Buffalo Bills News: Erie County Executive calls for Bills to rename stadium

This is a recap of some of the top Buffalo Bills news from the past week.

In the wake of Buffalo Bills stadium sponsor and Buffalo-based apparel company New Era laying off 117 people from their office, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said he will not refer to the stadium by its sponsor.

In an audio clip released by Radio.com, Poloncarz said that “their name (New Era) should no longer be on the stadium if they are going to continue to lay off our employees and say ‘sorry'” he said. “I’d rather see the stadium be called ‘Veterans’ Stadium’ than New Era, I won’t even use that name, I still call it Ralph Willson Stadium. Little disappointed in the way that New Era has treated our community. That company would not exist without the hard work of this community” Poloncarz added.

New Era Field, formally Ralph Wilson Stadium underwent the name change back in 2016 following the death of the team owner, Ralph Wilson, who passed away in 2014. The New York-based New Era Cap Company, which was founded in 1920 and has its’ headquarters in the heart of downtown Buffalo, agreed to a seven-year, $35 million agreement for stadium naming rights with the Bills back in August of 2016. Upon reaching an agreement, the name was officially changed five days later.