This is the first installment of a five part series discussing the lawsuit against the use of New York State funds in the construction of the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium. As the first segment of the series, this article will provide the background of the financial agreement reached between New York State, Erie County, and the Buffalo Bills.
In the Spring of 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced a $1.4 billion agreement between New York State, Erie County, and the Buffalo Bills. [1] The parties agreed to a mixed public–private arrangement that will be used to build a new football stadium in Orchard Park. In all, New York State will pay $600 million, while Erie County will spend another $250 million. [2] The remaining funding will come from private actors: a $200 million loan from the NFL; and $350 million from the Buffalo Bills and purchasers of personal seat licenses. [3] While the percentage of state funding was significantly below what other public sector authorities had paid for recently built NFL stadiums, the financial commitments from both New York State and Erie County will represent nearly the same percentage—61% to 60%— of the public funds that are going to the construction of the Tennessee Titans’ new stadium. [4] According to Victor Matheson, an economics professor at the College of the Holy Cross, “the Bills only held the record [of the largest publicly funded stadium project] for about six months, and then Tennessee came along and said, here, hold my beer.” [5] While the percentage of public money is “roughly equal,” the Tennessee Titans’ new stadium will commit significantly more public money— $1.26 billion versus $800 million—to its construction project.
The remaining 39% of the Bills’ stadium funding will be from private actors, which includes Terry Pegula, the NFL, and the purchasers of “personal seat licenses.” [6] These personal seat licenses will help finance the Pegulas’ portion of the stadium project by charging patrons a sum to have the right to buy season tickets in the new stadium. [7] As of April 26, 2024, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the personal seat licenses. Concerns of Bills fans fall primarily into two categories: (1) the secrecy behind the sales; and (2) the high prices at which the seat licenses are being sold. Personal seat licenses for club seats have been publicly reported to cost anywhere between $20,000 and $50,000. [8]
Criticism of the large financial commitment by public-sector actors was expressed by New York citizens and politicians on both sides of the political aisle. [9] One citizen group filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court in Albany, asking the court for a preliminary injunction declaring that the public sector’s commitments to the new Bills stadium be “null and void.” [10] The group based its arguments on two sections of the New York State Constitution that bars the use of public funds for private purposes. One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Robert Schulz, said that “by appropriating $600M in state funds . . . to aid the Buffalo Bills, Gov. Hochul and the Legislature have violated provisions of the Constitution that prohibit the use of public funds in aid of private undertakings.”[11]
Continue reading to see what constitutional provisions may have been violated in the construction of the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium!
[1] See Governor Hochul Announces Joint Public-Private Agreement to Ensure the Buffalo Bills Remain in New York State, New York State (Mar. 28, 2022), https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-joint-public-private-agreement-ensure-buffalo-bills-remain-new-york#:~:text=Governor%20Hochul’s%20negotiations%20secured%20a,County%20will%20contribute%20%24250%20million.
[2] See Marina Villeneuve, Bills deal renews debate over public dollars for arenas, AP News (Mar. 28, 2022 7:40 PM), https://apnews.com/article/kathy-hochul-buffalo-bills-jacksonville-jaguars-nfl-business-ce7df22b4b31ba0b54af8e0537696b08.
[3] See id.
[4] See Michael Petro, Public funding for Tennessee Titans stadium eclipses money for Bills, Buffalo News (Sept. 13, 2023), https://buffalonews.com/news/local/business/public-funding-for-tennessee-titans-stadium-eclipses-money-for-bills/article_479f8372-54a3-11ed-b80e-1feca8590a1a.html.
[5] See id.
[6] See John Wawrow, Bills’ new stadium deal carries $850M taxpayer tab, gov says, AP News (Apr. 5, 2022 4:43 PM), https://apnews.com/article/kathy-hochul-buffalo-bills-nfl-business-sports-b16413591ee74ffb5a5bd2431d914910.
[7] Sarah Taddeo, The new Bills stadium is officially under construction. Who’s paying for it?, Democrat & Chronicle (June 9, 2023), https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/football/nfl/bills/2023/06/06/new-buffalo-bills-stadium-construction-is-underway-whos-paying-for-it/70290350007/.
[8] See Michael Petro & David Robinson, Bills fans have major sticker shock with PSLs of up to $50K for club seats, Buffalo News (Mar. 22, 2024), https://buffalonews.com/news/local/business/buffalo-bills-stadium-experience-center-walker-center-new-buffalo-bills-stadium/article_786e625c-e7d2-11ee-abc4-ffe0847a1e80.html.
[9] See id.
[10] See Dan Murphy, New Yorkers, Westchester Resident, File Taxpayer Lawsuit Against $650 Million, Public Funded Buffalo Bills Stadium, Yonkers Times (Apr. 29, 2022), https://yonkerstimes.com/new-yorkers-westchester-resident-file-taxpayer-lawsuit-against-650-million-public-funded-buffalo-bill-stadium/.
[11] See id.
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