Bill Fitzgibbons grew up a fan of Bills in the south of Buffalo in the 1970s, but left this area 37 years ago and sold agricultural machinery to the east coast. Even though he lived in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, even outside Atlanta, he maintained loyalty to the bill and the West New York.
When Erie County began selling unique bonds for the team’s new stadium, Fitzgibbons had the opportunity to buy some. The purchase did not give Pitts Giben (61) to own a team or stadium. County helped to pay the ratio of construction. But it was still a relationship with the team and the region of the young people, and he was able to earn 5.25 %without federal taxes with the 25 -year 25 -year bond he bought.
Fitzgibbons said, “It is impossible to get out of the soul when moving. “It will always be where I came from. Without the bill, the remaining chicken wings (chicken wings exported everywhere). Badness and Niagara Falls. ”
Municipal bonds are as gorgeous as wise shoes. But they are the tools for local governments and are popular with investors because of their steady profits and tax benefits. ERIE COUNTY issues about $ 40 million annually as AA grade bonds to help you pay for sewers, roads and other infrastructure. In October, the bill issued $ 125 million to cover half of the $ 1.7 billion contributor to the stadium of $ 1.7 billion, which is built in Orchard Park in the suburbs of Buffalo.
Kevin Hardwick, an Erie County Comproller, thought that some of the most dedicated Bills fans in the NFL wanted a chance to buy some of these bonds. They cannot call themselves “owners” like a fan of Green Bay Packers, a public ownership team that publishes an essential shares to shareholders. But he thought that fans could invest carefully by expressing their loyalty and purchasing bonds.
Hardwick said, “I will probably not release the sewer bonds to the market when everyone cheers by taking a bus and spraying water with mustard and ketchup to go beyond the burning table. Before the game with some Bills Tailgaters. “But they are a general obligations with attitudes.”
Many economists and fans help the stadium inefficiently and unnecessarily against the use of public funds. Some of them have more efforts than to wear bond sales that should not be done by Erie County.
JC Bradbury, A, said, “Sales look like a great PR play because there are not many things that can be obtained other than other local government bonds, except to have the opportunity to actively participate in the development of Bills Stadium.” A sports economist at Kennesaw State University, Georgia, is critical to using public funds in the stadium.
“At least those who buy bonds have reasonable expectations to get positive profits about that part of the investment.”
During the preliminary sales period, County received 95 orders for $ 3.2 million of bonds by individual investors, about 40 %of them from Erie County. The rest were sold to institutional investors, which purchased a vast amount of urban bonds nationwide. Some bonds end as a mutual fund that can be purchased by individual investors, but it may be difficult to decide whether Erie County has a specific bond like issuance on the stadium.
County rarely sold bonds to individual investors, and Hardwick’s office could not find any other cases when the stadium bond was directly sold to an individual. We had to build a website so that investors could learn and buy bonds. Some insurance companies were familiar with sports -related projects, but most of them sold only bonds to managers.
Education was an obstacle. Some County residents thought that bonds were taxes, not investment opportunities. Others did not understand why the interest rates of bonds were not calculated until the sale was closed. Bonds have a maximum maturity date of 25 years.
Mark Poloncarz, a county executive, said, “I think many people who have never participated in bonds or urban bond markets did not understand what we are doing. “We did not tell our members of the taxpayer that they should buy this bond. Instead of a big institutional bank or investor who is making money in County, our own residents will make a few dollars in County. ”
County tried to persuade fans to buy fans to buy a personal seat license, and at the same time, they had to buy a season ticket at a new stadium (to open in 2026). The license cost is $ 50,000, with many fans suffering from additional financial burdens. Others were angry with the fact that Lord and County agreed to spend $ 850 million to help Terry Pegula, the billionaire owner of the team.
Hardwick and Poloncarz said they did not have a goal for the number of bonds expected to be purchased by individuals, but the sales of $ 3.2 million are somewhat disappointing. Nevertheless, they were interested in the process of a small number of citizens.
His investment revenue was next to the point for many Bills fans, such as Georgia’s Fitzgibbons.
“I hope they never mature.” “I just want to hold on to them forever.”
