BUFFALO (WKBW) — With the Buffalo Bills still working with Erie County and New York State on finalizing a stadium deal here in Western New York, some 700 miles southwest there is a new stadium deal that has demanded the NFL's attention.
The Tennessee Titans, and the City of Nashville, have a announced plans for a new domed stadium. The price tag of that new stadium in the Music City is an estimated $2.1 Billion. The deal calls for $1.2 Billion to be publicly funded, which according to the Associated Press, is now the largest public commitment for an NFL stadium to date.
That is an honor that up until a few weeks ago was held by the new home of the Buffalo Bills which has an estimated cost of $1.4 Billion with a public commitment of $850 million.
If we breakdown the funding further
Proposed Bills Stadium Proposed Titans Stadium
$1.4 Billion total cost $2.1 Billion total cost
$600 Million from New York State $500 Million from State of Tennessee
$550 Million from Bills/NFL/PSLs $850 Million from Titans/NFL/PSLs
$250 Million from Erie County $750 Million from Metro Sports Authority Bonds
(which will be paid back with new 1% hotel tax,
and sales and use taxes from stadium and surrounding campus)
Lawmakers in Nashville argue that renovations to the current Nissan Stadium, which opened in 1999, would cost more than $1.75 Billion over the remaining 17 years of the Titans lease. Making a new stadium a better financial move for the city.
They also believe that the new domed stadium will put Nashville in line for bigger events such as hosting a Super Bowl, or an NCAA Final Four.
The Bills new stadium will be opened air, and will replace the current Highmark Stadium that originally opened in 1973. Renovating the existing stadium would cost an estimated $862 Million, according to a report by Empire State Development.
Western New York simply does not have the infrastructure to meet the requirements to host a Super Bowl.
The new stadium for the Titans will hold 60,000 fans and the hope is that construction is completed by 2027.
The new stadium for the Buffalo Bills will also hold around 60,000 fans. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2023 with the plan to have the new facility opened by the start of the 2026 season.
