Bills’ grandiose home bid packages released

Article posted by Coliseum, April 6^th, 2023

Image: Buffalo Bills, Populous, Gilbane, and Turner

Plans to build a $1.4-billion football stadium for the National Football League’s (NFL’s) Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, New York (US) are advancing toward a groundbreaking this year.

‘ENRNewYork’ stated that the project team, led by a joint venture of Gilbane Building Company and Turner Construction Company with 34 Group, Project Manager Legends Development Group and designer Populous, posted on March 16^th the latest group of bid packages soliciting work for the project.

A day earlier, the Erie County Stadium Corporation, part of Empire State Development, approved the general project plan and lease agreements for the property.

The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference East division. The team plays its home games at the Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, US.

The 71,608-capacity Highmark Stadium is a stadium in Orchard Park, New York, US, in the Southtowns of the Buffalo metropolitan area. The stadium opened in 1973 as the Rich Stadium and is the home venue of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL).

The 62,000-capacity planned venue of the Bills will be built adjacent to the Erie Community College’s South campus across the street from the Highmark Stadium, which would be demolished. The stadium will be designed by the celebrated design studio Populous, who has previously designed 12 other active NFL stadiums, with which the new Orchard Park stadium will share numerous design elements and features.

The Erie County Stadium Corporation is a subsidiary corporation of the New York State Urban Development Corporation d/b/a Empire State Development whose purpose is to facilitate the performance of the essential Governmental functions in connection with the construction and use of the stadium located in Orchard Park by the Buffalo Bills NFL team.

The Empire State Development is the umbrella organization for New York’s two principal economic development public-benefit corporations, the New York State Urban Development Corporation and the New York Job Development Authority.

The Gilbane Building Company is an American privately-held construction and facility management company, with its headquarters in Providence, Rhode Island (US) and more than 45 office locations in the United States and abroad.

New York (US)-based the Turner Construction is an American construction company with presence in 20 countries. It is a subsidiary of the German company Hochtief. It is the largest domestic contractor in the United States as of 2020, with revenue of $14.41 billion in 2020.

The Legends Project Development (‘LPD’) provides comprehensive Owner’s Representative and Project Management services to the sports, entertainment and public assembly industries.

Kansas City (US)-based Populous, legally Populous Holdings, Inc. is a global architectural and design practice specializing in sports facilities, arenas and convention centers, as well as the planning and design of major special events.

‘ENRNewYork’ further stated that project owners expect construction to begin by mid-2023 and finish in time for the 2026 football season. The 1.35-million-sq-ft, 60,000-seat stadium would be built on a 242-acre site across the street from the team’s current Highmark Stadium, which would be demolished after its replacement is complete.

The project team says a total of 630 attendees participated in contractor information sessions for the project. The newly released bid packages include work on the exterior, with packages focused on aluminum and glass, a perforated metal panel system and installation of façade architectural precast elements. They are also looking for subs to furnish and install site utilities and superstructure fill-on-metal deck.

Earlier, the project team released another group of bid packages for work on foundations and structural steel.

The team also released a list of bidders for the first group of bid packages.

Firms including Mark Cerrone Inc., Kandey Company Inc., Pinto Construction Services Inc., and Kiewit Infrastructure Inc. bid for non-electric utility work. Mark Cerrone Inc., Rodriguez Construction Group, Scott Lawn Yard Inc., L.M. Sessler Wrecking & Excavating Inc., and Pinto Construction Services Inc. bid for site demolition. Mark Cerrone Inc., Beaver Excavating Company., Union Concrete and Construction Corporation, and Kiewit Infrastructure Company bid for mass excavation work. The first batch of bid packages also includes fence, power relocates and elevators and escalators.

Any firms interested in bidding as a prime or Tier-1 subcontractor must prequalify to receive an invitation to bid, with details on the project’s website.

The project team notes that it is encouraging firms to submit for work if they are certified in New York as minority, women or service-disabled veteran-owned or as local businesses.

John LaRow, Gilbane Senior Vice-President at Gilbane, previously said in a statement, “Our joint venture team is committed to driving opportunities for diverse and local businesses and working with our partners to deliver this transformational project for Western New York.”

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