Construction on Bills stadium to begin after Erie County Legislature approval

Posted by Josh Alper on May 4, 2023, 2:32 PM EDT
NFL: NOV 07 Bills at Jaguars
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The Bills are set to begin building their new stadium.

The team announced that construction “will now begin in earnest” after the Erie County Legislature approved the stadium agreement on Thursday. The agreement calls for a 30-year lease at the new stadium, which is being built across from Highmark Stadium.

“Now that all the negotiations are over, we are excited to begin the physical phase of this project, which will lead to the opening of the stadium,” Bills executive vice president and COO Ron Raccuia said in a statement. “Major construction in June will begin with excavation. The final design elements are never really final, but it’s extremely dialed in at this point.”

The stadium is expected to be completed in time for the Bills to play there during the 2026 season.

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19 responses to “Construction on Bills stadium to begin after Erie County Legislature approval”

  1. “The team announced that construction “will now begin in earnest” after the Erie County Legislature approved the stadium agreement on Thursday.”

    “Major construction in June will begin with excavation.”

    May 4th … June … meh.

  2. It wasn’t that long ago that the idea of the Bills staying in Buffalo was in doubt, and the team was mired in mediocrity. Things were kind of bleak.

    I appreciate every single story about the new stadium, and everything else. No more “Toronto Bills” or “LA Bills.” Life is good.

  3. All the money to build a brand new stadium that can never host a Super Bowl or any event from November to March. Make it make sense.

  5. Build stadium check. Raise season ticket prices check. Raise parking fees check. Raise food and beverage prices check. Charge to go to rest rooms check. Be carefull what you wish for.

  7. I’m all for it! When it comes to future naming rights, I’m wondering whether Josh Allen himself will the buy the rights to name it Josh Allen Stadium since 1) the Bills are paying him enough (~$250 million) where he could actually afford it, and 2) the stadium possibly would not have been built if he hadn’t come along and turned the team’s fortunes around. Sounds crazy, but with QB salaries what they are these days, many could afford to do it!

  8. coldbeer39 says:
    May 4, 2023 at 2:52 pm

    Build stadium check. Raise season ticket prices check. Raise parking fees check. Raise food and beverage prices check. Charge to go to rest rooms check. Be carefull what you wish for

    *******************************************************
    Yes, and also be “carefulL” how you spell….

  9. I will never understand why city councils agree to fork over millions and millions of dollars to billionaires so their team can have a new place to play (and make more money). The taxpayers foot the stadium bills but most taxpayers can’t afford to buy tickets to see the games. It is truly amazing how Americans allow the wealthy to screw over the average person.

  10. Quick example –

    The state pays no money – Bills move. State loses money.

    The state pays $100 – they get $200 in return.

    Basic economics.

  11. People complaining about overall prices going up. It happens. It is a business. Be happy your city is willing to help make it happen.

  12. I’m glad the Bills are staying in Buffalo, but too bad they couldn’t build the new stadium closer to downtown instead of being in the middle of nowhere.

  13. The Dolphins concur that this should be a closed roof stadium.

  14. The Bills have a perfectly good stadium. They average 67,000 fans a game. The new stadium will hold only 62,000, meaning they will shrink the fan base by about 7,000 fans. Not smart.

  15. Next up the Tennessee Titans, the Denver Broncos, the Chicago Bears with new stadiums.

  16. And don’t forget the Washington Commanders as well to eventually to build a new stadium

  17. dejadoh says:
    May 4, 2023 at 4:24 pm
    The Bills have a perfectly good stadium. They average 67,000 fans a game. The new stadium will hold only 62,000, meaning they will shrink the fan base by about 7,000 fans. Not smart.

    ____________

    Ever hear of supply & demand? It works every Christmas…Tickle me Elmo much?

    In all seriousness, this is pretty smart business for the team, as it’s a rental they are investing over 45% of the cost to build & get absolutely nothing in return when the lease is up.

  18. So the Bills’ new stadium cost $1.54 billion? Seriously? What a deal, nothing says new state of the art new place to call home like seeing the fans on tv pay to sit in snow drifts while freezing their tails off. Also, good job on your new toy, nothing like spending all that cash on a building that won’t be on the list for a Superbowl host site or will be limited on what it can be used for yearly for nonfootball events…money well spent, lol.

  19. I know people always say a new stadium build doesn’t make sense financially, but I wonder. $1.54 billion. To start, this creates 10,000 good paying local construction jobs for the next 3 years. Then there are the Bills employees of about 300 or so. The stadium workers are about 3,700 part time. All pay NY State income tax. The players are $225 million in income at 9%. That’s $20 million in NYS income taxes alone. The Bills had 547,000 fans last year at an average price of $85/ticket. That’s another $4 million in state income taxes. Concessions and team store = NYS Sales Tax. It seems like a lot of money but it’s not a $1.54 billion barrel burn. The current Bills stadium cost $23 million in 1973 with $150 million in upgrades over the years. Do you think the state and county got their $173 million in the last 50 years?

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