With the Buffalo Bills lease at New Era Field expiring in 2023 and the Buffalo Sabres lease at KeyBank Center expiring in 2025, the owner of both teams has commissioned a familiar company to look into options for both facilities.  Pegula Sports and Entertainment has hired CAA ICON to make recommendations.

When it comes down to it New Era Field is 45 years old.  KeyBank Center has been open for 23 years.  Should New Era Field be renovated or replaced with a new stadium?  If the choice is a new stadium, where should it be located?  Should a new stadium be combined with a new convention center?  What updates does KeyBank Center need?

All of those questions will be addressed by the same company that advised the Pegula's on the Harbor Center hotel and ice rink project and the Pegula Ice Arena at Penn State.  The study is expected to take six to nine months to complete.

With all the investments the Pegula's have made at the stadium over the past few years and in particular at the practice facility, it just doesn't seem to make sense to start from scratch at a downtown location.  Renovations for expanded workout facilities at the field house are already underway.

With limited parking options at a downtown stadium it could essentially mean the end of tailgating before Bills games.  But having both the football and hockey teams playing their games just blocks apart could be a bonus for ownership and the downtown business area.

Those are some of the items that will be addressed in the study.  Meanwhile, the Bills, the state and the county previously agreed to set aside half a million dollars both this year and next year for an outside consultant on stadium issues.

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