BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - Erie County on Thursday continued their discussions over what to do with the old turf at New Era Field.
Jonathan Rivera, a special assistant to the commissioner of public works, gave an overview of some of the facts surrounding the old turf, which was recently dug up. Erie County, which leases the stadium to the Buffalo Bills, is pushing to donate about a third of the turf to an underutilized gymnasium SUNY Erie's South Campus.
"(It will turn) into an all-season, indoor turf athletic center that they plan to use for their sporting events that they have but also sporting events in the region," Rivera said.
Some of the turf is currently stored at a campus lot, which Rivera said is not costing the county any money.
No decisions were made official at Thursday's committee meeting. Erie County Minority Leader Joe Lorigo said he's supportive of donating some of the old turf to the community college, though he also wants some of the turf to be auctioned off to benefit children with special needs. He said a decision could come on what to do with the turf by next Thursday's legislative session.
"(Donating the turf) seems like a worthy cause but I want to make sure we're not giving away more than we should," Lorigo said.
Erie County Chairwoman April Baskin declined comment on the turf.
Rivera said auctioning the remaining turf will be done through Erie County's Division of Purchase, who have a contract with an auctioneer.
"It's important to know that this turf is not like turf we've seen in the past," Rivera said. "It's a pretty unique material. It's a rubber pellet based material that is quite heavy and difficult to reuse. It's not the kind of material you can lay on the ground and re-use like you could in the past with grass or artificial grass."