Commissioner optimistic about Bills' future in Buffalo
Passion of fans is key factor for team’s long-term future, Goodell says
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell paid tribute Monday to Western New Yorkers’ passion for their Buffalo Bills and said the long-term future of the franchise here depends on that passion.
“The passion that you all have for football, for the NFL, for the Bills, is something I talk about when I go across the country,” Goodell told about 250 die-hard Bills fans at the Monday Quarterback Club luncheon.
Asked by emcee Howard Simon about the future of the Bills, and whether they can stay here long term, Goodell replied, “Well, I very affirmatively believe they can. It’s up to us, all of us, to make sure that happens.”
Goodell, during a three-minute speech and 19-minute question-and-answer session, cited the National Football League’s revenue-sharing system that helps teams such as the Green Bay Packers survive and thrive.
“It’s going to depend on your passion for this team,” he told the crowd in the HSBC Arena Harbour Club, citing the team’s regionalization efforts that have helped expand its market to the Southern Tier, Rochester and Southern Ontario.
“It’s a franchise we’re very proud of,” the Jamestown native said.
Later, in a brief meeting with reporters, Goodell said, “It ultimately comes down to whether the team can continue to be successful here, and I think they can.”
Goodell also said he doesn’t think the Bills’ games in Toronto should cause Buffalo fans to worry. That eight-game series will help generate revenue for the franchise — an average of $9.75 million per game for the Bills — while broadening the team’s fan base, he pointed out.
The commissioner also defended the overall behavior of the crowds in Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Bills, he said, “have great fans, and I wouldn’t consider them the rowdiest.”
Goodell was answering a question related to a Monday article in The Buffalo News citing several surveys and personal rankings that called the Bills’ home crowd one of the rowdiest in the league.
The goal, Goodell said, is to make sure that fans are safe and that they can enjoy “a beer or two” at the game in a responsible manner.
“The Buffalo Bills are doing a great job,” he said. “We all have more work to do.”
On other matters related more to the league as a whole, Goodell said that:
• The nation’s current economic problems affect the league in several ways, including the availability of credit in building new stadiums, the economic woes facing the league’s biggest corporate partners and, of course, the financial challenges for the league’s fans.
“Our fans are feeling the hit, just as everyone else is,” he said. “Spending is more difficult for everyone.”
But the NFL will get through it, and it wants to be as responsive as it can in dealing with its business partners and its fans, he said. The league already has taken one step for its fans: reducing the prices of playoff tickets by about 10 percent.
• He agrees that the quality of the league’s preseason games is not up to its standards.
One solution would be to cut the number of preseason games from four to two, while increasing the regular season for each team to 18 games. But that’s something that would have to be worked out with the league’s media partners and players’ union.
• While the league has reached agreement with roughly 250 cable providers about airing the NFL Network, the dispute continues with three large companies — Time Warner, Comcast and Cablevision.
Goodell said the league doesn’t want consumers to pay about $7 per month to have that network on a cable tier.
“We believe that’s wrong,” Goodell said. “We don’t believe the consumers should have to pay. . . . I think what we need to do is break that logjam.”
Before Goodell’s comments, Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. presented the Wilson Distinguished Service Awards to Mark Kelso, former Bills safety and current analyst on radio broadcasts, and Gretchen R. Geitter, vice president of community relations.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments