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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed deal that calls for $1.1 billion in public funding to finance the new Buffalo Bills Stadium in Orchard Park, which is just outside Buffalo, has drawn criticism from residents and lawmakers alike who called the deal an example of “corporate welfare.”
The New York Times reported that the state would cover $600 million and Erie County will spend another $250 million. The team is owned by Terry and Kim Pegula, who have a combined net worth of about $5.8 billion. The NFL and the couple will cover just $550 million of the deal.
“To say you’re going to spend $850 million to get economic impacts, you’re playing on people’s emotions and not dealing with reality. In the end, it’s nothing more than a subsidy to the NFL,” Mark Rosentraub, a professor of sports management at the University of Michigan, told The Times.
Hochul has insisted that the deal will not be “majority taxpayer-funded.”
“I want to be clear on that,” she said. “The state share is 43 percent. So that’s not the majority, but that’s historically low for any public financing from the state.”
The New York Post pointed out that Hochul’s husband, Bill, is senior vice president and general counsel for Delaware North, which is the food concessionaire at the Bills’ current stadium. The paper said his company stands to benefit if the Bills keep the relationship intact.
A recent poll conducted by Co/efficient asked 830 residents in New York about their opinion of the deal. The results showed 55 percent were opposed compared to just 22 percent who approved.
The Associated Press reported that the Bills will have to pay an annual rent of $900,000 that will go into the capital improvement fund.
“Every dollar that goes into the stadium will be paid back,” Ron Raccuia, the executive vice president of Pegula Sports and Entertainment, told The Times.
John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, has been critical of the project and Hochul’s husband’s ties to the vendor.
“We think it’s an awful—grotesque rip-off of taxpayers,” Kaehny told WKBW.com.