Buffalo Bills must figure out best course to stay in Buffalo
The Buffalo Bills have been an institution in western New York since 1960. There’s no reason for that to change soon.
In 1973, the Buffalo Bills moved. They left War Memorial Stadium and entered Rich Stadium. They haven’t left.
Now known as Highmark Stadium, the building is one of the NFL’s oldest venues. In fact, only Soldier Field (Chicago Bears), Lambeau Field (Green Bay Packers) and Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City Chiefs) have earlier opening dates, and while all of those are classics which been renovated and rejuvenated in recent years, Highmark is an aging relic in need of replacing.
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Recently, reports and rumors have been swirling about the Pegula ownership group being open to relocation if it can’t get a good deal to remain in Buffalo. While that’s a common negotiating tactic among billionaires with any amount of leverage, the idea of the Bills leaving town is blasphemy. For the Pegulas, though, public money appears to be a necessity for staying around without a huge battle.
On Monday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell spoke on the subject and mentioned a few different points, including his desire for Buffalo to remain an NFL town, and what it will take for that to become reality, per Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN:
“You’ve got to think long-term here. This has been going on for decades, and it’s time to get a new stadium done that we can make sure the Bills are here and successful for many, many decades going forward.
“We’re focused on keeping the Bills [in Buffalo] in a new stadium in a public, private partnership. That’s what this is all about and that’s where we’re focusing.”
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All told, it would be stunning if Buffalo lost the Bills. After all, we haven’t seen a team relocate since the start of the new century. This after the NFL having dealt with three such scenarios over a 10-year period with the St. Louis Cardinals going to Phoenix in 1988, the Cleveland Browns bolting for Baltimore in ’95 and the Houston Oilers leaving for Nashville before the ’97 campaign.
Some franchises mean more. The Bills are one such franchise, even without a title since their AFL glory days fo the mid-60s. Buffalo is a bastion of pro football, and while there will be tough talk in the weeks and months ahead, there’s no reason to believe it won’t stay one for the decades to come.
