The Buffalo Bills have cleared a major hurdle in securing private financing to help construct a $1.4 billion stadium in Orchard Park.
The National Football League’s joint stadium and finance committee voted Friday to recommend the league approve a maximum $200 million loan to Bills owners Kim and Terry Pegula, according to a league source.
All 32 teams will vote on the proposal at the league’s annual owners’ meeting Monday in Palm Beach, Fla. At least three-quarters of the league’s owners – 24 of 32 – must vote in favor of the deal, which is considered a formality.
“If the committees approve it, it’s a foregone conclusion,” sports consultant Marc Ganis, who has worked with the majority of NFL teams, told The Buffalo News.
Up to $150 million of the loan is forgivable, repaid through the visiting teams' share of Bills ticket revenue over 25 years, and is contingent on both public financing and the Pegulas contributing at least $200 million of their own equity to the project, according to the terms of the league's "G-4" loan program, which helps fund stadium construction and renovations.
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The agreement to fully finance the stadium, which has been negotiated since late summer between New York State, Erie County and the Bills, is not yet signed.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz have indicated that negotiations for public funding are in the final stretch, but until a memorandum of understanding is signed by all parties, the NFL owners are voting on a proposed deal – not an actual one.
The terms of the deal – including length, immediate state and county contributions and financial obligations over time – are not publicly known.
Hochul has previously cited the New York State budget deadline of April 1 as the deadline for reaching a stadium agreement.
A full, formal agreement will require approval from both New York State and Erie County legislators. Gaining the approval of those government bodies will take some time. Erie County Legislature members have indicated they may take up to 30 days to approve a deal.
But receiving a greenlight from NFL owners for G-4 funding is also key to keeping the project’s timeline on track. The Bills hope to open the stadium by 2026.
“The upcoming owners meetings are a part of the public-private partnership that we’ve stressed from day one,” said Ron Raccuia, executive vice president of the Bills’ parent company, Pegula Sports and Entertainment, and the team’s lead negotiator. “Our NFL partners are a huge part of that. G-4 funding is available to all 32 teams and we’re hopeful to include that in the final package.”
