Donald Trump 'very serious' about buying Bills?

[thabear04]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...rship/7736031/


BUFFALO — Donald Trump never did run for governor of New York. But now he may be on to his next project: buying the Buffalo Bills.

"It's very serious," Erie County Republican Chairman Nick Langworthy said. "He's long had an interest in professional sports."

Langworthy, who met with Trump in Manhattan on Monday, said the billionaire is "doing all due diligence" as he considers making an offer to purchase the franchise. The acquisition would be close to $1 billion, Langworthy said, although it's unclear at this point if Trump would work by himself or with an ownership group to make a bid.

"If he wanted to buy the Bills himself," said Michael Cohen, a lawyer for Trump. "It would not be a problem."

Two weeks ago, at a rally against the SAFE Act in Albany, Trump made a vague reference to the Bills, only telling reporters that "a lot of people" had talked to him about pursuing ownership. Of course, it was also only a month ago that Trump finally announced he would not challenge Gov. Andrew Cuomo after a long, public period of indecisiveness that drew harsh comments from Republican candidate Rob Astorino.

But Cohen said Trump is already in touch with both the Bills and the National Football League, and he said he's now waiting to learn the full value of the franchise before proceeding.

According to Langworthy, Trump has no interest in moving the Bills to another location after the team's current lease expires.

"He has made it quite clear that if he purchases the team, he intends to keep it in Buffalo," Langworthy said. "And he believes he's the only owner or ownership group who'd come forward and say that."

There is a potential road block from the NFL, however. The league's anti-gambling stance may not mesh with Trump's involvement in Trump Entertainment Resorts, a casino and hotel company. However, despite bearing Trump's name, Langworthy said Trump has no managing authority and already sold a "massive portion" of his casino holdings. At this point, Langworthy said Trump simply owns common stock in the publicly-traded company.

Cohen also added that years ago, Trump received the publicly-traded stock in exchange for the naming rights after he sold his casino holdings.

Cohen and Langworthy both said Trump would have no problem selling that stock, if necessary.

"We talked about that for some time today," Langworthy said.

If Trump's interest is genuine, expect the process to move forward at a rapid pace. Langworthy said it's entirely possible the franchise could have a new owner by the fall — whether it's Trump or another individual or group.

"It seems to be something that will happen in a matter of just a few months," Langworthy said. "The team and trust are currently putting appropriate paperwork together, and the evaluation of the team, before they formally solicit bids for the purchase."

[Rain Man]

Please no. No more jerks in the NFL.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by KC_Lee

I stand corrected.

That whole treble damages thing can be a killer.

[Shaid]

Originally Posted by KC native

The owners would never let that loud mouth jack ass be a NFL owner.

This.

[loochy]

he would change their logo

to the

bill$

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by MahiMike

I'd rather see bon jovi buy the team and move it to Toronto. Much better city. Buffalo has run its course.

Cool. We can watch Toronto fans not go to their games the same way they don't attend all their other non-hockey sports.

The give-a-shit level up there can't be very high.

[keg in kc]

Sweet. Another unnecessary reason to hate another unnecessary new york sports team.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Great idea.

"Welcome to Trump Stadium, brought to you by Trump, where today the Trumpuffalo Trumps take on their next opponent on Donald Trump Field, brought to you by Trump."

[Gadzooks]

Originally Posted by blaise

They don't care about the Bills in Toronto.

That's far from true. I went to a Bills game back in the day and I'd say 70% of the fans made the trek from Southern Ontario.

The problem with having the Bills play in Toronto is that they don't currently have the infrastructure to allow for a good NFL experience.

The Bills have played in the SkyDome (Rogers Center) which is located downtown. Fans are not allowed to tailgate and there's basically no parking other than stacked parking units. Most fans arrive via public transit to avoid the downtown parking nightmare.

The Bills play in Orchard Park, NY. If Toronto, with the 4th largest population behind Mexico City, New York and Los Angeles, could find an area that hasn't been developed yet, I'm sure they could accommodate an NFL franchise.

One thing that the NFL doesn't like about the idea of a Toronto franchise is the effect it will have on TV ratings. Canada doesn't play by the American rules when it come to ratings and the NFL is largely dependent on their TV contracts.

I know the Rogers family has been pushing heavily to get an NFL franchise in Toronto but,as far as I know, the originator of the effort passed away 3 years ago.

The Bills would be better off there because Buffalo is the armpit of America, (and smells much worse).

One of the prides of their city is Buffalo City Hall and it's covered in pigeon shit.

[Titty Meat]

Trump blocked me on twitter because i asked if elected president would he run the country into the ground like he did with the USFL.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by SNR

Cool. We can watch Toronto fans not go to their games the same way they don't attend all their other non-hockey sports.

The Raptors were 10th in attendance this year in the NBA and the Blue Jays were 14th last year in MLB. Not bad numbers for teams that weren't even good (and no, beating up on bad East teams doesn't make the Raptors "good"). The real key these days, though, is the massive media/television market, it's one of the largest in North America in that regard.

The give-a-shit level up there can't be very high.

The NFL is a big deal in Toronto just like anywhere in the States. If the city gets its own team, I have little doubt it would do fine. The market/population is too large not to.

It sounds like Trump is one of the last guys left that could keep the Bills in Buffalo long-term, though. I know both MLSE (owner of Leafs/Raptors/TFC) and Rogers (owner of the Blue Jays and everything else in Canada) have been pondering offers for a long time. We'll see how it plays out.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Chocolate Hog

Trump blocked me on twitter because i asked if elected president would he run the country into the ground like he did with the USFL.

[SeeingRed]

I heard Bon Jovi also wanted to buy the team

[SeeingRed]

Whoever buys it should keep it in Buffalo

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by Chocolate Hog

Trump blocked me on twitter because i asked if elected president would he run the country into the ground like he did with the USFL.

[Halfcan]

Trump is about the worst human being on the planet. Check out Trump's history with his Scottish golf course and what he did to the local people there. There is also a film on it. POS!