Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Members of the Erie County Legislature gathered on Wednesday in Downtown Buffalo for a special Economic Development committee meeting to discuss and review elements of the proposed documentation for the Buffalo Bills stadium in Orchard Park.
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Among the notable names taking part in Wednesday's review included Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, as well as members of his staff, Erie County Attorney Jeremy Toth, Commissioner for the Department of Public Works Bill Geary, and others involved with the dealings with the stadium deal.
Also on-hand for Wednesday's session was Attorney Frank Jones with Greenburg Traurig, who specializes in Sports and Entertainment Facility Development and Project and Infrastructure Finance. He has also helped a number of other teams across the NFL in their process of building a new stadium.
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After a brief overview of the project and the goals it was intended to accomplish, Jones detailed the documentation for the finance, development, construction and lease for the new stadium complex. The Legislature then took to asking any final questions relating to elements of the deal in place.
"Today was a good introduction to the process. I was very happy that the Pegulas, the Bills, County Executive Poloncarz had full involvement with the County Legislature," said Legislator Jim Malczewski following Wednesday's review.
"Today, my big concerns were the labor and making sure the local labor forces were well-represented here. And also the safety of the people attending the events, and the residents around the stadium."
"The first day of review was to actually go through the nuts and bolts of the agreement," said Legislator Howard Johnson after Wednesday's review. "To drill down into the project labor agreement, the minority women business enterprise agreement, the transfer of land and all those other things. I think it was a good conversation today. It detailed a lot, and happy to have Frank Jones here to spell those things out for us."
While there will be a second day of review Thursday morning before the vote is taken by the Legislature later that afternoon, both Malczewski and Johnson believe there will be any hiccups in the process towards officially signing off on the deal.
The target for the project is to commence work on the grounds for the new stadium along Abbott Road on Thursday, June 1. The review also detailed the target date of Sept. 22, 2026 for substantial completion of the new stadium, meaning the facility will be open to the public and able to host football games.
As for the final completion date of the project - tearing down of Highmark Stadium and clearing of the site - the hope is that will be complete by March 25, 2027.
Hear more regarding the review process of the $1.54 billion project in Orchard Park available in the player below: