NFL commissioner Roger Goodell believes the Buffalo Bills need a new stadium funded by a public/private partnership.
“You’ve got to think long-term here,” Goodell told the media on Monday at Jim Kelly’s celebrity golf tournament Monday in Buffalo. “This has been going on for decades, and it’s time to get a new stadium done that we can make sure the Bills are here and successful for many, many decades going forward.”
The Bills’ lease at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., ends in 2023, and Goodell said renovations to the stadium would not be sufficient. It is the fourth-oldest stadium in the league.
A $1.4 billion proposal for a new stadium has been submitted by Buffalo’s ownership, headed by Terry and Kim Pegula.
The Bills have not threatened to leave if a new stadium has been built, but they have been putting the pressure on local governments to help them build the stadium.
“You can’t really do plans and designs on things until you have a deal, and right now the city of Buffalo and the state (of New York) are going to have to decide if they want a team,” Pegula Sports and Entertainment spokesman Jim Wilkinson told WIVB-TV on Aug. 17.
The Bills have been in Buffalo for its entire history and in the Orchard Park stadium since 1973.
–Field Level Media