Athletes who have played in Buffalo have said over and over that sports fans here are among the most devoted in the country. In the words of legendary sportscaster Van Miller, it's "fandemonium" at Buffalo sporting events.

Which is why a pair of businessmen are trying to create a local sports museum that will be the first of its kind in Buffalo, one that they want to call -- yes -- Fandemoneum.

The museum, named after the term coined by Miller, the longtime Bills play-by-play man, is the brainchild of two native Buffalonians: Gregory D. Tranter, who lives in Massachusetts, and Michael R. Weekes, who recently moved back to the area.

The proposed 32,000-square-foot museum would feature exhibits on Buffalo's professional, college and high school sports teams and include a museum store, theater and a research and memorabilia preservation center. Tranter's collection of Bills memorabilia, along with items they hope to secure from other collectors, would make up the bulk of the museum's collection.

"The thing is, sports is culture in Buffalo, as well as art, music, science and food," Weekes said. "We have the most rabid sports fans."

What Fandemoneum (ending in "eum" like "museum") will look like isn't the biggest question mark. Where to put it and how to finance it are.

Tranter and Weekes met at the "Buffalo Bills 50th Season" exhibit at the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society, where Tranter took guests on tours through the memorabilia, most of which was from his sizable collection of over 100,000 Bills items. The two began to discuss the possibility of a permanent home for his items -- which includes the only blue-and-silver jersey known to exist from the Bills' first season, Scott Norwood's helmet from Super Bowl XXV and every program from every Bills game -- and came up with the idea of a museum. They did some research and saw existing sports museums for the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh's sports franchises.

"It's not a virgin idea, but in Buffalo it wasn't something that's come together," Tranter said. "With the passion of Buffalo fans, it's a missing cultural element."

There might be a demand for such a cultural element. The Bills 50th anniversary exhibit was the second-most popular ever at the historical society (behind the Pan Am Exposition Centennial in 2001) -- 37,378 people went there during the Bills exhibit -- while only displaying a fraction (less than 5 percent) of Tranter's collection.

The pair, of course, have day jobs: Tranter is an executive at the Hanover Insurance Group in Worchester, Mass., and Weekes is president of WhatAboutQuality LLC, a business-process-improvement company he founded in 2005.

Weekes recently moved back to the area after working around the country as a manufacturing engineer for 25 years. Tranter left Western New York in 1986, but the die-hard Bills fan in him, well, dies hard: He's a Bills season-ticket holder of 26 years, missing only a single game two years ago.

"My boss scheduled a mandatory meeting," Tranter said. "It was either not go to the meeting and lose my job, or go to the game."

Fandemoneum is still in the planning stages; they have recently applied to be incorporated in New York State and hope to have nonprofit status by the end of the year.

After establishing the legal framework for the museum, finding a site and the funds to build it will be the next challenge.

The pair have discussed their project with a few developers, most notably the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp., which is trying to develop around 20 acres of land in Buffalo's inner harbor.

"I love Fandemoneum, it's very exciting," ECHDC Chairman Jordan Levy said. He noted, though, that the corporation is in discussions with many other cultural organizations and that they were "not ready to commit to anything."

Lord Cultural Resources, recently retained by the corporation as a consultant for cultural projects in Canal Side, has yet to talk to groups that have proposals but is aware of Fandemoneum.

"It seems to have the greatest of advantages," Weekes said of a Canal Side location, though he said they would be willing to work with anyone who shares "a vision and a passion for a better Buffalo." Building in Canal Side, they said, might involve partnering with other cultural groups. The two estimate between 200,000 and 300,000 visitors would come to a Canal Side museum annually.

Other potential locations they would look into include the DL&W Terminal near Canal Side and the Museum District near Buffalo State College.

Tranter and Weekes hope to get a capital campaign off the ground by the beginning of next year in which they will try to secure donations from both individuals and corporations. At a projected cost of $5 million to $10 million, the museum is expected to break even within three to five years.

Those two problems, in a way, work against each other: It's easier to secure a site for the project if there is already money backing it, but it's easier to raise money if there is already a site.

"It's kind of the chicken or the egg," Tranter said.

Nevertheless, the pair are pressing on with their project, which they want to be not only a tribute to the teams and athletes of Western New York but to the fans as well.

"It's kind of a way of saying thanks for making this the greatest sports region," Weekes said.

dgrandoni@buffnews.comnull