“Maybe it’s no longer about the fans,” reads part of an opinion piece published this week by a Buffalo Bills fan, angered by the enormous cost that the team is passing on to its fans and New York taxpayers for their gleaming new home under construction.
The story echoes feelings across the country and globe in a post-pandemic events world, as ticket prices skyrocket. Buffalo may be a unique case – their prices are going up because the franchise is building a new stadium and they are introducing Personal Seat License fees for the first time – but the end result is the same – longtime fans are no longer going to be able to afford to attend games in person.
Jacqueline DeChiaro wrote the story of her family and its relationship with the Buffalo Bills franchise, which stretches back to her father’s becoming a fan during the club’s early years and endures through to her own children, now in their late 20’s with young kids of their own. After decades of fandom, she purchased tickets in 2004 and improved the seat location each year, eventually landing in the lower level behind the team benches.
My oldest son is now a father. We had started planning for when we will bring my granddaughter to her first game.
Unfortunately, that may not happen. It appears that once the new stadium opens, I will not be able to afford my seats. I am bracing myself, like all ticket holders, for the “personal seat license” fees. This is a fee I’d have to pay just to have the right to buy seats.
According to DeChiaro, the seats that she currently holds are projected to have a PSL price of $16,500 per seat, and a single-game ticket price of $450 each. That means a PSL fee of just shy of $50,000, just to buy seats she has already “owned” (and would still have to pay for).
While I expected the ticket prices to increase, I never thought I’d be in a position, after 19 years, where I would have to forfeit my season tickets. It’s hard to believe that an organization like the Buffalo Bills, a small-market team with a blue-collar fan base, would impose a fee so steep that their fans wouldn’t be able to afford their tickets. It saddens me that hundreds of longtime ticket holders may no longer be able to afford to cheer on their team in the new stadium.
The story is a familiar one to fans across North America, as prices have continued to spiral to what many consider out of control levels.
Groundbreaking at the site of the new Bills Stadium in Orchard Park, New York was held on June 5 with plans for construction to be complete in time for July of 2026 with a cost of more than $1.5 billion. The new Highmark Stadium will be funded by Erie County with $250 million, the Bills with $350 million, the NFL with $200 million, and New York State with $600 million.
While local and state taxpayers together are meeting $850 million of $1.5 billion expense, it is argued if charging supporters for PSL was actually needed. Much of the expenses of the stadium will be probably passed on to those who live in the area and attend games through public funding and the imposition of personal seat license fees on tickets, and a “significant portion” of the Bills’ billionaire owners Kim and Terry Pegula’s contribution will be funded through the sale of PSLs.
“That would be the largest ever public subsidy for a new NFL stadium – much of it covered by a county with many low-income residents for the benefit of a franchise owned by a multi-billionaire,” points out Guardian regarding the cost of the new venue and the contribution the taxpayers will make.
The statement on the stadium’s website reads that the cost of a PSL will vary depending on location and amenities. A representative is said to reach out to guide fans through the process and review options when it is time for ‘their opportunity’ to purchase seats.
The governor of New York, Kathy Hochul claims: “the Bills will stay in Buffalo for another 30 years, the project will create 10,000 union jobs and New Yorkers can rest assured that their investment will be recouped by the economic activity the team generates.”
“However, many state legislators were not convinced by the argument that a new Bills stadium would have a net positive economic impact, pointing to a lack of evidence of long-term jobs. They also note the limited possibilities for using the stadium outside of Bills games, given the difficulty of booking ahead and a restricted calendar due to severe winters,” states ESPN, referring to the explanations New York State Assembly Member Zohran K. Mamdani has made.
The new facility is going to have a capacity of up to 62,000 with an open-air plan and will be built on a 242-acre site, which will make it the biggest project constructed in Western New York. It will replace the Bills’ current home, Highmark Stadium which dates back to 1973, as the option of renovation was put aside due to high cost.
