New Bills stadium price tag rises, now estimated at $1.54 billion

Buffalo Bills Executive Vice President Ron Raccuia told The News on Monday afternoon at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix that the new stadium is projected to cost $1.54 billion – an increase of $140 million.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz had said earlier Monday that the $1.4 billion price tag had risen. But he also pointed out that it won’t cost taxpayers any more money because the terms of the stadium deal cap public contributions toward the project and make the Bills responsible for all additional expenses, he said.

“It has gone up, but there will be no additional cost borne by the people of Erie County or New York State because under the agreement that we have, all cost overruns and any increases are to be borne by the Bills,” Poloncarz said.

The stadium construction financial terms were laid out in the original memorandum of understanding among all parties, which was signed in March of last year. The financing formula requires:

• Public financing of $600 million from the state and $250 million from Erie County. It appears both state and county contributions will include a combination of borrowing and cash.