Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - After several months of waiting after a deal had been agreed upon for a new Buffalo Bills stadium in Orchard Park, the team finally released renderings of the new facility to be constructed and opened by the fall of 2026.
For Erie County Legislators who have been working through this process to ensure the long-term future of the Bills in Western New York, it is an exciting time to finally get a first look at what's to come on Abbott Road.
"I think it was something that we didn't expect. It takes us in, certainly, the next 30 years with something other than what we have right now," said Legislator John Mills, who represents the Town of Orchard Park on Thursday. "I like the concept of the covering, 65% of the seats will be covered, and the rest of the building will be open to the weather, which we have a little advantage of that when we play a game. Also the construction is going to prevent a lot of heavy wind going to the stadium, which I thought was a great idea too. And the gathering areas are very exciting, to know they have gathering area for people to get together if they don't have a seat, or they do have a seat. You can gather together with different people and their families. So it's exciting. It really is. It's something that we've looked forward to for the last 50 years."
"They look very, very beautiful. I think anybody that's a Bills fan will certainly look at that compared to what we have right now and definitely gleam of excitement," added Legislature Chairwoman April Baskin of the renderings on Thursday.
Both Baskin and Mills feel the release of the renderings for the new stadium in Orchard Park come at a good time for fans and residents of Western New York.
"I think it gives me hope for a pathway forward," Baskin said. "I think being someone like myself, who is a visual learner and who needs visuals in order to actually be able to grasp what the future holds, I think it definitely paints a picture to those of us that are working hard to get the deal done, as well as the beloved Bills fans that this is something that is on track to happen. And, again, I think it's very exciting."
"I think it's appropriate, because I think we need a lot more good news in the in the world today, and certainly in our economy," Mills added. "I think this is a great boost for this area. Not just Erie County, but the region in general, and the state. I think it's exciting. It's a Christmas present coming early."
As Bills fans get the first glimpse of the potential future home of the team come 2026, the renderings are released despite no finalized stadium deal being in place. Negotiations continue between Erie County, New York State and the Bills to finalize the agreed upon Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) back in March, but until that is done, it continues to remain just concepts and designs for the time being.
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Nevertheless, parties involved in the negotiating process continue to work hard towards finalizing the deal to get construction efforts underway come spring.
"We're all working collaboratively, as the County Executive [Mark Poloncarz] has said, and he's right. It's a very complex transaction," said Executive Vice President of Pegula Sports and Entertainment, Ron Raccuia on Thursday during an appearance on WBEN. "The collaboration has been outstanding. We'll get to the finish line. We do have work to do, but everybody is committed to getting it done and we're working on it every single day.
"Our job is to deliver this stadium for the community, for the state, for the county, for our fans to keep the Bills in Buffalo for 30 years."
"As we've said previously, this is a multifaceted process," Baskin said of the overall status of negotiations to finalize the MOU. "The community benefits agreement (CBA) has been something that I've been leading on for the last year, and we are seeing progress in those negotiations. I know that there is a construction coordinating agreement and a project labor agreement, that particular one is being negotiated with the building trades. Those two documents also are making progress, and then [Thursday night] out in Orchard Park, there is the public hearing for the SEQR process, which looks at facets such as the environmental impact and the impact on neighborhoods and residents that the new stadium will have. So I see things moving along."
Baskin says she is glad that a formal extension of the exclusivity period has been put in place, as she feels it is necessary to ensure that this stadium deal is done right for everyone in the Western New York community.
"This is, by far, the largest negotiation and deal that I think we'll see, at least in my lifetime, in county government, so I think it only makes sense that we are taking our time to get it done right," she said. "But I see that things are moving forward and positively, and I'm excited about that."
As for Mills, who is also a heavy presence at the negotiating table to finalize the stadium deal, he sees this process going forward right where everyone needs to be.
"You don't hear a lot of what's going on, because I think the elections has made an impact on this. I think it's been low key, because of the election process and some of the things that are being put out by the candidates on the stadium in general," Mills said. "I think that's why it's low key, but I think after the election, you'll see more aggressive things being done."
With the first renderings for the new Bills stadium officially released before the MOU being finalized, some people may sit it as an instance of pressure now being placed on members of the negotiating party to get the stadium deal finalized and announced as soon as possible. However, Legislator Baskin doesn't see it that way.
"I think the renderings are an opportunity to see a visual of what could come to pass. Certainly things could change, in terms of the style or the architecture, but for now, I think what it does is it just gives us something to look at that gives an example of where it is that we want to go. So I think that that's what we should be doing," Baskin said. "We should be working forward, moving forward with one another, and definitely releasing things as appropriate to the general public, as they have footed the bill, public dollars for a large portion of the stadium construction, to know that we are progressing and what it is that the Bills are thinking about, in terms of architecture and look, as well as the county and the state.
"I love the renderings, I do understand that they're just that, that things are probably subject to change, but what it certainly represents is that people are looking forward. That's what we need in order to ultimately get the deal done."
However, as County Executive Poloncarz pointed out a couple of weeks ago, no stadium deal can be signed off and finalized until the final SEQR review has been completed by Erie County. That is not expected to happen until sometime in December. Once that process is completed, that's when the 30-day deadline kicks in to finalize the details of the MOU for a new Bills stadium.
Both Mills and Baskin are confident in the ability to not only continue hammering out details of the stadium deal in the coming weeks, but also to have the deal completed and finalized by the deadline established.
"I think we're at the right pace right now," Mills said. "That SEQR is going to be very important to, certainly, the residents around that stadium, the new stadium, and also the town of Orchard Park, Town of Hamburg, and really all the adjacent towns - West Seneca, Lackawanna, things like that. So I think we have to do it right this time. Not that it was wrong last time, but we've got to do it right this time. It's approaching a $1.5 billion project now with 10,000 jobs."
"I think the deadline that we have most recently set surrounds a lot of guidelines, legal guidelines that we, in the county and the state, have to follow in order to make sure that there is an appropriate environmental quality review. Once we get that out of the way, if we are working together - in terms of the construction coordinating agreement, the project labor agreement, the land transfer from the county to the state, as well as the community benefits agreement - I see no reason why this should not be wrapped up at the beginning of next year or sooner," Baskin said. "I am encouraged, and again, I can't stress enough the fact that we are seeing progress means that we are one step closer to keeping the Buffalo Bills for the next 30 years. I know that residents, especially those that are affiliated with the 'Bills Mafia' want that more than anything."