Bills Owners Terry and Kim Pegula before the offseason "intend to focus" on a number of off-the-field concerns, including a "commitment to building a new stadium and working on ending the team's series of annual home games in Toronto," according to John Wawrow of the AP. Terry Pegula said, "There's going to be a new stadium somewhere, that's all I know. The league was pretty emphatic that Buffalo -- we're a small market -- needs to be as competitive as we can." Wawrow notes the "one answer the Pegulas couldn't provide yet is a location, timeline or how the costs of a new stadium will be split." The Pegulas stressed that they are in "no rush" to build a new facility after Ralph Wilson Stadium underwent $140M in renovations this offseason. They also are "ready to end" the Toronto series. Kim Pegula said, "We're working on that right now. We want all the home games to be played in Buffalo, so we're working through that. I think it's close, but nothing's been finalized. But that is our intent." Wawrow notes the series "was placed on hold in March." Meanwhile, the Pegulas are "impressed with the job" President & CEO Russ Brandon "has done in overseeing the team during the sale process." Terry Pegula said that it is "premature to consider making any changes to the team." He has "not yet determined whether he'll hire an outside adviser to evaluate the franchise" (AP, 11/6).
DOUBLE THEIR PLEASURE: In Buffalo, Vic Carucci in a front-page piece notes although Terry Pegula, who also owns the Sabres, acknowledged that he "was 'learning as I go with the two teams,' he and his wife said they don’t see any major challenges to operating" both teams. He said, "I don’t see any disadvantages except you can’t be in two places at one time, which is easy to solve. It’s awesome to have both teams and even though they’re in separate sports, separate leagues, I think you can use one or the other to help somehow.” Kim Pegula added, “The only disadvantage I see is time. We can’t form the relationships between the staff, the other employees, that we would have if it was just one team." Asked if they will be more hands-on with the Bills than with the Sabres, Terry Pegula said, “Hire good people and let them run with it; that’s my attitude." Kim Pegula said the Bills would “get a little more attention just because we’re learning, whereas the Sabres we’ve had for almost four years, so we’re hitting our stride with that" (
BUFFALO NEWS, 11/6).
IMMEDIATE IMPACT: In Buffalo, Tim Graham in a front-page piece writes Kim Pegula "has the opportunity to be an influential voice at a time when the NFL could use a woman’s perspective." She "already has been added to the NFL Foundation Committee, a nonprofit organization that focuses on sports safety, youth football and community outreach," and she "intends to do more." She said, "I don’t know how much being a female will make an impact. Basically, what I want to be involved in and what’s going to happen after that will play out based on my strengths and my interests and how I can help, more so than whether I’m a female" (BUFFALO NEWS, 11/6).
