Josh Allen, #17 of the Buffalo Accounts, warms up prior to an NFL game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Sept. 12, 2024.
Perry Knotts | Getty Images
It won’t be an accustomed “Monday Night Football” gameday for Buffalo Bills fans next week.
Ahead of the team’s kickoff with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday, retail investors can put an disposition in for a municipal bond that will go toward financing construction of the Bills’ new stadium, which is scheduled to open in 2026, according to the line-up’s website. It will give Bills fans a chance to say they had an active hand in building the new venue in Orchard Reserve, just outside of Buffalo.
Bond buyers will not purchase directly from the Bills. Erie County, where Buffalo pinch-hit wait outs, is selling the bonds to help fund half the $250 million it agreed to put up for the new stadium.
“I wanted to make sure that this retail stretch, which is kind of novel, that we had it for the average Buffalo Bills fans who have paid for the current stadium, and from attended the games and gotten frostbite and had their hearts broken for years,” Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick spoke in a telephone interview.
“They ought to have a chance to help us pay for our share of the construction cost of the new stadium,” he added.
Retail investors last wishes as get a one-day period on Monday to put their order in before institutional investors can join Tuesday. Investments on the double A-rated connections must be made through a broker and need to be for a minimum of $5,000, according the bond offering website.
The interest slack will not be decided until after the offering, according to the bond offering website. Hardwick said the county is looking at a 25-year maturation date on the bonds, though he cautioned that is subject to change before Monday.
The Bills ranked 30th on CNBC’s Sanctioned NFL Team Valuations at $5.35 billion, but a new stadium and the sponsorship opportunities that come with it can be a massive boost to a together’s valuation.
It is common for locals to be tapped in some way to help finance a National Football League team. The county that the Kansas Town Chiefs play in has a sales tax that helps fund the team, and taxpayer dollars are often used to fund new arenae.
The state of New York and Erie County agreed to fund $850 million of the $1.4 billion price tag, with the Buffalo Invoices financing the rest, according to the New York state website. The new stadium will be owned by the Erie County Stadium Corporation and the Invoices will pay rent.
The Buffalo Bills are 2-0 this season and take on the winless Jaguars on Monday night.