New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was among the notable guests in the building Thursday night as the Buffalo Bills opened their new stadium for the first time in a regular-season home game.
The Buffalo native called the venue “a magnificent” addition and said the project reflected what the team and its fans deserved. She credited the Pegula family for their role in getting the stadium built and said the finished product has drawn attention well beyond Western New York.
“What a magnificent venue this is,” Hochul said. “We worked hard with the team and the ownership, the Pegulas have been incredible, and this is what the fans deserve, something that the rest of the nation is looking at with awe and saying, ‘That’s incredible.’ The Bills deserve this, this community deserves this.”
Hochul also looked back on the path to the stadium deal and said the outcome was far from certain before she became governor. She said her administration committed to keeping the Bills in Buffalo for the long term.
“Five years ago, we did not know that this would be the outcome,” Hochul said. “It was a little tenuous for the Bills, they weren’t getting the support they needed from the state; I became governor and I committed, and I’ll make sure they stay here for the next 30 years.”
For Hochul, the new stadium carries more than just football value. She said it will bring major economic benefits, but also serve as a statement about the city and region itself.
“There’ll be economic benefits for us that are extraordinary,” Hochul said. “The money that comes out of this team being here and not in some other state is really important to our tax base, but also, our identity.
This is who we are. We’re tough, we’re gritty, we’re resilient, we get knocked down we come back up, and it’s going to be a great season for the Bills.”
She said the state will continue investing in the facility and wants to make sure it stays in good shape for years to come.
“We’ll keep making our investments; I mean, this is a state asset now,” Hochul said. “I want to make sure that, not only do we have a winning team, but the part I control is to make sure that, over time, we keep putting the money in so it never deteriorates.”
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