Positive Spin Marks Lease Talks As Bills End Road Losing Streak

Roger Trevino, executive vice president of Niagara Falls Redevelopment continues to play coy about NFR’s exploration of acquiring the Buffalo Bills and bringing them to Niagara Falls.

Even as uncertainty continues to surround the Bills’ future, the team managed to end an eight-game road losing streak and overcome winless Cleveland on Sunday, 24-14.

While it was the end of one losing streak, the hapless Browns kept their losing streak going, notching their ninth straight defeat going back to last season. So while Buffalo moved to 2 and 1, the Browns are now 0 and 3 and counting. It’s hard to say too much about the Bills except they won a game they were supposed to win and things will get a little tougher on Sunday when they host the Patriots and Tom Brady coming off a one-point loss to the Ravens.

Off the field, the stalled stadium lease talks lurched a bit forward with the focus now on a one-year deal and all the parties sought to paint a rosy picture and reassure a nervous fan base that despite all the uncertainty about the team’s long-term future, don’t worry about it now.

Two of the three parties got together last Friday as county and state officials huddled in Albany and Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy and Deputy Erie County Executive Rich Tobe released a joint statement saying the state and county are in lockstep in their commitment to keep the Bills in Buffalo, “and we will continue to refrain from negotiating through the press.” The Bills also had a positive spin on the talks, but it is still obvious there is a long way to go, even on a one-year agreement.

At this point, no one really knows what’s going to happen with the Bills down the road, except that about-to-be 94-year-old owner Ralph Wilson says he won’t sell the team while he is alive, but will have his heirs sell it after his death. I don’t expect any lease deal for Ralph Wilson Stadium soon, even for one year, and that buys more time for the process and for now saves the county and state from trying to find upwards of $200 million to fix up the aging stadium which no one believes will be the future home of the team after it is sold. And if they get beyond a one-year deal, who will bear the pain for short-term renovations, and how will the taxpayers be insured for their investment if the team is sold to out-of-state interests?

We reported last week that our sources tell us that the governor and one of his top political contributors, Manhattan real estate tycoon Howard Milstein, have had discussions about relocating the Bills to Niagara Falls under a new ownership group headed by Milstein should that ownership group be able to acquire the team after Wilson’s passing.

The notion has legs considering Milstein owns 140 prime acres in downtown Niagara Falls (bordering the team’s coveted southern Ontario market) and the long-term structural viability of 39-year-old Ralph Wilson stadium is very much in question.

But none of the parties, including Milstein’s top Niagara Falls lieutenant, Roger Trevino, will comment on any of it at this point. And there will be no sale or much public talk about the possibilities while Wilson is still alive.

For his part, Trevino, the executive vice president of Milstein’s Niagara Falls Redevelopment group which owns the cataract city property, continues to play coy and will only say NFR is continuing to explore development opportunities for its Niagara Falls properties. We have learned independently that Trevino has had talks late last year with Live Nation Entertainment of Beverly Hills, California, about an arena and/or stadium development in the Falls. Mayor Paul Dyster confirmed recently to the Reporter that he has had what he considers to have been some serious development ideas from NFR, but refused to comment further. He has declined to comment about a possible future move to Niagara Falls by the team or Milstein’s potential involvement beyond saying he hopes the franchise stays in Western New York.

The bottom line is no one is publicly going to say much right now about anything involving the Bills’ future, including the secret lease talks, while owner Ralph Wilson is still here. There will no doubt be some well-heeled suitors to buy the team when Wilson’s heirs go to market, most likely from out west, but local options continue to be explored. Milstein may be the behind-the-scenes mover who can help acquire the team to stay in the area and save Niagara Falls with a little help from his pal, Andrew Cuomo who would be a big winner by keeping the Bills in Western New York and saving Niagara Falls from the debacle caused by the state’s gaming dispute with the Senecas.

Now back to the game against the Browns last Sunday, which was Buffalo’s first road win since the opener last year against Kansas City. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, behind some good pass protection, acquitted himself quite nicely, especially after the league’s leading rusher C. J. Spiller injured his left shoulder shortly after scoring on a 32-yard screen pass from Fitzpatrick in the first quarter and had to leave the game. At the least, he is not expected to play on Sunday.

There are positive signs from the game for the Bills, even though it was against a weak opponent. Fitzpatrick was okay, throwing for 208 yards and three touchdowns, and the offensive line gave him good protection. The defense held the Browns’ top runner, Trent Richardson, to 27 yards on 12 carries. And $100-million-dollar man Mario Williams recorded his first sack.

How the Bills fare Sunday against the Patriots may tell us a bit more about the playoff possibilities this season (they haven’t been there in 12 years) and it will certainly help supporters put aside, at least for now, the lingering uncertainty that continues to hover over this franchise which is near and dear to so many people in Western New York.

I still don’t see Fitzpatrick as a first tier quarterback capable of leading this team into Super Bowl contention, but rare off-season spending by the franchise has helped so far, and time will tell if this is just another early-season run, like last year, or if they can extend it and show they can beat the good teams, starting Sunday against the Patriots.

Stay tuned!