Thursday, Sep 2, 2021. 1:41 PM
ORCHARD PARK, NY – The Buffalo Bills will not renew their lease with New York State and County in July 2023 without an agreement being reached to build a new US $ 1.4 billion stadium in aid, in part, from public funds.
That’s what Pegula Sports and Entertainment senior vice president Ron Raccuia said on Thursday on the airwaves of a Buffalo radio station, WBEN.
Raccuia added that the subject of a relocation had not “yet” been raised in discussions with government authorities. But he did not completely rule out that possibility.
“We are committed to bringing all parties together to find a solution as quickly as possible,” he said. To evoke this scenario is useless for the moment. This is not what we are focused on. “
During this interview, however, Raccuia confirmed the cost, size and target site for this stadium. It would be built in Orchard Park, across the street from their current home, Highmark Stadium, which opened in 1973.
Obviously, one of the main issues is how much this stage would cost taxpayers in what Raccuia called a public-private partnership, which would also include funds from the NFL. The public would be asked to finance more than half of the stadium.
A message left with New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, who is from Buffalo, was not immediately returned. On Monday, his office issued a statement to The Associated Press, saying “no one is more committed to keeping the Bills in Buffalo” than Hochul and that details will be made public once negotiations are complete.
Erie County Manager Mark Poloncarz was unavailable. He dismissed the Bills relocation allegations, while warning taxpayers “would not sign a blank check.”
The Bills ruled out renovating Highmark Stadium, which would come at a higher cost than starting from scratch. The proposed new stadium would have a capacity of between 60,000 and 62,000 seats, making it one of the smallest in the NFL and about 10,000 seats less than their current stadium.
