Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN) - To put it in football terms, construction of the new Highmark Stadium along Abbott Road in Orchard Park has hit the two-minute warning.
Earlier this week, Erie County was able to get a temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) issued that allows the Buffalo Bills to start moving in, and allows other individuals who are not construction workers to be on the site. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz estimates the stadium is around 97% completed.
While there still remains some work to be done over the coming weeks, Poloncarz says the work that has been completed at the new state-of-the-art stadium is incredible.
"It looked like it was ready for a football game, minus they were installing the concession stands. But the other things - the locker room's pretty much done, the training rooms are pretty much done, of course the field looks great. It's pretty impressive," said Poloncarz when asked about the stadium.
Up next for the stadium construction process is substantial completion, meaning the facility is technically 100% complete and can open to the public and be ready for football games and other events. That is expected to be on June 23, when Erie County, New York State and the Bills will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the achievement.
"Whenever you complete a project, there's always things that have to be done. 'This wall got nicked, you got to repaint it. This faucets not working properly, you've got to fix that.' So the 23rd is the date in which we're thinking substantial completion will occur," Poloncarz confirmed.
"Bathrooms were complete. But there was still some areas in the concession area, in the kitchens where they were still putting in sinks. So the vast majority of the work's been done, but there's still little stuff here-and-there that has to be completed."
Poloncarz feels there will be plenty of satisfaction to go around come June 23, knowing the $2 billion-plus stadium is done.
"It's amazing to think it doesn't feel like it was that long ago when we did the groundbreaking, but it was basically three years. And here we are today, three years later, and we're celebrating the opening of a stadium that's going to be here for many decades to come," he said. "I mean, the lease is a 30-year lease, but I fully expect that stadium to be used for many years afterwards. And the Buffalo Bills will be playing at that stadium probably long after I'm alive, and it's just a testament to the work of so many, including the thousands of tradesmen and women who worked on that site these last three years to get it done. It's impressive when people walk through it, they're going to realize, 'This is incredible, and I wish we had done it many years before.'"
One of the other items still to come for the stadium is the transfer of ownership from Erie County to New York State, where then the state will lease the stadium to the Bills. Poloncarz says the TCO officially begins the transfer process.
"The official transfer hasn't happened yet. It actually has to require legal deeds and things like that, which eventually will be filed with the County Clerk's Office," he explained. "But right now, we're beginning that process. It'll happen before the season starts, but it's not something we're going to do a big celebration. It's out of the county's hands."
Poloncarz does admit jokingly the county may pop a couple champagne bottles, knowing the county will be spending a lot less money on the stadium in the long run.
The first official football-related event at the new Highmark Stadium is expected to be the annual "Return of the Blue and Red" scrimmage during training camp, followed by a pair of preseason games on Saturday, Aug. 15 against the Carolina Panthers and Thursday, Aug, 27 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The regular season home opener for the Bills is slated for Thursday, Sept. 17 against the Detroit Lions.
