BUFFALO, N.Y. — Though no deal on a new Buffalo Bills stadium has been announced, it appears the team will remain in Western New York for the long-term, according to Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.
He said it looks very likely that Bills owners will soon reach an extended agreement with the state and Erie County.
“I’m very pleased that the Bills will be in Buffalo, in our region, for the long-term,” Brown said. “One of my greatest concerns as mayor of the city of Buffalo, recognizing that the Bills are important to the city, are important to the region, provide national and international recognition for the city and region, was the keep the Bills playing in our community and it looks like that Gov. Hochul, County Executive Poloncarz and the Pegulas will reach a deal that will keep the Bills here for the long term and well into the future.”
Brown said building a stadium in the city would be complicated, adding another $1 billion to the current $1.4 billion price tag. He also said it would have required moving businesses and homes, in addition to lengthening the overall time frame for constructing the stadium.
“It would have been complicated, but we were certainly open to it,” Brown said. “In the city of Buffalo, it probably would have added upwards of $1 billion in additional cost to build a new stadium and it would have required the taking of businesses and residential homes and facilities in the city to make it work, which would have added to the time frame to get the stadium built. But from my perspective, the most important thing was to keep the Bills here in our community.”
An agreement on the Bills stadium is expected to arrive ahead of the state budget deadline of April 1.