BUFFALO, N.Y. — Is the state aware of the Personal Seat Licensing prices associated with the new Buffalo Bills stadium?
That's the question 2 On Your Side has had difficulty getting answered by the state.
But why is the state getting that question?
One of the significant changes to the behind the scenes business of the new Bills stadium will be the transfer of ownership.
Right now, Erie County owns Highmark Stadium. The county is contributing $250M towards the new stadium.
When the new Bills Stadium is complete, however, New York State will own the stadium, under the umbrella of Empire State Development called the Erie County Stadium Corporation.
So, along with the New York State contribution of $600M towards the stadium, once it's complete the state will own and operate it.
Once it was revealed by a Bills suite season ticket holder that they were being asked to pay $400,000 for Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs) at the new stadium.
A PSL is required for any season ticket purchases at the new Bills stadium. Legends Hospitality, is handling the selling of PSLs for the Bills organization.
2 On Your Side asked the county and state for comment.
A spokesperson for Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz quickly responded with a statement expressing disappoint about the lack of information about PSL pricing.
A spokesperson for Governor Hochul's office did not respond. Even after multiple attempts over two days, the Governor's office did not even acknowledge the requests for comment or answer any questions.
2 On Your Side asked the following questions to the Governors office:
- Any comment from the Governor regarding the prices of the personal seat licenses?
- With the organization receiving so much public funding as is – does the Governor have concerns about the PSL pricing?
- Did Legacy and/or the Bills share the PSL rollout strategy with the state prior to securing the taxpayer funding for the stadium?
"I was totally shocked," said Joseph Lombardo regarding the $400,000 price tag for his 8 PSLs. "Their fees are compared to Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and we don't have the economy to afford tickets like that in licensing fees."
The Bills have not publicly released pricing for the PSLs, and the lack of information is drawing the ire of season ticket holders.
A Facebook group created last week for season ticket holders to discuss the PSLs now has over 2,000 members.
If you've gone through the Bills Experience to discuss your PSL and are interested in talking about it, you can email nathan.benson@wgrz.com