Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN) - About two weeks ago, Erie County and the Buffalo Bills released the proposed project plan for the construction of a new football stadium on Abbott Road in Orchard Park. The new stadium is set to be built across the street from the current facility, Highmark Stadium.
While this release did not show any design concepts of the stadium, it did outline certain aspects for the new stadium, such as a land transfer plan from Erie County to New York State when construction is completed, a project area plan that outlines construction areas for the stadium, and the concept site plan that shows how it should all look when the project is completed.
"They have superimposed, what would basically, sort of be a stadium to show the size of the stadium, but that's not what it's going to look like," said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz when the proposed footprint was released on July 1. "I don't want people to think that when they see the stadium pictures, this is what the stadium actually will be like. It's just to show the size of the stadium, with more information coming in the future, as to what the stadium would actually look like."
Related
Poloncarz and Erie County are getting set to host a public open house on Thursday at the ADPRO Sports Training Center to give residents and business owners in the area a chance to better view the plans, and even get a chance to ask some questions and talk with the consultant team in place. It starts at 4:30 p.m. ET in Orchard Park, with the project presentation and public commentary starting at 5:30 p.m. ET.
"[This proposed plan] tells people everything we've been saying along, and people have an opportunity to comment on this at [the] public meeting," Poloncarz said.
Overall, the proposed footprint of the stadium covers about 283 acres, with Highmark Stadium covering about 100 acres once they tear down the facility. The vast majority of current the site will remain the same once the project is completed of the project, with the new stadium eventually taking up space on the SUNY Erie South Campus.
While it has been much maligned about the future of the ECC South Campus, Poloncarz emphasized that the new stadium project can be completed without the closure of the campus, or the taking of any educational buildings.
"We use the parking lots that exist, as well as the grass fields that are currently there that are part of the SUNY Erie campus. The only section that would be affected would be the SUNY Erie football stadium, we would have to take that," Poloncarz said. "But beyond that, the rest of the facility would be in the parking lots and the grass, and it shows that the stadium can be built there under the specifications required for today's modern stadiums, and it has no real impact on the SUNY Erie campus."
So what are some thoughts on the proposed footprint for the new Bills stadium that will, hopefully, be completed by the Year 2026?
Eric "Hammer" Matwijow is the owner of Hammer's Lot along Abbott Road, which is outlined on the project plan maps as not being part of the overall stadium landscape. However, his property will still directly border the property of the new Bills stadium.
Matwijow admits he had an good idea where the stadium was going to go by the work that was being done by crews before the footprint was even released.
"All the drilling that they were doing, the testing for the foundation work. I had a pretty good idea about that," said Matwijow of the proposed plan.
As for fellow resident Jim McManus, he sees the proposed footprint of the stadium as a great idea for what's to come for the Bills and Western New York.
"As long as they buy this house. I want this to be in their plans, so I can get on and move elsewhere," joked McManus outside his house. "Even if they don't, it's great. Brings more jobs; look at the jobs that it's creating in Western New York here. I mean, I was a welder fitter, fabricator for many, many years. It's going to bring in a lot of welding jobs, a lot of other jobs to Western New York. I think it's a great idea."
Residents in Orchard Park are aware of the potential concerns that they face once shovels hit the ground and construction crews come into the area to build the new Bills stadium. While it has been about 50 years since the current stadium's construction, the ADPRO Sports Training Center and other facilities have been built over the years, so the area is aware of the noise and constant work that will take place.
For McManus, his biggest concern going forward with this project will be the traffic flow of the area once construction begins.
"I still have to go to work and I want to be able to get in-and-out of here like I did before. When they're coming-and-going, I hope that doesn't tie us up," McManus said. "We don't want to make it a burden, we want to make it easy for the people that live around here. It's very important."
As for Matwijow, the biggest surprise for this project came with the proposed auxiliary building that is seemingly set to be built just behind his property.
"There are some concerns about potential snow load, the wind factor, is [the building] going to be 10-foot high, 20-foot high, 30-foot high? I mean, we get some beautiful sunsets here, we're going to be missing those. But it's all part of this project," Matwijow said.
"Then you're gonna vacuum [the snow] and then the snow drops on the property. So does that mean I have to buy a high lift now to be able to use the property? Will it be unusable game days, or any other time for me to actually be able to use the property? So that's my main concern."
According to the report, the auxiliary building will be around 75,000 square-feet and will be constructed for maintenance, overflow and staging purposes. Matwijow says he has not been given any answers, as of yet, what that new building will entail for his property, as the team has been relatively tight-lipped about the plans to this point.
As for Thursday's proposal plan presentation, McManus admits he's not so sure if he will be in attendance. While he's not so picky about the actual footprint of the stadium and concerns with any layout, he's hoping that the focus for the stadium project will continue to remain a local matter.
"As long as they keep all the jobs that they're going to create for this stadium, like they said they've been doing, let it all be local," McManus said. "All the steel, all the work, let it be local. There's so many people that need a job, and this will bring jobs - good paying jobs - for right around here in Western New York. Let's keep it right here. We don't need to venture out. We have the mentality, we have the people. Let's keep it here."
Meanwhile, Matwijow says he will definitely be at Thursday's presentation, and he plans on bringing plenty of matters to the table, including the concerns with the auxiliary building.
"Mainly, not to be selfish, but just about my property and also respect the neighborhood that's gonna be down wind," he said. "We know this project is gonna go through, no matter what we say, but maybe have a neighborhood committee so that if there's any concerns, they can be addressed and noted, and truly be noted and not to sloughed off to the side.
"Other than that, I'm hoping to hear mainly from the engineers and any other consultants, answering any of the concerns that's gonna be out there. How long is this meeting going to last? Is 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. the presentation? Is it going to be the only time we can ask questions for that one hour? Seems kind of small, though, but we'll see what happens and we'll just play it by ear."
More from our conversation with Matwijow is available in the player below: