Bill's Stadium Downtown - NO WAY!

[concernedwnyer]

It is allready starting to happen.... They are talking Bills stadium for downtown....

Not so fast with the tax payer's buck! If this brain child of an idea is to cost taxpayers money then we should have a referendum vote.

We have a stadium..... give me a break........ There would be such a surge of traffic on game days people would call in sick for work just to avoid dealing with the traffic congestion........ Again what will will you gain?????


I would consider the idea with the attached convention center but still that is reaching to put up a new Bills stadium in downtown Buffalo....... I say NO!

Read the article from WIVB below:

http://wivb.com/Global/story.asp?S=7328377

[dags]

Downtown with attached convention center.....YES
Waterfront...not so sure.

As far as people calling in and what not...it's Sunday.....how many people go downtown to work on a Sunday?

[Achbek1]

Heck, anything NEW that could possibly breathe some more life into downtown... I say go for it.

People have complained long enough about the stadium in OP... Wouldn't something in the city proper be what people have been wanting anyhow?

[Downstate Buffaloian]

Heck, anything NEW that could possibly breathe some more life into downtown... I say go for it.

People have complained long enough about the stadium in OP... Wouldn't something in the city proper be what people have been wanting anyhow?

A new stadium would be nice but the taxpayers just can't afford it. Let the Bills leave, Buffalo won't be any worse for it in the long run.

[run4it]

A new stadium would be nice but the taxpayers just can't afford it. Let the Bills leave, Buffalo won't be any worse for it in the long run.

You really don't think that the Bills have an incredible impact on the psychic health of our community? Hell, if it weren't for the Bills, the 10% of the country that can currenty find us on a map would probably have to turn to the index to find the city. The team keeps us engaged with our neighbors and community...a "common cause" if you will, unspoiled by geopolitical and class lines.

The only thing a downtown stadium could achieve is a shiny new facility to bring in free agents, a possible Super Bowl bid, and a revived area around the stadium, not to mention much easier access. But forget all that.

Yeah, it would be done with at least some taxpayer money. We're already supporting the Ralph in Orchard Park. Implode that thing and put the money towards a stadium with actual value that would garner interest.

Sports Illustrated did an article on "the stadium of the future" a few months ago. It was a great read. I'll see if I can find it. What it boiled down to was a "green" structure with mixed use commercial space, attached to whatever other buildings (convention center, etc) you like. It was even envisioned on a body of water to help with the energy efficiency. When I read it, I thought PERFECT for Buffalo.

[Northshore]

First of all, I don't believe that Buffalo needs the Bills at all.

That being said, why would we need a downtown stadium. After all, what have these downtown stadiums done for Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and the rest.

[Downstate Buffaloian]

You really don't think that the Bills have an incredible impact on the psychic health of our community? Hell, if it weren't for the Bills, the 10% of the country that can currenty find us on a map would probably have to turn to the index to find the city. The team keeps us engaged with our neighbors and community...a "common cause" if you will, unspoiled by geopolitical and class lines.

You would still have the Sabres which I think are much more viable for Buffalo in the long run. I understand the "common cause" aspect of what you are saying, but I don't think the area has the financial resources to spend on what amounts to corporate welfare. There are too many other pressing needs.

[Downstate Buffaloian]

The only thing a downtown stadium could achieve is a shiny new facility to bring in free agents, a possible Super Bowl bid, and a revived area around the stadium, not to mention much easier access. But forget all that.

Wow, you must be smokin some really good stuff! Can I have some?

Look at the area around the baseball and hockey arenas that were built downtown over the last two decades. Both promised spin-off development, it never happened.

I'm sorry, but real cities don't put all their economic eggs into the fortunes of sports teams. It would just be another in a long line of silver bullets that failed to deliver, with taxpayers left footing the bill.

[Timmy]

answer is....we can barely keep the bills and the sporting franchises we have

we have to much population loss for such grand ideas.

This city and county need to get their act together with respect to jobs and stemming population loss and infrastructure development and getting the massive SHORTAGE of MOVE IN READY Class A warehouse, Industrial and office space that is forcing companies to look to places like Rochester instead of Buffalo.

We have to come up with more ways for our population to earn money NOT MORE WAYS TO SPEND MONEY!

[CSense]

we have to much population loss for such grand ideas.

This is why we (Buffalonians) hover around inferiority and mediocrity. This mindset which prohibits us from desiring or seeking "grand" ideas.

Your right, we are a second class city with second class citizens. What were we thinking! We should just kill ourselves and be done with it.

[concernedwnyer]

This is why we (Buffalonians) hover around inferiority and mediocrity. This mindset which prohibits us from desiring or seeking "grand" ideas.

Your right, we are a second class city with second class citizens. What were we thinking! We should just kill ourselves and be done with it.

Csense get some common sense.... We have a stadium, it works, it is big, we do not need another one at this time or the forceable future... We need to get other crap taken care of first.

Say a bad decision is made yet again and they decide to build this thing what are they going to do with the current stadium????? Who is going to pay to maintain the thing???????? Oh I see, they will let it sit and rot out like the old Aud did then the cost to do anything with it will be to high but yet it will be to costly to demolish it... Here is another idea. Seal up the sides and fill it with water to use as a Bass Pro fish pond!

These limitations on what you could use the stadium for has got to go.......

If people want the stadium so bad then they need to be the ones to pay for it 100 percent.

[CSense]

Csense get some common sense.... We have a stadium, it works, it is big, we do not need another one at this time or the forceable future... We need to get other crap taken care of first.

Say a bad decision is made yet again and they decide to build this thing what are they going to do with the current stadium????? Who is going to pay to maintain the thing???????? Oh I see, they will let it sit and rot out like the old Aud did then the cost to do anything with it will be to high but yet it will be to costly to demolish it... Here is another idea. Seal up the sides and fill it with water to use as a Bass Pro fish pond!

These limitations on what you could use the stadium for has got to go.......

If people want the stadium so bad then they need to be the ones to pay for it 100 percent.

First off this is a hypothetical, so lets not get our panties in a bunch. I'm not stating that we need to build the stadium tomorrow. This should be a long term plan, something along the lines of 15 years. The Ralph will be obsolete and the new owner(s) will require something more modern to keep the team in WNY.

Do you think what happened with the Patriots occurred overnight? This was the owner and the state coming together and making plans for the future. What we should do is start the planning and thoughts of financing now so the community can save the Bills, if possible. Not wait till the last minute and watch them leave like Baltimore did with the Colts.

[cookie]

I bet Indy is really glad the Colts were moved!
Indy has become a hotbed of economic development in recent years and they don't even have a waterfront (except a little river). Here's what they are doing to go along with the Colts' Lucas Oil Stadium. According to some of the TV news sites, they are also planning retail space.
Interesting how well thought out this is. I didn't copy the whole article, but here is the link:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...=2007711090566

11:10 PM November 9, 2007
Stadium-area proposal includes theater, condos, hotels

Three Indiana development companies are working together to buy 11 acres of land on the south edge of Downtown for a project with a “Times Square feel” that would contain hotels, condominiums, retail stores and a theater.
The project would cost at least $480 million and take several years to build if its backers can find financing.
The pie-shaped site about two blocks east of Lucas Oil Stadium includes parking lots, Subway and Arby’s restaurants, and Chateau Thomas Winery. Those buildings likely would be demolished. About half of the site would be bought from drug maker Eli Lilly and Co., which uses its portion for parking.

“We’re pretty confident (the project can be built) or we wouldn’t have worked this long on it,” said Tim Shrout, president of Cedar Run Ltd., an Indianapolis real estate developer. “There is still a lot of work to be done, (but) we think in the next six months we will be able to move forward with it.”

[concernedwnyer]

First off this is a hypothetical, so lets not get our panties in a bunch. I'm not stating that we need to build the stadium tomorrow. This should be a long term plan, something along the lines of 15 years. The Ralph will be obsolete and the new owner(s) will require something more modern to keep the team in WNY.

Do you think what happened with the Patriots occurred overnight? This was the owner and the state coming together and making plans for the future. What we should do is start the planning and thoughts of financing now so the community can save the Bills, if possible. Not wait till the last minute and watch them leave like Baltimore did with the Colts.

If things keep going the way they are going in this area you will not have to worry about any stadium being built in 15 years............ Our tolls on the Thruways might increase up to 20% and you are worried about a stadium?????
Do you have any clue what that will do to transportation costs of goods to stores????

Explain to me how a oval shaped open air arena with a flat rectangle playing field becomes obsolete??? Unless of course it is not being taken care of properly like I am sure that is what happened with the jumbotron score board..... That was not used that often for it to all of a sudden break down and oops we need a new score board. The chairleader's underclothing no longer has that purity of white anymore... Damn new score board please! Ok, just bill out the five million plus to Erie County. The taxpayers will pay for it.

[WNYresident]

This is why we (Buffalonians) hover around inferiority and mediocrity. This mindset which prohibits us from desiring or seeking "grand" ideas.

Your right, we are a second class city with second class citizens. What were we thinking! We should just kill ourselves and be done with it.

We went with the grand idea a few times and it got us no where..


What built up around pilot field and HSBC?