Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Back in late March, the Buffalo Bills, Erie County, New York State and the National Football League came to an agreement on a historic new stadium deal that will keep the Bills in Western New York for the long term.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was agreed upon included a 30-year commitment for the Bills to remain in Buffalo, and a combined $550 million from the NFL and the Bills. Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York State will advance $600 million of publicly funded money towards the stadium, with Erie County contributing $250 million. That total share of public financing adds up to 60.7% of the funding required to build the stadium.
"It's always good when you're able to put a contract out there that knows that the Bills fans [are] gonna be excited for many, many years. And hopefully Josh [Allen] will be our quarterback for many, many years. I love it," said Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly of the new stadium deal for the team. "I was happy with Rich Stadium. I still call it Rich Stadium, I don't know if I'll ever change it, but I love that and I still do. I love going over there, because it does bring back memories. I try to let my two daughters know how it used to be, and to be honest, sometimes I thank God that they weren't old enough to appreciate it, or weren't even here yet. But I love the Bills, I'm part of 'Bills Mafia' now."
"I didn't think they should go anywhere," added fellow Bills legend Darryl Talley. "I mean, let's face it, you got some of the best players in the country, and where else would I rather be than right here right now? Stealing from Marv, because trust me, a lot of the things he said has rang true."
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As part of the agreement, all the legal paperwork with the MOU needed to be filed and completed by Sept. 1, which will then further the motion to begin construction efforts on the new stadium.
Five months later, the initial deadline to finalize the MOU was set to come Thursday with no indication that any final agreement was set to be in place.
The good news for negotiations is that there was a part of the MOU which said if discussions were still ongoing and talks were in good faith by the Sept. 1 deadline, a 45-day extension could be granted to finalize a deal by Oct. 15. That extension was put in place on Friday, more than a week before the initial deadline.
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While that may not be promising news to some Bills fans and others in the local community, others are confident that talks are still progressing in a positive direction.
"I think things are still moving forward," said Erie County Comptroller, Kevin Hardwick. "Obviously, all the pieces are not going to be in place by the deadline, but I don't think that that's a big deal."
When it comes to the extension of the negotiating window by 45 days, Hardwick feels it would mean a lot towards getting the MOU finalized.
"I think things will get done," he said. "I'm getting ready [to go back to work], students are getting ready to go back to school, and everybody knows the 'term paper scenario'. Everything gets done at the last minute, and that extends to government also. I think things will get done."
Hardwick also points out that the County Legislature, which has to be a party to all of this, is on recess in the month of August.
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So what exactly still needs to be agreed upon and wrapped up as part of the MOU before the Oct. 15 deadline? As far as Hardwick knows, there are a few items still on the list.
"Not the least of which, of course, is extending the lease at the current Highmark Stadium, because that expires in 2023 and, obviously, we're not going to have a new stadium for a few years. So that'll have to be extended," Hardwick said. "There's also a non-relocation agreement, a project labor agreements, and of course - what everybody is talking about - that community benefits agreement, they've yet to be concluded. But I think from everything that I hear, from the outside, is that there's progress being made, and as long as that continues, we should be OK."
Perhaps the biggest holdup with the MOU coming together and getting finalized is negotiations regarding the community benefits agreement. However, there have been no updates on the progress of negotiations since late July after members of the negotiating party signed a non-disclosure agreement, barring them from speaking on the matter.
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At this point, the best case scenario, obviously, is to strike a deal sometime before Oct. 15 deadline, signaling the next step towards finally putting shovels in the ground. Hardwick knows that if things fall apart, which is always a possibility, it would be a bad thing for not only Bills fans but also the county.
"I think everybody was a bit surprised how good of a deal Erie County got with the state picking up the lion's share of the public expenses on the stadium," he said. "Erie County is looking really good with the current arrangement. We wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize that."
It has been well-documented over the last several months the amount of people saying how important it has been to keep the Bills in Buffalo and in Western New York. From the local level to the state level and even the national level, people recognize the impact the Bills have on the area.
Even with that being a point of emphasis in this agreement being finalized, Hardwick says that likely wouldn't create more urgency than there already is to get the MOU done and signed off.
"I think everybody recognizes that, and I'm confident that things will come together," he said. "It'll be probably at the last minute."
From Hardwick's angle as the Erie County Comptroller, he also doesn't believe that any sort of extension would negatively affect negotiations at a financial level.
"I think we'd still be good," Hardwick said. "The county's commitment would remain at $250 million, which my office is looking forward to bonding $150 million of that probably next year."
More of our conversation with Hardwick is available in the player below: