Graffiti at the new Bills stadium shut down construction for nearly a week. And a six-figure reward offered by the general contractor on the project has boosted the effort to crack the case.
Via WBEN, the investigation has focused on two construction workers as "primary suspects" for the vandalism of four luxury suites in the facility.
A $100,000 reward was offered by Gilbane|Turner. It prompted, per WBEN, a "flood of calls" to a tip line.
The graffiti consisted of "spray-painted pornographic images, quite a few of them,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz recently told WIVB. “It seemed to be stating that an individual was LGBTQ because of the way the statements were made. Everything about it is bad, attacking someone for their sexual orientation is bad.”
The vandalism caused significant damage to the stadium.
“The estimate that I’ve received today is, it costs more than $150,000 in damage because it’s a lot of work that has to be redone,” Poloncarz said. “With the way the paint was used, you can’t just wipe it off. It’s permanently damaged, some areas where they have to take tile off the wall, retile, redo items."
The stadium is due to open in 2026.