BUFFALO, N.Y. — It's a real question for some. What "is" the economic impact of the Bills and is it worth a new stadium? We huddled up with two connected NFL observers... to answer that and more.
First, maybe some sticker shock to hear that suggested $1.1 Billion suggested Bills stadium cost is kinda low balling it. And overall a nearly half-century facility has serious upper deck structural issues favoring a new build period according to sports business consultant Marc Garis of Sportscorp. He says "We're looking at multi hundreds of millions of dollars just for that one fix. When you're looking at building a new open-air stadium - you've gotta be looking at least at one and a quarter billion these days and New York is not exactly an inexpensive place to build a large project."
Some studies suggest sports franchises have a relatively insignificant overall impact on a metro's regional economy. While others contend that big-league luster for a smaller area like Buffalo is priceless and losing a franchise to another community is a blindside hit. That's even if Austin, Texas talk maybe like an effective pump fake. Garis notes "When a team has left, it has never left a community better off than while it was there. And I will also tell you there are many examples where communities try to backfill and it costs far more money to attract a team than it did to keep the team that was already there."
Of course, Channel 2 Sports contributor Vic Carucci says relocation talk is right out of an NFL owner's playbook when it comes to a new stadium push and public money Carucci says "In smaller markets like Buffalo it's more public assistance and in the larger areas like Los Angeles or New York it's less. Just that's the formula. So the percentages are probably I think as high as nearly 80 percent."
Then there is the location, location, location equation debate.
Garis says "There's no doubt that building it near the existing stadium will be the most cost-effective."
But Carucci feels when you have a chance you should do it right in his opinion and that means a downtown stadium for the Bills. "Why not do it where you can do the city the most good. And I believe the majority of stadiums throughout the NFL are in downtown or city locations."