ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Town of Orchard Park has been recommended for an award of up to $100,000 by the state's economic development agency to help the town study how land around the new Bills stadium could be used.
Empire State Development notified the town on November 15 about their request for a "2023 Stadium Zone Economic Development Study."
Town Councilmember, Conor Flynn, told 2 On Your Side on Sunday that he was excited to receive the news.
"It's going to line up nicely with the timing of the stadium being constructed and this will help some of the questions I think kind of go back and forth," Flynn said.
The town has been weighing its options since talk of a new stadium started. Debating where re-zoning may be needed and how it can be more friendly to businesses that might wish to settle in Orchard Park.
For example, the town currently has a 2.5-story limit on buildings, which Orchard Park Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Don Lorentz, has pointed out.
“It may be a hotel it may be something totally different than what we're thinking you know I don't have the answers myself but this could give us a little heads up,” Lorentz said.
The funding will help town leaders make more informed decisions about what to do next. Lorentz called it a step in the right direction.
"This feasibility is the first step in this analysis and we'll see where we go from here," said Councilmember Flynn.
"You know a strategic plan could be something like we look at it a little bit larger scale but still keep the quaintness of Orchard Park," Lorentz said.
The current ideas of what to do around the stadium range from building a hotel to creating an additional attraction to keep people coming to the area year-round. Lorentz has pitched the idea of building a sports museum.
The bottom line is it remains unclear whether any idea is feasible considering the area hasn't seen much development over the first 50 years of the stadium's existence in Orchard Park.
As Flynn said, the least the town can do is take a closer look or contract out for that examination and then set the table for whatever could be possible.