At the NFL’s spring meeting in Florida on Monday, the league approved financing on the loan and project plans for a new stadium for the Bills, paving the way for a project expected to cost $1.4 billion.
Team owners Terry and Kim Pegula expressed gratitude for the approval in a statement, while acknowledging there were still “more hurdles to clear before getting to the finish line.”
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the new stadium will be built on the land adjoining the current stadium, per Adam Benigni of WGRZ. The new contract between the team and Erie County Stadium Corp. will keep the Bills in Buffalo for the next 30 years.
The stadium will be financed by $850 million in taxpayer money, with construction said to create “over 10,000 jobs.” New York governor Kathy Hochul said the goal of the negotiations was to ensure the team remained in Buffalo, and addressed the public funding of such a substantial project.
“I went into these negotiations trying to answer three questions—how long can we keep the Bills in Buffalo, how can we make sure this project benefits the hard-working men and women of Western New York and how can we get the best deal for taxpayers?” Hochul said. “I’m pleased that after months of negotiations, we’ve come out with the best answers possible—the Bills will stay in Buffalo for another 30 years, the project will create 10,000 union jobs and New Yorkers can rest assured that their investment will be recouped by the economic activity the team generates.”
The stadium will be built as an outdoor facility, with an eye toward being ready for the start of the 2026 season.
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