Big Tree residents wonder about mess, other impacts of stadium construction

He’s just hoping construction on a new stadium in Orchard Park that will be located directly in front of his Big Tree Road property doesn’t result in a big mess.

Knavel, a 25-year resident of his Orchard Park home and a volunteer firefighter, said he’s been through many construction projects in his line of work, and they’re never without some chaos for residents living close by. For him, that may mean years of cleaning debris off his cars and in his pool.

“As much as we say these projects are going to be nice and clean and neat, they never are,” he said. “I don’t want to be dealing with that, and I don’t think any other resident would.”

Knavel was one of two longtime residents of Big Tree Road who raised concerns relating to the construction of the stadium to be built across Abbott Road from the current Highmark Stadium. An Orchard Park firefighter also asked for additional training so that local volunteers can better handle stadium-related incidents and the extensive services that will need to be provided during construction.

Ten people, in all, spoke Thursday at the ECC South Campus during the approximately 35-minute hearing, which, essentially, was the public’s last chance to chime in on the new Bills stadium project. Last Monday, the Erie County Stadium Corp. all but closed the deal for the $1.4 billion stadium by approving the framework for the project.

Stan Gasiewicz, who has lived for 40 years on the Hamburg side of Big Tree, is still concerned whether the project will have an adverse impact on the utilities, water pressure and sewers in the area, and he talked about safety concerns for pedestrians walking to and from the stadium.

“Big Tree Road is going to be very busy,” he said.

Knavel enjoys living close to the stadium, but said before and after each game day he’s regularly had to listen to backup alarms going off and dump trucks and front-end loaders operating at all hours.

“My sleep is just as important as anyone else’s,” he said. “A lot of respect needs to be paid to the homeowners.”

Meanwhile, Eric Matwijow, the owner of popular tailgate spot Hammer’s Lot on Abbot Road, said he’d like to see a line of communication formed between local businesses and the Bills, as was the case during the 2013 upgrades made to the stadium. Matwijow said he served as the liaison during that time.

“We realize there’s going be noise and other stuff,” he said. “But there may be some other factors and issues that need to be taken care of, as well.”

William Hanrahan, fire commissioner for the Orchard Park Fire District, said Highmark is the only NFL stadium he knows about that is protected solely by a volunteer fire department, which creates “a great strain on our system and the services we can provide.”

He said he’s hoping the Bills organization will pay for more training of fire personnel, especially in handling potential game-day hazards and emergencies.

“We are a small district and a small town,” he said. “We have 30,000 people and dozens of times a year we are turned into a town of over 100,000.”

Members of the stadium corporation, a subsidiary of Empire State Development, were not at the hearing, but were to receive and review all comments made there to determine if any adjustments to the agreement need to be made.

For that to happen, they would have to hear substantive negative comments about the stadium deal.

The Erie County Legislature also still must vote on and approve the deal before the final paperwork can be signed.

“Look, if they come in and say, ‘We need a new defensive back,’ that’s not substantive about the deal,” said Stephen Gawlik, senior council with Empire State Development. “But if it is anything about the structure of the agreement, it will come back to the board.”

The stadium corporation must approve all the agreements that are part of the building of the new stadium, including a 30-year lease that will kick in when construction is substantially complete in 2026, extending the current lease that expires in July, a community benefits agreement and a non-relocation agreement.

And once the Bills new stadium is built, the Erie County Stadium Corp. will take over as its outright owner, with the county ceding ownership of the property to the state. Right now, Erie County owns Highmark Stadium and the property around it – more than 240 acres in total – and leases it to the stadium corporation, which then subleases it to the Bills.

“We approved the deal to go forward, but the public comment period is very important, so if people come out with things that are really critical, we’ll consider those and either move on or try to address them,” said Bob Duffy, chair of the Erie County Stadium Corp.

Up until the hearing, the only comment that had been received by the stadium corporation was from a local bricklayer’s union in search of answers about what materials will be used on the stadium project. Rick Williamson and Albert Catalano spoke Thursday on behalf of the local bricklayers.

Two hearings were previously held – in July and October – where the public could speak. Both were related to the environmental review that was conducted for the project and then approved by the Erie County Legislature and Erie County Stadium Corp.

Neighbors of the project, both residents and one business owner, also expressed concerns over the impact the stadium and construction could have on their property at the October meeting.