Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN) - While it has only been a week-and-a-half since construction efforts were allowed to begin on the future home of the Buffalo Bills, a lot of attention has, and will be directed towards Orchard Park and the site of the soon-to-be new state-of-the-art football stadium along Abbott Road.
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While major construction work has yet to get underway - target date for extensive excavation work to start in early June - some crews are starting work on the site with fencing and other operations taking place. The land where the new stadium will sit (once the RV Lot and other parking) has been mostly stripped of the concrete and asphalt.
As work continues to progress on site of the new Bills stadium, crews continue to ramp up the excitement levels of getting to work on the largest project of its kind in Western New York.
"We've been getting ready for this for a long time now, probably a year, and everybody's ready to go," said President of the Buffalo Building Trades Council, Paul Brown. "I think the bids came in very under budget, which is great. Every building trades meeting, that's what we talk about is the Bills stadium.
"I don't know what other packages are out right now, but I think these guys are kind of putting it all on the line, pretty much. They have to get this job done in three years, and it's a big project. It's going to be about $1.5 billion by the time it's done with. It'll get done on time. We're in good shape, everybody has been anticipating this. With the unions, it doesn't matter really what contracts are gifted, because we're getting the same train workers. Everybody's ready to go, and it's pretty exciting."
Aside from local ironworkers putting up the fencing around the construction site, Brown says others like electricians and operating engineers are on board and there working to ready the site for the major construction efforts to begin.
While the excavation work of the stadium site has not yet started across the street from Highmark Stadium, Brown does say there is other excavation work currently ongoing around where the new facility will be constructed.
"They're a little bit ahead of schedule. I think the excavating started already, as far as I know. I know they've had a couple of pre-jobs, and that usually means they're starting the job, starting to work," Brown explained.
In the very early goings of the construction process, Brown believes things are going according to plan. The only hiccup in the process, to this point, has been a minor issue with the fencing around the site.
"The only problem I heard with the fencing was something with where they were putting it, county line-wise. I don't know if it was over the line or what it was, but whatever it was, it got straightened out pretty quick. It was minor," Brown said. "If that's the biggest problem we have, we don't have a problem. Stuff like that happens, but as far as I know, everything is going smooth. Because, believe me, if anything was going wrong, I'd be hearing about it."
While no date has been set yet for a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony on the new stadium, many involved with the project believe the new facility for the Bills will be ready to host football games come September of 2026 (substantial target date of Sept. 22, 2026). Brown is very confident there shouldn't be anything holding up construction efforts, at this time, that can see the Bills from being housed in their new home on time.
"There should be no reason. The only reason that could possibly be is if they can't get the material, but I think they're pretty well set with that too, from what I understand. Getting the material in shouldn't be a problem," Brown said.
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