Fans of the Buffalo Bills knew the game day experience in the new Highmark Stadium could be different than what they were used to in the old Highmark Stadium/New Era Field/Ralph Wilson Stadium/Rich Stadium, which Buffalo called home from 1973 through 2025.
That happens whenever a team ditches an old, familiar stadium for a new, state-of-the-art venue like Highmark Stadium, which will feature roughly 11,500 fewer seats with a higher cost of attending an NFL game than Bills fans were previously accustomed
to.
The changes are not limited to inside Highmark Stadium.
Earlier this week, the team announced some new regulations for fans looking to tailgate in team-operated parking lots, including prohibiting the sale of food and drinks in their designated stadium parking lots, limiting the size and scope of fans tailgating areas, and cutting off all tailgating activities once kickoff has occurred. Which is a disappointing development for the fans who come out to the stadium for the sole purpose of living it up at a tailgate, even if they are not attending the game.
Perhaps the rule that will irk the most Bills fans and go against the spirit of Bills’ tailgates? Fans may only bring food and beverages for their friends and family, and are not allowed to share their tasty tailgate treats with fellow Bills fans. Which is just a ridiculous clause to put into the policy, but don’t worry, later on in this article I will explain why this rule is null and void.
Also worth noting: the Bills have had tailgating restrictions like these in place for years, but the rules have never been enforced before.
In the tailgating rules shared on the Buffalo Bills website, fans “may bring and prepare food for consumption by their friends and family only,” and fans are not allowed to utilize private catering companies in the official team lots.
For fans using the stadium lots for pregame tailgating, they are being limited to the available 9-feet by 10-feet tailgate space immediately behind their parked vehicle for all activities, including grilling food and playing games.
Megaphones, air horns and other noise-making items are not allowed for tailgating, and the same goes for tent poles or stakes that are driven into the ground.
Looking to pump up your gameday crew with a lively playlist? Better make sure the lyrics are clean. The team says fans can bring in personal-sized speakers, but not larger speaker systems, and excessive volume is not permitted.
The Bills are also asking their fans to treat the stadium lots like a campsite, adhering to a “carry out what you carry in” policy where all trash “must be disposed of in proper receptacles,” and “guests must return their area to its original state before entering the event. Trash bags must not be left beside a car or otherwise outside of a trash receptacle within the tailgating area.
Here is the complete list of what is allowed and what is prohibited at these tailgates:
Allowed
- Natural gas and propane grills
- Charcoal grills and open-fit fires that are raised at least six inches off the ground. Coals must be completely extinguished prior to entering the stadium and are not permitted to be dumped within Highmark Stadium parking lots.
- Plastic or non-breakable cups/cans
- Guests may bring and prepare food for consumption by their friends and family only.
- Personal-sized amplified sound system (e.g. small Bluetooth speaker)
- Bicycles are permitted in tailgating areas only at designated bike racks
Prohibited
- Stakes, through-surface inserts (e.g. tent poles), anything driven into the ground
- Charcoal grills and open-pit fires that are not raised at least six inches off the ground.
- Wood stoves, oil fryers and/or other cooking stations.
- Bottles, glass containers
- Sale of food or beverage and private catering companies.
- Electrical cords cannot be placed across parking areas/drive aisles or in areas that would create a hazard for any guests.
- Portable public address systems are not permitted. Amplified sound systems cannot be used at excessive volumes, and playing music with inappropriate language (profanity, slurs, etc.) is prohibited.
- Non-licensed motorized and non-motorized vehicles are prohibited within the designated tailgating parking lot(s), including without limitation golf carts, Segways, skateboards, scooters, and hoverboards.
- Drones, remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles or other similar motorized vehicles/devices; possession or operation of such devices may result in immediate ejection from the site and may also result in confiscation of such devices by security and law enforcement.
- Megaphones, airhorns, and other noise making devices
- Selling of items or soliciting of any promotional or marketing activities
- Any item deemed inappropriate or dangerous to spectators, participants or Team Members.
- Weapons or firearms – this extends to both real weapons and fake weapons such as toy guns, swords, knives, hatchets or bombs that might be part of a costume
As a reminder, these rules apply only to tailgating at a team-operated stadium lots, and won’t be instituted at the various private lots surrounding Highmark Stadium.
While Bills fans will surely be left wondering how the team will enforce these rules at the new stadium, I do have one bit of good news to wrap up this story. As mentioned earlier, there’s a stipulation that states fans “may bring and prepare food for consumption by their friends and family only.”
Luckily, Bills Mafia is the definition of family, so feel free to share your chicken wings, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, Italian sausages, pizza and other delicious tailgating fare with fellow Bills fans. As a longtime season ticket holder since 2007, I know I will still continue to treat our tailgates as the community-building activities they were meant to be, and will gladly share our food and drinks with Bills Mafia.
What do you think about these new guidelines? Bills fans have rightfully earned a reputation as some of the best, most passionate tailgaters out there. Will these rules clash with the friendly, welcoming atmosphere that Bills Mafia has become known for? Be sure to leave your thoughts on these new guidelines in the comments section.
