Posted on 12/16/2024 2:34:36 PM PST by DFG
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to fork over taxpayer money to build a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills drew renewed scorn – after the NFL team’s billionaire owners sold a minority stake for a massive profit, The Post has learned.
Hochul, a Buffalo native, had agreed in 2022 to provide $600 million in state funding – with Erie Country tossing in an additional $250 million – for the privately-owned stadium after Bills owner Terry Pegula threatened to leave Western New York.
The new 62,000-seat Highmark Stadium, expected to open in 2026, played a significant role in inflating the value of the Bills by more than $2 billion – yet the state will not get any significant return on its investment, critics of the so-called Buffalo boondoggle claimed.
“The investment proves what everyone knew: the deal was great … if you are the Bills’ owner but not so for the people of Buffalo or the state,” an adviser to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, familiar with the Bills stadium deliberations, told The Post.
Dr. Mark Rosentraub, director of the Center for Sports Venues at the University of Michigan, noted that there will be no direct benefit to Buffalo residents since the new stadium is being built next to the antiquated one in the suburb of Orchard Park.
“This was an egregious deal. There is no other way around it,” Rosentraub said.
“Had this facility been built in Downtown Buffalo it might have stimulated the economy. But they are just replicating what they had in the same place.”
The Post reached out Gov. Hochul’s office for comment.
Pegula, who paid $1.4 billion for the Bills in 2014, had threatened to move the team to Austin, Texas, without public funding.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Trump almost owned the Bills I thought. He’s got bigger and better fish to fry.
I am beyond sick of this BS.
thought her husband was a huge beneficiary in either this or a similarly taxpayer-funded boondoggle
?? that seems odd too.
“?? that seems odd too.”
Nothing odd to me.
In the last twenty years, the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota twins have flat out threatened to move unless they were given taxpayer funding for their new stadiums.
If only some day, a city calls them on their threat...
The idle threat to move the Bills to Austin is bull hockey Houston and Dallas( there still is,A professional team there?) Austin Texas is no way no how going to support another football franchise!! The tax payers should have called the bluff
Her husband’s food company is evidently going to benefit hugely from the new stadium:
https://nypost.com/2022/03/29/kathy-hochuls-husband-could-benefit-from-buffalo-bills-deal/
Yes- see post #8
Ask the cities who refused to help fund stadiums if they regret that teams left their cities....St Louis, NY, and on and on...ask Oakland how its going...
Stadiums end up bringing in huge revenue for cities- and not just for football. NYChitty saw the Giants and Jets leave- as a result all the football games, stadium concerts, Super Bowl, World Cup, etc, etc, have taken place across the river in jersey.
IIRC, the San Diego Chargers left San Diego for LA in 2017 because city would not build them a new stadium.
I THINK HE GOT THE BEER CONCESSION !
Does a state ever make its money back on these deals ?
Her deal undoubtedly managed to steer a large amount of that windfall to her big donors.
The state makes money. You think 70,000 people aren’t spending money in Buffalo and throughout the state. Ask Schumer what kind of monies the Bills bring to the state...
So with all of the huge revenues you talk about in that post, how much profit left the state? That revenue does not come cheap.
100 times over...
On paper they do but in reality they do not. The vast majority of the money comes from within the state and not out of state. This is money individuals have to spend for their entertainment. If they did no spend on the local sports they would spend on something else locally.
What he people didn't want was the State mandating windmills and solar farms, electric stoves, electric cars, electric lawn mowers, electric grills.....etc etc..
taxes on tickets...taxes on concessions...taxes on parking...taxes on all the jersey’s and merchandise bought at the stadium....often times tolls on the roads and bridges getting to the stadium....
In 1983 Leon Hess, then owner of the NY Jets, told NYChitty he wanted $39 million in upgrades made to Shea Stadium, where the Jets were playing at the time, in order to make the stadium more football friendly. Mayor Ed Koch, then mayor of NYChitty, told Hess to f-off and called him a carpetbagger in the media...
The Jets left after the ‘83 season and went to NJ, playing in Giants stadium starting in 1984.
The comptroller of NYChitty at the time was Harrison Golden. After the 1984 season he released a report stating NYChitty had lost $31 million in tax revenue due to the Jets not playing in Shea Stadium- for that single season!!! They would’ve made their money back plus some in year two!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.