Roger Goodell wants Bills to stay in Buffalo, get new stadium

Buffalo Bills owners Kim and Terry Pegula are reportedly considering relocating the franchise to Austin, Texas if New York State and Erie County don't approve of the proposal for a $1.4 billion stadium located across the street from the team's current home of Highmark Stadium. 

According to Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the team's future while speaking at Jim Kelly's celebrity golf tournament on Monday. 

"You've got to think long-term here," Goodell explained. "This has been going on for decades and it's time to get a new stadium done that we can make sure the Bills are here and successful for many, many decades going forward.

"We're focused on keeping the Bills [in Buffalo] in a new stadium in a public, private partnership. That's what this is all about and that's where we're focusing." 

The 10-year lease for Highmark Stadium, which opened in 1973, expires in 2023, and Goodell added that everyone involved needs to work together to keep the Bills in Buffalo. "I think it's going to require a public, private partnership," he said. "I think the Bills, the community and the NFL are all going to have to come together and do that in a smart way." 

Erie County commissioner Mark Poloncarz has said that Pegula Sports & Entertainment haven't yet directly threatened to relocate the franchise. Based on Goodell's comments, Buffalo fans should feel confident the club is staying in western New York for the foreseeable future.