NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is committed keeping the Bills in Buffalo, but the team needs a new stadium.
Goodell spoke to the Buffalo News on the future of the team at an NFL-sponsored event at Chelsea Waterfront Park in New York, ahead of Thursday’s first round of the NFL Draft.
“They are working on their process as far as selecting their advisers. They will probably do that in the near future. Then when they have their advisers selected, they’ll start a more formal process,” Goodell told the newspaper when asked for an update on the sale of the team.
Longtime Bills owner Ralph Wilson died in March at age 95. It was reported that the team could be sold by this summer with league approval coming as early October, when league meetings are scheduled.
Goodell said he is optimistic about the team’s long-term future.
“I’ve had a lot of discussions with prospective owners,” he said, “but I’ve also had discussions with public officials. We all want to focus and get that stadium and do it the right way and get the right ownership in there to make sure they continue to be successful in western New York.”
Ralph Wilson Stadium, which opened in 1973 and seats 80,000, went through $130 million in upgrades this offseason. The Bills still have eight years on their lease with Erie County.
“We said at the time when they entered into a new lease that this is really a short-term solution,” Goodell said.