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Bills fans place orders for $2.7 million in ‘Bills bonds’

Posted on by angelo
Bills fans place orders for .7 million in ‘Bills bonds’

It was a unique offer: giving local Buffalo Bills fans the opportunity to invest first in municipal “Bills Bonds” to help Erie County finance the construction of the Bills’ new stadium.


Hardwick Gains National Attention With Plan to Allow Bills Fans to Buy Stadium Bonds

Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick has attracted a lot of attention for his plan to offer municipal bonds to ordinary Buffalo Bills fans and local residents who want to invest in “Bills bonds” that will finance the construction of the Bills’ new stadium.

The Erie County Comptroller’s Office offered the tax-exempt bonds to those “small investors” on Monday, a day before they were offered to large institutional investors on Tuesday.

Barely 100 people took advantage of the Bills’ bond offering. But those who did invested heavily. The county collected $2.71 million in retail orders from Monday’s retail sale.

Controller Kevin Hardwick said he was pleased with the number of orders from small buyers, but wished more people had participated.

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“I’m happy with the $2.7 million,” he said. “I was hoping to get over 100 (orders). I would have been happy with 200.”







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In a rare move and for one day only, Erie County allowed Bills fans to purchase “Bills Bonds” to help finance the new Highmark Stadium.


Harry Scull Jr.




Erie County Offers Bills Fans Rare Opportunity to Invest in Stadium Through 'Bills Bonds'

Do you want to be able to tell your friends and grandchildren that you were among the first private investors in the construction of the new Buffalo Bills stadium? Well, if you have at least $5,000 to invest, you can.

As previously reported, Erie County’s tax-exempt municipal bonds tend to sell well, with more investors placing orders than the county has to sell. The Bills’ bond sale was no different. The county is issuing $125 million in bonds, but has received orders for more than $200 million in bonds from small retail investors and institutions. The bond purchase period closed at noon Tuesday.

“We obviously have more orders than we’re looking to raise,” Hardwick said. “So not everyone who places an order will receive a bond.”

Does this mean that small investors are likely to be sidelined in favor of large-scale investors?

“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Hardwick said, while acknowledging there were no guarantees.

The final interest rate on these bonds will not be set until the bond issue closes on October 8. At that time, it will also become clearer how much local residents have invested.

Hardwick confirmed Tuesday that the 25-year bonds could be repurchased and redeemed early, meaning investors would get their initial investment back but future interest payments would stop. That would be likely, for example, if the county chose to refinance the bonds at a lower interest rate.

The bonds will help finance the county’s obligation to pay $250 million to build the stadium. Half of that amount was paid in cash. The remaining $125 million is being paid through the bonds.

Bills bonds provide investors with interest twice a year in exchange for an initial investment of at least $5,000. The maximum investment allowed for an individual investor was $250,000. Erie County has an AA rating from bond rating agencies, which is considered a strong, investment-grade credit rating.