Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - All the signs would indicate it's just a matter of when, not if, a lease between the Buffalo Bills is reached with local and state government officials.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul addressed the latest developments with a deal for a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills.
"We are having very productive conversations, and those are ongoing," Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Friday. "It's also not just the stadium deal, but it's also the lease agreement going forth, and those are the details. Very positive conversations, though."
While there are still issues to work through, Gov. Hochul says many of the main talking points have been resolved. Discussions are now focusing on, what she calls, “the nuts and bolts." Hochul believes a deal for a new Bills stadium will be resolved in time for the state budget process in late March, early April.
"As everyone knows, this is a very important priority to me and this community, but also the entire state," Gov. Hochul said. "I know how important it is to our state's identity and Western New York's identity to keep this team here in the State of New York. We know that teams have other options, and that's why I'm negotiating very intently to make sure that we have the right outcome for this community.
"My priority is to keep the Buffalo Bills here, as well as ensure that we're making smart investments," Gov. Hochul said.
Related
With Hochul revealing the negotiations for a new Bills stadium have advanced to the lease agreement, is this a sign that negotiations are drawing to a close and a new deal could be announced in the coming days?
"Yeah, I say very close to being done, because the lease probably covers the construction, but it would cover a bunch of other issues, too," said former managing partner of the Buffalo Sabres, Larry Quinn. "I would think that the parties are very close, because they're memorializing the lease. So that's obviously very good news."
"We know not the time, nor the hour. These things move slowly until they are at the end, and they move super quick. So it's really in the Governor's hands of how she wants to express this to the people of Western New York and New York State, as a whole," said Senator Sean Ryan of the stadium negotiations on Friday. "I imagine when the time comes, there'll be a pretty large announcement. Because remember, we're asking the taxpayers of the whole of New York State to fund this facility. So we have to then go tell people from the rest of the state why this is important, and why they should vote to build this asset here in Western New York."
While an announcement could come some time within the next several days, there is a chance this deal may not come until some time closer to the state needing to approve of the state budget. That is expected to come some time in late March or early April. Quinn believes all parties will want to make sure they've got something submitted and passed by New York State before any sort of announcement is made regarding a new stadium deal.
"Again, I've always said I'm not clued in to it, but I would think that if I were the Governor, and she seems to be very responsible, kind of one step at a time person, that she's wants to get it in front of the Legislature and probably have it approved before it's announced," Quinn said. "I go back to my experience with the arena, we announced it officially after it was approved by the Legislature and Governor [Mario] Cuomo came into town and the legislative representatives were there. So I would imagine a similar thing here.
"Ours was put out in the middle of the night, because obviously up for consideration a long time. We did not have a full-funding agreement, or what you'd call a lease, when it was approved by the Legislature. So this is, clearly, better progress than even we had."
Quinn believes the negotiations have been led by the Governor's office, and it will end through the Governor and New York State giving the green light to proceed with the deal put in place to build the new stadium.
"The County Executive has got a role to play and he's gives reports, but my gut tells me that this comes from the Governor's leadership. And I think it also probably involves Commissioner [Roger] Goodell. I'm sure that Roger is part of that, and clearly the Pegulas. Those are the four parties," Quinn explained. "I've always said, it's a three-legged stool. In state government, you've got to get the Senate, Assembly, and the Governor's office to approve something. That looks like that usually happens in the spring, so I think that's where it's headed."
One of the main issues going forward with the construction of a new stadium will be how the money is funded to build a new facility. While it is likely that a majority of the money will be publicly funded, Hochul says the state will allocate all resources to help contribute to construction costs.
"We'll be able to find the resources in the budget," she said. "There's unrestricted money, there's money for economic development, there's money for infrastructure. So there are various sources. We'll be able to identify what is needed to insure the Buffalo Bills stay here in Western New York."
While the state will contribute to the building cost of a new stadium, it remains a mystery as to what kind of figures the public will be forced to contribute to the project.
"The whole negotiations really come down to how much from the taxpayers, how much from the people who own the Buffalo Bills? So that's the crux of the negotiation, and that's the news we're waiting to hear," Senator Ryan said.
In addition to the money that will likely be needed from the public to build a new stadium, local groups and politicians have pushed for community benefit agreements (CBAs) that will go towards initiatives and other programs and benefits for the local community. As Senator Ryan explains, he wants to ensure the stadium deal has a positive economic development impact on the city and other places in Erie County.
"You do that by making sure we have high wage union workers building the stadium, and that all the jobs in the stadium are also high wage union workers. So we put the message into the Governor's office," Senator Ryan said. "They're, I believe, coming very close to wrapping up negotiations, and then we'll see how it all comes out. We're waiting anxiously in the Legislature to receive, from the Governor, news on the deal, and then also have a discussion of how we are going to fund the money that we do agree to put into building this county-owned facility."
Related
When KeyBank Center was built in Downtown Buffalo more than 25 years ago, Quinn said there were a number considerations in place with the arena, which included a non-relocation agreement, certain provisions for local hiring and minority hiring, and provisions for the use of the facility by the community. Quinn believes those extra benefits for the community will already be a part of the new stadium deal.
"It could easily be something that's part of the lease negotiation, which is what I suspect," he said. "I'm sure there are considerations for the community that's part of that lease negotiation."
Quinn says it's striking for him that people are going about these negotiations the right way and - borrowing a football analogy - they're moving the ball down the field.
"I think we all ought to feel pretty good about it," he said.