ORCHARD PARK, NY – The $ 1.4 billion worth of the Buffalo Bills’ planned new stadium would include approximately 60,000 seats and 60 suites, The Associated Press has learned.
The proposal of the draft law includes a schedule for construction with a completion date no later than 2027, based on how quickly a deal can be closed, said a person with direct knowledge of the documents presented to state and district officials to the AP on condition of anonymity because the plan was not published.
The team’s current lease expires in July 2023 and would be extended until the new facility opens if the project is approved by New York State and Erie County.
The proposed capacity is about 12,000 fewer seats than the Bills’ current facility, now called Highmark Stadium, built in 1973. The new venue would not have a roof, but would be designed so that much of the seats would be protected from the elements, the source said.
The team initially considered a bigger stadium, priced at $ 1.6 billion, before deciding to downsize the project, the person said.
Talks between the Bills ‘parent company, Pegula Sports and Entertainment, and government officials opened in late May, with the parties holding an on-site tour of the Bills’ aging home last week.
It’s about how quickly a deal can be approved and how the construction costs are shared between the team and the taxpayer. The Bills have previously said that team owners Terry and Kim Pegula committed to share a portion of the cost, but they haven’t identified how much.
The state and county are expected to be asked to fund more than 50% of the project, raising concerns about the potential for taxpayer funding.
PSE’s proposal is preliminary and subject to change due to discussions, although no representations of the proposed entity have yet been provided. Talks have slowed in part because of the change of governor in New York, with Kathy Hochul taking the lead last week after Andrew Cuomo’s resignation.
Hochul comes from Buffalo and has already had contact with PSE officials.
Her office released a statement to the AP on Monday that read: “Nobody is more interested in keeping the Bills in Buffalo than Governor Kathy Hochul, a longtime Bills fan. Negotiations are ongoing and their administration looks forward to sharing details with the public once the negotiations are completed. “
The $ 1.6 billion cost of the New York Giants and Jets’ MetLife Stadium, which opened in 2010, was entirely privately funded. Opened in 2016, the Minnesota Vikings US Bank Stadium, valued at $ 1.1 billion, was 45.2% funded by taxpayers.
At Orchard Park, the construction of the Highmark Stadium was fully paid for by taxpayers in the early 1970s for $ 22 million.
The bills excluded the option of further renovations as they would be prohibitive compared to starting over.
More than $ 130 million was allocated for renovations under the previous 2013 lease. A government study conducted a year later predicted the next round of renovations would cost $ 540 million on the entire third deck. This cost is predicted to be much higher in today’s dollars.
The Pegulas, who bought the Bills in 2014, say they spent an additional $ 146 million on capital and game day and stadium costs, including suite upgrades, a new training facility, and the expansion of the practice fields.
As part of a PSE-funded study launched in 2018, the team conducted a comprehensive analysis focusing on three potential stadium locations in and around Buffalo before deciding to build the facility in a team-controlled parking lot across from their current home.
The other two locations considered were on the University at Buffalo campus to the north of the city and one downtown location in the countryside where the abandoned Perry projects stand empty. The projected cost for a downtown stadium was $ 1.9 billion without the need for infrastructure upgrades, the person said.
PSE has since discontinued Legends Global Planning, a stadium consulting firm controlled by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the New York Yankees. A division of the company, Legends Global Sales, has also been hired to oversee sponsorship and seating license sales for the future new stadium.
PSE’s filing includes an economic impact study, which concludes the team raises $ 361 million annually for the regional economy.
Sports economists have pushed back the impact of sports facilities on the local economy, asking if taxpayers should pay the costs. This particularly affects NFL stadiums due to the limited number of times they are open according to the NFL’s regular 17-game schedule, said Allen Sanderson, an economist at the University of Chicago.
“The answer is zero: sports stadiums are not catalysts for economic development,” said Sanderson. “They just enrich the team and the league and the owner of the franchise to a large extent.”
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