IMO,it really doesn’t matter. With the sad state of this franchise and a bad arena, the Sabres are not long for Buffalo. There will be no appetite to keep them. Pegula will eventually sell to the highest bidder.
BOYCOTT THE SABRES
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HOOats
born Ruffian
No. I'll come out of hiding to snuff this out any time someone tries to speak it in to existence. Just no.
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It will be too late to “come out”. Nobody is going to start going to these games with the way the team is playing. It will be sudden.
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
I highly doubt you see the Pegulas sell to someone who will move the team. They are invested in this region and I highly doubt they will want to deal with the ire of the Sabres moving.
Plus, Bettman did whatever he could to keep the Sabres in Buffalo when the owners were arrested and the team was in bankruptcy. I doubt you see Bettman being OK with the team moving.
May Day 10
Registered User
The building was 6 years old then. Now it is the worst in the league. The last game I went to, there was a jagged rusty piece of metal where the arm rest belonged. The place is awful. Bad tomb concourses, seats far away from the ice, terrible sound, bad ice, etc.
2 contemporaries which were built with more $ and higher quality: Washington just got $500 Million to renovate their arena. Philadelphia is building a new one already.
The arena situation is coming to a head soon. Lease is up in a year or 2. Will Pegula be in the mood to put up hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money right after the Highmark cost overruns?
Will the state/county/city have an appetite to put up that money for this franchise?
I would also say, in 2002, Buffalo was right-sized for the NHL. It was largely attendance driven and franchise values were low. Now, franchise values are $1 Billion and corporate sponsorships and premium suites are much larger (we have none), and regional and national TV money is a bigger deal (Buffalo is a sink). I do not think the NHL would be quite as staunch in protecting Buffalo as an NHL market if it meant maybe a Houston or Atlanta. The NHLPA (who had much less of a voice in 2002) would also probably be for a better city, not a lame duck owner/management, thus more revenue they share.
With all that said, I can't see Pegula willingly shepherding the team to an owner whose intent is relocation. Maybe this can change with arena negotiations and following through with threats? Also, are the Sabres worth the tax bill that he will pass on to the kids? That will be another danger point, but I think if we can land a long-term lease in the next few years, we will be safe.
2 contemporaries which were built with more $ and higher quality: Washington just got $500 Million to renovate their arena. Philadelphia is building a new one already.
The arena situation is coming to a head soon. Lease is up in a year or 2. Will Pegula be in the mood to put up hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money right after the Highmark cost overruns?
Will the state/county/city have an appetite to put up that money for this franchise?
I would also say, in 2002, Buffalo was right-sized for the NHL. It was largely attendance driven and franchise values were low. Now, franchise values are $1 Billion and corporate sponsorships and premium suites are much larger (we have none), and regional and national TV money is a bigger deal (Buffalo is a sink). I do not think the NHL would be quite as staunch in protecting Buffalo as an NHL market if it meant maybe a Houston or Atlanta. The NHLPA (who had much less of a voice in 2002) would also probably be for a better city, not a lame duck owner/management, thus more revenue they share.
With all that said, I can't see Pegula willingly shepherding the team to an owner whose intent is relocation. Maybe this can change with arena negotiations and following through with threats? Also, are the Sabres worth the tax bill that he will pass on to the kids? That will be another danger point, but I think if we can land a long-term lease in the next few years, we will be safe.
When Bettman tried to keep the Sabres in Buffalo was their such a bad feeling surrounding the team as there is now within its own fanbase? I certainly don’t believe there was.
And, again, the arena. The Sabres are playing in a dump. I just don’t see support for a new arena unless the team turns it around.
Beerz
Registered User
- Jun 28, 2011
- 37,576
- 14,356
Talk on a new arena is not even in the cards. They just put a new roof on the arena.. they wouldn't do that if they didn't plan on signing a new lease in the next year or two.
They are going to continue with renovations unfortunately
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
It was a completely different scenario.
At that time, the team was having such cash flow issues that the owners were illegally funneling money from other businesses to the team to keep it afloat. And when they were arrested, that all went away and the team was in a huge financial hole.
That did leave issues with the fanbase.
The arena situation is different now than it was then. And that is the #1 thing to watch when it comes to what happens next.
But, I do not believe the Pegulas will sell in the next decade and they certainly will not sell to someone that is looking to move the team out of WNY.
ValJamesDuex
Registered User
- Nov 4, 2021
- 12,123
- 7,030
New scoreboard as well
They also get NCAA basketball and other events
The sound is cavernous, made worse when there is half a crowd
Perhaps there is some smoke the Jacobs family interest, but as said previously it is complicated
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all 6 of those fans won't be heard above the din of the visiting team's fans.
buffalowing88
Registered User
The Sabres are starting to feel like that kid who is just a ne'er do well and the parents sigh whenever they see a text from them or get a call knowing that they probably did something wrong.
I'm of the opinion that when it gets to that point, the parents should give that 55-year-old kid up for adoption and move on.
I'm of the opinion that when it gets to that point, the parents should give that 55-year-old kid up for adoption and move on.
w
I remember it well. Most of us do. Back then WNY would have been heart-broke to lose the Sabres. I don’t sense that at all anymore. This has gone on for so long that people are finding new forms of entertainment for their money. It will take a LOT to bring the fanbase back to what it was 15 years ago. In fact, I doubt the Sabres will ever have the support they once had. Terry Pegula has done irreparable damage to this franchise.
I remember it well. Most of us do. Back then WNY would have been heart-broke to lose the Sabres. I don’t sense that at all anymore. This has gone on for so long that people are finding new forms of entertainment for their money. It will take a LOT to bring the fanbase back to what it was 15 years ago. In fact, I doubt the Sabres will ever have the support they once had. Terry Pegula has done irreparable damage to this franchise.
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
Winning solves all of that.
Exhibit A: The Bills after a 17 year playoff drought where they could do very little right.
Eh, there was still such a drunken party culture about tailgating that drew people even when the Bills were laughably bad. The Sabres? Not so much.
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
I still think that there hasn't been damage that has been done that winning won't fix.
If they change GMs this offseason and they get someone to do a Florida Panthers makeover and they are in the elite in the Eastern Conference in two years, do you think fans will stay away?
I highly doubt that is the case.
The #1 issue is that because of how things have gone under Pegula's ownership, there is no reason to believe that Pegula will make that correct hire and let the GM cook ala Beane with the Bills.
I doubt there is appetite to find a new GM and there is visible evidence there is no risk appetite to spend on the peripheral areas of hockey operations to improve the on-ice product. Do I think they can make a couple of personnel changes and be at least competitive? Sure. I have zero faith that they will based on a decade of evidence.
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
I have serious doubts that they will ever figure it out with Pegula as the owner unless he really changes the way that he does things with the Sabres.
But, that was not the comment I was replying to.
Win and the fans will be back and they will be rowdy.
Even with a dump of an arena.
Exhibit A: Banditland.
Sell team (possibly a 2 yr no relocation clause to keep the people of Buffalo happy) > continue to suck (but just barely suck) > relocate > win cup
It is the Sabres way!
It is the Sabres way!
Sabre the Win
Joke of a Franchise
- Jun 27, 2013
- 13,214
- 5,792
Agree, I think if Houston was a viable market to place a team it is where the Sabres go. Terry already made threats to move the Bills to Texas over getting funding for the new Bills stadium. Why wouldn't he for his hockey team? At some point being a billionaire and making money is more than keeping a failing franchise in the city which no longer supports them especially when operating costs are rising above a market area that cant cover it all.
I haven't watched a Sabres game since maybe November? I just can't support this team much anymore, any general interest I have in them in purely Fantasy Hockey reasons now. My fandom is at its lowest its ever been in the last 14 years right this minute. If they were to announce they are moving the Sabres I wouldn't care.
The Bills didn't have attendance issues during the drought with the exception of some very late season games. NFL games are an event. NHL games aren’t.
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
So, you think that if the Sabres make the playoffs next season they will have a hard time selling tickets?
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