In the wake of the Erie County Legislature's approval of the Bills new stadium agreement on Thursday afternoon, the club confirmed that construction for the project will now begin in earnest.
"We want to thank Governor Hochul, the County Executive and all of our public partners for bringing this process to a successful conclusion," said Bills Executive Vice President & COO, Ron Raccuia. "All of the legal agreements and public-private partnerships with the county and the state are signed. There are no more documents. All the focus is now on construction and the opening of the stadium, which will start immediately."
The Erie County Legislature had 30 days to review the new stadium agreement after the Erie County Stadium Corporation signed off on the pact last month.
Construction at the Abbott Road site across from the existing Highmark stadium was scheduled to begin this spring and all parties involved were able to finalize the agreements to remain on that timeline.
In addition to the groundbreaking on the site, the Bills will also be moving forward on final design elements as well as the development of the club's stadium experience center. Major construction is scheduled for June.
"Now that all the negotiations are over, we are excited to begin the physical phase of this project, which will lead to the opening of the stadium," Raccuia said. "Major construction in June will begin with excavation. The final design elements are never really final, but it's extremely dialed in at this point."
The state-of-the-art open-air stadium, which will be built on a 242-acre site, will cover approximately 1.35 million square feet. It will be the biggest project ever built in Western New York.The construction of a 75,000-square-foot ancillary building and demolition of the current stadium are also part of the site's related development. Completion is scheduled for July 2026 so the new stadium can open its gates for the start of the 2026 NFL regular season.
The Bills Mafia's influence on the game is undeniable — and we want that passion to swell throughout the stadium. These visuals reflect early conceptual thinking on how the Bills brand and fan culture may be represented.
