ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — Orchard Park leaders, developers and residents gathered Thursday to discuss the future of the area surrounding the new Buffalo Bills stadium.
This is the second open house in the Town of Orchard Park, which provided an opportunity for residents to express their vision for the redevelopment and address improvement.
The first was hosted in February and allowed residents and businesses to share their ideas for the future of the area as plans for the region’s growth begin to take shape.
In October 2024 the Town of Orchard Park board approved a rezoning proposal allowing for development near the new stadium. You can watch our previous report below and read more here.
Patti Meckes, an Orchard Park resident, voiced her support for the plan.
"The plan is just absolutely wonderful for growth for Orchard Park," Meckes said.
Other residents, like Vincent Grizanti, emphasized the need for a vibrant entertainment district.
"All the ancillary entertainment that has to go with the stadium, I've been to some other games out of town and a lot of stadiums, they have a great developed area around the stadium for fans to do things before and after the games," he said.
There were concerns about traffic management among residents.
"Part of what concerns me is they're wasting a lot of land for parking," William Thornton said. "I would rather see a spur from a railroad running to Orchard Park and then dropping people off at the stadium. That way there you end up with a lot of congestion that you don't have to have."
Judy Lucas echoed this sentiment.
"If they really want to make this a world-class destination, we at the very least need to revisit traffic," Lucas said. "You cannot work off of a 10-year-old traffic plan."
Planning officials are actively seeking community input to create a master plan for the area.
"We're providing information on the future master plan and some of the potential land use changes," Edward Flynn, planning director at LaBella Associates, said. "So we want their input so that when we actually update the zoning ordinance, we have their input for that zoning update."
"They took the ideas and the feedback from the first open house, and they expanded upon that, and it's a little bit farther down the line," Anna Worang-Zizzi, Town of Orchard Park community development director, said.
Next steps involve the planning director to develop a master plan for the area around the stadium. They will then take that master plan and develop zoning regulations to match up and deliver that master plan.
“When the stadium comes down in 2027, we’re starting to see what that’s going to look like,” Buffalo Bills Chief Operating Officer Pete Guelli told 7 Sports in March. “But ultimately again, we want it to be a destination, we want it to be conducive to a great fan experience and be additive to whatever we’re doing at the stadium.”
