Charles D. Tuppen was a lawyer with the Buffalo firm Falk, Siemer, Glick, Tuppen & Moloney. In November, 1967 he was elected as a Republican to the Erie County Legislature to represent the 11th District. As chairman of the Revenues and Assessments Committee, Tuppen was very active on the domed stadium issue. He favored a downtown (“Crossroads”) site for the stadium over the suburban Lancaster site, arguing that the downtown site would revitalize the City of Buffalo and prove more cost effective in the long run. In 1970, county legislators, unhappy with the size of bids made on the domed stadium at the Lancaster site, scrapped the project in favor of the open-air Rich Stadium in Orchard Park. Edward Cottrell and the Kenford Company, developers of the would-be domed stadium in Lancaster, sued Erie County for breach of contract. Litigation in the suit dragged on for some 18 years and resulted in the awarding of $10 million in damages to Cottrell and in long-term damage to Erie County’s credit rating.