The Bills may remain in Western New York but move indoors.
Billionaire Tom Golisano, a former owner of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, has confirmed that he is interested in buying the Bills from the estate of the late owner Ralph Wilson, and that he would keep the team in town. But Golisano indicated that a new stadium may need to be built.
“My guess, and it’s strictly a guess, is the stadium will be covered,” he said, via the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “I don’t know if it’ll have a sliding roof or just a permanent roof, but my guess is it will be covered. And the state government, our governor and some of our U.S. senators are very much in favor of this happening.”
Golisano has been linked to developer Scott Congel, who owns land about 10 miles from Ralph Wilson Stadium that could be the site of a new stadium. Such a deal is a long way off, but Golisano made clear that he hopes an arrangement for the Bills to stay in the Buffalo area can be worked out.
“The important thing is someone buys [the team] and keeps it in western New York,” he said. “Do I feel it has to be me? No, I’m not possessed about owning the Buffalo Bills, just as I wasn’t possessed about owning the Buffalo Sabres. They were in danger of leaving, too. In fact they were a lot closer to leaving than the Bills are. I got involved then because I wanted to keep that entity in western New York, and I want to keep the Buffalo Bills in western New York.”
Snow in Buffalo in December is a longtime NFL tradition, and it would be sad to see it go. But if the alternative is the Bills leaving the area entirely, Buffalo fans would embrace a dome.