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Goodell on a downtown stadium: 'I don't know if the league has a preference...'

Wrapping up a day of NFL owner meetings, commissioner Roger Goodell weighed in on the possibility of a downtown stadium for the Buffalo Bills.

NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — Officials from the NFL and owners of league teams are meeting in New York City for a round of discussions.  

Amongst other topics discussed by commissioner Roger Goodell, the topic of a new Bills stadium was brought up. 

2 On Your Side did not stake out the NFL owner's meeting but was provided audio of Goodell's remarks as he exited for the day. 

Tim Graham from The Athletic asked Goodell about a downtown stadium and how negotiations were going. 

Goodell responded saying:

"I would say generally, that I think things are progressing in a positive way. I think the parties are all working well together. I think there's a recognition of the need for a new stadium in Buffalo for the bills. And I think everyone's working with that objective in mind. 

So I would say, listen, this is a process. And you know, there has to be a public-private partnership here that has to be managed. But I think everyone's coming to the table with the intent to make sure that the Buffalo Bills are secure in western New York for generations. I think that's important and that's what we all want to achieve. 

Regarding downtown, I don't know, if the league has a preference, my understanding of it is, there's a pretty strong recognition that the current location or in that area is the right location. But a lot of that comes into, you know, my experience with this all over the country, because I've been involved with many of them is that those are decisions that should be made locally, that they should be considered as what the cost of those different projects would be, how they're going to fund those projects, collectively in a private-public partnership. And also, more importantly, what's best for that community. 

Because ultimately, we look for solutions that are good for the community, as well as the NFL. And that's what the great public private partnerships achieve."

As Steve Brown reported last week, not everyone is thrilled with the idea of a downtown stadium. 

It's still unclear if a downtown stadium is feasible, as Pegula Sports and Entertainment have yet to release their stadium study. Additionally, New York State has yet to release its stadium feasibility study as well. 

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