Bills fever is sweeping over Western New York once again but it’s not August, it’s April and new stadium in Orchard Park is expected to be completed in 2026.
With taxpayers footing $850 million of the $1.4 billion deal questions are being asked about how the stadium will benefit long suffering communities in Erie County through a Community Benefits Agreement agreed to by the state, Erie County and Pegula Sports and Entertainment.
Coalition for Economic Justice Board Member Bridge Rauch said expanding public transit should be a top priority.
“The NFTA service ends about a mile away from the Bills Stadium on the weekends and that doesn't just affect Bills games,” they said. “Immediately adjacent to the Bills stadium is the ECC South Campus and that's where Erie County holds a lot of civic events. If you're going to take a civil service exam on the weekend you don’t have direct access to the exams by NFTA.”
Erie County Legislative Chair April Baskin echoed Rauch’s sentiment and took it a step further.
“I don't think that we need just a bus to be able to drop off fans and potential people to engage in the workforce. But we need to think strategically about how many streams of transportation are going to come from all over the county and get to a special port in the stadium that's going to make it safe and inviting for residents to get there for work as well as enjoying the Buffalo Bills.”
Baskin will be taking part in the C.B.A. negotiations but says there is no date for when negotiations are set to begin.
