{"id":1372397,"date":"2022-03-12T07:50:17","date_gmt":"2022-03-12T12:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1372397"},"modified":"2022-03-12T07:51:48","modified_gmt":"2022-03-12T12:51:48","slug":"buffalo-bills-owner-to-get-1b-in-public-funds-for-new-stadium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/buffalo-bills-owner-to-get-1b-in-public-funds-for-new-stadium\/","title":{"rendered":"Buffalo Bills\u2019 Owner to Get $1B in Public Funds for New Stadium"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbuffalo-bills-owner-to-get-1b-in-public-funds-for-new-stadium%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1372397&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The billionaire owner of the Buffalo Bills appears poised to get a record amount of public funding for a new stadium in what critics are calling an unprecedented giveaway.<\/p>\n<p>Gov. Kathy Hochul \u2014 a Buffalo native \u2014 is expected to announce in the next several days a deal in which New York State and Erie County agree to pay nearly $1 billion toward a new $1.4 billion stadium that will be located next to the current one, sources close to the situation told The Post.<\/p>\n<p>That would be the most public money ever spent on building a US stadium, University of Michigan sports management professor Mark Rosentraub told The Post.<\/p>\n<p>The proposal for public funding would be part of the New York budget that needs to be submitted by April 1 to the state Legislature. If it passes, the stadium, which would be designed by an architectural firm called Populous, would be open as soon as 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Bills Owner Terry Pegula \u2014 a fracking mogul worth more than $7 billion \u2014 had threatened to move the team from Buffalo if he didn\u2019t get public funding to build a new stadium. But there was debate, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/09\/14\/buffalo-bills-owner-threatens-to-move-team-if-he-doesnt-get-public-funds-for-new-stadium\/\">as The Post reported in September<\/a>, about whether he was bluffing, considering how closely he\u2019s associated with Western New York.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-04.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-04.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"Buffalo Bills stadium\" class=\"wp-image-21501428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-04.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-04.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-04.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>A new Buffalo Bills stadium would replace the current 1973 stadium and would be built with $1 billion in public funding under a plan soon to be unveiled, sources told The Post<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Brett Carlsen<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A veteran New York government lobbyist says it appears government officials bought into the threat \u2014 even if it was a bluff. \u201cEveryone in government folded like a cheap suit,\u201d the lobbyist, who didn\u2019t want to be named and isn\u2019t involved in the negotiations, told The Post. \u201cI am stunned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The lobbyist said it appears negotiations have happened behind closed doors, the lobbyist said. The lobbyist slammed the idea of Pegula\u2019s team getting a billion dollars in public funding when there are more pressing needs like universal child care.<\/p>\n<p>Jim Wilkinson, a spokesman for Pegula Sports Entertainment, told The Post that an agreement isn\u2019t final and that there was still work to do to seal the deal.<\/p>\n<p>Still, he said: \u201cThe governor has done an outstanding job in getting everyone to the table together, and we continue to make strong progress.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-08.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-08.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula\" class=\"wp-image-21501444\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-08.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-08.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-08.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Fracking billionaire Terry Pegula, who owns the Bills, has a fortune estimated at more than $7 billion. He\u2019s threatened to pull the team from Buffalo unless he gets public funds to help build a new stadium.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Bryan Bennett<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A spokesperson for Hochul said in response to a query from The Post: \u201cAny reports of details are premature. As we have said repeatedly, negotiations are ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rosentraub, the Michigan professor and expert on public financing of stadiums, said the apparent New York deal is an outlier compared to other recent stadium projects, such as the Las Vegas Raiders domed stadium that costs taxpayers $750 million.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe new stadium allows Vegas to host 13 to 15 events a year like concerts it couldn\u2019t host before because of the summer heat,\u201d said Rosentraub, who worked on the Vegas project. He said because of those events, there was some rationale for public investment.<\/p>\n<p>But he said it\u2019s hard to see the public benefit to a new Bills stadium, which won\u2019t be domed \u2014 and therefore won\u2019t be a hot ticket during Buffalo\u2019s brutal winters. \u201cIf you say the only benefit is keeping the team that\u2019s a tough one to justify,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-05.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-05.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"Buffalo Bills stadium\" class=\"wp-image-21501452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-05.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-05.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-05.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>The current Buffalo Bills stadium, built in 1973, doesn\u2019t have a dome; a new one won\u2019t either, sources told The Post.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Brett Carlsen<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The new stadium would be built next to the current one \u2014 which opened in 1973 \u2014 in the Buffalo suburbs. <\/p>\n<p>There was discussion about building a new stadium in downtown Buffalo so it could revitalize the city. That\u2019s what happened in cities like Minneapolis and Indianapolis, though they were expensive public projects.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen making an investment in a stadium in a suburb it\u2019s hard to find the public benefit,\u201d Rosentraub said. \u201cWithout a realistic development strategy, I\u2019d argue this funding is quite unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said Hochul and her team would\u2019ve been better-served offering perhaps $1 billion toward a new stadium \u2014 but only if it were to be build in downtown Buffalo and only if Pegula would\u2019ve at least matched the public funds.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-11.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-11.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"New York Gov. Kathy Hochul\" class=\"wp-image-21501484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-11.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-11.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/buffalo-bills-stadium-hochul-11.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Gov. Kathy Hochul is a Buffalo native and has said she wants to keep the Bills in town.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Michael M. Santiago<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Pegula has argued that he\u2019s already\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2014\/09\/08\/terry-pegula-is-the-leader-in-bid-for-buffalo-bills\/\">spent hundreds of millions of dollars<\/a>\u00a0in developments for Western New York \u2014 he also owns the Buffalo Sabres hockey team \u2014 and was reluctant to plow more than a billion dollars more of his own money into a new stadium for the Bills.<\/p>\n<p>He let it be known it made little financial sense to spend $1 billion himself on a stadium in Buffalo because it is just too small a market, with a metropolitan area of a little more than a million people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The billionaire owner of the Buffalo Bills appears poised to get a record amount of public funding for a new stadium in what critics are calling an unprecedented<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1372397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1372397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1372397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1372397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1372397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1372397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1372397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}