Goodell says Bills In WNY For A Long Time

[jjflr]

NFL Commissioner and Jamestown native Roger Goodell says "he sees the Buffalo Bills being in Western New York for a long time."

Goodell met with reporters Friday morning before speaking at the Chautauqua Institution about sports in America. "Mr. Wilson has made it clear he'd like the team to stay in Buffalo and we're going to make sure that it does," said Goodell.

Scott Brown: "Is there anything to prevent the Bills from just being sold to the highest bidder and moved out of town?" Goodell: "Yes we have rules about our franchises. We work to make sure our franchises stay in their current market. Just because somebody spends the most money to buy a team does not give them the right to move it, they have to meet relocation guidelines, that are very strict and very important to the league and they need a three quarter vote (of the owners to approve any move). "We have owners who pass away, unfortunately that happens and the teams go on and are very successful, so I think you're being alarmist."

http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story...58957&catid=13

[Shoey]

hometown commissioner = +1 Buffalo.

[TradeTom]

Originally Posted by Shoey

hometown commissioner = +1 Buffalo.

I have nothing against Canada, but IMO the NFL belongs in the USA. Hope the Bills can stick it out

[O Doyle]

Originally Posted by Shoey

hometown commissioner = +1 Buffalo.

Not to uhhhh, burst your bubble, but the NFL has ALWAYS tried to prevent teams from moving and they have NEVER ONCE suceeded in it. They tried to stop the Rams from leaving LA as well as the Raiders. They tried to keep the Browns from leaving Cleveland, and many many more teams. At the end of the day the desires of the comissioner mean NOTHING, its all about the other owners and the commish is not an owner. All it takes for a franchise to receive the right to move cities is the blessing of the majority of the other owners. In the Rams case Georgia Frontierre was denied permission to move to St Louis by the other owners and the league itself stood against it but she was able to talk the city of St Louis into giving the other owners a generous kick-back in the financial department, us Los Angeles natives like to call it a bribe. Afterward they all changed their votes. Regardless, even with the league and other owners initially rejecting her proposal she was still able to accomplish her goal and line her pockets in the process.

Nothing short of that market putting loads of money into the pocket of whoever the new owners will be is going to stop them from moving that team. Where there is a will there is a way and the commish isn't a very big hurdle to jump.

[Shoey]

Phil, there really wasn't any need for any of that as my post was only semi-serious.
we've had this argument before and I've grown so tired of it.

Ralph is still alive, and the team is obviously not moving during his lifetime. I'm aware the NFL would try their hardest to keep the team in Buffalo A.R. and that it would be difficult but it's not something I dwell on. Perhaps a perspective owner who would want to relocate the team wouldn't have to deal with the commissioner so much, but there's a lot more to moving a franchise than that.

I've said this before, but I think it bears repeating.

The Bills aren't last in revenues, they're not last in profits, they're not last in attendance. Why Buffalo?

[O Doyle]

Originally Posted by Shoey

I've said this before, but I think it bears repeating.

The Bills aren't last in revenues, they're not last in profits, they're not last in attendance. Why Buffalo?

You're focusing too much on the why's and not the why-nots. Why does a company have to be dead last in everything to be a candidate for a major change? From an ownership perspective the money is either good or its not and if you have the opportunity to make more someplace else then why wouldn't you?

Furthermore whoever buys this team isn't gonna get them at a bargain deal. I don't know the exact numbers but 10 years ago you likely could have purchased this team for $200 million or something. By the time that Ralph dies its likely to cost triple that, somewhere in the $600+ million range. When something costs THAT MUCH, it had better pay off on the return side.

[OSU8085]

Originally Posted by EaglePhil

Not to uhhhh, burst your bubble, but the NFL has ALWAYS tried to prevent teams from moving and they have NEVER ONCE suceeded in it. They tried to stop the Rams from leaving LA as well as the Raiders. They tried to keep the Browns from leaving Cleveland, and many many more teams. At the end of the day the desires of the comissioner mean NOTHING, its all about the other owners and the commish is not an owner. All it takes for a franchise to receive the right to move cities is the blessing of the majority of the other owners. In the Rams case Georgia Frontierre was denied permission to move to St Louis by the other owners and the league itself stood against it but she was able to talk the city of St Louis into giving the other owners a generous kick-back in the financial department, us Los Angeles natives like to call it a bribe. Afterward they all changed their votes. Regardless, even with the league and other owners initially rejecting her proposal she was still able to accomplish her goal and line her pockets in the process.

Nothing short of that market putting loads of money into the pocket of whoever the new owners will be is going to stop them from moving that team. Where there is a will there is a way and the commish isn't a very big hurdle to jump.

Actually Seattle was on their way down to LA and the NFL stopped them

[Azazel]

what the hell does roger have against western NY?

this is awfully cruel.

[GlasstheGrey]

Originally Posted by Shoey

Phil, there really wasn't any need for any of that as my post was only semi-serious.
we've had this argument before and I've grown so tired of it.

Ralph is still alive, and the team is obviously not moving during his lifetime. I'm aware the NFL would try their hardest to keep the team in Buffalo A.R. and that it would be difficult but it's not something I dwell on. Perhaps a perspective owner who would want to relocate the team wouldn't have to deal with the commissioner so much, but there's a lot more to moving a franchise than that.

I've said this before, but I think it bears repeating.

The Bills aren't last in revenues, they're not last in profits, they're not last in attendance. Why Buffalo?

The Bills aren't last in revenues (BUt they're close), they're actually in the top 15 in profits because of the Lease on RWS that practically pays the team to play there. While most owners have huge amounts of debts to pay based on ownerships of their respective teams and stadiums, Ralph Wilson doesn't have any of that. The Bills are not last in attendance because Ralph Wilson will constantly appear on TV and threaten the exsistance of the team in WNY.

Why Buffalo, because if any other team were to move to Toronto it would cut the Bills Fan base in HALF. Toronto is a 100 mile drive from Buffalo. Toronto would be able to better support the Bills than Erie County could ever possibly dream. So if it's not Buffalo, then the Bills goto LA.

[GlasstheGrey]

Originally Posted by EaglePhil

You're focusing too much on the why's and not the why-nots. Why does a company have to be dead last in everything to be a candidate for a major change? From an ownership perspective the money is either good or its not and if you have the opportunity to make more someplace else then why wouldn't you?

Furthermore whoever buys this team isn't gonna get them at a bargain deal. I don't know the exact numbers but 10 years ago you likely could have purchased this team for $200 million or something. By the time that Ralph dies its likely to cost triple that, somewhere in the $600+ million range. When something costs THAT MUCH, it had better pay off on the return side.

current market value of the Bills is over $800mil. While not Dead-last in revinue they're awefully close. the Current Lease for RWS comes due in 2012, the county can't afford the current lease as it is and it's a foregone conclusion that the next Lease won't be as friendly as the current one, and to be perfectly honest there is only so much bubbleyum you can apply to a building before it outlives it's usefulness, RWS hit that point 8 years ago. The Owner of the Bills when the lease expires is going to have to negotate a new lease or build a new stadium, both of which is going to require out-of-pocket expendatures (something Ralph Wilson hasn't done alot of since buying the team for 64k).

and Because Ralph Wilson refuses to setup up a contigency plan for who "inherits" the team when he passes the prospective buyer will be the highest bidder with bidding starting at market value... I can garuntee you the next owner of the bills better be prepared to make a 1billion dollar bid because there are men (most of whom have 0 loyalty to WNY) who want in the NFL (Mark Cuban anyone?). At which point the bills fail to pay for themselves in buffalo.