The Weirdos? ( unofficial city slogan), The Armadillos? ( alliteration) The Capitals?(obvious)
Just wondering what their name would be.
But Austin has way better food, and much nicer to visit during the season.
1. Cleveland Rams - the original Cleveland franchise was an AFL team that left Cleveland because, well, hey, who wouldn't?
2. Art Model purchases Browns >> fires Paul Brown >> Brown co-founds Bengals (aka "Striped Browns") >> Brown's son Mike continues to run Bengals into the ground to this day
3. Cleveland fans run Art Model out of town (OK, satire -- but they did eventually agree to a tax hike to fund a new stadium, which is what Model wanted all along) >> Model moves franchise to Baltimore >> the Baltimore Purple Browns are born.
For reasons unclear to rational human beings, Cleveland fans insist on retaining "Browns" franchise name and team records
4. Cleveland Browns franchise is reborn; "Factory of Sadness" ensues
TLDR:
Cleveland has polluted the NFL with 4 franchises. Cleveland, please just stop.
Although I think it's an extreme longshot that the team will move, this heavy-handed bargaining approach is certain to accelerate the rapid erosion of the Pegulas' goodwill in the local community.
Given the shabby state of the hockey team and the longstanding efforts to brand the football team as a community asset, Western New Yorkers are rightfully pissed off at a request for 100% public funding for a new stadium, coupled with a threat of relocation from ownership. To raise the specter of moving at this early stage of negotiation is offensive.
Regardless, if they're going to demand 100% of public money to build a stadium, which itself is a lucrative venture that will serve only to enrich the owners, then there's no choice but to let the team walk.
It would be devastating psychologically to a region that already has issues with its reputation (weather, economy, etc.), but there's no reason for the community to bear the burden of paying for a stadium that the owners can finance on their own. I think most people by now have gotten wise to the fact that these stadium projects do not deliver the promised benefits to the surrounding area, which is why there is already significant push back to this audacious proposal.
They're staying.
Book it.
[If you substitute "winning" for "staying," I uttered two prior sentences four times in Januaries in the early 90s.]
as plowing under half of your city to host the Olympics.
$1.5Bn for 8 noon kickoffs a year is a terrible deal. Austin would be better served holding out for a baseball team. More games = more tax recovery opportunities.
Despite your dire predictions, football remains wildly popular and will continue to remain popular for many years to come.
Baseball generates lukewarm interest after opening day/week until post season. Few people tailgate orwatch four hours of tv in bars/restaurants or travel in from out of state to attend the game and tailgates and fill up hotels.
It is not like your are sitting there in Europe smarter than any decision maker , community and owner over here. There is a significant psychic and tangible prestige that comes from being an NFL city. And major college football city.
I can see why a rust belt city might want NFL football for "prestige", but Austin doesn't need it. They already have enough activities, and can afford to tell the NFL to build their own stadium if they want to inflict the Bills on central Texas.
Austin probably wouldn't shell out for an NFL stadium. Any team they put in there would be indirectly competing with the Longhorns.
Sounds like the Austin city council doesn't know anything about it, anyway. Empty threat/negotiating tool
jump out of a window sans Bills Mafia style table to break his fall.
Not going to happen, but I do suggest the writer who floated the story should be subject to a shaming by ketchup and mustard dousing at a Bills tailgate.
He carries water for the NFL, so he's been trotting out this threat annually on his NBC blog. I don't think there's any way that the Pegulas would move the team, but they've shown a capacity for tone deaf behavior.
The City of Austin will not build the Buffalo Bills' owners a stadium with public money. Precourt Sports Ventures privately financed the construction of Austin FC's Q2 Stadium:
https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2018/12/19/austin-and-psv-finalize-soccer-stadium-deal-mls.html
I'd say any mention of Austin is solely a negotiating ploy in Buffalo, and nothing Greg Abbott says matters unless the State of Texas intends to build it, and yes, Jerra won't allow that to happen.
I dont know a more loyal group of fans in professional sports.
An Austin franchise would rob Austin/San Antonio from Dallas home area.
And not like several years post-Katrina, like during the 2005 season.
Thanks mostly to Paul Tagliabue, it never came to be, but F Mayor Phil Hardberger and those vultures over in San Antonio. And F our now deceased owner, Tom Benson, for trying to screw his hometown in their time of need.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.
to be their territory.