Erie County officially transfers Highmark Stadium ownership to New York State Monday, Poloncarz announces.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz officially signed the paperwork to transfer ownership of Highmark Stadium to New York State.
“Today’s ownership tranfser caps off a significant series of events that resulted in the construction of a state-of-the-art facility. As a result, for the first time since 1972, Erie County is no longer in the stadium ownership business,” Poloncarz said in a statement announcing the transfer.
Erie County owned the former Highmark Stadium, but in talks with the state on the new stadium’s construction, it was negotiated that New York would own the stadium rather than the county holding the deed. Poloncarz has previously said that they do not intend to renew their lease for KeyBank Center, however the Buffalo Sabres extended their lease with the county through 2031.
“The historic investment made in our community is complete and as fans of the Buffalo Bills we can all look forward to enjoying football games and other events at the brand new 60,000 seat stadium,” Poloncarz said in the announcement.
The first event at the 1.6 million square foot complex will be the Blue & Red Practice, which is being held August 8. The Buffalo Bills will also host two preseason games on August 15 and 27, before the inaugural regular season kicks off on September 17.