Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was in Buffalo on Monday at Kleinhans Music Hall to highlight the Fiscal Year 2023 Enacted Budget specific to investments in Western New York.
Among the wide-variety of topics that were addressed on Monday as part of the budget, Gov. Hochul brought up the new stadium deal for the Buffalo Bills.
While an official agreement was reached between the Bills, New York State, Erie County and the National Football League nearly a month ago, Hochul announced the project as part of the budget, with $600 million in capital funding to support construction of the new $1.4 billion stadium. The project of a new Bills stadium will generate 10,000 union labor jobs as part of the largest construction project in Western New York's history.
The stadium deal will also guarantee the Bills to remain in Buffalo for the long-term with a 30-year lease agreement also set in place.
However, a new statewide poll that was released on Monday finds a widespread disapproval of the $600 million in public subsidies to be spent for a new Bills stadium in Orchard Park.
Between April 18 and April 21, Siena College asked voters across the state, "Do you approve or disapprove of New York State contributing $600 million towards the building of a new football stadium in Erie County for the Buffalo Bills?"
After tallying up the votes, the Siena Poll showed 24% of New Yorkers approving of the new Bills stadium, while 63% of voters disapproving of it. The disapproval rates for the new stadium run across party lines, with Democrats (60% opposed), Independents (64% opposed) and Republicans (70% opposed) all showing similar numbers opposing the new stadium.
"People can disagree with that, but also we did not put on a poll, 'Do people agree with billions of dollars spent on transportation on Long Island or money we're investing in the North Country to make the North Country be ready for the World University Games or investment in other facilities elsewhere?'," said Gov. Hochul on Monday when asked about the new Siena Poll. "This was a case where it was polled. People tend to like what's in their area, not what's outside the area, but I feel it was a good deal for the taxpayers. We worked hard to get that accomplished, and as a result, the Buffalo Bills will be here and 10,000 jobs, which are critically important to this region."
Gov. Hochul believes that the new Bills stadium and keeping the Bills in Western New York is significantly of high-importance to the Western New York region. So much so that she has said the Bills are to Western New York as Broadway is to New York City - it's part of the region's identity.
"If you tested by poll - I don't think this is happening - the billions of dollars we're putting in Penn Station or the East Side access tunnels or ways to invest in products elsewhere, I would think if we poll test all of them, except for the immediate beneficiaries in that neighborhood or that community or patrons or fans, the answer is probably going to be the same," Hochul said. "This is what I deal with as Governor. I have a large state with a lot of different interests, and I know that this is important for the identity of Western New York. I will stand by that.
"This is a long-term investment, it keeps the Buffalo Bills here, and I know that there's a lot of pride in having a team that plays in New York. As a small market team, it is really hard to keep a team of that size here, and we got the job done. I'm proud of that."
One local official that backed Gov. Hochul's assessment of the Siena Poll on Monday was Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who also had a large presence with the new stadium deal to keep the Bills in Western New York.
"Polls are polls - sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong," said Poloncarz following Monday's event. "I will note that you look at a statewide poll and you remember more than 50% of the people in the State live in the New York City metro region and Long Island. If you would ask them about investing when they did for the [MLB's New York] Yankees and [New York] Mets with Citi Field and Yankee Stadium, I'm fairly confident the vast majority of them would have said it's a great deal. I know here in Erie County and Western New York the vast majority that people believe it's a great deal, because it keeps the Bills here, and it does in such a way that's fair. As we know, the County is getting out of the football business. We're going to save millions in the long run. The Governor noted how it'll pay for itself just with the salaries of the players and the employees the Bills alone."
Poloncarz is also of the belief that a new Bills stadium is an important investment for the community. He knows that the worst thing that could have happened with these negotiations would have been a deal not getting done and the Bills leaving town to take operations somewhere else.
"It would have, first off, had a psychological blow to our community, which may have been even greater than the blow and Bethlehem Steel closed, because everyone would have been affected," Poloncarz said. "When Bethlehem Steel closed, and I know that as well as anyone else - my father worked at Bethlehem Steel, at that point, I was I think a sophomore in high school - it was a horrible time, but it didn't affect everybody in Erie County and Western New York. The Bills leaving affects everyone. So psychologically, it would have been a big blow. The second thing you have to think about is the economic impact that the Bills have in the greater community, and they do have an economic impact in the greater community."
Like Gov. Hochul, Poloncarz understands the investment of the new Bills stadium will be for the greater good of the community for the long-term. Yet, Poloncarz is no stranger to the public agreeing or disagreeing with what the local or state government may have to say regarding a number of topics involving public financing.
"When it comes to polls and what the poll says regarding the football stadium statewide, if you asked - as the Governor mentioned - people in New York City about the investment in Penn Station, they would have said, 'It's a great deal.' If you asked every Western New Yorker, 'Should we be investing in Penn Station?' Most of them would have said, 'No. Why? I don't care about that.' Well, we're one state," said the County Executive. "We invest in Penn Station, just like we invest in the Long Island Railroad and the roads down there. It's important for the people down there, like we need to invest in keeping our team here for the future."
In addition to the statewide funding for the Bills stadium, a large portion of the State's $600 million share will be utilized with the money the state received as part of the resolution with the Seneca Nation's outstanding gaming compact dispute. Of the nearly $565 million the Seneca Nation paid the State, Gov. Hochul says $418 million will be directed towards construction of the new Bills stadium.
Despite some pushback from the Seneca Nation on how the State acted to receive the payment, as well as how a large portion of the payment will be utilized, Gov. Hochul stands by her decision with how the money will be implemented to this project. This despite it being a potential sore spot for the Seneca Nation when it comes to the negotiation of a new gaming compact.
"This was an opportunity for us to take money that was generated exclusively in Western New York - mostly by Western New York residents, not the state taxpayers - this was local money, and we decided to dedicate this towards something that would be a significant regional asset," Gov. Hochul said. "We just made that calculation, and we're happy to continue conversations about the compact going forward. There's opportunities to continue working [with the Seneca Nation] in the future, and I look forward to those conversations."
You can listen to more of Gov. Hochul's comments following her press conference on Monday in the player below:
