The Buffalo Bills are storied as a franchise with deep ties to their city — but relocation is seemingly on the table with a move to Texas in play.
Do tables break the same if they aren’t in or from Buffalo? NFL fans might soon find out as the Bills are in pursuit of a new stadium and other cities around the United States are waiting to swoop in should Orchard Park balk.
According to a report from Tom Precious of The Buffalo News, the Bills ownership group has made a $1.5 billion stadium proposal to Orchard Park, where they’ve played for many years, that would be entirely tax-payer funded. Their current lease expires in 2023 and, though the franchise has reportedly not made “threats” to leave, they have already made it “clear” that other cities would “pay handsomely” for the team to relocate.
And in that vein, ESPN’s Seth Wickersham is reporting that Austin, TX is one of the cities that has expressed interest in being a possible destination should negotiations with Orchard Park take a sour turn.
An ownership source tells me that Austin is a possible destination—or threat—as one of the “other cities elsewhere that desire an NFL franchise and would pay handsomely for it.” https://t.co/zMf1oChO8K
— Seth Wickersham (@SethWickersham) August 1, 2021
There are plenty of dynamics play and, per Precious’ reporting, the New York government (both statewide and local) does not want the Bills to leave. But as we’ve seen over the past decade with these types of negotiations, relocation can’t be ruled out at this point as stadium deals can turn ugly.
Moving the Bills to Austin would be a tough pill to swallow for fans and the NFL.
Unfortunately, there is some precedent for historic franchises like the Bills, who have been in Buffalo since their inception as an AFL team in 1960, relocating. Sure, the Raiders bounced around Los Angeles and Oakland but their California ties were all but severed in the past few years as the franchise moved to Las Vegas.
Because they’ve remained in the upstate New York area throughout their franchise history, though, the Bills moving to Austin or any other U.S. city would feel different. There’s something special about seeing the raucous Mafia causing havoc in the frozen tundra, for better or worse. That type of passion is hard to replicate.
Again, it’s still early in negotiations and, given how important the Bills are to the Orchard Park/Buffalo economy, New York does have their hands tied in some ways. Early in negotiations, we often see concerns about moving raised. In any case, though, this bid for a new stadium is definitely worth monitoring over the coming months and years.