Ralph Wilson Died

[MikeO]

Bills owner Ralph Wilson died today.

The team can't move because they just signed a new 10 year lease with the city a year or so ago. But there are loopholes there so its not totally cut and dry. Bon Jovi wants to buy the team so he might jump in now and buy it. I expect every billionaire who wants an NFL team to be working the phones this afternoon

[MikeO]

opps wrong area of the message board. Could a MOD move it to the "AROUND THE NFL" section of the site. Thanks

[Landshark]

My prayers go out to his family. But more uncertainty surrounds the team than his family

[masterfins]

One of the best NFL owners out there.  RIP.  Buffalo taking some hits with Jim Kelly facing aggressive oral cancer.

[MikeO]

His wife has control of the team and has them for sale. And big changes are coming. Vic Carucci this morning on SIRIUS NFL Radio said the following of the situation

-Team could be sold by October
-Terry Pegula and Tom Golisano have been "rumored" as potential buyers but neither seem eager at this point to spend over $1 billion for a team with a poor stadium situation
-Team won't stay in Orchard Park beyond this current lease (2020 or 2022..can't remember), they are moving somewhere
-New owner will either move to a new city or get a new stadium built in Downtown Buffalo, Niagara Falls (American side), or Bativia, NY
-Three separate plans/blueprints for a NEW stadium in Downtown Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Bativia are complete. Just a matter of getting the money and which spot a potentially new owner would want if they want to stay in the region

[masterfins]

^^^ All just speculation.  I could probably come up with 20 other items just as reasonable.  I would say its highly unlikely that the team would be sold within a year, just too much work to be done to effect a sale.  I would say the only fact is that the Bills are not leaving their current stadium within the next 6 seasons, it would not be feasible given their current lease.

[MikeO]

^^^ All just speculation.  I could probably come up with 20 other items just as reasonable.  I would say its highly unlikely that the team would be sold within a year, just too much work to be done to effect a sale.  I would say the only fact is that the Bills are not leaving their current stadium within the next 6 seasons, it would not be feasible given their current lease.

not really. It's coming from an NFL reporter with sources and actually facts. He said 3 separate blueprint plans for new stadiums in Downtown Buffalo, Batavia, and Niagara Falls are complete and have been for a while as Ralph Wilson started the ball rolling on that a few years before his death. That's more than just speculation, that's a fact!  He said this sale could go down in the same time frame as the Browns sale which took place in under a year, so it is not unheard of for a team to be sold in under a year. And October is the NFL Owners meetings where they could approve a new owner and that is the time-frame Ralph's wife has put on this sale...again that's  a fact as that is her intention 

[MikeO]

http://nypost.com/2014/05/21/why-buffalo-is-trying-to-ban-bon-jovi-music/

This is funny some people in Buffalo started an online petition to BAN Bon Jovi music in local bars and clubs. Because they know Bon Jovi wants to buy the Bills and move them to Toronto. So far 42 Buffalo establishments have banned his music.

[RichThrawn]

http://nypost.com/2014/05/21/why-buffalo-is-trying-to-ban-bon-jovi-music/

This is funny some people in Buffalo started an online petition to BAN Bon Jovi music in local bars and clubs. Because they know Bon Jovi wants to buy the Bills and move them to Toronto. So far 42 Buffalo establishments have banned his music.

I've heard that Donald Trump wants to do the same thing

[MikeO]

I've heard that Donald Trump wants to do the same thing

Trump won't move them out of NY, but he won't buy them anyway. Trump is flirting with the running for Governor of NY and he has 0% of the support of the Upstate and Western NY people (ie Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica..etc) and only said that to come off looking like a good guy and a hero to those people. He has no intention of buying them nor will the NFL sell to him. Just to get his name out there in the media is the only reason he was talking about it

[RichThrawn]

Trump won't move them out of NY, but he won't buy them anyway. Trump is flirting with the running for Governor of NY and he has 0% of the support of the Upstate and Western NY people (ie Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica..etc) and only said that to come off looking like a good guy and a hero to those people. He has no intention of buying them nor will the NFL sell to him. Just to get his name out there in the media is the only reason he was talking about it

You don't know for sure.  He owned a USFL team at one point.

[MikeO]

You don't know for sure.  He owned a USFL team at one point.

And he bankrupted the USFL and he led a charge that took the NFL to court and beat the NFL in court. The NFL league office has never forgot and hates his guts there is a ton of bad blood there. They would never approve him as an owner.

[Sunstroke]

I'll stop short of any absolutes, only because I'm still waiting on Ancestry.com to 100% confirm that I am a direct descendent of the original Oracle of Delphi... But the fact that Trump has seriously pissed off the NFL in the past is pretty obvious, and since new owners have to be voted in, I think it is epically improbable that they approve him for ownership any time soon.

[masterfins]

I could see Bon Jovi becoming a part owner of the team, but the Bills are not leaving Western New York.

[Phishfan]

Donald Trump pissed off the NFL in the 80's. How many people are still around do you figure? Who holds grudges on things that predate them? I don't see Trump buying the team either but suggesting it is because of that isn't accurate I don't think.