Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It's a great time to be a skilled tradesman in Western New York. Between construction of the new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park and the Amazon Fulfillment Center in the Town of Niagara, both projects are employing close to 2,500 workers.
"I've never had a job in my 30-plus years when we've had 1,500 guys on it," said Paul Brown, President of the Buffalo Niagara Building Trades Council on the stadium project.
"This is probably the peak. I can't see it going any higher. It's moving along really quick."
Brown says this will be a construction boom to remember, because the stadium is not the only project going on in Western New York.
"The Amazon job in the Town of Niagara is a big job. There's almost 1,000 people working on it," Brown said with WBEN. "If it wasn't for the stadium, it would be the big job right now. But the stadium pretty much overshadows everything. If we get the light-rail job (Metro Rail extension) going in Amherst, which seems to be going in the right direction, that will also be a huge job."
He also revealed there are more projects coming up, including a huge data center in the Town of Somerset, and others that he couldn't reveal just yet.
Most of the tradesmen are local, while some are working on the stadium from out-of-town, though not many, according to Brown.
"Buffalo is the place to be if you're a construction worker, that's for sure," Brown concluded.