ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WBEN)......With an Erie County temporary certificate of occupancy in the offing and the construction of new Highmark Stadium approaching the 98% mark - all signs are pointing towards the county shifting the ownership of the stadium and the Orchard Park land where it sits to New York State.
Officially, when all the documents are signed and recorded by mid-summer, the stadium and the Abbott Road land where the $2.2 billon new home of the Buffalo Bills was built will be owned by the Erie County Stadium Corp., which is an affiliate of Empire State Development Corp.
"We will be a vendor but not the owner," said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
June 1 is the deadline for the stadium to be deemed "substantially completed" in order for the temporary certificate of occupancy to be issued. That allows the ownership from the county to the state to begin to advance to a formal transfer - most likely to happen in early August.
All are considered key milestones.
"All of the paperwork should be filed soon," Poloncarz said.
Erie County will still provide certain services to the Bills including using Sheriff's officers and deputies and closing off Abbott Road on game days, but the county will be reimbursed by the Bills organizations. Terms are still being negotiated, Poloncarz said.
The temporary certificate of occupancy is big moment, Poloncarz said.
It allows the stadium to begin its shift from a construction site to a working building.
The first official event at the stadium is the annual "Blue and Red" scrimmage, set for Aug. 8 with two preseason games to follow and the regular season opener on Sept. 17.
A formal "opening ceremony" is also in the works.
The Buffalo Bills have started moving some of their offices into the building and prepping the locker rooms and other portions of the stadium.
Much of the focus now is on building out the concession stands
A formal certificate of occupancy will be issued this summer.
"We are almost there," Poloncarz said.
The Gilbane/Turner crews - and subcontractors - remain in site and will be for a while finishing the stadium and then attacking a post=construction punch list of items that need tweaking or adjusting.
"The reality is, if they (the Bills) had to play a game there today, they probably could," Poloncarz said.
New York State poised to own the stadium property
New York State poised to own the stadium property
