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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell expresses optimism on Bills' stadium talks

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke on the Buffalo stadium issue at his annual state of the NFL press conference ahead of Super Bowl LVI.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that he is "encouraged" by progress on negotiations for a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park.

Goodell spoke at his annual State of the NFL news conference in Los Angeles ahead of Super Bowl LVI. 

Goodell responded to a question from Katherine Fitzgerald of The Buffalo News. 

While he expressed optimism, he indicated time was of the essence given the complexity of the negotiations. 

"Not only is the lease (on Highmark Stadium) up in another year, but the stadium has been studied by experts and it's reaching the useful life of that stadium.  It probably has no more than five years... The bottom line on it is we have to get a new stadium in Buffalo.  The Governor has recognized that.  It's got to be a public-private partnership.  There's a lot to negotiate here... not just how this is done, but also the lease so I'm not disappointed in the timing necessarily, I'm more interested in making sure that we balance everything fairly."

The plan is to build an open air stadium in Orchard Park with an expected price tag of $1.4 billion. 

Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula have indicated they will not sign an extension on the current lease short of an agreement being reached on the construction of a new stadium. 

Also at this annual Super Bowl news conference, the NFL commissioner was grilled on two hot topics that have put the league under heavy scrutiny: racism and discrimination in hiring.

A week after former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores, who is Black, filed a lawsuit alleging both racism in the league and being offered money by team owner Stephen Ross to tank games, Goodell vowed action on several fronts.

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