The folks who plan to erect a new football stadium in Los Angeles have made all the necessary arrangements to do the building.
Now they just have to find someone to play there.
According to the Associated Press, Majestic Realty Co. is still considering seven teams: the Bills, Chargers, 49ers, Jaguars, Vikings, Rams, and Raiders.
But there are two at the top of the list: the Bills and the Jags.
“Jacksonville and Buffalo are two teams in very, very small markets,” Majestic managing partner John Semcken said. “They are teams that have either outdated stadiums or are having
trouble filling their stadiums or both.”
Semcken also said that Majestic won’t approach the 49ers, Vikings, or Chargers until they have exhausted efforts to remain in their home markets. He said it wouldn’t be fair to interfere with the teams’ efforts to stay put.
While, of course, indirectly interfering with those efforts by making it known that there’s a viable alternative available for each of them.
And the goal isn’t to simply induce a team to move; Majestic CEO Ed Roski wants to put together a group of investors to buy a team.
Previously, Majestic suggested that two teams could play in the stadium — one owned by Roski’s group and the other owned by outside interests.
Semcken also said that Majestic won’t approach the 49ers, Vikings, or Chargers until they have exhausted efforts to remain in their home markets. He said it wouldn’t be fair to interfere with the teams’ efforts to stay put.
-So why is it fair to interfere with the Bills and Jags, who are both making “efforts?”
Not happening John Semcken…at least not in Buffalo…
We are a small market, but we will find SOME way to keep the Bills…
Let the Jags go to LA! More egg on the face of Tagliabue for picking Jacksonville over Baltimore.
And there are some folks who want “Tags” in Canton. What a complete joke.
What’s the story here? That this group wants to buy a team that’s not for sale? Get in line.
This LA group represents everything that is wrong with the NFL.
Teams like the Bills represent everything that is RIGHT about the NFL. We sell out our stadium and support our team regardless of how terrible the product is.
This still won’t stem the tide of moronic packer fans saying the Vikes to LA.
Give it up, they aren’t going anywhere, and you shouldn’t want them to.
Hmm… Being an old school football “traditionalist”, I hate to see any NFL team move out of a city. I can’t help but feel sorry for the loyal fans left behind. Maybe those who have had season tickets deserve a refund for past years of faithfulness… although it would never happen. Yes, football, as fun as it is to watch, is still a business. If you lose, you don’t make much money. But I am in favor of not selling a teams’ identity. Cleveland seemed to understand this philosophy. They sold their team to Baltimore, but kept their name and likeness the same for a future rebuilding. Jim Brown and other former Cleveland players could still feel proud of their accomplishments “back in the day”. In the NFL, tradition still means something… even for a losing team.
Interesting to think of the re-alignment scenarios if either of these teams moved to LA. I don’t think the Bills would stay in the AFC East if they were to move.
If Goodell is determined to expand the league in the near future, how about instead of a new team in f-ing London of all stupid places, they grant an expansion franchise to L.A.? That way everyone stays put and we don’t have to deal with the farce of an NFL franchise overseas.
Let me add, I wouldn’t be averse to a team in Canada. But not across the friggin’ ocean.
The Bills sold out (73,000ish each game) for at least the past couple of years straight, despite being as bad as they’ve been. They are also middle of the pack in the NFL in regards to profitability. Small market or not, no way they go anywhere.
Target the Lions. We’ll pay you to take them!
The Raiders back to LA? Really? Why don’t they just split time between LA and Oakland like the Packers used to split time between Lambeau and County Stadium?
Win-Win
You think this two-bit operation to bring the Bills to LA ever heard of Rogers Communications? If the Bills go anywhere, it’ll be Toronto. Jacksonville is in a much more dire spot than B-lo when it comes to revenue.
@Mr. Football
Agree with your thoughts, except Jacksonville has no tradition, and certainly very few loyal fans.
We hold onto things in Baltimore for a long time, and we deserved to get a team back. No one here is proud of how it had to go down, but everyone is glad that Cleveland was able to keep all the records, uniforms, name etc. We didn’t get that chance when the Colts left, and that still stings deep.
mr. football:
You are so correct about cleveland, that is the correct way to move a franchise. Baltimore got hosed on this and yet they get so much grief for stealing the browns, for what 2 years before the brownies came back into a new state of the art stadium? Not only that they left the losing ways in cleveland as well!
“wouldn’t be fair to interfere with the teams’ efforts to stay put”, when talking about the 49ers, chargers, or vikings… does that mean they think its ok to interfere with the bills, jags, rams, and raiders?
Every time they talk about a team moving, the bills are braught up. But the bills arnt going anywhere. Even if they do move, it will be to Canada, not LA.
IMO, the Chargers, are the most likly team to move to LA. Not because of ticket sales, but because the team is having problems with the city.
Suck on that Packers! Told you, Vikings will go nowhere. Now that your main anti Viking smack slogan LA Vikings will never be ,what next geniuses? Face it ,you wanted us gone. We have an awesome team. Even when Favre leaves we will plug in another functionable QB and still be your daddies for the next 10 years. Rodgers will always be a second place NFC North QB,get used to it!
This guy sounds like another billionaire elitist who things he can get whatever he wants. Sorry buddy, but the Bills don’t have problems filling the stadium, and the current stadium is not in bad shape at all. So your reasoning is a fail. And it’s not fair to approach teams who are trying to stay put? What do you call the Bills then moron? When are the LA folks going to get it through their sun-soaked skulls that the fans in LA don’t give a crap about NFL football?! The evidence is there, but rich losers like this clown don’t seem very tuned in to public opinion. If Goodell, a native semi-Buffalonian, allows the team to be ripped from the city, he should cement a legacy as the worst commissioner ever.
Take the Jaguars, the fans don’t care. They can’t sell out a tarp covered stadium.
Leave the Bills alone. They haven’t had a black-out in years. They are also making efforts expanding into Toronto.
The Jags are the only team with a chance of moving. Just face it. The NFL made a mistake with Jacksonville. It’s a great place to visit; but it cannot support its team.
Bills are not leaving Buffalo especially to go to LA. Bills have sold out every game for the last few years.
This still won’t stem the tide of moronic packer fans saying the Vikes to LA.
Give it up, they aren’t going anywhere, and you shouldn’t want them to.
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Why would a team with the hands down worst stadium in pro sports that does not bring in anywhere close to the revenue Lambeau or Soldier Field does in a town with only moderate fan interest that doesn’t feel like ponying up for yet another new stadium want to stay there? Of course ziggy the greek has the $$$ to do it himself but why would he when he knows LA would do it for him? It’s not complicated math.
Mr. Football. Cleveland did not sell their team to Baltimore. Art Model took the team to Baltimore. The city of Cleveland did not get paid for it.
LA isn’t a good football city. Sure it has a lot of people. But I feel like they’ve had their chances to have teams and demonstrated that they don’t really want one. Why does this Roski guy think this is such a great idea?
Lots of people does not always equal lots of dollars. I’ll laugh when they get a storied franchise like the Bills to move there only to see the stadium not sell out any time there is a losing season. I’ll laugh when LA residents don’t embrace the Industry team and instead continue to support Raiders or Chargers or whatever team fans there currently follow.
THAT will be funny.
The Bills stadium was recently renovated. The do sell out there too. I’d say the Chargers would be the team moving. Wasn’t that stadium bulit in 1966. It appears more of a baseball stadium.
I can understand why the Bills would be thrown in the mix. It is known that upon the death of Ralph Wilson, the team is to be sold and perhaps Roski’s group can fly in, buy the team and move it to Los Angeles. Buffalo fans be damned. As for Jacksonville well easy pickings.
I am a lifelong Bills fan.
However, once Ralph kicks and his heirs sell the team, the new owner will be saddled with significant debt service or a desire to achieve an appropriate return on his investment if he finances the purchase with his own capital. To do that, he will need to increase the team’s revenues from the stadium. The Bills do pack the house, but at the lowest ticket prices in the league and with very little luxury seat revenues. The ticket prices will need to significantly increase which will be tough on the depressed local economy in a state with significant taxes. The luxury seat revenues are not shared with other owners and this is how teams like Washington, Dallas, New England, etc. generate significant revenue streams far surpassing small market clubs.
Bills fans need to realize that the team will move in the next 10 years based solely on economics. NFL owners are businessmen first and sports fans second…….
“LA isn’t a good football city. Sure it has a lot of people. But I feel like they’ve had their chances to have teams and demonstrated that they don’t really want one.”
People keep saying this, but they seem to be unaware of the actual history of things. LA supported the Rams for many, many years. The Rams then decided to move over stadium issues as has happened to many cities – Cleveland, Baltimore, and St. Louis come to mind. Anybody contending that Cleveland isn’t a football town???
Also, bear in mind that the Rams elected to move when there were two teams in LA. Then Al Davis (ever the genius) decided to move in the same offseason when he could have had LA to himself.
So basically, LA fans never had the opportunity to support just one team – they went from 2 to 0. And one of the teams left because their owner is nuts.
And hey, look at it this way. Pete Carroll has proven that LA can, in fact, support a professional football team.
Where does the perception that The Bills might move come from? It’s rediculous to think that the NFL and it’s owners would consider moving this team to L.A. or Toronto. The Bills make money. The stadium is older but has been regularly updated and is not in ill repair. The fan base could be the strongest in the NFL. The NFL is interested in the viability of placing a team in Toronto. The Toronto games are a study of that as well as a project to see if the team can make MORE money not because it doesn’t make ANY money. That stadium is sold out for every game as well it will be next year. The LA investor probably thinks Buffalo’s an easy target because the owner is in his 90′s and his family isn’t interested in the team. There’s already an alignment in Buffalo with Buffalo history that’s close to Ralph Wilson with aspirations of aquiring the team after Ralph. The Bills aren’t going anywhere. There are other teams struggling in smaller markets poor ticket sales and weak ownership trying to keep their heads above water that should be at the top of this list way before Buffalo.
mlegue810 says:
January 6, 2010 9:49 AM
Target the Lions. We’ll pay you to take them!
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then the nfl could expand… to detroit!
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the most popular sport in LA is futbol. think about it.
Given the indifference to football in the LA area, why are they trying to lure a team there. They will only end up moving if the team is not wildly successful. The Rams did well there when they were an elite team. When they weren’t they couldn’t draw flies. (Well, maybe they could considering the product they were putting out there, but that’s another story). The LA area likes college ball and baseball. Why not leave it at that? Oh, wait a minute, there is money to be made. Not necessarily by filling up a bowl, but attracting live fans to a football game is not what it is about. That’s right, it is about TV revenue in a top 10 market. So TV drives the NFL, and if the networks ever realized it, and conspired with the FCC regulators, the networks would own the NFL. Stay tuned.
Pervy_Harvin says:
January 6, 2010 9:57 AM
Told you, Vikings will go nowhere.
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Jesus, Pervy. That’s what we’ve been saying all along. The Vikings will go nowhere.. Just like they’ve done for their entire existence.
LA is a great football city. Problem is, it already has two very popular football teams – USC and UCLA. They have no problems selling tickets to their games. Until you talk those two schools into giving the sport up the NFL doesn’t stand a chance.
Don’t expect common sense to be used in this decision. The NFL owners will only do what is in the best interest of their wallets, even if it means ignoring a local fan base. Sellouts, I’m afraid to say Buffalo, won’t matter. Cleveland had decades of them before 1995. Performance leases won’t matter. Stadium condition won’t matter as Art Modell was defacto owner of the old Cleveland stadium.
You could have several greedy team owners working behind the scenes right now on a deal, just like Art did. Since it takes two to tango, I’m sure you will have every corrupt government official in LA working to make it happen, just like it went down in Baltimore.
And that colors and history crap don’t mean much when you go through what Cleveland did.
Florio,
You seized to mention that Wayne Weaver, THE OWNER of the Jaguars once again stated that the team is not for sale.
When will you get this through your thick skull?
1st – if the Bills are selling out all the time – - how come thay have games in Toronto? Sounds like a team in trouble or an owner who wants to move his team.
2nd – Los Angeles is a big sports town, big football town, it’s just so many people like me bring their allegiances with them… Go Pack Go!
3rd – Like many US citizens, I have no interest in my taxes supporting a stadium that loses money. If these stadiums made money (without taxing everyone within a 100 miles to support it) the NFL would build their own stadiums for every team.
Am I missing something here??? LA couldn’t/wouldn’t support one NFL team now they are thinking about putting two teams there. Makes about as much sense as putting an expansion team in Jville.
The Chargers and the Vikings will be LA bound. So it is said; so shall it be done!
Jesus, Pervy. That’s what we’ve been saying all along. The Vikings will go nowhere.. Just like they’ve done for their entire existence.
——————————————————
LOL!
great zing
Sorry, jamaltimore — Baltimore fans deserve to be hosed, over and over again. You knew how crappy it was to lose your team — but that didn’t stop you from poaching our team. Art Modell didn’t graciously leave the colors and the records and the team name — we had to sue him, and that is what we got in settlement. Modell never played straight with us, the county and the taxpayers gave him everything he asked for, all the while Modell met in secret with officials from Maryland and Baltimore (after he unilaterally declared a moratorium on stadium discussions in 1995.) In the end, even the deal to move the team to Baltimore for your 30 pieces of silver wasn’t enough to shore up Modell financially in order for him to keep the team. If Modell had any decency, he’d have sold the team to local interests in Cleveland, instead of moving it then selling to to local interests in Baltimore.
We had no football in Cleveland for three years, we hastily put up a mediocre stadium that didn’t even have escalators to the upper decks when it first opened (not kidding!), and the NFL didn’t select the ownership for the new Browns franchise till late 1998 — giving us no meaningful opportunity to scout talent so that we could have a good draft in ’99, and yes, our team has been hobbled ever since. Since returning to the league, we’ve had just one playoff appearance for a loss. Amazingly, Mangini’s four game winning streak is the longest winning streak of the new franchise. You have to go back to 1994 for the last time the Browns did that — which was also the last year the Browns won a playoff game (over the Pats.)
What happened to Cleveland was and REMAINS a travesty — and the NFL better not allow that to happen to Buffalo.
“They are teams that have either outdated stadiums or are having trouble filling their stadiums or both.”
Is that an XOR? It should be, but makes no sense.
Bills have an outdated stadium, but no issues filling it.
Jags don’t have an outdated stadium (if less than 20 years is outdated, ye gods), but issues filling it.
Wilf will make sure the Vikings are in contention for LA, otherwise he has no leverage in the building of a new stadium. Vikings are a great “franchise” to move there because of their current success. It would be easy to sell tickets. Bills and Jags can’t say that. Plus LA knows how to build bridges.
@whybuffalowhy
I for one don’t like the idea of teams moving and giving their fans the finger on the way out. Art Modell and Bud Adams are two characters who did just that. Both teams sold out their stadiums yet they wanted new stadiums and when they could not get them they left and took their teams with them.
Once Ralph Wilson passes on, he has it set up to sell the team. I am sure he would prefer for the team to stay in Buffalo but the goal is for the Wilson daughters to get the most out of the deal. If Ed Roski somehow presents a bid so high that it can’t be ignored like Dan Snyder did after the passing of Jack Kemp Cooke he will get the team and the Bills will be gone from Western New York.
Adam-Chris Scheftersen says: Jesus, Pervy. That’s what we’ve been saying all along. The Vikings will go nowhere.. Just like they’ve done for their entire existence.
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At least I will be on PFT next Monday. For my team will still be in the hunt. Unlike you and your Packer buddies. You will chugging cheap beer and throwing darts at a Warner photo at the local dive bar!
Is there really any question that the Jags should move? They can’t even sell out half a stadium that is filled to capacity when the local college team plays there, there’s no history, the fans don’t care, the market is small, and Florida already has two teams. The Bills have history, have passionate fans, sell out even when the team sucks, and are developing a decent Canadian following to go with the local market. Why is there even any real discussion on this point other than from the usual Packer fans who have nothing original to say?
The Bills sell out every game, so this guy is full of sh!t…
@Audient
You are somwhat misinformed, by Grossi I suspect. Modell and his buddy, the current owner of the Browns, met on the current owner’s plane with the city officeals of Baltimore. He had tried numerous times in vain to get help, financial, and was turned down by Cleveland’s city fathers.
It wasn’t a Baltimore things as much as Modell looking to take care of his investment.
Can you blame someone for wanting what’s best for his family.
BYW the city of Cleveland did not sue to get the browns name and colors Modell never took them.
Grossi has brainwashed the world.
What’s amazing is that in all of these very passionate posts, there’s maybe only one from a Jags fan. I think that says it all right there.
And LA will support WINNING teams only. We love the Kings, Ducks, Dodgers, Angels, Bruins, Trojans, Lakers…hell, we even like the Galaxy…sort of…but only when they are WINNING. There’s too many other distractions in LA to care about a team/franchise that isn’t taking care of business.
Bills won’t move. This company doesn’t know anything about football. I feel bad for whatever team has tok play there.
Mike,
Nice to see this story with actual facts as to the teams the Los Angeles group is targeting as opposed to the rumors/supposition you have been pulling out of your A$$ over the last year or so. Every one of your “stories” has mentioned the Saints as a team that could move, despite the fact that they have higher premium ticket prices than most teams and a 50,000 person waiting list for season tickets. Now that real information has come out and the list is known, we see who the real targets are. Any comments now Mike?
I would guess that Jacksonville is the most likely team to move. We will probably not know until after the draft. If the Jaguars draft Tebow, then they intend to make a go of staying in North Florida. If they do not draft Tebow that is a sign that they are giving up on their fan base and that they will soon pack up the moving vans for the long haul all the way across the country on Interstate 10.
I would not rule out the Vikings because it looks like they have no chance of getting a stadium deal done in the next two years.
darth_vincent says: January 6, 2010 10:43 AM
1st – if the Bills are selling out all the time – - how come thay have games in Toronto? Sounds like a team in trouble or an owner who wants to move his team.
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The Bills “sell out all the time” because of fans from Toronto making the trip there. Anybody who denies this is a liar.
If Toronto were to get it’s own team, the Bills would NOT sell out and would be in big financial trouble because those games in Toronto make huge money.
Like someone said earlier, the Bills have the lowest ticket prices. Well Toronto has the highest BY FAR.
Prices were REDUCED this year to a range from $99-$275 each, but VIP seats are $495 each.
So the Vikings will probably end up playing at TCF Bank if they don’t move to LA. It’s only 50,000 people. they need to make it much bigger. I doubt the U of M lets that happen though
@Mr. Football
I lived in Cleveland when the Browns went to Baltimore, and I have to agree with other posters that said there was nothing good about it. What also isn’t mentioned is that Model was given the opportunity to play in the new stadium put up for Cleveland too, but chose not to. There’s nothing good about losing your team, especially when everyone knows it is about taking tax dollars and using it as a nice corporate welfare check. Add to it that Baltimore has a lombardi trophy that as far as I am concerned belongs to Cleveland. Keeping the records and name is an utter joke. Losing your team is heart wrenching.
I am a Vikings fan first and was a Brown’s fan second. I no longer cheer for Cleveland, and if the Vikings leave Minnesota, I know I’ll be done with football.
If the NFL wants a team in LA, simply expand. Buffalo is a storied franchize and makes money. The NFL just expanded to Jacksonville. Don’t know if Jacks makes money, but the bottom line is that it is a big travesty to those who invested in that team if it is taken away. If the NFL cares about the Jacksonville market, perhaps they should place more emphasis on the ownership putting a quality product on the field.
darth_vincent says:
January 6, 2010 10:43 AM
1st – if the Bills are selling out all the time – - how come thay have games in Toronto? Sounds like a team in trouble or an owner who wants to move his team.
3rd – Like many US citizens, I have no interest in my taxes supporting a stadium that loses money. If these stadiums made money (without taxing everyone within a 100 miles to support it) the NFL would build their own stadiums for every team.
-I will take a shot at two of these.
1st- Because the team makes approx. $1M per game in revenue when the game is in Buffalo. Maybe a bit more. In Toronto, he has guaranteed payments of 7-8M per game.
3rd- I largely agree, and I would even take this statement further. I have no interest in my tax dollars support a stadium…or team…period. And this is coming from a Bills season ticket holder.
No one should wish for any franchise to move to LA. The affected fans aren’t going to start rooting for another team. They will be bitter towards the NFL and the NFL will be dead in those markets.
For most fans, you hate 1 team almost as much as you like your own team. If the team you hate the most moves to LA, it just wouldn’t be the same. The joy you think you would feel by seeing that team move to LA would leave a void in your life.
Why do so many people think that LA HAS to have a team?
They had both the Rams and Raiders and the city didn’t care about either one.
What makes it different now?
Everyone knows that the Jacksonville Jaguars should have been the St. Louis Stallions. They chose Jacksonville and St. Louis eventually got the Rams instead.
IF the JAGS land in L.A. then the AFC WEST will be re-aligned:
Chargers
Raiders
Denver
JAGS(L.A.)
then K.C. will get moved to the AFC South where it should be…
I can understand that Packer fans hate the Vikings. The Packer fans that want the Vikings to move to LA are scum. If the Vikings were to move, I would then be a fan of whatever team playing Green Bay any given week. Really, Green Bay fans need to learn humility. I understand that the 70′s and 80′s didn’t teach them anything. So many Packer fans smug and it’s not healthy for them.
Pervy_Harvin says:
January 6, 2010 11:25 AM
At least I will be on PFT next Monday. For my team will still be in the hunt. Unlike you and your Packer buddies. You will chugging cheap beer and throwing darts at a Warner photo at the local dive bar!
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Wrong again, dingleberry. I’ll be here regardless of what happens this weekend. And I won’t, unlike you, make predictions about the game. And I certainly will not “chugging cheap beer and throwing darts” at anyone.
In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever chugging cheap beer and throwing darts at QBs pictures.
Nordmann says:
January 6, 2010 11:46 AM
For most fans, you hate 1 team almost as much as you like your own team. If the team you hate the most moves to LA, it just wouldn’t be the same. The joy you think you would feel by seeing that team move to LA would leave a void in your life.
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I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can definitely say it wouldn’t leave a void for me if the Vikings moved to LA, moved to London, or were simply removed from existence.
There’s plenty of hate to go around. Another team would quickly fill the void. And I’d get a nice chuckle every time I think about Minnesota losing a team in three different sports. That would be something.
What, no mention of Tampa Bay?
I’m thinking it’ll either be Tampa Bay or the Chargers. The Jaguars will have Tim Tebow who will bring in the crowds.
I just moved to Jacksonville two years ago, I think the overarching problem with not selling out is that the stadium is/was built for Florida/Georgia weekend, not specifically for an NFL team. The facility itself is awesome, but it’s hard to justify having 72’000 seats, when the surrounding metropolitan area is barely a million people, how do you get 10% of your population into the stadium? This is also being brought up at a horrible economic time – with the only “price deal” the Jaguars give the community is a 3 game pack for $120.00. That’s a great incentive since it’s an incredibly low ticket price for an NFL game, who can afford to basically buy three though, rent/bills come before seeing a football game. At least Jacksonville is growing in population, when you have teams like the lions/browns/bengals in cities that are economically dying it makes sense to consider moving those franchises rather than ones that can be economically viable with the right plan.
For example the Jaguars could offer reduced price tickets for 20.00 to all the retired/active duty military that live here or work on the surrounding bases. Hand out the same kind of discount to kids in public schools for a family pack of reduced price tickets for one game. And maybe most importantly, when you have a marquee tailback like MJD, don’t have your sub-par QB throw the ball 30+ times a game. Winning games will go a long way in getting people to commit to season ticket packages and filling the seats when they know you aren’t going to put up a horrible game (like the 41-0 loss to the Seahawks).
The image that the NFL is gaining as being a league full of criminals and greedy owners could really end up hurting revenues in the near future, especially given the high popularity of college football as a replacement and starup leagues such as the UFL. Hopefully the comish and other league officers realize this and understand that it is very important for the league to maintain what loyal, traditional fanbase it has left or else the league will continue losing its luster. This is why it would be a terrible idea to move the bills.
As far as profitability goes, Buffalo has games in TO in order to increase revenues and to attract the Candian fanbase which is very valuable to the franchise as supporters (having this game in TO also decreases season ticket prices because holders are only paying for seven games), and judging by the amount of Canadians who come down for the games, its working. Plus one must take into consideration the falling value of the US dollar compared to the Canadian dollar, which makes it increasingly cheaper for Ontario residents to come down for the game. Buffalo management should take this into consideration add more luxury seats and raise prices in order get more out of the Toronto fans. The average bills fan is completely ok with sitting in cheaper seats as long as they get to see their beloved team play on Sunday.
In other words, why would the NFL allow Buffalo to move all the way to LA, which would throw off the divison alignment, when Toronto & Southern Ontario offers the same exact benefits just over the border?
Browns fans forget the city refused to build a new stadium. They built the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame instead. It wasn’t until the move was under way did the city of Cleveland get serious about building a new stadium.
Also when Tagliabue passed up Baltimore for Jacksonville, all the other owners saw how serious we were for a team. If Tagliabue had selected Baltimore there is a good chance the Browns would have moved anyway, but there is also a good chance they would have never left. Having Baltimore open to build a stadium was huge mistake. It was only a matter of time before someone came there.
Browns fans should be mad at Tagliabue, not the fans in Baltimore. Cleveland got a much better deal when they played hardball with the NFL than Baltimore got.
Excellent post, pray4thebills.
For a team to relocate you need 2/3 vote by the owners. The owners generally have more loyalty to traditional long time franchises like Buffalo.
Although the Bills are going to Toronto they are generating about $80 million in those games which makes it seem we have a pretty good fan base in Southern Ontario as well as Western New York.
Ralph Wilson stadium has a capacity of 73,967 and this season the bills had about 55,000 season ticket holders. That’s money in the bank before the season even starts and this is with a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in 10 years.
Bills officials have stated “Mr. Wilson has repeatedly stated on record that he has no intentions of moving or selling the team. In fact, he has stated that he will ‘take the team to the wall’. This is a Los Angeles story not a Bills story.”
Buffalo Bills Hall of Famer Jim Kelly is getting financial backers together to keep the team in Buffalo and is getting alot of interest.
And if you ever get a chance to tailgate in Buffalo you should do it. It’s been continuously said that it’s some of the best times in the NFL because we love our Bills.
Oh and the Bills are staying in Buffalo cause they make you wanna SHOUT!
Kick your heels up and SHOUT!
Throw your hands up and SHOUT!
Throw your head back and SHOUT!
In 2002, the Jaguars and the City of Jacksonville extended the stadium lease to 2030.
There is a performance clause written into that lease that states that ALL home games be played in the stadium until 2030. This prevents Jacksonville from losing a home game to go play in London. If/when they do go, it will be as a visitor.
For the Jaguars (regardless of ownership) to break that lease requires:
1. The NFL to change its written policy for a team to break a stadium lease to move to a new city.
2. The Jags would have to open their books and prove to the city that they lost money for three straight years. (good luck with that, the NFLPA would have a field day knowing what an org makes/loses)
3. Pay back the City of Jacksonville the remainder of the lease agreement (around 50 million) in one lump check immediately upon termination of the lease.
4. Reimburse the city for lost parking revenue, ticket surcharges, and other things. This could total 200 million as well.
Wayne Weaver wrote that lease with the city in order to keep the Jaguars there. It was his idea to include the clauses for breaking the lease.
They can only get out of the money if they have a local judge say that the stadium has poor maintenance. (not likely, it just had a 33 million dollar update to get the SuperBowl a few years back)
If Wayne Weaver were to sell the team, (worth around 800 million, the new owner could move them, after paying another 250+ million in fees and broken contracts. Then spend what, another billion or so on a new stadium?
Yeah, LA is blowing hot air up everyone’s asses.
I’m going to start working on my sign to bring to next years games. It will say. “Guess the Jags didn’t move…..again. Deal with it America” with an outline of my middle finger extended to you all. It’s a good thing most of you are not prophets cause your fake ministry would have gone out of business by now. Let the rumors continue…..I’ll be laughing about it while I watch my team for yet another year. And you all will still be prophesying your doom and gloom on Jacksonville. To quote distrubed (paraphrased) How long will we be waiting… on your modern LA owner to take away our beloved Jaguars that pisses you off to no end…..still awaiting I…..
I’d love to see the Raiders move to Sacramento if they would build them a stadium. I’d much rather help finance a stadium for a NFL or MLB team like the A’s than the Kings. I know it will never happen though.
They couldn’t keep the Rams in LA and the Raiders didn’t last long there either. What makes anyone think a team will make it now. Even though it’s the “biggest” market in the universe.
I can understand that Packer fans hate the Vikings. The Packer fans that want the Vikings to move to LA are scum. If the Vikings were to move, I would then be a fan of whatever team playing Green Bay any given week. Really, Green Bay fans need to learn humility. I understand that the 70′s and 80′s didn’t teach them anything. So many Packer fans smug and it’s not healthy for them.
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That is about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. So if the queens leave for la, your going to blame Green bay? your a queen fan, arent you already rooting against the pack?
HUMILITY? YOU GUYS HAVE NEVER WON ANYTHING AND YOU DORKS TALK ALL KINDS OF TRASH. ITS CALLED JEALOUSY
GB 9 NFL CHAMPIONSHIPS 3 SUPERBOWLS
THE LITTLE PURPLE GIRLS = NOTHING.
And why shouldnt we be smug? When and if you ever win a superbowl, dont you think you would be proud of it?
Talk about talking out your ass.
morons
percy harvin = 10 year old
Jacksonville needs to move like years ago…enjoy LA!
Dear Audient: The Governor of Maryland introduced Art Modell at the the press conference as the owner of the “Baltimore Browns.” I listened to this on the radio.Modell had no intention of leaving them behind. It was part of the settlement as was stated. This benefited Baltimore immensely in the sense that it turned the Browns into an expansion team – what Baltimore wanted all along. Ravens fans can thank Browns fans for making that happen. Many Browns fans, myself included, would have preferred the new ownership to retire the name and colors and start fresh like the Ravens did. That this was never discussed is unfortunate. Of course, I’m sure all of Baltimore would tear up their Ravens jerseys to get their beloved Baltimore Colts back.
Audient please note:
Excerpt from http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/baltrav/ravens.html
“1994-1995: After being reject for expansion Baltimore landed a CFL team they called the Colts. However, Robert Irsay filed a lawsuit and the team changed its name to the Stallions. In its two years of existence it made the Grey Cup Final winning in 1995. However, despite the success of the Stallions Baltimore wanted the NFL, and that meant doing to another city what had been down to it when the Colts moved to Indianapolis. In October of 1995 they finally struck a deal with Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell to bring the Browns to Baltimore. The city of Cleveland went into a legal scramble to save their team. However, in court they knew they would likely lose, which led to a settlement between the city of Cleveland, the NFL, Art Modell and Baltimore. The deal allowed Modell to bring his team to Baltimore. However, they left behind their history and nickname to be used by an expansion team in 1999. This meant that the team playing in Baltimore would be an established roster with the clean history of expansion team complete with a new nickname. Eventually the name Ravens would be chosen in honor of Edgar Allen Poe’s famous book he wrote in Baltimore.”
Thank you, Brownout.
For those of you still don’t think the city of Cleveland brought a lawsuit against the Browns, I refer you to Case No CV-95-297833 on the Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas docket: Cleveland Ohio, City of v. Cleveland Browns Inc. et al.
I was working in Washington DC around the time of the move, and I saw Baltimore Browns tshirts for sale at BWI airport. They disappeared when the settlement was announced, which included Cleveland keeping the colors, name, records.
@mbs – The man whose plane carried Art Modell to Baltimore for that infamous meeting is not the current owner of the Browns, as you wrote. That man, Al Lerner, passed away a few years ago. While I was never comfortable with his role in the situation, it remains a minor point. I suppose if Art had bought a ticket and flew Southwest to BWI (with his financial woes, I could just see it), we could get worked up that Southwest had a hand in the move of the team? I don’t think so.
Art Modell was invited to be part of the Gateway project, which built new facilities for the Indians and the Cavs. He declined to be a part of it. I was in Cleveland when that happened. He later asked for improvements to the existing stadium, and the county put a tax issue on the county ballot in Fall 1995 to pay for it, and the voters in Cuyahoga County passed the tax. Modell announced the moved the week of the election, the voters passed the tax anyway.
Art Modell could have done right by his family AND the city of Cleveland — by selling the team to local interests. Modell is a guy who couldn’t get it done in the league by the mid-90s. This guy had to take out a loan to pay Andre Risen when the team signed him as a free agent. Moving the team in a failing effort to keep the team was pure selfishness — which rightly has its place in business, yes, but in a business like the NFL, goodwill with the fans is so integral to the success of the business. The aftermath of Modell’s selfishness festers to this very day.
Ravens fans can go ahead and believe whatever they want so they can look themselves in the mirror and contain the self-loathing — the facts remain. They will not be forgotten here, and the HOF voters haven’t forgotten it either. That is why Modell hasn’t seen Canton, and won’t in his lifetime.
last starfighter says:
January 6, 2010 10:02 AM
Why would a team with the hands down worst stadium in pro sports that does not bring in anywhere close to the revenue Lambeau or Soldier Field does in a town with only moderate fan interest that doesn’t feel like ponying up for yet another new stadium want to stay there? Of course ziggy the greek has the $$$ to do it himself but why would he when he knows LA would do it for him? It’s not complicated math.
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If only these rich people were as smart as you, they would have figured this out long ago, right, Brainiac?
Get a clue, your hate doesnt justify your stupidity!
Allied Biscuit says:
January 6, 2010 11:40 AM
So the Vikings will probably end up playing at TCF Bank if they don’t move to LA. It’s only 50,000 people. they need to make it much bigger. I doubt the U of M lets that happen though
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If you look up the TCF stadium it will tell you that it was built in a manner to add 25,000 seats efficiently and price wise just for the possibility of the Vikings running into problems.
SF Saints Fan says:
January 6, 2010 11:32 AM
I would not rule out the Vikings because it looks like they have no chance of getting a stadium deal done in the next two years.
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We are so glad for your wisdom, learn about what you are typing about before making yourself look so stupid, or like a packer fan!
I’m sure your up on all the politics in Mn……..
@footballphill
Got a funny feeling bad things are comin your way.
jeffragnarchicken says:
January 6, 2010 9:40 AM
This still won’t stem the tide of moronic packer fans saying the Vikes to LA.
Give it up, they aren’t going anywhere, and you shouldn’t want them to.
As a football fan..I don’t wish the Vikings off to anywhere, but I think it’s in Zygi’s head as long as there’s no stadium, or deal for one, in place.
As a Pack fan..I don’t wish it either. Unless Favre can play like this for 4 more years, (good luck getting him onboard for next year), I think the Pack will top the Vikes for some years to come and they’ll (MV) be the same caliber with Harvin and AP as the Lions were with Barry Sanders and Herman Moore.
No slingin’…just my take.