Following the Tennessee Titans’ lead in April, the Buffalo Bills announced that construction of the NFL franchise’s new stadium would begin in earnest after the project completed its final formal step.
Erie County Legislature voted 10-0 in favour of the project, which will see a stadium with a capacity of between 60,000 and 62,000 developed on land adjacent to the Bills current home, Highmark Stadium. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York extended its naming rights deal to cover the new venue in June.
In MLB, the Oakland Athletics reached a binding agreement with Bally’s Corporation and Gaming & Leisure Properties to build a new 30,000-capacity ballpark on the Tropicana hotel site on the Las Vegas Strip, unveiling conceptual renderings later in the month. Meanwhile, Orlando City Baseball Dreamers, a group established to bring MLB to Orlando and Central Florida, unveiled plans for a $1.7bn (£1.34bn/€1.55bn) ballpark project.
In the NHL, Tempe voters rejected the development of a $2.1bn arena and entertainment district for the Arizona Coyotes, with the long-term future of the franchise again placed in doubt.
Heading to Australia, Tasmania ended a long-running effort to secure an AFL franchise with confirmation that it was awarded the 19th licence for a club that will play at a new stadium in Hobart.
In Europe, French Ligue 1 football club RC Strasbourg officially launched the redevelopment project for its Stade de la Meinau, with the cost of the venture having increased significantly, while Real Zaragoza presented plans for a €140m (£121m/$153.2m) project that would expand the Estadio La Romareda to a capacity of 42,500. English Premiership club Bath Rugby also unveiled revised plans for a major redevelopment of the Recreation Ground.
In Asian project news, Live Nation partnered with the South Korean city of Busan to develop a new entertainment complex that will be anchored by a 20,000-capacity arena.
