Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN/WGR 550) - Saturday marked the latest deadline date outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the new Buffalo Bills stadium deal to finalize the details within the agreement announced back on March 28.
This date was announced after a 45-day extension of the negotiating period was agreed upon ahead of the original deadline date of Sept. 1.
While the announcement of a finalized MOU to complete the Bills stadium deal doesn't appear imminent, there has been another extension of the negotiating period announced by New York State, Erie County and the Bills.
In a joint statement released on Friday, all three parties have agreed to extend the exclusivity period until 30 days after final determination on the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQRA) by Erie County:
"New York State, Erie County and the Buffalo Bills have made considerable progress and are actively negotiating the final agreements and contracts. As the environmental review process moves forward, we will continue to work towards finalizing all agreements and look forward to breaking ground on a new stadium next year."
When asked about Saturday's upcoming deadline date more than a week ago, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the deadline dates attributed to the stadium deal were more arbitrary, rather that a firm deadline where talks need to get done or everything falls apart. However, talks to get the deal done continue to progress, and all sides are working to firmly keep the Bills in Western New York for the long-term.
"It's taking a little longer than some people thought, not necessarily as long as I thought it would take in other sticking points," said Poloncarz on Friday after discussing the Erie County budget for 2023. "We've negotiated for quite a number of weeks now, and we still have almost every one of the agreements that still has to be finalized. Not all the terms are agreed to for all the agreements. Not just one agreement, most of the agreements, and they're very complicated agreements."
When it comes to the timing of the SEQRA being completed, Poloncarz says it will not get completed until sometime in early December. That means that the new deadline to finalize the details of the MOU will not be until a date in January of 2023.
In the meantime, talks can continue to hammer out the details of the MOU, but the final agreement cannot be formally signed off on until the SEQRA is completed.
"I never thought that this was going to come very quickly. I thought this was going to take time, because they're very complicated agreements," Poloncarz said. "I can tell you, every day, I get updates directly from our counsel, and see the new versions that are coming back-and-forth on different documents, and then we offer our comments and send those on to the state in the Bills for their comments. That happens every day. So we're progressing, and everyone is working in earnest to get this deal done."
More from Poloncarz regarding the finalization process of the MOU for the new Bills stadium is available in the player below:
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