The long-awaited news update has come.
The Bills are staying in Buffalo.
From the NFL’s owners meetings on Monday, Pegula Sports and Entertainment Executive Vice President Ron Raccuia made the official announcement. The Bills, NFL, and state and local governments agreed to a $1.4 billion stadium construction in Orchard Park. It has long been known that the location for the new building would be near the team’s current home, Highmark Stadium.
According to reports, the deal for the venue to stick in Orchard Park will span 30 years from its expected completion in 2026.
The building will officially be an open-air stadium with about a 62,000-seating capacity.
A release from New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office breakdown that the stadium will cost state taxpayers $600 million. Additionally, another $250M will come from Erie County.
Previous reports indicated taxpayer input could cost the public closer to $1B in funding.
The Bills and the NFL will front another $550M for the project. That figure is split $350M coming from the Bills while the league will cover $200M, a measure which was approved by NFL owners on Monday.
The $850M total from taxpayers covers 61 percent of the total cost of construction. According the the Buffalo News, that’s less than the “average public contribution to stadium deals in smaller NFL markets over the past two decades.” Their research indicates that number sits around 73 percent.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz stated via press conference that the new stadium will be a multi-purpose stadium which could host other events such as international soccer games. Additionally, any “cost overruns” will be covered by the Bills.
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