and the need for the Bills to be satisfied with a certain level of premium seat commitments were relevant only to the prior arrangements and shall not be included in the 2013 Stadium Lease or 2013 Construction Coordinating Agreement.
If I'm understanding this right, in the previous lease, the county was responsible for makng sure a certain number of premium seats were sold every season. In the new lease, that "minimum guarantee" is gone, which means I'd expect a much bigger push from the Bills end to sell those premium seats, cause that's where a good chunk of their unshared revenue comes from. Any season ticket holder with premium seats expiring after this season could have the Bills by the proverbial balls.
In those instances in which ECSC or the County seeks to sell admission to any Civic Event, ECSC or the County must use the Bills’ authorized ticket vendor to complete such sales, at ECSC’s or the County’s sole cost.
So, while Erie County has to use the Bills' ticket vendor (which is TicketMaster) it doesn't look like the Bills pocket the revenues from any sales that aren't Buffalo Bills related, as they did in the past.
Beginning in the 6th lease year of the 2013 Stadium Lease term, ECSC and the County, in their joint discretion, may apply up to 50% of their contributions to the ACIA to a fund
established for new stadium design or development (the “New Stadium Fund”). At the joint discretion of ECSC, the County and the Bills, additional amounts from the ACIA may be contributed to the New Stadium Fund in any lease year of the 2013 Stadium Lease term.
This will be interesting to follow (if it's possible to be followed from "the outside"). The sooner and the greater amount of the money starts going into the fund, the quicker and better the chances are of getting a new stadium, obviously anchoring the Bills to WNY for many years to come.
The foregoing does not constitute a binding agreement between the Bills, ECSC and the County, as numerous (a) approvals and consents, including, without limitation, consent
by the NFL Owners in form satisfactory to the Bills, must be obtained and (b) agreements containing significant terms and conditions not mentioned herein must be negotiated and executed.
Just to keep everyone's feet on the ground... This is only a Memorandum of Understanding, not an actual Lease. From what I've seen on both ends (The Bills and Erie County/NYS) though, this should pass through the political side quickly and be approved at the Owner's meeting in March.
The rest can be found starting on page 11:
1. Expansion of live game sound into concourse restrooms $601,000
2. New HD Video Display system to east end zone $8,764,000
3. Expanded video control room including full conversion to High Definition $5,092,000
4. Upgraded Tele/Data infrastructure to meet modern requirements $6,604,000
5. New data distribution system to support IPTV and distributed TV monitors $4,194,000
6. East End Zone Renovation including main concourse expansion and addition of a new commissary building $8,331,000
9. New destination concession and restroom areas on the upper concourse $4,442,000
10. Relocation and expansion of Team Store to the new west end plaza $2,641,000
11. New stadium entry plazas including wrought iron security fence $7,108,000
12. Steel canopies for new stadium entry plazas $1,083,000
13. Enhanced graphics and way finding throughout entire stadium and gates $3,197,000
14. Various infrastructure repairs and maintenance items $10,451,000
15. Refurbish and enhance existing press box area $706,000
16. Concourse life safety improvements to enhance code compliance $1,195,000
17. Install galvanized intermediate aisle rails in upper bowl $954,000
18. New fire alarm detection and notification system in Training Facility $210,000
19. Add ADA compliant wheelchair seating in 300 level seating areas $165,000
20. Add ADA compliant wheelchair seating in east and west end zones $609,000
21. Install handrails on both sides of vomitory ramps on main concourse $1,011,000
22. Cosmetically upgrade and refurbish all existing toilet rooms $3,938,000
23. Renovate concession stands to meet modern requirements $4,067,000
24. New equipment for renovated concession stands $3,923,000
25. Deploy full POS system for all existing and new concession stands $1,564,000
26. Renovation of post‐game interview room, field tunnel and storage areas $835,000
28. Upgraded lighting throughout the main concourse $797,000
29. Relocate writing press to tower club and convert old press box to 50 yard line club $2,256,000
30. Repurpose operations area to field level staging area $1,012,000
31. Cosmetically upgrade stadium suites $5,760,000
32. Add radiant heat to sideline club seats and newly added areas of main and upper concourse $966,000
33. Renovation of Time Warner tower club area $1,606,000
35. Enhanced tailgate experience in parking lots $637,000
36. Training facility modernization through expansion and upgrades $7,684,000
Some of the numbers currently say "Intentionally Omitted." That's the reason for the jump in the numbers. My guess is, these were things that were originally part, but left out in the MoA. They may or may not return in the final lease.
Except as otherwise agreed to by ECSC, the County and the Bills:
A. The Team will have the right to play one (1) home pre-season game in every other NFL Season at the Rogers Centre in Toronto or at another facility located in the Southern
Ontario/Western New York region.
B. The Team will continue to have the right to play one (1) home regular-season game per NFL Season at the Rogers Centre in Toronto or at another facility located in the Southern Ontario/Western New York region.
C. In addition to the foregoing, should the Team be selected by the NFL to play a home game at an international venue other than Ontario, Canada, the Team will have the right
to play one (1) home regular-season game at such international venue once during the term of the 2013 Stadium Lease.
So, no more than 1 Toronto Regular Season game per year and no more than one Toronto Preseason game every other year. They can only play in London (or any other international venue besides Toronto) once during the lease (as the "Home" team). With Jacksonville slated to be the Home team in London for the next 3 years, that significantly reduces the Bills chances of that happening.
All in all, IMO, a much better lease for Erie County and NYS than the current lease is. In the current lease, the Bills paid nothing towards the total, paid no rent, took the revenue for any event at RWS, had a much lesser buyout in the current lease then they do at any time during the new one and only had to play half of their home games at RWS.
-Bill
I figured, for those who don't want to read it all, I'd provide a "cliff notes" version:
In the event injunctive relief is not granted or available to the County, ECSC or the State for a breach of the Non-Relocation Agreement during the term of the 2013 Stadium Lease, the Bills will be subject to liquidated damages in the amount of $400,000,000. The Bills will have a one-time option to terminate the 2013 Stadium Lease and the Non-Relocation Agreement on the seventh anniversary of the 2013 Stadium Lease, upon notice to ECSC and the County and payment of a termination fee of $28,363,500.
So basically, no "free" out at any time. The Bills can, on the 7th anniversary of the Lease, get out of it for the $28 million number. Any other time, before or after that, is the $400 milllion number.
Each lease year during the 2013 Stadium Lease term, the Bills shall authorize ECSC to make use of Team logos and trademarks valued at $800,000 per lease year in connection with materials and goods sold, distributed and otherwise used in connection with the promotion of the Buffalo, New York area by ECSC. Such use shall be subject to the prior approval of the Bills, in each instance, which approval may not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. In addition, during each lease year, the State of New York (the “State”) shall be given access to that portion of the Stadium (to be depicted in the 2013 Stadium Lease) to be used by the State for purposes of encouraging and fostering economic development, tourism and public awareness for the State and Western New York, and for other charitable or public functions during events that are scheduled at the Stadium (the “I ♥ New York Hospitality Center”).
The bolded tells me that Erie County plans on doing something each season to try and get people and businesses to come to the area, while using a part of the stadium to hold the event(s).
The Bills shall pay a base rent of $800,000 on an annual basis. Such rent, when paid, shall be credited to the Bills’ portion of the Annual Capital Improvement Allowance.
In the previous lease, the Bills only paid rent if their ticket sales were over the NFL Average Net Ticket Revenue, which was a good reason for keeping ticket prices low... It'll be interestng to see if the ticket prices go up, down, or stay the same, especially if the Bills do well during any part of this lease.
The references in the 1998 Stadium Lease and that certain Construction Coordinating Agreement dated as of August 1, 1998, among the County, ECSC and the Bills, to the marketing plan and the need for the Bills to be satisfied with a certain level of premium seat commitments were relevant only to the prior arrangements and shall not be included in the 2013 Stadium Lease or 2013 Construction Coordinating Agreement.
If I'm understanding this right, in the previous lease, the county was responsible for makng sure a certain number of premium seats were sold every season. In the new lease, that "minimum guarantee" is gone, which means I'd expect a much bigger push from the Bills end to sell those premium seats, cause that's where a good chunk of their unshared revenue comes from. Any season ticket holder with premium seats expiring after this season could have the Bills by the proverbial balls.
In those instances in which ECSC or the County seeks to sell admission to any Civic Event, ECSC or the County must use the Bills’ authorized ticket vendor to complete such sales, at ECSC’s or the County’s sole cost.
So, while Erie County has to use the Bills' ticket vendor (which is TicketMaster) it doesn't look like the Bills pocket the revenues from any sales that aren't Buffalo Bills related, as they did in the past.
Beginning in the 6th lease year of the 2013 Stadium Lease term, ECSC and the County, in their joint discretion, may apply up to 50% of their contributions to the ACIA to a fund
established for new stadium design or development (the “New Stadium Fund”). At the joint discretion of ECSC, the County and the Bills, additional amounts from the ACIA may be contributed to the New Stadium Fund in any lease year of the 2013 Stadium Lease term.
This will be interesting to follow (if it's possible to be followed from "the outside"). The sooner and the greater amount of the money starts going into the fund, the quicker and better the chances are of getting a new stadium, obviously anchoring the Bills to WNY for many years to come.
The foregoing does not constitute a binding agreement between the Bills, ECSC and the County, as numerous (a) approvals and consents, including, without limitation, consent
by the NFL Owners in form satisfactory to the Bills, must be obtained and (b) agreements containing significant terms and conditions not mentioned herein must be negotiated and executed.
Just to keep everyone's feet on the ground... This is only a Memorandum of Understanding, not an actual Lease. From what I've seen on both ends (The Bills and Erie County/NYS) though, this should pass through the political side quickly and be approved at the Owner's meeting in March.
The rest can be found starting on page 11:
1. Expansion of live game sound into concourse restrooms $601,000
2. New HD Video Display system to east end zone $8,764,000
3. Expanded video control room including full conversion to High Definition $5,092,000
4. Upgraded Tele/Data infrastructure to meet modern requirements $6,604,000
5. New data distribution system to support IPTV and distributed TV monitors $4,194,000
6. East End Zone Renovation including main concourse expansion and addition of a new commissary building $8,331,000
9. New destination concession and restroom areas on the upper concourse $4,442,000
10. Relocation and expansion of Team Store to the new west end plaza $2,641,000
11. New stadium entry plazas including wrought iron security fence $7,108,000
12. Steel canopies for new stadium entry plazas $1,083,000
13. Enhanced graphics and way finding throughout entire stadium and gates $3,197,000
14. Various infrastructure repairs and maintenance items $10,451,000
15. Refurbish and enhance existing press box area $706,000
16. Concourse life safety improvements to enhance code compliance $1,195,000
17. Install galvanized intermediate aisle rails in upper bowl $954,000
18. New fire alarm detection and notification system in Training Facility $210,000
19. Add ADA compliant wheelchair seating in 300 level seating areas $165,000
20. Add ADA compliant wheelchair seating in east and west end zones $609,000
21. Install handrails on both sides of vomitory ramps on main concourse $1,011,000
22. Cosmetically upgrade and refurbish all existing toilet rooms $3,938,000
23. Renovate concession stands to meet modern requirements $4,067,000
24. New equipment for renovated concession stands $3,923,000
25. Deploy full POS system for all existing and new concession stands $1,564,000
26. Renovation of post‐game interview room, field tunnel and storage areas $835,000
28. Upgraded lighting throughout the main concourse $797,000
29. Relocate writing press to tower club and convert old press box to 50 yard line club $2,256,000
30. Repurpose operations area to field level staging area $1,012,000
31. Cosmetically upgrade stadium suites $5,760,000
32. Add radiant heat to sideline club seats and newly added areas of main and upper concourse $966,000
33. Renovation of Time Warner tower club area $1,606,000
35. Enhanced tailgate experience in parking lots $637,000
36. Training facility modernization through expansion and upgrades $7,684,000
Some of the numbers currently say "Intentionally Omitted." That's the reason for the jump in the numbers. My guess is, these were things that were originally part, but left out in the MoA. They may or may not return in the final lease.
Except as otherwise agreed to by ECSC, the County and the Bills:
A. The Team will have the right to play one (1) home pre-season game in every other NFL Season at the Rogers Centre in Toronto or at another facility located in the Southern
Ontario/Western New York region.
B. The Team will continue to have the right to play one (1) home regular-season game per NFL Season at the Rogers Centre in Toronto or at another facility located in the Southern Ontario/Western New York region.
C. In addition to the foregoing, should the Team be selected by the NFL to play a home game at an international venue other than Ontario, Canada, the Team will have the right
to play one (1) home regular-season game at such international venue once during the term of the 2013 Stadium Lease.
So, no more than 1 Toronto Regular Season game per year and no more than one Toronto Preseason game every other year. They can only play in London (or any other international venue besides Toronto) once during the lease (as the "Home" team). With Jacksonville slated to be the Home team in London for the next 3 years, that significantly reduces the Bills chances of that happening.
All in all, IMO, a much better lease for Erie County and NYS than the current lease is. In the current lease, the Bills paid nothing towards the total, paid no rent, took the revenue for any event at RWS, had a much lesser buyout in the current lease then they do at any time during the new one and only had to play half of their home games at RWS.
-Bill