Cuomo or Poloncarz: who gets the final say?

Orchard Park, NY (WBEN) There's debate brewing over Highmark Stadium. Not about whether it should be refurbished or a new stadium should be built, rather if fans must be vaccinated to attend games, and who has the final say on that.

Attorney Paul Cambria says it appears Governor Cuomo, and not Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, will have the final word. "I think the governor's position is going to be his powers are still in play. The legislature hasn't stripped those powers away from him. He has the authority to suspend any authority a local official has in any way to promulgate any rule dealing with COVID," says Cambria. He believes Cuomo can re-enact the ability to suspend and Poloncarz will not have the ability to do anything specifically with COVID.

But could that change if the legislature strips Cuomo of his executive powers? "We get into Poloncarz taking the position the stadium is county property and therefore they should have superior authority over it," says Cambria.

State Senator Tim Kennedy believes one way or another, Highmark Stadium will be packed. "I know being an outside venue, it lends to a safer environment than if it were inside," says Kennedy. "The fact that we're at 70 percent vaccination rate in New York State is very promising."

Kennedy says the work to keep people vaccinated needs to continue.

A spokesperson for Poloncarz sent WBEN this statement, "We will be re-visiting this issue at the beginning of each month going forward. Erie County has got the highest vaccination rate of any WNY region county, which is good, but as the Bills are a regional draw it would be good to see surrounding counties raise their vaccination rates as well. There's plenty of time to do that, as we've been saying for months, so the message remains: get vaccinated!"