XPost: alt.sports.football.pro.phila-eagles, alt.sports.football   
   pro.buffalo-bills   
   From: stupid-hochul@nytimes.com   
      
   ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Three months since construction began on their   
   new stadium, the Buffalo Bills are already facing a potential cash crunch   
   with the latest projections having the team on the hook for as much as   
   $300 million in cost overruns, four people with direct knowledge or who   
   were briefed on the financial details told The Associated Press this week.   
      
   What was initially estimated to cost $1.4 billion in March 2022, and   
   increased to $1.54 billion months later, is now projected to have jumped   
   to $1.65 billion and approaching $1.7 billion, the people told the AP on   
   the condition of anonymity because the team has not disclosed those   
   figures.   
      
   The rising price tag is notable because the Bills are contractually   
   required to cover any overruns beyond the then-agreed to cost of $1.4   
   billion as part of the tentative deal the team reached with the state and   
   Erie County 16 months ago.   
      
   Increased labor and material costs were cited for the increased price,   
   with one person saying one line item has already come in at $75 million   
   over budget. Another person said a delay in sending out bids also had an   
   effect in upping the cost.   
      
   The Athletic first reported on the cost overruns last weekend, and cited   
   unidentified individuals as projecting the stadium’s price tag potentially   
   reaching $1.9 billion.   
      
   Newly appointed Bills COO John Roth called the projections premature and   
   speculative at best.   
      
   “We don’t know enough yet to confirm this,” Roth told the AP on Wednesday,   
   noting only a small percentage of the contracts and bids have been   
   completed.   
      
   Roth took over three weeks ago after Ron Raccuia was abruptly fired.   
      
   Raccuia was involved in stadium negotiations and took on an even larger   
   role over the final year after team co-owner Kim Pegula suffered a   
   debilitating heart attack in June 2022. Raccuia was fired last month, with   
   co-owner Terry Pegula taking over as team president and designating a   
   three-person committee — headed by Roth — to oversee the Bills and the   
   construction project.   
      
   A ballooning price tag would place a larger-than-expected burden on the   
   Bills, who were initially committed to covering $550 million of the   
   construction costs. Their share now stands to potentially match the   
   taxpayer contribution of $850 million, with $650 million due from the   
   state, and the remainder from Erie County.   
      
   The Bills agreed to cover the cost overruns in exchange for having full   
   control over the stadium’s design and construction.   
      
   One of the people told the AP before negotiations began that overruns were   
   expected based on the Bills' projected cost of $1.4 billion. The Bills had   
   initially pegged the cost of the stadium at about $1.5 billion before   
   switching design firms.   
      
   The Bills are funding their share through the NFL’s G4 loan program. The   
   rest of the money is being raised through a first-time seat licensing fee   
   for season-ticket holders.   
      
   It’s unclear how the Bills would make up the difference, and what cost-   
   cutting measures they can make to the design of a 60,000-plus seat   
   facility being built across from their current home in Orchard Park, New   
   York.   
      
   The rising projections come as the Pegulas, who also own the NHL's Buffalo   
   Sabres, are expected to soon approach the city to discuss long-needed   
   renovations to the team’s downtown arena.   
      
   KeyBank Center has not had a major upgrade since it opened in 1996, and   
   needs work to its roof, concourses and seating bowls.   
      
   The renovation needs are so significant the project would have to be   
   spread out over several offseasons.   
      
   Pegula has a projected net worth of $6.7 billion and made his fortune   
   through the natural gas industry by discovering and then selling off the   
   drilling rights of tracts of gas-rich fields across the country.   
      
   Pegula, for example, helped fund his $1.4 billion purchase of the Bills in   
   2014 by selling the drilling rights on about 75,000 acres of land in Ohio   
   and West Virginia for $1.75 billion.   
      
   https://news.yahoo.com/buffalo-bills-stadium-cost-over-192652462.html   
      
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