Erie Community College's South Campus has faced uncertainty for nearly half its existence.
Former County Executive Joel A. Giambra first proposed closing the south and north campuses of the college and consolidating programs in downtown Buffalo in 2002, and the discussion went on for years.
Erie Community College South Campus in located in Orchard Park and Hamburg.
And now, with negotiations for a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills inching toward a conclusion, the question looms: What is to become of the South Campus if the stadium moves across Abbott Road? The Orchard Park location is preferred by Pegula Sports and Entertainment, the team’s owners, over a spot in Buffalo.
"It’s on everyone’s mind," said ECC interim president William D. Reuter. "I wish I knew. But I don’t."
Negotiations between the Buffalo Bills, New York State and Erie County are ongoing, but the parties are not sharing many details.
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Local officials would like to get an indication of where the stadium is headed.
"Ultimately, absolutely, it impacts our campus. But right now, that's not anything I know. I cannot plan for unknowns," Reuter said.
Erie County Legislator John Mills, R-Orchard Park, said the Legislature is not hearing much on the negotiations, either.
"I would think it's going to go there, just because it makes more sense economically," Mills said of the Orchard Park location.
Peter Anderson, a spokesman for Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz, acknowledged there is a lot of talk about the future of the South Campus, but it is just conjecture.
"I can’t go into the specifics about ongoing negotiations but have been advised by the county executive that the ECC campus (and programs there) have no correlation to wherever a new stadium goes; they are separate issues and will be decided separately," Anderson said in an email.
And Ron Raccuia, executive vice president of Pegula Sports and Entertainment, told The Buffalo News last month that a new stadium “might need some ECC land, but it would be very minimal, if any.”
The college has been struggling with declining enrollment, and some have questioned whether it can continue to support three campuses. It was a question considered nearly 20 years ago.
In 2002, then County Executive Giambra suggested consolidating the college programs on an enlarged City Campus, possibly closing one or both suburban campuses.
The college last month released a study of facilities and academics that concluded that two buildings at South Campus should be closed, saving $10 million in building system upgrades and annual operating expenses. The study also recommended that all of the public service, safety, law and EMT programs be centered at the South Campus, while all athletic fields would be located at the North Campus.
The college now is embarking on a $280,000 academic realignment study funded by grants.
"We are going to look at how our academic programs match the workforce needs of the community. And try to drive any kind of facilities decision based upon that academic review," Reuter said.
The college was founded 75 years ago as New York State Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences at Buffalo, a free two-year technical school, according to the school's website. It became part of the State University of New York two years later, and moved to the North Campus in 1960. The City Campus opened in 1971, and the South Campus opened in 1974.
ECC's 121-acre South Campus, owned by Erie County, abuts county-owned parking lots on the west side of Abbott Road across from Highmark Stadium. There are 578,000 square feet of building space, and the expansive campus parking lots are used on Bills' game days.
The campus is in Orchard Park and Hamburg, but local officials aren't party to the negotiations, either.
"I have not heard anything definitively at all, not even scuttlebutt," Hamburg Supervisor James M. Shaw said.
"That campus is on county property, so they don’t share a whole lot," Orchard Park interim Supervisor Gene Majchrzak said. "We’re still neighbors. I don’t get any feedback from them."
Despite what officials say, or don't say, the possible new stadium coupled with declining student population at ECC makes consolidating the South Campus with the other two campuses more likely, Mills said.
"I just can't see them being able to keep that campus open," Mills said. "I would think it's pretty clear ... It just makes sense when you look at the footprint of what you have to do."
The academic realignment study has just gotten underway, Reuter said. A task force consisting of representatives of college and community stakeholders will be established.
"Decisions and recommendations are not going to be made in a vacuum. It's going to be very transparent process," Reuter said.
He said the study should be finished by the middle of next year, and he hopes the timeline of the study will work out well with a decision on the stadium.
"We’ll have the ability to pivot, but right now I’m planning that the South Campus will be there today, tomorrow and into the future," Reuter said. "We are going to make decisions based on data. We're going to provide the necessary service for our students."
