That's what people are saying locally too. I bet Golicano is happy with his investment now! It is a scary thought, Ralph Wilson's kids dont want anything to do with the team. i hope it pans out. where else can i see the jets once a year without a roadtrip? and im NOT moving to Jersey
Upstate New York is hurting already with all of the major company leaving (expect for Lock Heed and Martin I think that is the name of the plane company) if the football team goes that is just a kick in the nuts. The area love the Bills, its sad companies just lock the doors one day and a whole section of a state is turned to shit.
Kodak has been laying people off by the thousands. . they used to run this part of the state.. .. Xerox is laying people off like crazy.. Western NY is a mess..
I thought that Kodak was already gone, I heard that they where movihg to Mexico or Canada last year. It would be nice if another company would come in and take over all the empty plants
No. Kodak is still based in Rochester. They have been outsourcing jobs in Mexico. The workforce here has went from about 25,000 to under 16,000 in the past five years or so. More cuts are expected.
There are TONS of opertunities for property in WNY, but NYS taxes make a move to this area difficult compared to other markets. Niagara Falls is a prime example. the economy was industiral based, and when that industry moved, the city turned to shit. now people are excited for Casinos for city revenue.
Niagara Falls is a mess now.. Rochester is looking to get a casino, not too happy about that.. we already wasted 40 mil on a shitty ferry. Isn't Buffalo looking to get ANOTHER casino?
Buffalo got the Casino approved, and the Senecas bought the land right behind the HSBC Arena (an old train station i believe, inside is the equivilant of 2 football fields) right on the waterfront. however there is oposition that is preventing it from being built as of yet. it'll get done tho. a deal is a deal, which Erie county made already. Niagara Falls actualy does look a bit better around 3rd street (the old Niagara Falls convention center) and a new high-rise hotel was built. it has its benefits, but it will not improve the entire city.
Brother trust me we have casinos in Florida and it brings alot of people to the area that spend money and it doesnt increase crime like people who do not like them say. The crime rate is higher in school zones and WalMart then it is near casinos.
this is true. but with Niagara Falls NY, there is competition from Niagara Falls Ontario. so $$ could be spent here, or you could drive for 5 more minutes across the border and be in a much nicer enviornment where the dollar streches a bit farther.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2401015 More on Ralph Wilson's plea to NYS govt. to keep the Bills in WNY.
HooAhhh!...way to go "Old School"... Dude, I loved that, how great were those old NFL Division names there? Capitol Division, Century, almost as great as those old NHL Divisions were also.
BILLS to LA/AFC - WEST ? ? ? Bills owner Wilson questions NFL's new-guard owners Associated Press ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Bills owner Ralph Wilson is questioning whether the NFL's high-revenue owners have the best interest of the league at heart, stepping up concerns that small-market franchises like his face an uncertain future under the new labor agreement. "I just don't think they're as interested in the game as the old owners, I really don't," Wilson said Friday.Singling out Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, Daniel Snyder of the Washington Redskins and Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots, Wilson said: "They, to me, and this is just my opinion, don't have the same values about the league as the old guard did." The Bills' sole owner since founding the team in 1960, Wilson also suggested the league's wealthier owners played too big a role when the league extended its collective bargaining agreement last month. The Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals cast the only votes against the agreement.Wilson spoke after meeting with Erie County executive Joel Giambra, who implored Bills fans "to get active, to get angry" and write to Tagliabue, the league and elected officials on the team's behalf.He first raised his concerns earlier this week in a meeting with New York Gov. George Pataki. Wilson told Pataki that he's committed to keep the Bills in Buffalo, but, "the long-term viability of our franchise may be in serious doubt." The series of meetings were an attempt by Wilson to explain his concerns and generate political pressure on the NFL to ensure the viability of small-market teams.Wilson, long one of the NFL's most outspoken owners, believes the new labor deal establishes an unequal playing field between large- and small-market teams because it produces an equal allocation of player costs with an unequal allocation of revenues.While reiterating he has no intention to move or sell the team, Wilson said he's not sure how long the Bills can survive under the new deal. "How long can it stay here? I don't know," Wilson said. "But I can tell you we're going to fight very, very hard to keep the team here to try to be competitive with the rest of the league."Under the new deal, Wilson said it wouldn't make much difference whether the Bills built a new stadium because the team would unlikely be able to generate much more revenue in an economically troubled region such as western New York. Wilson's concerns have been noted by the league, which is still determining how the newly expanded portion of revenue sharing will work."That has not been fleshed out yet," Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian told The Associated Press while visiting Buffalo this week. "The future is uncharted at this point, but having said that, we've always found a way to make it work and hopefully we will in the future."Polian is a former Bills executive and member of the NFL's competition committee. Bills cornerback Troy Vincent, president of the NFL Players Association, shares Wilson's concerns, but noted it's up to the owners to make revenue-sharing work."There has to be something in place," Vincent said. "But what we may think is enough or not enough, likewise the men and women running those organizations may say it's enough or not enough. ... Where's that happy balance?"Any question of the Bills future sparks significant concerns in Buffalo and western New York, a rust-belt region with a fragile economy. Losing the Bills would be a major blow to the region's economy and psyche. "The Bills are a very integral part of this community's fabric, socially, emotionally and economically," Giambra said.Giambra added he was rooting for Roger Goodell, the NFL's chief operating officer and a western New York native, to succeed commissioner Paul Tagliabue. "He is a person who understands football and he understands the importance of football to small markets like Buffalo and western New York," Giambra said. In 1999, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership estimated the team's annual net economic impact to the region at $33 million.
I have to admit even though I am a die hard Bills fan, Buffalo is a little weird. They flipped on me on the Bills website because I said they were real country up there.:grin:
LA wants a team that can make the playoffs or win a superbowl, something the bills cant seem to accomplish
