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Bills open to sharing new stadium with UB / Upgrades to UB Stadium being considered


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According to Tim Graham of The Athletic, the Buffalo Bills are open to sharing their proposed stadium with UB but the Buffalo athletic department isn’t interested unless the stadium is built in Amherst which seems unlikely.

UB Stadium right now is subpar and less than ideal for the university. The issue is that the Bulls don’t draw enough to warrant going across town to play in Orchard Park and the Bills don’t have enough incentive to build in Amherst.

Unless something crazy happens, I think UB will remain at UB Stadium for a long time. That said, Mark Alnutt addresses potentially exciting news for the stadium. He says that there are plans in place to build a separate track and field facility.

As a result, UB can remove the track at UB Stadium and potentially lower their field down the line. Alnutt also said the university is looking to upgrade their current scoreboard.

https://theathletic.com/2847449/2021/09/24/pegulas-invite-university-at-buffalo-to-play-in-bills-new-stadium-but-bulls-prefer-to-stay-on-campus/?source=user_shared_article

 

Edited by Big 4 Hoops Blogger
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  • Big 4 Hoops Blogger changed the title to Bills open to sharing new stadium with UB / Upgrades to UB Stadium being considered

If ub and the bills were to share a stadium on or very close to the Amherst campus. Im not sure it makes sense to have it be an outdoor/open air stadium

Closed roof allows ub to use it through out the year not just for football. And get a good amount of use out of it not just the usual concerts/festivals stadiums get other than sporting events 

I personally didn't fully understand why Cuomo dismissed the ub site right away. If the state is going to put a good amount of money towards something like this anyways, get something /invest in your largest public school at the same time

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29 minutes ago, Tee4three said:

If ub and the bills were to share a stadium on or very close to the Amherst campus. Im not sure it makes sense to have it be an outdoor/open air stadium

Closed roof allows ub to use it through out the year not just for football. And get a good amount of use out of it not just the usual concerts/festivals stadiums get other than sporting events 

I personally didn't fully understand why Cuomo dismissed the ub site right away. If the state is going to put a good amount of money towards something like this anyways, get something /invest in your largest public school at the same time

Cuomo is an idiot 

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On 9/25/2021 at 2:07 PM, UBinMD said:

Cuomo is an idiot 

NY would never do anything that would benefit only one SUNY school. We could spend millions on all the plans and environmental impact statement etc. for a world class stadium the would revitalize the entire region. Only for it to be deemed unfair for the rest of SUNY and we will end up with a used Bowflex.

See UB2020 for what happened the last time we thought big....

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3 hours ago, everlast2504 said:

NY would never do anything that would benefit only one SUNY school. We could spend millions on all the plans and environmental impact statement etc. for a world class stadium the would revitalize the entire region. Only for it to be deemed unfair for the rest of SUNY and we will end up with a used Bowflex.

See UB2020 for what happened the last time we thought big....

It's sad but true. I shouldn't feel like UB night be big enough to just split off into it's own private institution, but I don't think the endowment is large enough.

Also, I'm not sure they could even do it

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20 minutes ago, ubmae86 said:

It's sad but true. I shouldn't feel like UB night be big enough to just split off into it's own private institution, but I don't think the endowment is large enough.

Also, I'm not sure they could even do it

It's the issue with the Everyone is Equal mentality that we have developed as a country. It's just not the case. Some people want more, others are ok where they are. I have not beef with that. Those that want more should be able to do that (and not at the detriment of other institutions either). The state of NY is short sighted if they don't think making UB a big time relevant institution would help the entire SUNY system. It's buffoonery all around in my opinion.

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1 hour ago, ubmae86 said:

It's sad but true. I shouldn't feel like UB night be big enough to just split off into it's own private institution, but I don't think the endowment is large enough.

Also, I'm not sure they could even do it

That is why they became part of SUNY.  It was either join go by the way of Milton College.

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Back to the stadium discussion, hear me out on this one… why not follow the Bills path and build new but instead knock down current UB stadium and build new on the same exact site. While the new stadium is being built, play at the new Bills stadium and test it out to see if you can play 1 or 2 big games a year there with Notre Dame or Michigan. Forget lowering the track, go big and build new to get it right. The rest of UB stadium sucks anyway. Just rebuild on site and aim for 30,000k seats.

Edited by MKBullsfan
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12 minutes ago, MKBullsfan said:

Back to the stadium discussion, hear me out on this one… why not follow the Bills path and build new but instead knock down current UB stadium and build new on the same exact site. While the new stadium is being built, play at the new Bills stadium and test it out to see if you can play 1 or 2 big games a year there with Notre Dame or Michigan. Forget lowering the track, go big and build new to get it right. The rest of UB stadium sucks anyway. Just rebuild on site and aim for 30,000k seats.

Sure, got a couple hundred mil or so you'd like to donate for demolition and a brand new stadium? 

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2 hours ago, MKBullsfan said:

Back to the stadium discussion, hear me out on this one… why not follow the Bills path and build new but instead knock down current UB stadium and build new on the same exact site. While the new stadium is being built, play at the new Bills stadium and test it out to see if you can play 1 or 2 big games a year there with Notre Dame or Michigan. Forget lowering the track, go big and build new to get it right. The rest of UB stadium sucks anyway. Just rebuild on site and aim for 30,000k seats.

 

1 hour ago, skrabukes said:

Sure, got a couple hundred mil or so you'd like to donate for demolition and a brand new stadium? 

Here's what they should do. Knock down UB Stadium and build a new Bills/Bulls stadium on that site. UB plays all games at Highmark during construction. Short term pain for long term gain.

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11 hours ago, skrabukes said:

Sure, got a couple hundred mil or so you'd like to donate for demolition and a brand new stadium? 

Do we know where the new stadium could be for the Bills?  If they were to build it in Amherst, near campus, it is a 100% no brainer that UB should share that stadium.  

The other option would be, as has been stated before, to play one game at wherever the Bills build their stadium and play a big game there annually.  Imagine telling a recruit "you don't have to wait until a Sunday to play in an NFL stadium -- at UB, you can do that on a Saturday".   All of my life experiences tell me that there is a lot that can be done with some creative vision and many/most people use "money" as an excuse as to why something can't be done (heck...a few people already did in this thread).  I feel obligated in this day and age (and because people on this board are frequent users of logical fallacies) to comment that I am not saying "money isn't important".  I am saying that money is often used as a reason that stops all discussion and creativity...and my life experiences have shown me that you can often work around that and get a really good outcome much cheaper than expected.  It is like those people at a meeting when you present some ideas and their whole goal (and, often, identity) is to poke holes in a plan (using exceptions) with no constructive commentary.  I avoid those people as much as I can, but they are everywhere.

Just because UB has not yet been able to capture even part of the Bills fan base doesn't mean it can't happen -- it just has happened yet.

Yeah...the stadium has to go, but when it is replaced, it needs to be done right...not some slight improvement.

The US hasn't hosted the World University Games (Summer) since UB did in 1993...maybe we can host again...and give them better stadium plans!

 

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  • 2 months later...

The state released the 2019 studies of potential sites, including UB North: Empire State Development site

IMHO, a typical pro-sports facility study, when all that is needed is, "You want an NFL team? Gotta pony up". No need for all the lists of One Buffalo items....everyone knows the real economics of these things.

On a potential stadium, we all know the Bills have sunk costs in OP and prefer to build there. The report confirms much of that; the Bills offices, the training facilities, the existing parking and the traffic controls. And it gives all manner of legacy credit in "scoring high" for location, familiarity, what the Bills are known for, etc.

Presentation Page #123 - 4 potential stadium sites: Rebuilt UB Stadium, new stadium in the Service Road area, new stadium over Governor's lots, new stadium on UB-controlled land across from Millersport Highway. 

Direct from the report:

Because of the expansive campus property, several stadium location options were explored, but only one was deemed potentially feasible.
• While there “appears” to be available land within the campus property, east of Millersport Highway, this also has sensitive environmental issues that would preclude this option.
A second option was to replace the existing U.B. stadium with a new Bills stadium, but the new fieldhouse building, existing campus buildings and eastern property line severely constricts the site, which was then determined to be undesirable. 
• A third option was to locate a stadium on surface parking lots in the northwest quadrant of campus, but its proximity to residential dorms and encroachment on permitted parking presented difficulties.
With the second and third options, the location of a new stadium “within the loop” of Audubon/Millersport was also problematic, creating a conflict between what is Bills and what is Bulls … the fourth site option, outside the loop, avoided this issue by allowing the new stadium to establish its own identity and presence, sufficiently outside the “shadow of U.B.

When a stadium design has not even been developed, why go with a best-guess design and throw out UB Stadium when the fieldhouse is East-West not North-South, we could demo Nan Harvey Field, Morris Center, Stadium lot, and rebuild Nan Harvey Field elsewhere, and fit a 60K stadium just fine? And the concept of "shadow of U.B.", is flattering for UB. In the last 40 years the Cardinals, Bears, Raiders, Rams, all played seasons at university-controlled stadia, without many issues. Did people in LA Coliseum confuse the Raiders winning a Super Bowl and the Trojans finishing #1? Hardly. And the report dings the Bills not controlling the parking? Really? That could not be worked out?. And, the Bills having to work with both UB and Amherst is a potential negative?! How so, because they are stronger institutions than ECC and O.P.? So may questionable conclusions.

Edited by RecoveringHillbilly
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14 hours ago, promotherobot said:

Sure it is. My best memories include sitting in UB stadium on a Tuesday with a frigid November wind along with a dozen people. Good times.

Been there, done that, although it was a Wednesday.  Much better than 130 degrees on the field in Lincoln.

Edited by BrooklynBull
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On 12/31/2021 at 6:33 PM, promotherobot said:

Sure it is. My best memories include sitting in UB stadium on a Tuesday with a frigid November wind along with a dozen people. Good times.

MACtion is a big part of why I gave up my season tickets a few years back.  Just have no desire to sit through 1, let alone 2, MACtion home game(s) when it's on ESPN2/ESPNU.  I'd strongly consider getting back in for seasons if there was a domed stadium, or they shared a dome with the Bills.

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