“Will Boost the Team’s $4.2B Valuation”: Joe Pompliano Justifies Pegula Family Using $850M of Taxpayers’ Money for the Bills’ Stadium

The Buffalo Bills are the latest team to rely on public funding to build their new stadium. The new 62,000-seat Highmark Stadium, located just across the street from the old “Pit”, comes with a hefty $2 billion price tag. The Pegula family are planning to use $850 million in taxpayer money to cover the costs. And Joe Pompliano has presented an upside to this investment.

Constructing a new stadium will further boost the Bills’ brand valuation, highlighted Joe.

“Having 100% control of an asset subsidized with $850 million of taxpayer money will only boost the team’s $4.2 billion valuation. But the reality is Buffalo would have never received premium events. Buffalo is the second smallest NFL city. It doesn’t have infrastructure and at least the ownership decided to keep the team and city’s culture intact by switching things up,” said Pompliano on the Joe Pomp Show.

The fans had, however, voiced their preference for an indoor stadium with a dome. They had argued that it would make the venue ideal for hosting events like concerts, college football national championships, or even the Super Bowl.

But Pompliano pointed out that even with an indoor facility, the stadium wouldn’t get the big events since the city lacks the infrastructure to host them.

The Pegulas knew this while going ahead with the new stadium project in Buffalo rather than moving out of the city. While the stadium is a major upgrade from the previous one, it will retain some of the cultural symbols established by the Bills Mafia.

However, there is also a feeling that the fans are paying too steep a cost just to make sure the Pegula family doesn’t threaten to leave. Spending $850 million just to watch football in a better stadium isn’t a bargain deal. Especially when they also have to pay for the tickets, which won’t come cheap either.

However, the stadium’s new features could justify the spend.

What does Bills’ new Highmark Stadium offer?

The new stadium will have 10k fewer seats than the current stadium. But it will offer fans different viewing options including luxury suites, standing rooms, and watch parties. While the new Highmark Stadium won’t have a dome like many new venues, it will have a canopy which will cover just over 60 percent of the seats.

They will place the seats at angles to improve the viewing experience of the fans. The top row spectators would be sitting around 54ft closer to the field.

Just like Lumen Field in Seattle, the Bills will place speakers under the canopy. This will amplify the noise inside the stadium. This canopy also comes with a system that will help in melting snow once it detects moisture. Unlike the MetLife Stadium, Buffalo’s new stadium will use natural grass and there will be heaters below the surface, allowing them to control the temperature of the field.

Steel panels that surround the stadium will prevent wind from entering it. The stadium will also have state-of-the-art locker rooms, weight rooms, saunas, medical rooms, etc. There will be multiple tunnels, allowing both away and home teams to have different entries.

There will be better parking too as the Bills plan to demolish the old stadium and build a parking structure in its place. The new stadium opens for the 2026 season and the franchise will be using it for decades since they will be staying in the city for another 30 years.