Owner of Bills, Sabres to study needs for stadium and arena
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A decision is expected within nine months on whether the Bills will keep playing in suburban Buffalo or build a new facility downtown.
Two firms were hired by the parent company that owns the Bills and the Buffalo Sabres to study the future needs of both facilities, including determining whether to build a new football stadium to replace 45-year-old New Era Field.
On Tuesday, Pegula Sports and Entertainment chief operating officer Bruce Popko announced the study is necessary because the facilities, including the Sabres’ 23-year-old KeyBank Center, “have fallen behind modern standards.”
“Ultimately, it’s going to give us options,” Popko said, referring to hiring CAA ICON, a consulting firm, and Populous, an architectural firm. “It’s going to provide for us what can happen at New Era Field. It’s going to also provide for us what may be the chance to entertain a new option of a stadium.”
Popko stressed there are no preconceived notions favouring renovations versus a new facility in launching the feasibility study that will include input from state and local governments and fans.
He said it’s premature to estimate the costs or discuss taxpayer assistance. “Until we have more specifics about what the stadium may look like, what may be related to it, it’s too early to tell you what the pitch may be.”
As for the Sabres’ home, the study will identify what structural upgrades and other modernizations are needed. The facility has undergone only minor renovations since it opened in 1996.
Popko said fan amenities, scoreboards and sound systems have become outdated.
The timing of the study comes with the Bills having five years remaining on their lease with the state and county, while the Sabres have eight years remaining on their lease with the county.
The future of the Bills’ home, located in Orchard Park, N.Y., has been a major topic of discussion since Terry and Kim Pegula purchased the franchise in 2014 following the death of Ralph Wilson.
The sale came two years after the Bills agreed to a 10-year lease. The deal committed nearly $227 million of taxpayer money toward extensive renovations and annual capital and game-day expenses.
During the Bills sale process, a state-funded study identified three sites in downtown Buffalo as possible locations for a new football stadium, while also examining the cost of the team remaining at its current site.
Both options carried hefty price tags.
A new stadium would cost at least $1 billion, while the next round of renovations would cost $540 million, in part because of major renovations to the stadium’s third deck.
As for new stadium sites, there’s a limited amount of open spaces downtown large enough to accommodate such a development. One of the three sites identified in 2014 has already been developed.
The site that drew the most attention is a large two-block parcel of street-level parking lots located in the city’s emerging Cobblestone entertainment district.
The site is located a block east of the Sabres’ arena and within two blocks of HarborCenter, a $200-million hotel and hockey entertainment facility built by the Pegulas, and a newly opened brewhouse operated by the Pegulas.
One person directly involved in discussions four years ago said in January the Pegulas were focused on building a downtown stadium, and that the Cobblestone site was regarded as “one of the prime target areas.” The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks were private.
It’s unclear whether those plans have changed.
Without revealing the locations, Popko said the Pegulas own “a decent amount of land” downtown.