When it comes to the mammoth Buffalo Bills stadium construction project, 55 contracts have already been awarded, but only five have gone to local companies.
Construction is still in its earliest stages, with excavation work completed about two weeks ahead of schedule. But more than a third of stadium procurement contracts, worth $408 million, have been awarded, and Erie County legislators remain concerned that the hiring of local, underrepresented businesses remains slow.
Fuquan Collins, chief diversity officer for Turner Construction, part of the Gilbane/Turner stadium construction team, said the five local companies who have been awarded contracts do not meet any minority-owned hiring goals. But while the construction management team does not yet have signed contracts with any local minority-, women- or service-disabled veteran-owned companies, he said it does have some form of hiring commitment with 32 such local businesses.
Representatives with the Bills and with the project construction manager say that only a small fraction of all the bid packages have been released, and even fewer have been awarded.
Collins spoke at a special Erie County Legislature meeting Thursday to discuss the latest on local hiring efforts for the new stadium.
Overall, Collins…
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