Adrian Kraus, AP

Buffalo legend Thurman Thomas, Carhartt honor men and women of Bills' new stadium

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI
By Ralph Ventre | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 9:54 AM ET

Buffalo Bills' legendary running back Thurman Thomas has become a staple of the Western New York community, especially since retiring from football in 2001.

Amongst his various post-playing business endeavors, Thomas, and his wife Patty, founded the 34 Group commercial construction company, and, naturally, it has a hand in the massive project being built on Abbott Road.

In addition to the 34 Group's role as a general contractor for the new Highmark Stadium, Thomas has teamed up with Carhartt to honor the men and women responsible for physically constructing the Bills' new home.

"We just want to point out the men and women who are the backbone of the sports industry, especially when you're talking about building new stadiums across the United States," said Thomas in an exclusive interview with Bills On SI. "These are the people who wake up every single morning and go to work to make this the best possible sporting venue that they can possibly build. That's exactly what's happened here with the Buffalo Bills and Highmark."

Since the groundbreaking on June 5, 2023, there have been hundreds of locals, including skilled tradespeople from 34 Group, contributing to the rise of the 62,000-seat venue that will open in time for the Bills' 2026 season.

"We wanted it to be community built. We wanted to get as many workers from the Buffalo area that could participate in building this new stadium for the Buffalo Bills. It's hard to get 1400 workers out there at one time, but we wanted the majority of them to be in Buffalo. Then, we would work our way outside of that, but it started here in the community, first," said Thomas.

With the Bills being so woven into the fabric of the Western New York community, it only made sense to include as many locals as possible in the construction of the estimated $2.2 billion facility.

"It's the community stadium, because the community is really the one that's building this," said Thomas.

As for Carhartt's role, the workwear brand made a $300,000 local investment to help Buffalo's young people pursuing careers in the trades.