Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced the state and Erie County would contribute $850 million upfront toward the $1.4 billion cost of a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park.
This amounts to a 61% public share for the stadium’s upfront construction cost.
How does this deal stack up to those reached for other NFL stadiums?
A Buffalo News analysis of the 21 stadiums constructed across the league since 1998 found the public on average covered half the cost of building those venues.
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The direct public share was higher for the 11 stadiums that opened between 1998 and 2002, when this figure averaged 65% of the total cost.
The 10 stadiums that opened between 2003 and 2020 carried an average direct public commitment of 34% of the construction cost.
One consistent thread across the two decades is that teams in smaller NFL markets received more direct public aid, with that money accounting for an average 73% of stadium costs in those markets.
The highest direct public contribution to the cost of a stadium, prior to the new Bills stadium, was the $750 million invested in the $1.9 billion Allegiant Stadium in Nevada. It was built to lure the Raiders franchise from Oakland to Las Vegas.
It should be noted these figures don’t include other forms of public investment in a stadium project, such as spending on infrastructure surrounding a stadium or tax breaks that can add up to hundreds of millions of dollars over time.
For example, city, state and federal governments contributed an estimated $1.2 billion toward the cost of the new Yankees Stadium in the Bronx, most in tax breaks, public infrastructure and other indirect aid.
Public documents outlining the terms for the proposed deal for the Buffalo Bills were not available early Monday afternoon.
