Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - After several months of separate talks, discussions, negotiations and agreements set in place, the final step in the process of finalizing the deal for a new football stadium in Orchard Park is set to take place on Thursday.
Exactly one month after the Buffalo Bills, New York State and Erie County signed the necessary documents to move forward with construction of a new state-of-the-art facility on Abbott Road, the Erie County Legislature will give the final vote of approval to commence the build across the street from Highmark Stadium.
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"Starting this out, it's all a journey. It's definitely a marathon, it's not a sprint," said Erie County's Commissioner for the Department of Public Works, Bill Geary on Wednesday. "The expectation is we can get through this, but there are so many different aspects to know, like what Chair [April] Baskin did with the community benefits agreement. There's so many other aspects of this stadium that are going to have residual effects in this community for years to come, long after I'm gone, and most of the people that are here today. We should be proud of that, and we should also know the Buffalo Bills, as a franchise, will be here for 30 years."
Geary was part of a special review session held Wednesday in the Erie County Legislature Chambers that detailed the documentation of the final agreement signed by all parties of the deal. He helped answer some final questions for members of the Legislature as they checked some final boxes on their list of potential concerns for the stadium deal.
"I thought the Legislators asked some great questions," Geary said of Wednesday's review session. "Obviously the community wants as much information as possible. From our side, we're eager to start the construction process. So everything for us to begin digging that hole and starting to make this new stadium a reality with the Buffalo Bills, Gilbane | Turner and all the other partners, Empire State Development, this is the last step in that process."
"Checking the final boxes, and to get some of those questions answered that when we got the document review, they could drill down more into it. I think that's what a lot of it was," said Erie County Legislator Howard Johnson on Wednesday. "We got the documents, we were able to review them, and we wanted to drill down into the questions and to find out, to get more details with those questions."
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Some of the questions asked by Legislators on Wednesday included simple questions of where "Bills Mafia" are going to go to tailgate for two years during construction, to matters such as the construction timing during the day, or issues pertaining to the Capital Investment Fund with the stadium grounds.
"Those are great questions, and those are all things that are being evaluated," Geary said. "The biggest thing, though, and the word that's getting out is the County is getting out of the stadium business. That's a financial responsibility that in the out years, that's something to be very proud of that the state and the Bills will have to worry about some of those long-term maintenance. [As for] the County, we can now put those dollars into our own, and other buildings that we own."
While the final vote of approval is set to take place Thursday afternoon, it will come after one more review session for the Legislature with regards to details of the stadium agreement. However, Geary and other Legislators do not expect any other issues to come about that would swing a vote in the wrong direction.
"I'm very happy with what's been put forth so far, and I don't anticipate any changes between today and tomorrow for myself," said Erie County Legislator Jim Malczewski on Wednesday.
"I'm not a genie, I don't have a crystal ball, but I don't think there'll be any other issues. I think they covered a lot, they were very detailed in their approach," Johnson added. "For me personally, I believe it's a great agreement for Erie County as a whole."
When speaking with WBEN's Brian Mazurowski and Susan Rose earlier in the week, Erie County Legislator Frank Todaro says he expects Thursday's vote in the Legislature to be unanimous in favor of approval. Geary is certainly hopeful they get a unanimous vote from the Legislature, especially with the Buffalo Bills being such a fabric of the community.
"Anything that we can do to make sure that franchise stays here is the best thing for Erie County and Western New York. But there's other business to be had, there's other questions still to come up [Thursday], and we'll be prepared for it," he said.
If that vote is approved, whether unanimous or not, Legislators know that the many months of hard work to finalize the stadium will pay huge dividends for many in Western New York.
"I think that will be big. I think that it will take the pressure off of us, it will take the pressure off Erie County. I know in my district a lot, we get those questions: 'What's going on? What's going on?' And we've had to say, 'Hey, it's a process, and we wanted to be deliberate in our approach in the process,' Johnson explained. "Now we're coming to the finish line of this thing, and [Thursday] will be that."
"The No. 1 goal here was to keep the Bills in Buffalo. This cements it," Malczewski added. "The Bills will be here for the next 30 years, and I think the potential to help youth activities, to help different aspects of the community, they're all there. So I think this is a very good proposal, and a win-win for Western New York."
Geary goes on to say as soon as everything is signed and approved by the Legislature, construction crews will start getting to work in earnest in Orchard Park. He even feels that could come as early as Thursday night.
"I can tell you the County team, we've been prepared. We've been going through this, as well as the Bills, as well as Empire State Development. It's a unified effort, and hopefully it ends up successful [Thursday]," Geary said.
"There's a lot of work to be done so that the team can be playing in 2026 inside the the newest state-of-the-art facility in the NFL."
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