00:00And tonight you're opening a brand new stadium in a community that just embraces it and it's civic pride, that
00:06Buffalo Bills team and one of the legendary players and now part of the broadcast team for the Buffalo Bills
00:12is Steve Tasker. He joins us. What an electric atmosphere this thing's going to be tonight. I mean, Steve, you
00:18know, getting a brand new building, the entire fan base is going to be jacked up tonight. Man, this is
00:23going to be really one of the greatest moments in Buffalo when it comes to surrounding that football team.
00:30Yeah, it's a hugely important moment. It signifies a lot of things. There was a time at the end of
00:36the former owner, Ralph C. Wilson Jr. He founded the team, owned it, and then passed away in 2013, I
00:44believe. And there was a great sense that the team was going to leave the city.
00:48The new owner, whoever it might be, would buy the club and just move it out to another city, a
00:55bigger city or whatever, better market. And with the opening of this and with Terry Pagula buying a club, that
01:02was not going to happen.
01:03And then to put a stamp on it and put the new building up, certainly it signifies the Bills are
01:09going nowhere anytime soon at all, probably ever.
01:14Yeah, and there's something about the size of this city and the relationship between the Bills and the fans that's
01:23pretty special.
01:25So to open up a building of this magnitude at this point, when you got maybe the best player in
01:32the league on your team and high expectations, yeah, it's a pretty significant night.
01:38Just for you, you know, leaving Ralph Wilson, there were so many great moments up there.
01:44There's been so many great players that have played in that stadium.
01:48What's your thoughts about leaving that too?
01:50Because again, old AFL, one of the original AFL stadiums, you guys with those great Buffalo Bills teams with Jim
01:57Kelly.
01:58And I always like to say this, my friend, four AFC championships in a row, which will never be accomplished,
02:04in my opinion, ever again.
02:05It's truly one of the greatest runs, but you leave a building that really was embodying the city.
02:11What was your feelings when you had to walk out of that?
02:14Again, progress, I get it, but you're leaving one of the truly great stadiums of all time.
02:19Well, it was hard.
02:20You know, it was hard.
02:21There was a lot of fun in that building.
02:22It was very familiar to everybody.
02:24The startling thing is now across the street is the new building.
02:27And you look back at the old building and it's not there.
02:32It's gone.
02:35That's really startling for a lot of people who don't spend a lot of time here on the campus, here
02:41at One Bill's Drive,
02:42and they come back into the area and they turn the corner or they look at the stadium,
02:48and all of a sudden, that building's not there.
02:50That familiar profile and that skyline just isn't there.
02:54It's pretty startling for a lot of people.
02:56So that's, I think, the biggest part of it.
03:00I think it's not going to last very long once people get set foot in the new place because it's
03:05just better.
03:06If you go back and drive an old classic car, it's like, yeah, it's nice.
03:09It's kind of cool.
03:10But you get inside that car and you're sitting on a lawn chair and there's seatbelts.
03:15There's no radio.
03:17You get into a new car, it's got air conditioning, it's got power steering, it's got a touchscreen.
03:23It's just better.
03:24And I think that's the way this new stadium's going to be.
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