And yet, your buddy bought a radio station here and appears to be thriving.
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Keeping The Bills in Buffalo
- Thread starter Prescott Joe
- Start date
As I stated, I have a number of family and friends who are still in WNY. For my wife (also native of WNY) and myself we felt like we could find our best lives somewhere other than WNY largely for the reasons I listed. That has proven true for us both personally and professionally.
As far as Buddy goes, he gets very little credit on this board for what he has accomplished. Especially from those on here who appear to still be living in WNY. I have known Buddy for well over 30 years. Way back when I first knew him we would discuss the radio business and he was talking about buying a station and doing with it pretty much exactly what he has done with WECK. He was confident he could be successful and that has proven to be true. FWIW I'm good friends with someone here who owns a station and has done many of the same things Buddy has done but in his case it's with a single FM station. He is also quite successful and like Buddy works very hard to maintain it.
Why is there so much resentment on here for that hard work and the fact that he is successful?
Some people like to complain about anything and everything. They complain about big owners, and then complain about the small ones.
Buddy has done admirably. The performance of WECK is commendable. The bombast coming from the owner, however, is detrimental to his cause. You can call it "promotion" if you like, but a lot of people see it as provincial, if not detrimental to his cause.
This thread was started in response to a letter that Buddy authored. He believes taxpayers got shafted on the pending Bills stadium deal. Many people agree with him. I mentioned in an earlier post that the Patriots Gillette Stadium was built totally with private money. It's been a big success for Foxboro and the surrounding area. Taxpayers there didn't get held hostage.
Buddy can own a local radio station and still have an opinion. He has made foolish and bombastic statements in the past. His take on the Bills stadium seems reasonable to me. He's obviously not grovelling to the Bills owner or concerned about blowback affecting WECK...
Buffalo, NY is different from most other areas. The television market and to a lesser degree,
the radio market, are viewed/listened to across a wide area and another country. "The Golden
Horseshoe" as it is called, is home to Canada's largest population center. Travel between the
two countries and commerce between the two countries amount to billions of dollars for both
sides. From a television/radio perspective, Buffalo's offerings are far better than the market
numbers suggest. While actual viewers/listeners in Canada don't count, W.N.Y. is far superior
than it's market numbers suggest. How can you put a price tag on the pride, enthusiasm,
etc, etc of a city and region? The City and region prove, time and again, they can compete
with the best on so many levels........
the radio market, are viewed/listened to across a wide area and another country. "The Golden
Horseshoe" as it is called, is home to Canada's largest population center. Travel between the
two countries and commerce between the two countries amount to billions of dollars for both
sides. From a television/radio perspective, Buffalo's offerings are far better than the market
numbers suggest. While actual viewers/listeners in Canada don't count, W.N.Y. is far superior
than it's market numbers suggest. How can you put a price tag on the pride, enthusiasm,
etc, etc of a city and region? The City and region prove, time and again, they can compete
with the best on so many levels........
For starters, it is market number 58 but it is ranked 47th in billing. That supports your analysis of the market.
Huh? You never heard of Tax-achusetts? People got shafted in other ways. Had the state not rebuilt the two-lane highway going to Gillette, it would not have been a success. And having a stadium has nothing to do with the success of the team. Taxpayers aren't being held hostage with this stadium. They can still opt out if they can come up with a good reason.
Kraft wanted to own his stadium on his own land so he could do with it what he wanted and not have to answer to any politicians. He got what he wanted. The Pegulas will have to answer to the county and state. They already had to change the naming rights a few years ago because Eric County didn't want the current stadium named after a diaper manufacturer. So this deal requires Pegula (and his successors) to answer to the state & county for 30 years.
How do they opt out? They don't get to vote on it. New Era Cap company asked to have their contract terminated. They had the naming rights, but were laying off employees. It was a bad look, so they opted out.
Have you been to Gillette Stadium or Patriots Place? It's used year round and generates revenue. Maybe Buffalo can attempt something similar to try to justify this deal...
Go to a county supervisor meeting. They're open to the public. I'm sure a lot of residents will be attending soon.
Here's the stadium name the county objected to:
I've been to Gillette many times. There's no reason why the exact same thing can't be done in Orchard Park. It doesn't need to be owned by the team for that. The Nashville stadium will also have stores around it, and it's owned by the county.
Wha?
Prior to the stadium's present name, Highmark Stadium (which is associated with Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Western New York) the stadium was named New Era Field, the international hat and clothing manufacturer based in Buffalo. Prior to that it was Ralph Wilson Stadium... which was preceded by Rich Stadium, named after the Buffalo based company that manufactures non-dairy coffee and table products. "Diaper manufacturer?" Musta missed that one.
Sorry...I meant BIDET company. I have never used a bidet
Everyone on this board has made bombastic statements, mainly based on assumptions, not fact.
What I try to offer, as I am in the trenches is fact, that not many people would know, if they do not have inside info like a CEO tends to get.
Rox, you yourself have said many things on this board, and have made many, many assumptions about me, WECK, and other things that I know as fact are not true.
As a fan of radio, I like radio discussions. However, if I see someone making a statement that is not true, I will call it out. Your not wrong about everything…..nobody is….but you wrong about many things you have said or predicted.
I have been wrong too. But I have been correct on many things as well.
I have owned WECK for 5 years now. The station is now a player like I knew it would be, and why I left my 250k year gig at Entercom to do it.
Our success has come from my team, and I select my team. I feel I have selected great people. They have as much passion about the station and the industry as I do. I work very hard to treat my employees with great respect, and a fun place to work. They are part of something grassroots, and there is a certain appreciation that comes with that.
Do I bitch on the board? Of course I do, we all do. But talking to others who have a passion for radio, makes me feel good. The other large companies around the country have sucked the life out of the industry.
Nobody on here is dumb. We all care. Instead of combating each other in regards to something we really do love, why don’t we try to listen to each other and learn from each other?
I am pissed too that radio has been decimated by board members and shareholders. It’s gonna get worse.
But on this board, we care. Why don’t we think of solutions, instead of bashing an industry that we did not destroy?
I will never say anything untrue about the station I own, I never have. I only try to give insight. I look for you for insight as well, because again, if your on this board, you care.
Is the Bills planning to Move?
Can someone fill me in?
Can someone fill me in?
They’ve threatened to move if a new stadium isn’t built for them. I think Austin was floated as the relocation target, though that could cause a row with Jerry Jones due to territory claims.
Did you miss the latest from the mayor of Dallas asking for a second NFL team - just like NY and LA?
Dallas mayor wants another NFL franchise, says city could support Cowboys and an AFC team
Mayor Eric Johnson feels Dallas could hold two NFL teams with its growing population
www.cbssports.com
Hi Buddy,
When you left Entercom, you could have chosen anywhere to start a new station, I assume. You chose Buffalo.
Quite possibly, the same reason you chose Buffalo, could be the same reason so many people want The Bills,
to remain in Buffalo. Is the new, proposed stadium, the best use of public funding, probably not. However,
people like to have something to "rally" around, to cheer for, to have David and Goliath with David being the
winner. The Bills ARE that something and the people of Buffalo, WNY and Southern Ontario Canada know
and understand..... and you do to!
Saw it the other day. I wonder how much it would take to get Jerry on board with THAT idea.Did you miss the latest from the mayor of Dallas asking for a second NFL team - just like NY and LA?
Dallas mayor wants another NFL franchise, says city could support Cowboys and an AFC team
Mayor Eric Johnson feels Dallas could hold two NFL teams with its growing population
Crazy that NYS spending is so high the governor can fund a stadium out of "discretionary" funds.
MA was called Taxachusetts during some political mudslinging (and it was a great line by George H.W. Bush I may add). Yes, MA, has higher taxes than many states especially those down south and has plenty of wasteful spending. It takes almost constant action by the people to keep the govt in check from adding new taxes. Practically every election there are ballet initiatives to block gas tax hikes and other nonsense and these usually pass by a wide margin helping keep things in check. But, I do recall when I moved here from WNY being surprised at how much better the RMV (equivalent to DMV) operated, fees were lower, income tax and sales taxes were lower. It was noticeable and unexpected given the Taxachusetts nickname as I had anticipated it being about the same. A more accurate nickname for a northeast state would be "Tax York".
Another sporting venture point of pride - not many years back a serious effort started to bring the Olympics to Boston with some pretty crazy spending planned by various govts to build venues and make transportation changes. Within a about a week a massive citizen effort started that stomped that down in short order. We do have politicians that like to spend money but the people here mostly have that good old yankee frugality.
MA was called Taxachusetts during some political mudslinging (and it was a great line by George H.W. Bush I may add). Yes, MA, has higher taxes than many states especially those down south and has plenty of wasteful spending. It takes almost constant action by the people to keep the govt in check from adding new taxes. Practically every election there are ballet initiatives to block gas tax hikes and other nonsense and these usually pass by a wide margin helping keep things in check. But, I do recall when I moved here from WNY being surprised at how much better the RMV (equivalent to DMV) operated, fees were lower, income tax and sales taxes were lower. It was noticeable and unexpected given the Taxachusetts nickname as I had anticipated it being about the same. A more accurate nickname for a northeast state would be "Tax York".
Another sporting venture point of pride - not many years back a serious effort started to bring the Olympics to Boston with some pretty crazy spending planned by various govts to build venues and make transportation changes. Within a about a week a massive citizen effort started that stomped that down in short order. We do have politicians that like to spend money but the people here mostly have that good old yankee frugality.
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