BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Erie County Legislature held a special meeting on Thursday and unanimously approved the deal for a new Buffalo Bills stadium in Orchard Park.
The Bills, Erie County and New York State released a joint statement in April when negotiations were completed. All the documents and contracts were then submitted to the legislature for a 30-day review and vote which occurred Thursday.
7 News spoke with Bills Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Ron Raccuia the day after negotiations were completed and he said in part:
"It was another great step for all of us, not just our organization, but the community as a whole. A lot of effort went into getting this deal done. It was really complicated, it took almost two years to the day, but we are in a great spot, and we have a lot of work to do now."
Construction on the new stadium will begin in earnest with major construction scheduled to begin in June, according to the Bills. It will be built across Abbott Road from Highmark Stadium and is expected to be completed by fall 2026. It will be a state-of-the-art open-air stadium with a minimum seating capacity of 60,000 seats and a maximum capacity of 63,000 seats.
The Directors of the Erie County Stadium Corporation, a subsidiary of Empire State Development, met in January and unanimously approved the deal which was originally set to cost $1.4 billion, but will now cost $1.5 billion.
A public-private partnership will cover the price tag. The county will provide $250 million, the state will provide $600 million, and the Bills will cover the remainder of the price tag.
The deal includes a Community Benefits Agreement, which, according to documents "outlines a multi-facet program to encourage participation in the Project by the local community, including people of color, women, veterans, LGBTQ+, low-income, and other targeted members of the community."
The Buffalo Bills have released three sets of renderings, giving fans a look at what the team's new stadium could look like when completed. You can find the two renderings released in October 2022 here, four renderings released in February 2023 here, and seven renderings released in March 2023 here.
