Is London an option for a new owner?

[coastal]

For the past couple of years, the Bills were able to "stay" in WNY but give away a preseason and a regular season game to a different city in a foreign country. Please read the attached article where Arthur Blank talks about London having perhaps more than one NFL franchise at some point in the future.

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/6/2/5771714/buffalo-bills-sale-move-los-angeles-nfl

Let's say a WNY outsider buys the Bills and says he's going to be working with state and local officials to potentially build a new stadium. Bills nation will lap it up and come out in droves for a couple of years out of pure panic. The economic realities of building today's NFL stadium on a hamstringed budget, coupled with the difficulties of selling corporate suites and ticket licenses to an impoverished area may already have the end game setup for this franchise.

Two years of being held at gunpoint ticket sales leaves 4 years left before a permanent move basically happens without penalty. Once Bills' fans realize the reality that they're facing, ticket sales will bottom out and the new owner will go looking for new sources of revenue.

My question is this... is there basically anything from stopping a new owner from taking more and more games for each of those least 4 years and selling them overseas? Does the current lease prevent them from being able to do that?

[Historian]

The halftime concerts would certainly be better...

[Skooby]

The halftime concerts would certainly be better...

Can we book George Michael to sing with Queen ?

[stuckincincy]

The halftime concerts would certainly be better...

Indeed.

[stuckincincy]

For the past couple of years, the Bills were able to "stay" in WNY but give away a preseason and a regular season game to a different city in a foreign country. Please read the attached article where Arthur Blank talks about London having perhaps more than one NFL franchise at some point in the future.

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/6/2/5771714/buffalo-bills-sale-move-los-angeles-nfl

Let's say a WNY outsider buys the Bills and says he's going to be working with state and local officials to potentially build a new stadium. Bills nation will lap it up and come out in droves for a couple of years out of pure panic. The economic realities of building today's NFL stadium on a hamstringed budget, coupled with the difficulties of selling corporate suites and ticket licenses to an impoverished area may already have the end game setup for this franchise.

Two years of being held at gunpoint ticket sales leaves 4 years left before a permanent move basically happens without penalty. Once Bills' fans realize the reality that they're facing, ticket sales will bottom out and the new owner will go looking for new sources of revenue.

My question is this... is there basically anything from stopping a new owner from taking more and more games for each of those least 4 years and selling them overseas? Does the current lease prevent them from being able to do that?





"What Ho! What Ho! Hey nonny nonny and a hot cha cha! - P.G. Wodehouse

[Meathead]

Can we book George Michael to sing with Queen ?

or be the queen

[better days]

Can we book George Michael to sing with Queen ?

Well, not as a solo, a duet with boy George.

[Novacane]

Aurthur Blank will be long gone by the time London has one team much less two.

[Mr. Pink]

That will never happen.

Logistics will make it completely unfeasible.

[Mace]

That will never happen.

Logistics will make it completely unfeasible.

Ridiculously so unless they make a Euro division and even that makes it simply intolerable.

Looks kind of really alarming though they keep mentioning it, like for some reason they have no grip on the logic of why everyone else can see it's a stupid idea because they're trying to squeeze chump change out of a money cow. Kind of makes me wonder how being rich affects your brain.

[BLeonard]

My question is this... is there basically anything from stopping a new owner from taking more and more games for each of those least 4 years and selling them overseas? Does the current lease prevent them from being able to do that?


The lease allows for one "Home" game per year in Toronto, one preseason "Home" game every other year in Toronto and one "Home" game at an "International Venue" during the duration of the lease.

So, in short:

They can play one home regular season game in Toronto every year.
They can play one home preseason game in Toronto every other year.
They can play one home International game for the length of the lease.

I say "Toronto," but the lease actually adds "or other such location in Southern Ontario or Western New York (Other than the Stadium) as determined by the Bills." So, in theory, they could play a game at the Carrier Dome, instead of Rogers Center one year, but can't play more than one regular season home game away from RWS.

Ultimately, the answer to your question is, no, the new owner cannot sell off home games to Toronto, London, Mexico City, LA, or anywhere else. 7/8 of the Regular Season games must be played at RWS.

-Bill