Constructing a new National Football League venue is an iconic undertaking – especially in Western New York, where the Buffalo Bills’ proposed $1.4 billion stadium would be one of the largest projects in the region’s history.
But what is an NFL stadium and team worth to a municipality and a state? That’s a question the Bills are attempting to answer as part of their negotiating strategy with Erie County and New York State. Pegula Sports and Entertainment, the management company that oversees the holdings of Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula, commissioned an economic impact study that analyzed all of its holdings in Buffalo and Rochester.
The top-level results of that study, which were shared with The Buffalo News, indicate the construction of a new stadium would expand the team’s economic impact and create more jobs. But those findings are positioned against years of studies nationally that suggest NFL stadiums “create an economic black hole,” as Stanford economist Roger Noll told The News, and evidence that the high spending associated with football teams rarely accelerates – and may even slightly decelerate – the economy.
Nobody is wanting to go watch a bunch of political protesters try to play football anymore. The NFL is over as is most of pro sports. We used to follow sports for s getaway from everyday crap; now that the crap has arrived by the busload to every game, it’s over.
You don’t need even an old, decrepit stadium any more. No one wants you.
zero as far as any NFL team but the bills sub zero
So for the most part the taxpayers get the bill to make the team owner, the league, the players, and the TV networks rich.
Screw that!