Lancaster, N.Y. (WBEN) - As part of an agreement back in March between the Buffalo Bills, Erie County, New York State and the National Football League, the legal paperwork detailing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of a new stadium deal in Orchard Park needed to be filed and completed by Sept. 1, 2022.
Just before the Sept. 1 deadline, a 45-day extension was granted in negotiations to be able to finalize the details of the MOU by Oct. 15.
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As of Tuesday, we're now 11 days away from the next deadline to finalize the MOU, but with no indications on how close the deal is to being completed.
However, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz to remains confident in the ability that all parties involved in negotiations will to come to terms and finalize the MOU to keep the Bills in Western New York for the long-term.
"They're complicated transactions," said Poloncarz on Tuesday during an event at Como Lake Park in Lancaster. "I've seen the documents going back-and-forth, we're not in agreement in many of the terms, we're in agreements with some of the terms. So it's just how it goes."
Poloncarz feels that the Oct. 15 deadline that was set in place for the negotiations is more of an arbitrary date, rather that a firm deadline where talks need to get done or everything falls apart. Although there remains to be no concrete timeline on when the deal gets finalized, Poloncarz says all parties are working to wrap things up to allow the process to continue to move forward.
"The nice thing you see is everyone's working diligently," he said. "If we get it done before Oct. 15, great. If we get it done like Kaleida [Health] did in the last few hours, great. If it takes a few extra days, great. I mean, the most important thing is to get a deal done. I think the date is put out there, but it's less of a particular issue, because the parties are working very diligently to get it done. We're sharing documents, we're sharing ideas. We're not there yet, but we'll get there."
Although negotiations continue to remain ongoing, and could do so beyond Oct. 15, Poloncarz explains it will not hinder any other necessary steps that need to be taken in the process before shovels officially hit the ground for construction.
"There's a lot of moving parts on this that continue to move forward. We do not have finalized agreement yet, and when we do, we'll announce it so everyone understands what the terms are," Poloncarz said. "We do not have a complete State Environmental Quality Review Act report yet. When we have that it, will be presented to the public and it has to be approved and voted on by the Erie County Legislature. That won't happen until much later in the year. So I think people are looking at that date, just calm down. We'll get it done. It's an arbitrary date, but we'll get it done."
In the past, Poloncarz has stated that a potential concern in these stadium negotiations could be if the MOU is not finalized by the deadline in place, that would allow the Bills to then talk with other cities to move the team out of Western New York. The main focal point surrounding that concern is after this season, the lease between Erie County and Highmark Stadium expires, leaving the Bills without a place to play their football games.
While that potential remains a concern for Poloncarz, it would shock him if the Bills did that with everything going on with the success of the team and how beloved they are in the community.
"I'd be very disappointed if with everything that's going on and this great feeling in the community about the team that the team then said, 'Oh, we're gonna start talking to other cities because we want to move.' I don't think they're going to do that," Poloncarz said. "At this point, I feel very confident that we'll get the deal done, and there will be construction starting next year on a stadium in Orchard Park."
More from Poloncarz on the Bills stadium deal is available in the player below: