The Buffalo Bills are potentially looking for a new partner, and that partner could get naming rights to the stadium. Barstool Sports founder, David Portnoy, announced on Thursday that his company is interested in acquiring the naming rights to the stadium in Buffalo.
Buffalo has long been a partner with New Era, and New Era Field has been home to the Buffalo Bills. That agreement ended in January 2020, and the Bills announced that they would now be playing their games in “Bills Stadium.”
New Era is headquartered in Buffalo, and it is unclear why the marketing partnership came to an end so suddenly. The Bills Stadium is located in Orchard Park, and the team will begin looking for a new naming rights partner soon.
David Portnoy is hoping to jump on the opportunity before the Bills even begin exploring other options. Portnoy pointed out that Barstool Sports and the fan base in Buffalo have a lot in common, and he believes they would make a perfect partnership.
The “Bills Mafia” is the name of the Bills’ fanbase, and they are known for their wild pregame tailgating parties. Portnoy expressed his desire to become a partner with the Bills on a tweet that was posted Thursday.
Could Be Historic Decision
The National Football League, along with other professional sports leagues, opposed all forms of sports betting until 2018. The leagues have seen the tremendous growth that the industry has gone through, and they all see the potential to make money.
The NFL recently allowed their teams to seek out partnerships with sports betting operators, and several teams now have an official sports betting partners. BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel are three of the biggest names in the industry, and they have all formed partnerships with NFL teams.
Seneca Resorts and Casinos is the “official casino of the Buffalo Bills,” but naming rights to the stadium were not included in that deal. In fact, no sports betting operator has been able to land naming rights to any National Football League stadium.
Gila River Casino in Arizona was close back in 2017, but the Arizona Cardinals eventually chose State Farm Insurance as their naming rights partner. If Barstool Sports can land this deal with the Bills, it would be a historic day for the sports betting industry and the NFL.
Bills Stadium Details
Bills Stadium opened in August 1973, but it underwent a massive renovation project completed in 2013. The total cost of the renovation was $130 million, but the team decided to upgrade the stadium instead of looking to build something new.
The overall capacity at Bills Stadium is 71.621 people, and there are over 8,000 club seats available as well. A massive parking lot is built on-site, and it can park over 10,000 cars and 400 buses/ campers.
Can Bill Win AFC East?
The Buffalo Bills have been one of the worst teams in the NFL since the turn of the century, but things are starting to turn around. Buffalo made the playoffs just twice since the 2000 season, but those two instances came in 2017 and 2019.
Competing against the New England Patriots in the AFC East has made life difficult for the Bills, but that could change in 2020. Tom Brady is no longer the quarterback for the Patriots, and the Bills have a young and talented team.
FanDuel Sportsbook has the Patriots at +115 to win the AFC East, and the Bills are listed at +125. FanDuel has the over/under for Bills wins set at 8.5 for the upcoming season.
