The Bills "will not sell the corporate naming rights" to Rich Stadium when Rich Products Corp.'s 25-year deal expires after this season, according to Leo Roth of the Rochester DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE. The "trend-bucking decision, revealed during a lease hearing before the Erie County legislature, drew criticism from several members who wondered why the naming rights were bargained away" in a recent deal with the team "if the Bills had no intention of selling them." The county could have resold rights and not offered a "proposed 'sin' tax on alcohol and cigarettes" to cover stadium operating and maintenance obligations. The Bills have not decided what the stadium will be called, but Roth writes that "[s]peculation centers on renaming it after owner Ralph Wilson." Bills VP/Administration Jim Miller said that the decision not to resell the name "is based on Wilson's contention the practice has cheapened professional sports." Wilson: "I think it degrades a community, cheapens it in a way. Some of them you can't even pronounce. I'd rather keep it simple" (Rochester DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 8/14). NOT FOR SALE: In Buffalo, area business leaders are "feeling like they are facing a third-and-long situation in their efforts to buy" the Bills, according to James Fink of BUSINESS FIRST OF BUFFALO. Among the reasons is the "outright reluctance" by Ralph Wilson "or his closest advisors to even consider selling the team at this time." Although Wilson "has said repeatedly that onerous estate tax bills would likely prevent the team from being kept" within his family, North America Administrators CEO Ronald Zoeller, "point man in an effort to buy" the Bills, said Wilson "and his people refuse to meet with us. I feel like we've run into a brick wall" (BUSINESS FIRST OF BUFFALO, 8/11). SUITE TALK: As part of the lease agreement with NY and Erie County, the Bills must sell $11M in new suites and club seats by December 1, 1998. As part of that effort, Bills VP/ Administration Jim Miller said the team is accepting bids from architects for construction of a "model suite" in Rich Stadium for demonstrations; NFL Films is preparing a sales video to present to prospective customers; and as part of the partnership with NY, the "I Love New York" campaign will develop a TV spot focusing on the Bills as the only team playing in the state (BUSINESS FIRST OF BUFFALO, 8/11).
