NFL owners are expected to approve $200 million loan to help finance new Bills stadium

Posted by Charean Williams on March 25, 2022, 5:31 PM EDT
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The Bills have moved a step closer to securing private financing for construction on a new $1.4 billion stadium in Orchard Park.

The NFL’s joint stadium and finance committee voted Friday to recommend owners approve a loan up to $200 million to Bills owners Kim and Terry Pegula, the Buffalo News reports.

Owners will vote on the proposal Monday at the league’s annual owners’ meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, and the measure must receive the approval of 24 of the 32 owners. It is considered a formality.

A maximum of $150 million of the loan is repaid through the visiting teams’ share of Bills ticket revenue over 25 years. The league’s G-4 loan program is contingent on both public financing and the Pegulas contributing at least $200 million of their own equity in the project.

The agreement among New York State, Erie County and the Bills is not yet signed. Gov. Kathhy Hochul previously has said the stadium deal will be done by April 1, in time for the state’s annual budget.

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19 responses to “NFL owners are expected to approve $200 million loan to help finance new Bills stadium”

  1. I’m tired of the socialist NFL relying on public money for large chunks of stadiums yet offering nothing back from the revenues. Why should taxpayers be subsidizing them? What’s wrong with the free market stepping up and getting 100% from owner, league, and private equity sources?

  2. And people mocked Packer fans buying stock no cash value stock that gets used for major stadium renovations. At least with that method you get a certificate to hang on the wall, a few exclusive events, and best of all it’s totally voluntary. Plus they can’t legally move the team. How is that not vastly superior over every team that’s had taxpayers who many not even care about the team being forced to pay the bill?

  3. Unpopular opinion here.
    Well… you do have millionaire players, owners, and personnel front office people paying taxes each year. And visiting players pay a state income tax whenever the play on the road (not many people know that) and the NFL team is paying property tax on that massive chuck of land. The mid management people who work there do own homes and purchase goods and services, and people spend money at the hotels and eat dinners at restaurants when games are held. So I am not exactly sure it is fair to say they offer “nothing back from revenues”

    ee00ee says:
    March 25, 2022 at 5:35 pm
    I’m tired of the socialist NFL relying on public money for large chunks of stadiums yet offering nothing back from the revenues. Why should taxpayers be subsidizing them? What’s wrong with the free market stepping up and getting 100% from owner, league, and private equity sources?

  4. Here come the 75 comments from people who don’t live in Erie County and aren’t even going to set foot in Orchard Park complaining about who pays for the stadium.
    Not all rich people have Stan Kroenke’s resources.

  5. Sorry to those who aren’t sports fans but professional sports add to the overall quality of life in cities and unless you want to become a black hole of a city it’s necessary to reinvest in new stadiums to remain competitive. I’m sure my tax dollars go to many things I don’t use.

  6. With a lot of Americans still struggling to get back on their feet after the unneeded shut down, the NFL and it’s owners should NEVER get public money again for a stadium!! The salaries being paid to the players is outrageous, i.e. Watson’s guaranteed contract, Tyrek Hill’s, et al!!Yes, they pay taxes, but these cities need to use those for real life things, not coddling to the ultra rich!!

  7. The Government spends money on Concert Venues, Ballet Halls, Museums, Parks, Golf Courses, Ski Resorts, Fishing Piers, Ice Skating Rinks, Hiking Trails, Skate Board Parks, Dog Parks, Boardwalks, Concerts in the Park, Horse Racing etc. to entertain the public. What City had the highest viewer ratings for the Superbowl this past February ? Not LA or Cinncinati. It was Buffalo, NY. Buffalo Bills Football is very popular in Buffalo and the if the government is spending money on entertainment, why not the most popular entertainment in Buffalo ? Marketing 101, find out what people want and give it to them.

  8. And people mocked Packer fans buying stock no cash value stock that gets used for major stadium renovations. At least with that method you get a certificate to hang on the wall, a few exclusive events, and best of all it’s totally voluntary. Plus they can’t legally move the team. How is that not vastly superior over every team that’s had taxpayers who many not even care about the team being forced to pay the bill?————————————I always need to correct this, as a Packers shareholder myself. The Packers exist at the pleasure of the NFL, and their charter can be revoked and the team moved if 24 owners agree to vote in the affirmative. Don’t believe for a minute that the Packers are safe in GB should their value to the NFL (ie, they become competitive doormats) drop. They have to earn it every year.

  9. Ever been to Buffalo? Asking the citizens to build a stadium when most mailboxes aren’t even straight.

  10. No public money should EVER be used to finance a stadium for any sport at any time. The owners can pay for or arrange loans to cover the cost. The leagues are all rolling around in piles of money they don’t NEED public money.

  11. this is far and away the best fan base in the NFL, and not just for their support of the Bills;

    if anyone deserves a new stadium, they do;

    just hope they have more sense than cleveland and put a roof on it;

  12. I know this will be an unpopular opinion, but having a stadium constructed is a business deal. Sure the owners and NFL could afford it, but they also are within their rights to seek out the best deal for themselves. Bezos surely could pay to have Amazon products drastically reduced, but he is running a business and can set prices according to market prices. Of course, taxpayers need to keep a careful watch over these dealing to ensure their elected officials aren’t misusing their powers. The deal needs to make sense for the tax payers as well. It gets complicated probably trying to determine the real economic benefit having a stadium provides the city, but there is a benefit. Everyone may just need to do a better job at presenting the business cases.

  13. I always need to correct this, as a Packers shareholder myself. The Packers exist at the pleasure of the NFL, and their charter can be revoked and the team moved if 24 owners agree to vote in the affirmative. Don’t believe for a minute that the Packers are safe in GB should their value to the NFL (ie, they become competitive doormats) drop. They have to earn it every year.—— I always need to correct this. If the packers leave the original “Articles of Incorporation for the Green Bay Football Corporation” (enacted in 1923), specified that should the franchise be sold, any post-expenses money would have gone to the American Legion to build “a proper soldier’s memorial.” This stipulation was included to ensure there could never be any financial inducement for shareholders to move the club from Green Bay. So not exactly the same as a rich owner extorting a community so that once the stadium is built it’s back to rugged capitalism for tax payers. The NFL is a ponzi scheme

  15. The NFL made $8.9B last year. Why not just use their own money instead of taking the taxpayer’s money….then raising the prices of everything to get them to help the owner pay back money they took from the taxpayer in the first place?

  16. I say we fans all hold out watching and going to games for one year, and ask the owners to listen to what we want to make the game better.
    We have all the power, just too diluted and unable to focus.
    If no one watched or went to an NFL game for one weekend, we’d have their attention.

  17. Good, Bills are Buffalo, Buffalo are Bills, it’s a critical component to this city.

  18. Good. I pay a lot of taxes in NY. It’s about time the state government did something with those dollars that I actually believe in. Business requires infrastructure.

  19. Building a new stadium in Buffalo is like putting leather seats in a Ford Fiesta.

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