Stadium Construction Discussion (No PSL/Seat selection posts)

[Buffalo716]

7 hours ago, May Day 10 said:

 

Pittsburgh in general makes me jealous.

 

All those buildings and commerce is what drives it.  Waterfront development/parks is not.  Out of the rust belt, Pittsburgh carved itself as a top Medical and Tech hub.  The locations of the stadiums were not what drives anything.  They are in a cool location though, especially the ballpark with the bridge and the skyline.

 

Buffalo has to figure out how to get a lot of 9-5 activity downtown.  Large companies.  People living and working.  Abandoned buildings gone, developers who cant get new buildings up fast enough for people to work and live and shop in.  

I was in Pittsburgh multiple times the last couple months and their was closed businesses and restaurants downtown or just weird hours 

 

Businesses that close by 5pm.. restaurants that didn't open till 5:00 or closed Sunday Monday 

 

Buffalo's waterfront might not be the nicest in the country but downtown and surrounding Buffalo has a lot of stuff going for it.. 

 

Pittsburgh does also have a lot going for it as well and is also going through a revitalization and has bigger businesses in the city

 

But downtown Buffalo has great mom and pop restaurants, boutiques,breweries, bars and more as well and downtown Buffalo is bigger and open later

Edited yesterday at 09:20 PM by Buffalo716

[RyanC883]

46 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

I was in Pittsburgh multiple times the last couple months and their was a lot of closed businesses and restaurants downtown

 

Businesses that close by 5pm.. restaurants shut down or close down at 4-5

 

Buffalo's waterfront might not be the nicest in the country but downtown and surrounding Buffalo has a lot of stuff going for it.. I don't struggle to find food at 7:00 in downtown Buffalo 

 

It was hard to find a meal in downtown Pittsburgh at 7:00 if you didn't have reservations, tons was closed... Pittsburgh does also have a lot going for it and is also going through a revitalization and has bigger businesses in the city

 

But downtown Buffalo has great mom and pop restaurants, boutiques,breweries, bars and more as well and downtown Buffalo is bigger and open later

 

totally agree on Buffalo, it’s not desolate as some make it out to be.  Always love visiting, and the waterfront area is a very nice area.

 

In terms of PGH, you must have been in the wrong part if the city, which is easy to do because it’s so broken up by rivers and hills. Downtown is closed earlyish as it is mostly banks, law and medical offices.   But as you get to the cultural district, north shore where stadiums are, strip district or lawrenceville, stuff is open later and these are all very close to downtown. Feel free to DM if you need some suggestions. 

p

 

[Buffalo716]

32 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

 

totally agree on Buffalo, it’s not desolate as some make it out to be.  Always love visiting, and the waterfront area is a very nice area.

 

In terms of PGH, you must have been in the wrong part if the city, which is easy to do because it’s so broken up by rivers and hills. Downtown is closed earlyish as it is mostly banks, law and medical offices.   But as you get to the cultural district, north shore where stadiums are, strip district or lawrenceville, stuff is open later and these are all very close to downtown. Feel free to DM if you need some suggestions. 

p

 

For sure ... I just remember the guy at the hotel I was at giving me a recommendation for a restaurant 

 

I walked around the block to the restaurant and it was closed LOL they do have a lot of places that open at 5:00 for dinner though but not open during day... I was also there Sunday Monday which seems to be their slow business days and some other businesses don't even open up 

 

Pittsburgh is very nice though.. but so is Buffalo 

Edited yesterday at 06:49 PM by Buffalo716

[Virgil]

14 hours ago, Awwufelloff said:

What the Bills could have had if they were smart. 
 

 

 

I've been to the new stadium when the Bills clinched the playoffs a few years back.  There was nothing wrong with the stadium, but it felt impersonal to me.  It's hard to say why, but it just felt like a boring stadium.  I also didn't like that it was surrounded by parking lots and businesses.  I know that may sound dumb, but I felt like the stadium and area had no personality.  

 

 

[Billsfanatic8989]

I think it's going to be very tough to sellout all those PSL's. Even a SB win might not do it. Buffalo is a blue collar city. Not Dallas or NYC. 

[Buffalo716]

2 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

I've been to the new stadium when the Bills clinched the playoffs a few years back.  There was nothing wrong with the stadium, but it felt impersonal to me.  It's hard to say why, but it just felt like a boring stadium.  I also didn't like that it was surrounded by parking lots and businesses.  I know that may sound dumb, but I felt like the stadium and area had no personality.  

 

 

I had a good time when I saw the rolling Stones there but I didn't think it was anything really special 

 

Western New Yorkers certainly don't want to foot the bill on a 3 billion dollar downtown stadium

Edited yesterday at 06:54 PM by Buffalo716

[RiotAct]

4 minutes ago, Billsfanatic8989 said:

I think it's going to be very tough to sellout all those PSL's. Even a SB win might not do it. Buffalo is a blue collar city. Not Dallas or NYC. 

it’ll be very interesting to see if they sell them all.  Probably gonna be what; $2k a pop for the upper deck?  Not chump change but not horrible either.  Although, probably a higher percentage of people when you’re talking those sections who won’t pay that just on the principle of the thing.

[djp14150]

57 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

 

totally agree on Buffalo, it’s not desolate as some make it out to be.  Always love visiting, and the waterfront area is a very nice area.

 

In terms of PGH, you must have been in the wrong part if the city, which is easy to do because it’s so broken up by rivers and hills. Downtown is closed earlyish as it is mostly banks, law and medical offices.   But as you get to the cultural district, north shore where stadiums are, strip district or lawrenceville, stuff is open later and these are all very close to downtown. Feel free to DM if you need some suggestions. 

p

 

 

What the other poster was saying is true with many downtown areas.

 

I live in metro DC.  The downtown section north of the fed govt buildings is primarily office buildings. Some fed agencies but most are contractors, special interest/ lobby groups.  When Covid hit the downtown area was hammered really hard.

the arrant is on the east end of downtown . The restaurants near the arena have survived better. The west side of downtown is George Washington university/ medical center area also survived better

 

the area around baseball/ soccer stadium also survived.

 

DC has other areas of town that were more mix use neighborhoods that saw better survival rates.  Thr key to this is having it be mixed with residential, shopping, and some work sites.

 

 

 

in DC

the arena for nhl/ nba is near the center of town.  It’s near the center point of the subway system creating easy flow in/ out.

the baseball and soccer stadiums are south of downtown. The dtops are about 7 min from the center to transfer to get out. Can drive out of here like the arena.

 

nfl stadium is like orchard park. The beltway is the main route.

[SoCal Deek]

5 hours ago, mrags said:

I’m sure there is some things that can be done under cover while the weather turns. What that would be I have no idea. Maybe @SoCal Deek is the better person to ask. Anyway, that was just my assumption. 
 

point is, my buddy said he heard from someone in the know that they were months behind. As I said, I personally didn’t believe it. But he swears by it. 

I think this might be what my friend was referring to. Or something about parts/pieces of foundation or something that is built offsite and shipped in and they were not correct. Again, idk. I’m not swearing by it, just giving the scoop on what I heard. 

You may recall me mentioning a few months ago that it looked like the precast concrete subcontractor must be behind schedule as they were clearly not keeping up with the steel erection. That continues to appear to be the case today. In construction scheduling it’s called the ‘critical path’. Which is to say they can’t turn loose the next major trade crews until that critical element is completed.

 

So with regard to working out of the elements in winter, yes, if the precast seating risers aren’t installed then there is no ‘inside’ to work in. Those precast risers essentially form the roof of everything below them. 

[PromoTheRobot]

5 hours ago, WotAGuy said:

Well, well, well…..

 

“This is an opportunity for innovation and a chance to do something really great for the Western New York community. It’s an opportunity that doesn’t come around even every decade,” said Hamburg Councilwoman Beth Farrell Lorentz, who's been heading the effort by the town to move this forward.

“We all think that the stadium's surrounding area should be an economic driver and really can be something that enhances the entire experience of being at a game," she added.”

 

“Local developers say the ECC campus is prime for redevelopment into a “town center,” which combines housing with shopping and recreational attractions that could make the stadium and surrounding area more of a year-round experience.

It could also open the door to creating a Bills-themed tourist attraction like Titletown, which was built next to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, or a tailgate village. Green Bay, the only market smaller than Buffalo in the NFL, is an example of what could be done around a stadium, where developers stepped up, in coordination with the Packers, to build mixed-use projects around Lambeau Field.”

 

Buffalo News article today:

https://archive.ph/poi64

 

 

 

2 hours ago, RyanC883 said:

 

totally agree on Buffalo, it’s not desolate as some make it out to be.  Always love visiting, and the waterfront area is a very nice area.

 

 

 

Waterfront/Canalside is nice, but downtown is desolate.  Even during work hours. They could shoot a post-Armageddon film there.

[mrags]

34 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

You may recall me mentioning a few months ago that it looked like the precast concrete subcontractor must be behind schedule as they were clearly not keeping up with the steel erection. That continues to appear to be the case today. In construction scheduling it’s called the ‘critical path’. Which is to say they can’t turn loose the next major trade crews until that critical element is completed.

 

So with regard to working out of the elements in winter, yes, if the precast seating risers aren’t installed then there is no ‘inside’ to work in. Those precast risers essentially form the roof of everything below them. 

Would you be able to work “inside” on certain parts of the stadium though? For example, if the risers aren’t all installed but let’s say the entire north and west side are complete, wouldn’t the crews be able to start in those areas in the meantime? I have no idea, just wondering if that’s possible. 

27 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Waterfront/Canalside is nice, but downtown is desolate.  Even during work hours. They could shoot a post-Armageddon film there.

Yup. Compared to real cities, 100% 

[SoCal Deek]

35 minutes ago, mrags said:

Would you be able to work “inside” on certain parts of the stadium though? For example, if the risers aren’t all installed but let’s say the entire north and west side are complete, wouldn’t the crews be able to start in those areas in the meantime? I have no idea, just wondering if that’s possible. 

Yup. Compared to real cities, 100% 

If a specific area is done then they ‘can’ work but it really doesn’t help with the final completion date. That’s why the critical path is called the critical path. Busy work is nice but it’s very inefficient. There’s a tremendous logistical effort that goes into scheduling all the tasks on a job of this size. 
 

In general, construction doesn’t stop completely during the winter months….but there’s quite a bit that has to be in place to make it productive. Turner Construction who’s overseeing the project is VERY experienced. I guarantee they’re on top of the things that they can control, but as a few have mentioned, the construction industry is still experiencing significant post-pandemic supply chain problems. On many of our projects the contractors are having to order electrical switchgear equipment in excess of a year ahead of when it’s needed on the job site. You can just imagine what that does to a project whose schedule is less than a year in total. 😳

[mrags]

56 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

If a specific area is done then they ‘can’ work but it really doesn’t help with the final completion date. That’s why the critical path is called the critical path. Busy work is nice but it’s very inefficient. There’s a tremendous logistical effort that goes into scheduling all the tasks on a job of this size. 
 

In general, construction doesn’t stop completely during the winter months….but there’s quite a bit that has to be in place to make it productive. Turner Construction who’s overseeing the project is VERY experienced. I guarantee they’re on top of the things that they can control, but as a few have mentioned, the construction industry is still experiencing significant post-pandemic supply chain problems. On many of our projects the contractors are having to order electrical switchgear equipment in excess of a year ahead of when it’s needed on the job site. You can just imagine what that does to a project whose schedule is less than a year in total. 😳

Yeah I’ve got a buddy that used to be pretty high up at Turner in the area. He used to work on everything in the area. Wish he was still there as I’d have more inside info.

[Just Jack]

8 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

Assuming the Bills want to have some time for trial runs prior to 1st preseason game in August, that gives them roughly about 21 months to completion. I would not be surprised one bit if 2026 preseason games are at the current stadium, and a contingency plan for the start of the 2026 regular season to also be played at the current stadium.  

 

I remember seeing an article before construction started, that they would be able to have games in 2026, but all construction won't be completed until the 2027 season.  

[mrags]

38 minutes ago, Just Jack said:

 

I remember seeing an article before construction started, that they would be able to have games in 2026, but all construction won't be completed until the 2027 season.  

Yeah probably most of the stuff being complete but some details, finishing touches