ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. — The sale of the so-called Bills bonds was brief. Retail sales opened on Monday, and institutional sales began on Tuesday and were wrapped up by noon the same day.
So, did Erie County reach its goal of raising $125 million for the construction of the new Bills stadium?
Yes, but the vast majority of orders came from institutions instead of retail buyers. Retail sales were disappointing, according to Erie Co. Comptroller Kevin Hardwick.
"I was hoping more," Hardwick said. "We did get 2.7 million out of that, I think that was great."
Hardwick says "a little less than" 100 people purchased the bonds when they opened for retail customers on Monday.
Hardwick believed that more people would have bought into the idea of the Bills bonds for sentimental reasons.
More than likely, and Hardwick says the county won't know this until the paperwork is finished, those individuals that purchased the retail bonds have dabbled in this investment before.
"They've done this before, they understand how valuable these bonds are, with their tax free status, to people in their tax brackets," Hardwick said. "The emotional attachment to the Bills was the icing on the cake."
Most of the bonds were purchased by Wall Street.
"The institutional investors came in big time," Hardwick said. "We've got orders for over $200 million in these Bills bonds."
Now there is the closing period, similar to when someone buys a house. Hardwick says the deals should close on Oct. 8, and once the money is received, the county will distribute it to the newly created Stadium Corporation.
After that, Erie County will essentially be out of the football business, according to Hardwick.
"We've operated that stadium now for 50 years, and we've had the liability for it," Hardwick said. "We've had to pay annually for upgrades and the like, yeah, and we won't have to do that anymore."