Assemblyman Michael Kearns is calling for an emergency meeting of the New Stadium Working Group be held in public. The advisory group, formed to explore whether a new stadium or a retrofit to Ralph Wilson Stadium is appropriate, last met April 1.Kearns says with new ownership pending for the Buffalo Bills, the group should hold open and transparent meetings.
"This is a public/private partnership. The 12th Man and the taxpayers, they need a guarantee that the letter of the law is being followed here. They have monetary interests themselves, specifically $95 million in stadium repairs," Kearns told WBFO.
Kearns, a Democrat whose district includes Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, points out that a state-funded feasibility study for prospective owners was due more than a month ago.
"We've waited and I think we've been patient. With the owners' meetings coming in October, there are so many concerns and we don't know what is being discussed behind closed doors," Kearns said.
Kearns says he sent a letter today to the group's co-chairs, Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Buffalo Bills president and CEO Russ Brandon asking them to honor the public's request for information.
