Revisiting one burning question about Terry — why did he buy the Sabres?

[PASabreFan]

Ted Black used almost precisely that analogy when talking about the Pegulas' development aspirations in 2011. Something about how if the community is going to score a goal, the team will be happy to get a secondary assist. Or something like that.

Not sure that was his point. I think he meant if there was going to be development near the arena, the Sabres would like to lend a hand, but not lead the way.

[Claude_Verret]

Nope, just that he has gone about it stupidly.

 

Listen, this thread isn't about me. My post was very fair and factual. It could be a good discussion.

 

Quick search gave me this.  To be fair it was probably more Drane leading the "not Cup focused theory", but you certainly have insinuated it as well.

 

http://forums.sabrespace.com/topic/22921-insight-into-pegulas-one-buffalo-philosophy/?do=findComment&comment=632280

 

My focus at this stage of my life is on the Sabres and a Cup, the same focus Terry seemed to have at the beginning. 

 

[LTS]

I don't quite understand what appears to be surprise to people here.

 

He had money and Buffalo was a great place to invest it.  There are insanely loyal fans.  The value of the franchise was low.  it offered an opportunity to build in a sport that the city loves.  He knew that Bills would be for sale one day and depending on how well the Sabres moves were received he might be able to buy them.

 

There's zero doubt in my mind that the Bills will be playing in downtown Buffalo within 10 years. 

 

He has taken his money and invested it, wisely, in resources that will allow him to earn additional money while also giving him significant real estate resources.  He has placed himself into the conversation of USA Hockey and turned Buffalo into a highly respected hockey development center.  He has also helped drive additional business development in a city that had been turning around.

 

None of this is a surprise.  He's a business man and he's doing business things.  He has savvy business people with him to help him along the way.  

 

At the moment no one's losing here... 

[Doohickie]

Interesting. So we're an economic experiment? 

 

I'm not even mad. 

 

I'm thrilled.

 

Buffalo finally has a Bass Family.*

 

 

 

*Here in Fort Worth, the Basses are a multi-billion-dollar family that made their money wildcatting (think of James Dean in Giant), made a boatload of money, then cashed out of the oil business (mostly) and diversified.  They totally reinvigorated an embarrassingly dead downtown district, built a world class performance hall, and most recently redeveloped two parking lots into the set you see ESPN use when they come to the DFW area (for Super Bowls, College Game Day, etc.)

 

 

They started in the 1980s and it took them more than 20 years to really turn things around.  In comparison, Pegula's splash in Buffalo has been much more immediate.  I just hope it's as sustained as the Bass Family influence in Fort Worth.

[...]

For whatever reason, I can't get the search engine for this site to ever return reliable results. Or, in this case, results at all. But, the essence of this topic has been talked to death. I think, if memory serves, several people tried to say Pegula was doing this to become a god-king for the local area (meaning, he wants to re-boot the local economy and look good doing it). This, of course, was poo-poo'd by many others.

 

The next obvious question is "why would he want to conduct an socio-economic experiment here?"

[Doohickie]

The next obvious question is "why would he want to conduct an socio-economic experiment here?"

 

Low buy-in costs.  Reasonable potential.

[darksabre]

I'm thrilled.

 

Buffalo finally has a Bass Family.*

 

 

 

*Here in Fort Worth, the Basses are a multi-billion-dollar family that made their money wildcatting (think of James Dean in Giant), made a boatload of money, then cashed out of the oil business (mostly) and diversified.  They totally reinvigorated an embarrassingly dead downtown district, built a world class performance hall, and most recently redeveloped two parking lots into the set you see ESPN use when they come to the DFW area (for Super Bowls, College Game Day, etc.)

 

 

 

They started in the 1980s and it took them more than 20 years to really turn things around.  In comparison, Pegula's splash in Buffalo has been much more immediate.  I just hope it's as sustained as the Bass Family influence in Fort Worth.

 

It's anecdotes like this that get me rock-effing-hard about the power of good people with money. 

 

Good people with money can make an insane difference in a community. If they want to. 

[That Aud Smell]

Not sure that was his point. I think he meant if there was going to be development near the arena, the Sabres would like to lend a hand, but not lead the way.

 

I did mean to suggest what Black's point was. Just that, not unlike you, he'd used a hockey scoring analogy to deal with a question regarding the Pegulas' plans to develop around the arena. I wish I could find the quote. I think it was an on-air interview, though. Or a press conference. 

 

But I think I take your point: You say the Pegulas are scoring an EN goal after others scored the GWG. Black said the Pegulas would look to get a helper on a GWG. A fairly fine distinction? 

[SwampD]

For whatever reason, I can't get the search engine for this site to ever return reliable results. Or, in this case, results at all. But, the essence of this topic has been talked to death. I think, if memory serves, several people tried to say Pegula was doing this to become a god-king for the local area (meaning, he wants to re-boot the local economy and look good doing it). This, of course, was poo-poo'd by many others.

 

The next obvious question is "why would he want to conduct an socio-economic experiment here?"

I'm guessing because of it's growth potential and his kids.

[...]

Low buy-in costs.  Reasonable potential.

Of course, but to what end? Strictly business? Which, is cool, but, that still places him in the "I chose Buffalo to corner the market on high-end development. I will be Buffalo's god-king when I am done." category.

 

...and I'm okay with that.

 

Almost jealous.

[Hoss]

Nobody with that net worth is all cash.

Correct. He owns two professional sports teams.

[Doohickie]

Of course, but to what end? Strictly business? Which, is cool, but, that still places him in the "I chose Buffalo to corner the market on high-end development. I will be Buffalo's god-king when I am done." category.

 

...and I'm okay with that.

 

Almost jealous.

 

Business success and ego.  Pretty much the same thing that drives every powerful man.

[PASabreFan]

Quick search gave me this.  To be fair it was probably more Drane leading the "not Cup focused theory", but you certainly have insinuated it as well.

 

http://forums.sabrespace.com/topic/22921-insight-into-pegulas-one-buffalo-philosophy/?do=findComment&comment=632280

Things said during the depth of the tank should not be admissible.

[LGR4GM]

Things said during the depth of the tank should not be admissible.

If you are going to criticize Pegula for the tank then what you said during it is admissible.

 

 

That said, I think Pegula was familiar with the area liked the idea of owning a sports team and saw Buffalo as a place he could diversify.  He has then taken advantages of other opportunities as they have arrived.

[nfreeman]

I wouldn't trust what Benson says too much. The only thing we've heard from him and Pegula are nothing but altruistic motives, and nobody's that perfect.

 

I think Pegula is trying to diversify his fracking money since you never know what regulations and environmental concerns are going to come up in that industry, and he chose to do it in an inexpensive city with room for growth. 

 

You are far from the only one doing this, but there is a real vibe here of looking a gift horse in the mouth. 

 

TP isn't doing what he's doing in Buffalo to make money.  There are plenty of good investment opportunities out there for him, and Buffalo isn't one of them.

 

IMHO, the Pegulas are a gift from heaven -- both for local sports fans and for the local population as a whole.  Generations of WNYers have grown old, moved away or left the coil entirely waiting for an economic revitalization.  We finally have wealthy private individuals determined to help make it happen without profit as the primary motive -- and many people react with suspicion, like he's trying to steal our treasures.

 

Maybe he and his wife want to use their wealth to make a real difference in her hometown (and his adopted one).

 

 

I dunno. You've got several billion dollars. I wouldn't the motive is to make more money. I think the motive was to do x, y and z with it, spending a lot of it. Whatever he makes from the Sabres and HarborCenter, if anything, will be peanuts. The Bills could be another story, I don't know.

 

I completely agree with the bolded.

 

 

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong (eleven comes to mind), but Buffalo's comeback is more about the medical sector than anything else, right? I think Terry gets a ton of credit for the resurgence, probably too much. The HarborCenter and Canalside are consistently merged in national media stories on the city. It doesn't seem accurate. To use a hockey analogy, Terry has scored an empty net goal to clinch a win, but others put the city up by a goal.

 

What the Benson quote suggests, though, is that more might be to come from the Pegulas.

 

This is an awfully generous description of the WNY economic picture.  A more accurate one might be "not as bleak as it used to be, but far from healthy."

 

Here's some data:  http://www.bestplaces.net/economy/city/new_york/buffalo

 

 

For whatever reason, I can't get the search engine for this site to ever return reliable results. Or, in this case, results at all. But, the essence of this topic has been talked to death. I think, if memory serves, several people tried to say Pegula was doing this to become a god-king for the local area (meaning, he wants to re-boot the local economy and look good doing it). This, of course, was poo-poo'd by many others.

 

The next obvious question is "why would he want to conduct an socio-economic experiment here?"

 

My recollection is that the argument of the naysayers was more that he was up to no good -- i.e. that he was looking to maneuver the good people of Buffalo into a corner and then somehow profit from it.

[That Aud Smell]

Maybe he and his wife want to use their wealth to make a real difference in her hometown (and his adopted one).

 

Not for nothing, but Mrs. Pegula's hometown is Rochester.

[K-9]

...It's been well established he wasn't that big of a fan. ...

I don't know. When a person living in Pittsburgh has to drive to a certain bridge in the city just to be able to listen to the Sabres game on the radio, it qualifies as being a big fan in my book.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[That Aud Smell]

You are far from the only one doing this, but there is a real vibe here of looking a gift horse in the mouth. 

 

TP isn't doing what he's doing in Buffalo to make money.  There are plenty of good investment opportunities out there for him, and Buffalo isn't one of them.

 

IMHO, the Pegulas are a gift from heaven -- both for local sports fans and for the local population as a whole.  Generations of WNYers have grown old, moved away or left the coil entirely waiting for an economic revitalization.  We finally have wealthy private individuals determined to help make it happen without profit as the primary motive -- and many people react with suspicion, like he's trying to steal our treasures.

 

I largely agree with what you're saying: The Pegulas are one of the best strokes of fortune Buffalo's had in decades.

 

That said, I think it's unnecessary to take a "nothing to see here, folks, move along" approach. These are subjects worthy of discussion. There may, in fact, be nothing to see here. But there's enough contrary indications in the rear view mirror to make it worthy of revisiting and hashing out.

I don't know. When a person living in Pittsburgh has to drive to a certain bridge in the city just to be able to listen to the Sabres game on the radio, it qualifies as being a big fan in my book.

 

This (what you responded to) is some combination of one of my favorite message board techniques/pet peeves: A passing reference to something having been firmly established as fact based on the fact that certain people on the board have typed it dozens of times.

 

Pegula is a lot of things. And he isn't a lot of others. His emotion when he saw Perreault at the press conference still strikes me as real.

Edited October 15, 2015 by That Aud Smell

[musichunch]

You are far from the only one doing this, but there is a real vibe here of looking a gift horse in the mouth. 

 

TP isn't doing what he's doing in Buffalo to make money.  There are plenty of good investment opportunities out there for him, and Buffalo isn't one of them.

 

IMHO, the Pegulas are a gift from heaven -- both for local sports fans and for the local population as a whole.  Generations of WNYers have grown old, moved away or left the coil entirely waiting for an economic revitalization.  We finally have wealthy private individuals determined to help make it happen without profit as the primary motive -- and many people react with suspicion, like he's trying to steal our treasures.

 

Maybe he and his wife want to use their wealth to make a real difference in her hometown (and his adopted one).

 

On the surface it's a great stroke of luck.

 

But I just still don't really know who he is. He came out of nowhere. A billionaire Sabres fan nobody heard of. Who made his money in a questionable industry. Who bought the team right before the sh*t hit the fan at Penn State. And now he's pretty much the owner of the city of Buffalo. 

 

Maybe it's nothing, but something in my gut is telling me to be cautious. 

[woods-racer]

[LGR4GM]

On the surface it's a great stroke of luck.

 

But I just still don't really know who he is. He came out of nowhere. A billionaire Sabres fan nobody heard of. Who made his money in a questionable industry. Who bought the team right before the sh*t hit the fan at Penn State. And now he's pretty much the owner of the city of Buffalo. 

 

Maybe it's nothing, but something in my gut is telling me to be cautious. 

Are you joking? Like we are seriously doing this again? You clearly have no clue how a college athletic department works or any major university.

 

[thewookie1]

I think this whole thing is part business, part legacy, and part personal.

 

Business:

-Buying Sabres gives him a far easier route to buying the Bills

-Bills make a ton of money, Sabres will lose money but nothing back breaking

-Diverification of his assets

-Brings him into direct contact with other wealthy individuals he may not of met before

 

Personal

-Sabres were his favorite team/ Bills are practically a bonus

-He seems to be a genuine type of guy and fan thus wants the team to not only stay but thrive

-Sabres/Bills have some of the most loyal fans in their respective sports, why wouldn't you want that behind you

-He and his wife may honestly like the idea of helping revitalize a Rust Belt City next to her home city

 

Legacy

-Wants to be remembered for something great (Fracking has a negative image presently)

[PASabreFan]

This (what you responded to) is some combination of one of my favorite message board techniques/pet peeves: A passing reference to something having been firmly established as fact based on the fact that certain people on the board have typed it dozens of times.

I didn't just pull the opinion out of thin air. I'm not using myself as a source. To draw my conclusion, I didn't need to hear anything else besides Terry admitting he didn't know the team was for sale after the Rigas Scandal. What real fan didn't know that? My gawd. I think Terry likes hockey. He grew up a Flyers fan, got attached to the Sabres when he lived in WNY and then took to the Pens when he moved down there.

[K-9]

... Who bought the team right before the sh*t hit the fan at Penn State. ...

 

Maybe it's nothing, but something in my gut is telling me to be cautious.

 

What are you really trying to say here?

[PASabreFan]

What conspiracy? You people are killing me today.