It had been so widely reported that it had been regarded as a given. Now, it’s been said.
On Thursday, an executive from Pegula Sports and Entertainment publicly confirmed that the Bills won’t sign a new lease at their current stadium in Buffalo without an agreement in place to build a new stadium there.
“No, we absolutely will not,” Ron Raccuia told WBEN radio, via the Associated Press.
With two years left on their lease, the implication is clear: get a deal for a new stadium in place within the next two seasons, or see the Bills leave.
Raccuia also was asked about the possibility of relocation.
“We’re not even focused on that, yet,” he said.
“Yet” is indeed the key word. Expect the Bills to focus all efforts on getting an agreement in place for a new stadium deal in Buffalo. Expect them to not consider other locations unless and until they reach an impasse with politicians in Buffalo. If/when the Bills are ever actively looking for a new home, they need potential suitors to believe it’s real. That another city isn’t being used as a pawn to help the Bills close a deal in Buffalo.
However it goes, it needs to go quickly. The Bill have two more seasons in Buffalo. And those two seasons will fly by. If Buffalo isn’t going to work out a deal to keep the Bills in place quickly, the Bills need to start looking for a new partner. If/when they start, it will be too late for Buffalo to keep a move from happening.