Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The new Buffalo Bills stadium will no longer be the most publicly-funded stadium in the NFL, according to multiple reports.
The Tennessee Titans have recently released new renderings of their new stadium as they are closing in on a new deal. Sources suggest that the City of Nashville and the State of Tennessee could be allocating over $1.2 billion dollars in public funding for what is projected to be a s $2.1 billion dollar project for a domed stadium for the Titans.
The new Bills stadium in Orchard Park has earmarked approximately $850 million in public funds, $250 million from Erie County specifically and $600 million from New York State for the open air and partially enclosed stadium, estimated at a cost of $1.4 billion.
Who is getting the better deal? Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz thinks we are.
"I think we got a much better deal. First off, Nashville is a joint county with Davidson County. It's a metropolitan government between the city of Nashville and the county of Davidson and they they're increasing their hotel and motel tax. They're creating a special taxing district around the stadium to help pay for the costs associated with it. Erie County is putting $250 million and it's a lot of money. Nashville and Davidson is putting in $760 million towards that stadium and then they have additional obligations going forward. We don't have any additional obligations going forward. I'm very pleased with our deal," says Poloncarz.
"I think the people when they look at what's going on in the other communities, they're going to realize we got a really good deal for Buffalo and Erie County and we're going to keep our team and it's not going to cost us as much as what other communities are paying today," Poloncarz added.
Poloncarz believes the stadium renderings make sense for our area, "I think they're beautiful. You look at what we have and what we're going to have and it's just tremendous difference. We know the advantages of playing in Buffalo during the winter and that's going to continue with having an open air Stadium, which is what Mr. Pegula wanted, he wanted an open air stadium. But one of the reasons it's enclosed is to allow us to heat those concourses areas. So once you're inside the stadium, you will be outside of the elements until you actually go back into the bowl area. So I think it's the best of both both worlds and the most important thing is it keeps the football team here for another 30 years."
The county executive echoes the belief of Governor Kathy Hochul. They believe that the Bills and the Pegula's were going to move their team elsewhere if a deal hasn't been reached, which some would consider give the team significant leverage.
"Buffalo was at risk of losing its team," said the county executive. "It's the second smallest market in the NFL and we cannot assume that just because they've been the Buffalo Bills during our lifetimes, they're going to continue that way. I never thought San Diego would lose their team."
Negotiations are still well underway with both deals, but Poloncarz is confident that the end result will be optimal for Bills fans, "We still have to finish a little bit of stuff with regards to the contracts, but I feel pretty good about the end result. So if the ground will be broken next year and in 2026, definitely the first game, I know Josh Allen will be airing it out in a brand new stadium that we can all be proud of."