Examining Buffalo Bills Bids: Heart vs. Head Final Factor in Sale of Team

[Fletch]

Apparently by the logic of some here, the Sporting News now wants the Bills out of Buffalo too.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2014-07-31/buffalo-bills-sale-toronto-buffalo-terrence-pegula-sabres-wife-edward-rogers-bon-jovi-tanenbaum-trump-golisano

[WARNING: This article is not your typical superficial "Rah-Rah Buffalo" piece and contains facts that counter the opinions that have been established as facts by posters here.]

Some excerpts:


In a perfect world the Bills would stay in Buffalo, but this is about business and Morgan Stanley has the responsibility to get as much money as it can from the sale of the Bills. If the Toronto bid is successful, two-thirds — or 24 of the 32 NFL owners — would have to approve the move, easier said than done but not as much of a hurdle as Bills fans would like to believe.


All told, when your factor in the cost of at least $1.5 billion the Rogers/Bon Jovi/ Tanenbaum group would have to pay for the Bills — the $400 million penalty to move the Bills and upwards of $1 billion to build a new state-of-the-art NFL stadium in Toronto — the group is looking at investing north of $2.9 billion in bringing the NFL to Toronto. That’s a daunting task to say the least. Before anyone suggests $2.9 billion may be too much for them to consider, remember Rogers’ net worth is estimated to be more than $7.6 billion.


Two different mindsets will decide the future of the Bills — one driven by business, the other by caring about the city and region you live in. Billions of dollars are on the line, along with the future of the National Football League in Western New York.


Regarding that second excerpt, not mentioned is that Pegula would also have to build that same new state-of-the-art stadium in WNY eventually and sooner rather than later. Even if Tannenbaum's group wins, I doubt that they're going to pay that $400M, they'll just wait a few years, and by the end of the current lease we'll need a new team anyway, making the new stadium issue identical either way. The difference is that as the piece (not to mention common sense) demonstrates, there's a lot more money in Toronto. The cost is going to be about the same for either party.

[YardRat]

The 'responsibility' reference to Morgan Stanley is speculation, unless the writer knows what is in the trust, and we all know he doesn't.

I don't recall too much fretting by fans over league approval, except in the context of Trump.

Bon Jovi isn't going in as a minor owner, he wants to be principal, and a higher number kicks him out of that bracket.

Strictly financially speaking, Pegs has more motivation re:money than heart, as he has already begun sinking dollars into downtown...a complex/set-up similar to Cleveland with both venues within close proximity and the potential for other revenue streams in the immediate area is a money-maker.

The NFL will fail in Toronto...it's a hockey town first, second, and third.

[Fletch]

Valid points except for your 4th one. We don't know how the NFL would do in Toronto, but based on the size of the population in the metro area alone it would suggest that that's not the case.

I was wondering why he said that about the trust as well, but honestly, don't be shocked if it's the trust's primary directive to get the most money it can from the sale. That would hardly be unreasonable or unusual. We might not like it, but it would be the norm. Presumably Pegula would be the high bid, but until we see it.

As to Bon Jovi, if it meant their group not getting the team, I don't see why he wouldn't defer to one of the others in his group. He gets nothing if not. I view him kinda like many here viewed Kelly, not enough to own the team, but a good face of a group. At least to many he would be.

[YardRat]

IMO based on the recently closed series, and how other professional franchises fare in Toronto, and adding the presence of an established league in the CFL it certainly is more of a stretch to expect an NFL team to succeed there.

Top dollar may be a directive...but then again it may not. Most of us acknowledge that, he speaks as if it is a given.

Maybe JBJ would accept second-fiddle as opposed to nothing, but IMO he won't. He's too astute of a business man to drop his entire bank into a venture and let somebody else call the shots.

[DetDannyWilliams]

from my sister

16989

[Mr. Pink]

IMO based on the recently closed series, and how other professional franchises fare in Toronto, and adding the presence of an established league in the CFL it certainly is more of a stretch to expect an NFL team to succeed there.



You do realize that the Blue Jays hold 3 of the top 9 full season home attendance totals in MLB history right?

Or that they were the first team to top 4m in home attendance in season?

They are currently 17th in attendance this season.

I say they succeed just fine.

[better days]

You do realize that the Blue Jays hold 3 of the top 9 full season home attendance totals in MLB history right?

Or that they were the first team to top 4m in home attendance in season?

They are currently 17th in attendance this season.

I say they succeed just fine.

I say we will never know because Toronto is not getting the Bills.

[YardRat]

You do realize that the Blue Jays hold 3 of the top 9 full season home attendance totals in MLB history right?

Or that they were the first team to top 4m in home attendance in season?

They are currently 17th in attendance this season.

I say they succeed just fine.

Toronto is Canada's version of LA...put a championship team on the field, and the fans will be on the bandwagon. Don't, and they find 'better' things to do. Even after 14 seasons of suck, Buffalo still fills the stands.

Those attendance 'records' are 20 years old, where have the fans been since '93?

[Fletch]

IMO based on the recently closed series, and how other professional franchises fare in Toronto, and adding the presence of an established league in the CFL it certainly is more of a stretch to expect an NFL team to succeed there.

Similar arguments can be made about NHL teams in the south. Remember when some first went down there? Some failed, like the Atlanta Flames which moved to Calgary, but that was in the '70s or '80s, things are different now, I suspect they may have succeeded today. I mean who would ever have thought back then that Arizona would have a team and Florida two teams. California has three teams.

I don't think it would be a hurdle, definitely not the one that they say it is. Suites up there would command quite a bit more than they do in Buffalo. There are just so many people up in that metro area, it's like NYC.

[Mr. Pink]

Toronto is Canada's version of LA...put a championship team on the field, and the fans will be on the bandwagon. Don't, and they find 'better' things to do. Even after 14 seasons of suck, Buffalo still fills the stands.

Those attendance 'records' are 20 years old, where have the fans been since '93?

And that doesn't happen here? How many manufactured sellouts have there been the last few seasons?

I wonder if the estate is going to buy tickets this year to avoid some blackouts.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Wait the Toronto group is going to bid 2.9 Billion dollars??? WHAT??

[BillsImpossible]

Wait the Toronto group is going to bid 2.9 Billion dollars??? WHAT??

$1.5 billion for the team +

$400 million for the relocation fee +

$1 billion for a new stadium =

$2.9 billion total.

[BillsImpossible]

Here's a big problem.

Erie County has a lot of government employees that are going to soon retire and collect pensions.

Sales Tax revenues help fund those pensions, but sales tax revenues are on the decline in Erie County, and 15 other counties in New York.

"Unfunded liabilities," isn't just a problem in Buffalo.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/21/detroit-bankruptcy-pension-obligation/2573457/

At the heart of Detroit's problem is a growing unfunded debt on benefits owed to current and future retirees — some $3.5 billion, according to its emergency manager, Kevyn Orr — which mirrors a circumstance being seen across the U.S.
From Baltimore to Los Angeles, and many points in between, municipalities are increasingly confronted with how to pay for these massive promises.
Erie County needs the money, and a $400 million relocation fee might be too hard to resist.

I hope I'm wrong.