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And the roughly 1,400 workers at the stadium site have been playing a bit of catch-up.

With a cold and damp spring following the normal winter slowdown in activity, the project is a little behind schedule, state officials confirmed. But the stadium is still on track to be substantially complete by the start of the 2026 NFL preseason.

Through April 30, the stadium was still considered to be on time, but 55% of construction had been completed, when the team had anticipated 57% would be done. That was likely the result of a much harsher winter of weather this past year than the milder winter for the project鈥檚 first year.

Steve Ranalli, who is in charge of the state entity overseeing the project, said that is not worrisome.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 totally reasonable to be within a few percentage points either way,鈥� said Ranalli, president of the Erie County Stadium Corp.

鈥淲e鈥檙e on schedule and everything is trending toward that way,鈥� he added. 鈥淚f they were ahead by a few percentage points, I wouldn鈥檛 be screaming that they鈥檙e ahead.鈥�

According to the state, substantial completion of the project is slated for July 1, 2026, and finishes will be going on until the end of next year but won鈥檛 be noticeable to fans entering the stadium for the Bills鈥� first season. That includes punch list and mostly behind-the-scenes items to button up.

The team actually has until March 25, 2027, for completion of the entire project, according to its contract with the state.

While there was more of a focus on finishing the installation of steel beams and work inside the new stadium during the winter, the warming weather has led to more progress being made throughout the construction site.

There aren鈥檛 many places on the project site that are not bustling these days.

The growing number of workers on site are tending to projects throughout the interior and exterior of the stadium and outside the structure.

Work is underway on the exterior fa莽ade of the stadium, where glass and precast panels are being installed, and on the outside of the stadium, such as in the building out of the main entrance way in the front plaza, where a Family Circle will go.

The project came up on two years this week since the groundbreaking on June 5, 2023.

鈥淵ou never see more than, like, 50 people in one area, so when you鈥檙e walking around the site, there鈥檚 people everywhere,鈥� said John Polka, vice president of stadium development. 鈥淎ll these people out here every day is pretty impressive 鈥� especially with the site work going on now, you almost lose context of just how many people are out there.鈥�

The site has been bustling for a while now, but there are even more tradesmen now picking up overtime hours and working into the weekends, said Ranalli, who noted that standard safety matters have come up during the project, but nothing of significance.

鈥淔or at least a year now, people have been working weekends, but now, there鈥檚 even more of them doing that,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 partly planned for a project of this scale 鈥� and after this last winter, we came out of it a little behind, so these workers out here have had to make it up. It鈥檚 going to be all hands on deck to get this thing done.鈥�

Precast stadia and stairs, the structural steel for the skeleton of the building and the metal decking of the , which covers a portion of the stadium, have all been completed. That is a total of 24,000 tons of steel (or 19,298 pieces) being erected, as well as 450,000 square feet of slab in grade concrete being poured.

The project continues inside the stadium with mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection and masonry. That work is almost all at least halfway done.

鈥淭he work there is moving extremely quickly,鈥� Ranalli said. 鈥淚 think we鈥檝e all been a little surprised, especially given the long (cold and wet) spring we鈥檝e had.鈥�

Much of the newer portion of the work being done is to the exterior of the building and outside of it on the north end, while inside the stadium concourses and suites and club sections are being built out.

鈥淲ithin the next two months, all of the materials that will make up the outside of the building will start to go up, if they鈥檙e not going up already,鈥� Polka said.

Brackets and rails are being installed in the bowl so that seats can go in before the winter, and natural turf conditioning technology, irrigation and drainage infrastructure is being installed so that the grass playing field can grow by the fall.

Just below the canopy, a temporary scaffolding structure is up and hanging to provide access so that workers can place the speakers, lights, snow-melting system and concrete casing for the roofing.

At the north end of the stadium, below the party deck at one of the main entrances of the building, glass is going up that allows fans to look inside the stadium as they enter.

The precast architectural thin brick panels will go up around the building over the glass on the exterior fa莽ade. Then, black insulated panels go above that, and perforated metal panels will come next.

In some club areas and concourses, drywall is going up, tile and flooring are being set, and light fixtures are being installed. Escalators in the field club are also going in right now.

鈥淓ven though we鈥檙e about a year away from completion, there are areas of the stadium that will be completed here on a rolling sequence, moving forward,鈥� Polka said.

Last year, there was a focus on building out the parking lots, curbing and other infrastructure on the south side of the site, and now, the focus has moved to the north end, where there will be the plaza outside the stadium鈥檚 main entrance, an area called Family Circle. It will feature a clan of large bison statues. There is already rebar sticking up where the bison statues will go.

The asphalt, curbing and sidewalk will be developed for the main entrance, but some of the landscaping and trees may not go in until next year, Polka said.

鈥淭hat whole area has really developed well, and will continue to develop throughout the next couple of weeks,鈥� Polka said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e really going to see that area almost in its final state by the time fans roll up here for preseason.鈥�

Much of the parking areas on the southern end have been done, and those side roads are now pushing farther into property on the SUNY Erie Community College campus.

The South Campus in Hamburg is expected to be on the market later this year or earlier next year as ECC moves to a smaller footprint in Orchard Park in the fall.

The parking lots on the new stadium side are being built to enhance the tailgating experience, with deeper spaces to allow for 10 feet of tailgating behind vehicles. And the lots are surrounded by green space to provide a more parklike campus feel.

The same concept will likely be put into place on the current stadium side after the demolition in 2027 and reworking of parking on the east side, Polka said.

鈥淭he spaces have gotten really tight, especially as vehicles have gotten bigger,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he goal all along, overall, was to enhance the tailgating.鈥�