The Bills held a topping out ceremony on Friday to “recognize that the final structural steel beam of the new Highmark Stadium was being put into place.” More than a year’s work remains before the stadium opens for the 2026 season, but the “bones are there.” Bills owner Terry Pegula was joined by daughter Laura at the ceremony and “signed the beam ‘for Kim, Kelly, Matthew, Jessie (and) Michael. Wish you were here.‘” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was also in attendance and said, “It’s a real thrill for a kid from Jamestown, New York, to be here today, having come to this stadium across the street for many years, and now to see what’s behind me.” He added, “It is just remarkable. And another shoutout for you guys -- you did it, and thank you for all the hard work in tough, tough circumstances.” Goodell said being from Western N.Y., he knows “how much the Bills mean to this community.” Goodell: “It’s part of the spirit, it’s part of the identity, the grit, the hard work. And I really believe this is going to secure this franchise here for decades” (BUFFALO NEWS, 4/4).
The new stadium is on schedule to open next year, but it “hasn’t been easy getting there,” and it “sure has been expensive.” There are more than 1,200 workers currently on site and that “may reach as high as 1,500 this summer.” So far, they have “put in 1.7 million hours on the job, averaging 6,000 hours per day” (BUFFALO NEWS, 4/4).
