Few cities have such a passionate love affair with their NFL franchise as does Buffalo with its Bills. Given the current questions about ownership and the age of its current stadium, could a new stadium help revitalize the city?
Andrew Kulyk begins the article for Artvoice with the assumption that if the Buffalo Bills finds a new owner that keeps the team in the city, "we’ll need a new stadium, period." That's despite the current stadium, The Ralph, recently receiving $130 million in improvements: "Fans may be happy with it but what fans think matters little compared to what the other 31 NFL owners think."
The remainder of the article is devoted to explaining the details of a planning proposal for a new stadium: "In anticipation of the announcement of a new owner, Artvoice teamed up with local architect, urban planner and respected University at Buffalo Clinical Assistant Professor Bradley Wales, to articulate a bold proposal for a new downtown stadium adjacent to the Cobblestone District. The stadium would dramatically reinvigorate not only that historic neighborhood, but also generate a ripple effect to help undo Buffalo’s most epic planning mistakes of the last generation."
As for the details of the plan, called by Wales the "Artvoice Downtown Stadium Plan": "Wales’ proposal suggests a retractable roof, 65,000-70,000 seat stadium, situated adjacent to the Cobblestone District, on a block bounded by Perry St. to the south, Michigan St. to the east, Exchange St. on the north, and an extension of Illinois St. on the west."
Wales believes the proposal has the potential to undo five of the six planning mistakes made by the city of Buffalo over the second half of the 20th century.
For the record, the proposal has provoked some strongly worded commentary on Twitter, including this from James Russell of Cleveland State University:
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