Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN) - The long-awaited first look at renderings for a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills is here as the team has released images for fans to see.
"It's a little like Christmas morning to be able to show this to everybody," said Ron Raccuia, Buffalo Bills Executive Vice President and COO, who talked in depth about the renderings with Brian Mazurowski on WBEN.
"Although it's not 100% final, this is what we envision the stadium to look like," added Raccuia.
The exterior rendering shows giant Buffalo statues in front of stadium. "The idea is to be enormous. This is a place where our fans and the community can gather 365 days a year. We're calling it Family Circle right now. We want to create a monument park."
The release comes as the final agreements for the complicated deal to construct a new home for the Bills have yet to be agreed to and signed by all parties and a deadline to do so has twice been extended.
The exterior of the stadium shows the specially-engineered metal mesh that is intended to divert the wind from becoming a factor inside the stadium.
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The interior shows a stacked seating design that protects fans from the weather and the Bills say will help direct crowd noise onto the playing field.
"Every seat in the new stadium is going to be closer (to the field) than the equivalent seat at Highmark Stadium," added Raccuia.
There appear to be a few pockets inside the stadium that could be a gathering place or standing room only area. "That's exactly what those spaces are," said Raccuia, "They are all potential gathering spaces. In Buffalo, we love getting together with friends and family and as a community. We wanted areas where people can celebrate together. Populous did an amazing job creating spaces where people can celebrate and watch Bills football. While you have a seat, you may want to go to a platform in one of the end zones and hang out and experience it from that perspective." Raccuia said there will be a lot of those areas throughout the stadium.
The funding formula for the stadium deal was unveiled and heralded earlier this year. The total project cost is estimated at $1.4 billion, with $650 million coming from New York State and $250 million from Erie County.
While much of the focus of late has been on private negotiations to reach a deal on a Community Benefits Agreement for the stadium project, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz has stated that a number of the agreements that are part of the overall stadium deal have yet to be agreed to.
Groundbreaking for the facility is expected in 2023 and the team is expecting to play at the new stadium in 2026.
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