Erie County has officially handed the keys to the new Highmark Stadium to New York State.
With a signature by Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz completing the deal, the county has formally transferred ownership of the newly constructed football stadium to the state, which will operate it via the entity Erie County Stadium Corporation, which will run under the state public-benefit corporation Empire State Development.
“Today’s ownership transfer caps off a significant series of events that resulted in the construction of a state-of-the-art facility. As a result, for the first time since 1973, Erie County is longer in the stadium ownership business,” said Poloncarz on Monday in a prepared statement.
The Buffalo Bills, meanwhile, have entered a new 30-year lease with the Erie County Stadium Corporation.
The team’s first event in its new stadium will be the “Blue & Red Practice,” to be held Saturday, Aug. 8. Its first preseason game in the new stadium is scheduled for the following Saturday, Aug. 15. The first regular season home game at the new Highmark Stadium will be Thursday, Sept. 17.
