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"The National Hockey League presence in downtown Buffalo means at least 40 nights a year there are people buying restaurant meals, paying parking fees... that's different than National Football League economics,' says Bruce Fisher, the former deputy Erie County Executive who now directs Buffalo State College's Center for Economic and Policy Studies.
The New York State comptroller has estimated that the Sabres provide an approximately $2 million annual economic benefit to the region. But Buffalo State College's Bruce Fisher says football is a whole different economic ball game."It would be a great benefit to have a football team downtown if a football team would pay for it's own stadium. ...It's happened in big markets like new York City, the proposed stadium in Los Angeles, and the football stadium in San Francisco.
But wherever (else) you look around the country, you are seeing the positive benefit from having such a stadium downtown is offset --tremendously offset--and reduced by the cost to the taxpayers of footing the bill for these for-profit entities." Fisher says
Fisher's considerations -- the short season and the taxpayer subsidy-- have been incorporated into a plan being circulated by sports reporter Pat Freeman. His effort- being circulated to politicians and other officials-- calls for a community owned, domed stadium that could be used year round- for far more than the Buffalo Bills alone.
"We are talking about the citizens of Western New York owning a stadium. The Bills would only play their home games there," Freeman says, pointing to the economic benefits that Lucas Oil Stadium had in a city like Indianapolis.
"This could be used for more than Bills games, it could be used year round, for festivals, trade shows conventions, it could bring money year round, similar to what is being done in Indianapolis Indiana," says Freeman, who covers the Bills for WUFO Radio and has been advancing a downtown plan for a few weeks now.
"If you take $300 million and put it into Ralph Wilson Stadium, you will get nothing. If you invest $1 billion into a downtown stadium and follow what was done in Indianapolis- they have grossed since 2008 $2.25 billion and they have created 4,200 new jobs, 4,700 new hotel rooms, 4 new hotels, and they just hosted the Super Bowl."" I think the closer you are to the convention space of buffalo and making it part of that, you are going to get more hotels interested in coming, more restaurants, more boutiques," Freeman says
Pat Freeman's Push for A Downtown Stadium
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Exclusive WBEN Audio
From Hardline The WBEN Politics Program (Sundays 10a-12noon)
Freeman with WBEN's Dave Debo
Cong. Brian Higgins
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Freeman's plan to sell sponsorship bricks and have the community help fund the effort, proposes putting a new domed stadium on the site of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority's Perry Projects, with ancillary lots all up and down an expanded Metro Rail system.
And he's got the attention of the Governor's office and other politicians who have expressed interest in looking at his plans ( below) .
While the current Bills management -- and Erie County officials negotiating a new stadium lease-- are focused on improvements at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, any future ownership group would likely want a new facility, he says. And he also worries about the results of a pending cement study looking at the foundation- and viability- of the Ralph Wilson Stadium .
WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHARE YOUR COMMENTS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE
And he's got the attention of the Governor's office and other politicians who have expressed interest in looking at his plans ( below) .
While the current Bills management -- and Erie County officials negotiating a new stadium lease-- are focused on improvements at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, any future ownership group would likely want a new facility, he says. And he also worries about the results of a pending cement study looking at the foundation- and viability- of the Ralph Wilson Stadium .
WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHARE YOUR COMMENTS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE
| Here's the summary of Freeman's plans: | The Downtown Stadium Plan Summary | Freeman's Funding & Transportation Ideas |
Freeman has also launched a video in support of the project.