Lackawanna, N.Y. (WBEN/WGR 550) - During an event in Lackawanna on Wednesday, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz took more than 15 minutes worth of questions regarding the latest negotiations surrounding a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park.
There has been plenty of speculation over the past several weeks of a potential announcement coming from New York State, Erie County and the Bills of a deal in place to build a new stadium, likely across the street from Highmark Stadium on Abbott Road.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was recently in Buffalo this past weekend and when asked about the status of negotiations with a new Bills stadium, she said talks are currently "right on track."
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There are a couple of approaching dates for all parties involved in negotiations that could potentially be favorable to announce a new stadium deal.
Starting on Sunday, March 27, the NFL and its owners will meet in Palm Beach, Florida for their annual league meeting. There is potential that a deal could be, at least, agreed upon in principal for Terry and Kim Pegula to take to Florida to present at the owners' meetings.
The other date coming up is April 1 when New York State needs to approve the budget.
While an announcement of a done deal for a Bills stadium could, theoretically, come at any point in the near future, Poloncarz says the time is not right just yet.
"When we are comfortable announcing what we have, we'll announce it," said Poloncarz on Wednesday. "I like our position, as I've said recently, but right now, we do not have a signed agreement. But I like where we are."
Poloncarz revealed on Wednesday the last few months of negotiations have been much better than the initial few months of talks, which led to the resolution of a lot of issues. While talks appear to be in the "nuts and bolts" stage, as Gov. Hochul expressed earlier this month, Poloncarz says a lot has gone into the negotiations that will continue.
"I want to remind everybody, this is not just a discussion on the construction of the stadium, but a long-term lease and everything that goes along with it," he said. "People are like, 'Well, why haven't you announced all the terms yet?' Well, not all the terms have been agreed upon. I think we're in a much better position than we were just a couple months ago."
As for the potential of there being a stadium deal to present for the NFL at the owners meetings in the coming days, Poloncarz says he will leave it up to the Bills to determine what they're going to discuss.
Even if there is no deal in place to be able to present to NFL owners this upcoming weekend, there still could be conversations relating to a new stadium, which then leads for the chance of leaks coming out of Palm Beach on a potential deal.
While there may be some worry about information of a potential stadium deal leaking, Poloncarz admitted more frustration with the amount of, what he calls, conjecture relating to negotiations.
"I think most of you know about two, three weeks ago, I made a statement regarding the negotiations and there was false information out there. Yes, there is false information out there, and I can tell you that it is with regards to some substantial terms," Poloncarz said. "Once all is said and done, people will find out. And it does bother me, because I think it makes it harder for us, all parties - the Bills, the county and the state - to reach an agreement that we can come out and say this is good for all parties."
"Soon enough, everyone will know the truth, and I think when they do, they'll look at it and go, 'That was a pretty good deal.'"
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As for a stadium deal potentially being done by April 1 when the New York State budget is due, he says there is no need for Bills fans to go in a state of panic if a deal is not done by then.
"As I say, we don't have a signed agreement. We have resolved a lot of the big terms. There's some little things and stuff like that that are always sitting out there, but I like where we are, and I'm hopeful that we will be able to announce something by April 1," Poloncarz said.
As for some of the particulars that are still being discussed with a stadium deal, Poloncarz did not go into specifics, but did talk a bit about the negotiations for a long-term lease.
"There's a lot of different things that go along with lease negotiations, and I think that's the best way to talk about it. It's lease negotiations," the Erie County Executive said. "It's construction of a new stadium and a long-term lease that goes with it. There's two different aspects associated: One's construction, one's everything that happens once the stadium is opened and the keys are given to the tenant. We're in a good place in both of them, but we don't have a signed agreement at this point."
While many people anticipate the news of a Bills stadium deal being announced, Poloncarz says when all parties get to that point, he will be glad to talk about every term of the deal, as it pertains to Erie County.
"My goal has always been to get a long-term lease for this community so the Buffalo Bills stay the Buffalo Bills, basically, throughout the rest of my lifetime, and it's a fair deal for the people of Erie County," he said.
One of the main focal points of the stadium deal since talks began has been rumors of publicly funded money that will be asked of the community to help pay for the building of the stadium in Orchard Park. For a while, speculation has been the community will be asked to fund $1 billion of public money to go into building the stadium. When asked about that number on Wednesday, Poloncarz simply said, "It's not an accurate number."
As the negotiations for the new stadium appear to be in its final days, Poloncarz continues to emphasize the importance of getting the best deal for everyone in Erie County and Western New York. However, he will even admit that when all is said and done with talks, not everyone is going to get all they desire in a deal.
"I've negotiated a lot of deals in my life. I have never negotiated a deal as an attorney, as the county comptroller, as the county executive, where I got everything I wanted," Poloncarz said. "I can tell you right now, no one in the three parties that are associated with this deal will get everything they want. It's brass knuckles, sometimes. I'm an old hockey player, I know how to throw elbows, I know how to throw hip checks. Occasionally, if I have to, I can drop the gloves. Hopefully, you don't have to do that, and we didn't have to drop the gloves during the negotiations of the Bills lease."
You can listen to the entirety of Poloncarz's comments on Bills stadium negotiations below:
***Photo: Populous