It seems that public officials are more fond of projects like stadiums than voters. Last November, voters in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Denver, Colorado; and Augusta, Georgia all voted against ballot initiatives to fund stadiums that would increase their tax bills. Meanwhile, the elected officials in each of these places seemed to have been fully behind these projects.[0]

In the Buffalo Bills example from the OP article, it sounds like they're attempting to negotiate directly with the governor. Smart, I suppose, since if the other examples are any indication, the elected official will be more receptive towards giving them money than the taxpayers.

[0]: https://reason.com/2021/11/05/voters-dont-want-to-pay-for-yo...