Bills look for debt waiver as stadium costs rise

[Jay_Fixit]

3 hours ago, BarleyNY said:

I said it when the details of the stadium deal were made public - the smartest facet of the deal on the part of Hochul/NY state was that Pegula would be responsible for cost overruns. It looks like $800M in overruns will be borne by them versus the taxpayers. Guessing the sale of 10% of the team will eventually cover most of that. 

 

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/03/06/bills-seek-650-million-debt-waiver-as-stadium-costs-creep-upward-again/?issueId=7DNGCRPR7NEGRHNA2O7LOH5EM4

 

“The Bills are seeking an exception to NFL debt limits to borrow $650 million to fund construction of the new Highmark Stadium, where costs continue to climb far beyond the original budget, sources said.

According to the Bills’ request, per sources, the stadium will now cost $2.2 billion -- that’s up $100 million from the last official reportsfrom Erie County Stadium Development Corp., and now $800 million higher than the original estimate of $1.4 billion.”

I totally remember when you said that. 

[MJS]

1 hour ago, Niagara Dude said:

Sound like this has been poorly managed or contractors overcharging,  the Bills should be getting a done for the net final price

It's called inflation and supply chain issues.

[BuffAlone]

1 hour ago, brianthomas said:

i wonder how much the factor of tariffs is playing into cost overruns.

But by the time this stadium is completed, it may be twice as expensive as what was 1st estimated.

I understand there will always be factors that add on cost, but that seems pretty excessive a difference.

Zero factor

[SectionC3]

1 hour ago, klos63 said:

$45 average rate for the construction workers sounds great to me.  Seems like a fair wage for skilled labor on such a big project. 

Yup.  As far as the steel goes, it probably is more expensive because there have been relatively longstanding tariffs on that product (traceable, if I understand correctly, to the threat of foreign dumping to destroy that domestic industry).  However, in view of the fact that there's $850m in public funding for this project, it's not unfair to demand that those monies be spent on union labor and domestic materials.  

5 minutes ago, BuffAlone said:

Zero factor

Right now, yes.  But if the tariffs hit, it's highly unlikely to make anything cheaper at the project, and more likely to increase the price. 

[BUFFALOBART]

1 hour ago, Matt_In_NH said:

2.2 billions does not buy what it did 6 years ago

‘The Ralph’ cost $22 million to build by its completion, in 1973, It served us well, (and in my opinion) could continue to do so. Having worked in construction, when I was a much younger man, my *OPINION*, is that contractors ‘make up schitt, as they go along’, and people (executive types,  in particular) simply go along with it. Recently, I inquired about a soffit job on my 180 degree half round porch on the front of my house. The gentleman who I contacted, stated that ‘I could easily see this costing $80,00.00’ . He was quickly, but politely, shown the door. I’m (grudgingly) going to do the job myself, for an estimated $500, in materials. (Sheesh!)

Edited 17 hours ago by BUFFALOBART

[Matt_In_NH]

17 minutes ago, BUFFALOBART said:

‘The Ralph’ cost $22 million to build by its completion, in 1973, It served us well, (and in my opinion) could continue to do so. Having worked in construction, when I was a much younger man, my *OPINION*, is that contractors ‘make up schitt, as they go along’, and people (executive types,  in particular) simply go along with it. Recently, I inquired about a soffit job on my 180 degree half round porch on the front of my house. The gentleman who I contacted, stated that ‘I could easily see this costing $80,00.00’ . He was quickly, but politely, shown the door. I’m (grudgingly) going to do the job myself, for an estimated $500, in materials. (Sheesh!)

That definitely happens, I live in NH where there is a shortage of people in trades and the guys that do it can pretty much charge what they want.  There are other factors though, regulations, unions and the new stadium has way more features than the old one, they are not building a duplicate of what they built in 1970, that would be much less money. 

[BUFFALOBART]

Just now, Matt_In_NH said:

That definitely happens, I live in NH where there is a shortage of people in trades and the guys that do it can pretty much charge what they want.  There are other factors though, regulations, unions and the new stadium has way more features than the old one, they are not building a duplicate of what they built in 1970, that would be much less money. 

I get it. It has been 52 years, since ‘The Ralph’ was built. The dollar is closer to toilet paper, in value, relative to that era. Still, wages for people actually doing the work have presumably remained flat, and the procurements for materials should mostly be on site, as with any big job. Concrete costs are mostly tied to fuel, which has remained *relatively* stable. I’m calling B.S. on these cost increases, in the hundreds of millions. At this rate, we will have a $3 billion, open air stadium. Something does not mesh.

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

3 hours ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

Those costs WILL get passed on to the fans somehow.  Right now they can't sell PSL's worth a damn.

 

Yes.

 

The cost of unsold PSLs will go up and the cost of season tickets will go up next season.

 

Make no mistake, Pegula will recoup all of his costs.

 

This is how billionaires stay billionaires

[Orlando Buffalo]

I am reminded of when Orlando City soccer was building there stadium and the State was doing a 50/50 split of the cost until a law passed that the State couldn't do it anymore because of the fraud with the Miami Marlin Park. Once that law passed the price of the stadium dropped by 40% but the stadium was still basically the same and was built on schedule.

[Ya Digg?]

3 hours ago, JakeFrommStateFarm said:

I wonder if it's because they are using union labor at 40-50 per hour and American steel and materials which are far more expensive than imported materials ?

Yeah let’s blame the guys who want to be paid fairly, it’s definitely their fault 🙄🙄

[ControllerOfPlanetX]

4 hours ago, JakeFrommStateFarm said:

I wonder if it's because they are using union labor at 40-50 per hour and American steel and materials which are far more expensive than imported materials ?

Non-radioactive steel and steel that does not bend in the sunlight tends to cost a little more.

 

 

[RyanC883]

totally mismanaged.   There should be a dome for this amount.  

[BigDingus]

2 hours ago, Matt_In_NH said:

2.2 billions does not buy what it did 6 years ago

 

And that's what happens when you drag your feet doing something we all knew was going to happen eventually.

 

Imagine paying nearly $1 billion more than the Cowboys did for AT&T stadium (or in $300 million accounting for inflation) and getting significantly less for the investment.

 

Then again, looks like we're on our way to a recession at this point, with prices skyrocketing for everything & wages falling even further behind. Guess I can't be too hard on them. We're all feeling it.

[BigDingus]

2 hours ago, BuffAlone said:

Zero factor

 

I doubt that. I know a lot of people think "tariffs will only add 10% to the cost of the end product!" or "if supplies aren't coming from tariffed countries, no issues!" but that's not what happens (not saying YOU specifically).

 

Add 10%+ to every bit of manufacturing & distribution up & down the supply chain, plus whatever price increases these guys will add to keep their expected margins, keep up with expected inflation, or simply take advantage of the opportunity to raise costs. Then you factor in if these companies use labor, shipping or whatever from affected countries at any point in the chain. A company may be importing materials from a country outside of tariffs, but that doesn't mean who they're importing from doesn't have their own costs tied in with another tariffed country.

 

And given how interconnected so many of these companies/countries are, always looking for the cheapest route possible while increasing their own margins, prices go up across the board & leak into other markets.

[Einstein]

4 hours ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

This has been nothing but a cluster.

 

An absolute disaster.

 

A 2.2 billion dollar ugly stadium resembling a toilet bowl in a far suburb.

[Donuts and Doritos]

What a coincidence. My wife just asked for an exception to the debt limit for our Kitchen Reno. I said NO!

[RiotAct]

7 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

An absolute disaster.

 

A 2.2 billion dollar ugly stadium resembling a toilet bowl in a far suburb.

it’s less than 20 minutes from downtown Buffalo.

[K-9]

6 hours ago, BarleyNY said:

I said it when the details of the stadium deal were made public - the smartest facet of the deal on the part of Hochul/NY state was that Pegula would be responsible for cost overruns. It looks like $800M in overruns will be borne by them versus the taxpayers. Guessing the sale of 10% of the team will eventually cover most of that. 

 

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/03/06/bills-seek-650-million-debt-waiver-as-stadium-costs-creep-upward-again/?issueId=7DNGCRPR7NEGRHNA2O7LOH5EM4

 

“The Bills are seeking an exception to NFL debt limits to borrow $650 million to fund construction of the new Highmark Stadium, where costs continue to climb far beyond the original budget, sources said.

According to the Bills’ request, per sources, the stadium will now cost $2.2 billion -- that’s up $100 million from the last official reportsfrom Erie County Stadium Development Corp., and now $800 million higher than the original estimate of $1.4 billion.”

He actually sold 10% to two different entities for a total of a 20% equity sale. Probably netted him $1b, so his cost overrun obligations are covered even if that $650m debt waiver isn’t approved by the league, which it will be. Pegula isn’t hard up to cover his stadium cost obligations, that’s for certain. 

Edited 15 hours ago by K-9

[Chicken Boo]

Turns out Jerrah Jones was smart to build when he did.  Hard to believe that stadium is already 16 years old.  

 

Even with inflation, it's still less than what's being built in Buffalo.  

Edited 15 hours ago by Chicken Boo

[MarkyMannn]

5 hours ago, JakeFrommStateFarm said:

I wonder if it's because they are using union labor at 40-50 per hour and American steel and materials which are far more expensive than imported materials ?

I think you're low on that per hour. I had 2 friends in union labor working on Buffalo schools getting $71 an hour, like 3-4 years ago