HAMBURG, N.Y. (WKBW) — Town of Hamburg leaders were all ears for residents on what they envision for the area around the new Buffalo Bills stadium.
"It gives us the opportunity to reimagine things around the stadium, to think about how it relates to other areas such as the McKinley Mall corridor, take a look at underutilized and underdeveloped areas and think about the potential," Town of Hamburg Council member Elizabeth Farrell Lorentz said.
Tuesday was the first public information meeting in the Town of Hamburg regarding the new Highmark Stadium and its surrounding area.
This meeting was organized at Hilbert College's William E. Swan Auditorium to look into the stadium's impact.
"So, ultimately, we want to be able to be proactive in creating the zoning for that area that will encourage the type of growth and reimagination that we envision as a community," Council member Lorentz said.
"There are more questions of how the process will move forward and what might be done and how it will be done." Rich Clark, Hamburg resident and a member of the Project Advisory Committee, said. "So it's such a unique opportunity that I think some people might not be able to vocalize right now what they would like to see. They're more interested in the process and how it'll roll out."
Thrilled that the new stadium will be at their doorstep, resident Judy Clark said she hopes this new plan draws a national crowd to Hamburg.
"The only thing I can really think of is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. People go there year-round to see it. Why don't we make something like that, not a Hall of Fame, or maybe even a Hall of Fame of football, or a museum of football, or something that brings national people in," Clark said. "I would like something different and exciting to come out of it."
"Like they did in Green Bay or Cleveland," Bob Reynolds, Hamburg resident and financial secretary for Hamburg Industrial Development Agency (HIDA) said. "I was just in Cleveland. Basketball is awesome. You walk over to the basketball stadium, you can walk down to the football stadium, you got the baseball stadium, and they got the hotels and all the bars right there in Cleveland. It's really a nice development they did down in Cleveland,"
Reynolds came with the rest of the HIDA board to learn more. He said it is important to reach out to city leaders in other parts of the country with experience in development.
"It's going be a very big project that we can get the development, but what kind of legacy do we put in there so we draw people in from around the country and what kind of incentives do we have to offer state and local to get people into our development of the stadium," Reynolds added.
There is no date yet set for the second meeting.
In February, the Town of Orchard Park, in collaboration with La Bella Associates, hosted an open house to gather community input on potential development projects near the new stadium as well.
During a sit-down interview at the NFL League Meetings, Bills Chief Operating Officer Pete Guelli told 7 Sports the new stadium is set to be completed in July 2026, with the current stadium scheduled to be demolished in March 2027.
“This is a big investment; this is the biggest construction project in the history of Buffalo and we want to make sure it goes right,” Guelli said. “I think the most important thing is when you build, let’s make sure whatever goes up around it allows us to execute and make sure the fan experience is at a high level.”
The Bills said they will keep their headquarters across the street from the new stadium where they currently stand.
“When the stadium comes down in 2027, we’re starting to see what’s that going to look like,” Guelli added. “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.”
The team held a ceremony in early April to celebrate the installation of the final structural steel beam at the new stadium.
