The Buffalo Bills announced a deal for a new stadium in March 2022, revealing tentative plans on a project that would cost an estimated $1.4 billion and bring a modern NFL stadium to Orchard Park. Just over a year later, the Bills’ stadium project is already projected to pass its budget.
Buffalo recently started construction on its new stadium site, breaking ground on New Highmark Stadium in May. While the project is expected to be finished by the end of 2025 with the stadium opening in 2026, construction costs have reportedly already exceeded initial estimates.
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According to John Wawrow of the Associated Press, the Bills are facing as much as $300 million in construction cost overruns just three months after starting construction on the new stadium.
As part of the original announcement in 2022, the Bills said their projections estimated the total cost of a new stadium being completed at $1.4 billion. However, that budget inflated to $1.54 million months later and has since been raised again to $1.65 billion. Now, there’s a growing possibility the projected budget is moved to $1.7 billion and a majority of the work on the stadium itself hasn’t begun yet.
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A multitude of issues have reportedly caused the stadium project to already exceed its initial budget. Among the problems; labor and material costs were more than originally estimated and there were delays in sending out bids for the stadium project, which had an effect on the total cost.
Fortunately for the city, contract language in the deal with the team will prove beneficial. Under the current agreement, the Bills are contractually required to cover the entirety of any budgetary increases or overruns. As a result, the $300 million additions will all have to be covered by the franchise.
All of this is a bit challenging for a franchise that doesn’t have one of the richest NFL owners. While the Pegula family’s financial resources are still more than enough to cover any additional costs, the unexpected deductions from the Bills’ payroll in the next few years could have a negative impact on their willingness to spend even more money on the roster.