Buffalo Bills Announce Stadium Agreement

The Buffalo Bills and New York State have reached an agreement on a new stadium deal. The total cost of the stadium is $1.4 billion. According to Jason Wolf (The Buffalo News), the state will contribute $600 million, Erie County will contribute $250 million, the NFL will contribute $200 million, and the Pegulas will contribute a minimum of $350 million.

The stadium will be located in Orchard Park, across the street from Highmark Stadium. The project is set to be finished by 2026. The new Bills stadium will be open air, but 80% of the seats will be covered by a partial roof, similar to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The expected seating capacity is 60-62,000 seats, with a party deck that will hold 5,000 people. The new stadium will be 1.5 million square feet; 600,000 feet larger than Highmark Stadium. All of this is in line with the Bills’ stadium proposal that came out in September.

The stadium agreement has a 30 year lease, meaning the Buffalo Bills will be in Orchard Park for at least another three decades. The current lease with Highmark stadium expires at the end of 2023. However, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz stated that lease extension talks will begin shortly.