The sale of the Bills is moving at a “brisk pace” and the team could be sold as early as July, writes John Wawrow of the Associated Press. Contractually, the Bills must stay in Buffalo until 2019, but the goal is to secure the team’s presence there for much longer than that.
Given the anticipation that the team could be sold within the next several months, governor Andrew Cuomo has redoubled his efforts to prevent the Bills from relocating. As Wawrow writes, “The state intends to hire a consulting firm over the next week to produce a report within three months that would be issued to prospective owners. The report would identify potential stadium sites and outline public financing options that would be made available.”
The consulting firm would work in conjunction with Irwin Raij, a partner with the law firm Foley & Lardner who played a critical role in the 10-year lease agreement that gave the Bills a “one-time out” in 2020. As the early offers to buy the team appear to be legitimate and competitive, Cuomo is hoping to at least get the framework of a plan to keep the Bills in Buffalo in place as soon as possible. More details will certainly follow in the coming weeks.