More minority, women and military service-disabled firms have been involved in the Buffalo Bills stadium construction project since the state sent a letter in June to the team and its project managers, putting them on notice about the low numbers of underserved firms working on the project.
But the overall goal for involving women-owned and military service-disabled-owned enterprises on the $1.7 billion stadium project in Orchard Park still has not been met, state officials said.
Patrick Freeman was appointed chair of the New Stadium Community Inclusion Task Force – one of the first of its kind to oversee the expanding of access and opportunities for disadvantaged small businesses that are interested in participating in the construction and operation of a new stadium.
At last check, use of minority-owned business enterprises on the project was at 17.4%, exceeding the suggested goal of 15%, but women-owned businesses were being used at 8.4%, and military service-disabled-owned businesses were being used at 3.1%, both below the goals of 15% and 6%, respectively.
Still, that is vastly improved from the outset of the project, when the numbers stood at 2.3% for MBEs, 4.1% for WBEs and .2% for military service-disabled businesses.
And with 20 bids under review…
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