NY: Plans for transportation hub at new Bills stadium would make it easier to get to and from the game

The Buffalo Bills have chosen a site for a transportation hub connected to the building of their new stadium.

The Bills released their plan to the Erie County Legislature for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority transportation hub that they hope will help resolve some of the public transportation woes fans have complained about over the years.

It will be located east of Abbott Road, on the side of the current stadium, across from Family Circle close to the corner with Southwestern Boulevard. The area is already a paved parking lot, in close proximity to Prohibition bar and grill.

Buffalo Bills vs New Orleans Saints (copy)

The Buffalo Bills have released details of the transportation hub that will be part of the new stadium. The hub will ease drop-off and pickup of fans and workers via buses and other forms of public transportation.

The hub will serve as a central location on the stadium campus for drop-off and pickup of fans and stadium workers via buses and other forms of public transportation.

It is to include roughly 660 square feet of space plus an additional 2,500 square feet of covered canopy area for riders to gather and unload and board the NFTA buses across the street from the new over $2 billion stadium.

The design is being coordinated with the NFTA to enhance public transportation accessibility. Some city residents have reported having a difficult time navigating public transportation at the stadium and even in getting to the stadium.

The Bills say that in adding a transportation hub they are trying to create easy access to the stadium for all patrons, including people with families and limited mobility or special needs, so that riders can go from drop-off locations safely to the game.

From Denver to D.C., other NFL markets eyeing big-dollar stadium projects

The Bills aren't alone. There are at least seven other stadium projects underway or in the works. They come with different asks for public funding, and most with plans for surrounding development around the building to make the projects more than just a stadium.

The team began to release details about the transportation hub in December. The Bills have been working on a location and the space and logistics of the hub and how to integrate it into the stadium campus. They also have been exploring ways to make the site uniquely designed with public art and branding elements.

This initiative is a requirement for the Bills as part of the community benefits agreement reached in 2023 between the team and Erie County and New York State. The public is funding $850 million of the project cost.

According to the CBA, the public transportation hub should provide safe public transportation to and from the stadium. It is required to be within a quarter of a mile from the new stadium building.

A public hearing will eventually be held for residents to review the plans for the transportation hub.

Three years and $850 million later, did taxpayers get a good deal on the new Bills stadium?

The price tag for the Bills’ stadium has soared to more than $2.1 billion – with the team picking up all the cost overruns. It’s dropped the public funding portion of the project by over 20%.

The expectation of the CBA is also that the NFTA will expand its public transportation to include one or more bus or rail stops within walking distance of the new stadium and add one or more new bus routes and shuttles, including free workforce shuttles from locations such as Buffalo, Tonawanda and Lackawanna to the current new stadium construction site in Orchard Park.

Right now, the NFTA runs a Game Day Express, which provides bus service from Erie and Niagara counties to and from Highmark Stadium.

The NFTA has been increasing bus service to Bills games, running these express buses from suburban malls and from the Metropolitan Transportation Center downtown.

NFTA buses now drop off at a site near Gate 2, next to Bills Drive, and depart from the stadium on Abbott Road. Highmark Stadium also has a Ride Share Lot located on the western end of the SUNY Erie Community College South Campus, across the street from the stadium.

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