The Buffalo Bills announced on Monday that they have reached an agreement with New York State and Erie County to build a new $1.4 billion, open-air stadium in Orchard Park, New York.
Good news, Bills Mafia: the deal includes a 30-year lease, meaning the Bills will be staying in Orchard Park for at least the next thirty years. They’ve been there since 1973.
Statement from Terry and Kim Pegula
“We took another step today to solidify our collective goal of constructing a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park. We are grateful for the time, efforts and unwavering commitment made by Governor Hochul and her team throughout this process. While there are more hurdles to clear before getting to the finish line, we feel our public-private partnership between New York State, Erie County, led by County Executive Mark Poloncarz, and the National Football League will get us there.”
Highmark Stadium (Bills current stadium) has a capacity of 71,608. The seating at the Bills new stadium will be reduced by about 13% to a capacity of 62,000. The architectural firm hired to build the new Bills stadium also built the Tottenham Stadium in England.
A rendering of what the Bills stadium could look like in the future.
Bills announce a 30-year deal for a new $1.4 billion stadium in Orchard Park, NY, aiming for 2026 opening.
The stadium will use $850 million of taxpayer’s commitment and will be about 63% of the projected cost of the stadium’s construction, with the Bills and the league taking up the rest of the cost. This $850 million public commitment will be the largest public commitment for any NFL facility. The Bills will begin construction right away and will aim to be done and ready by the start of the 2026 NFL season.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she plans to advance a $600 million proposal for the 60,000-seat-plus stadium in the state’s budget deal, which is set to be finalized on Friday. The other $250 million will come from Erie County.
