The new home of the Buffalo Bills is finally open, with Bills Mafia able to get their first look inside a gigantic project three years in the making during the “Return of the Blue & Red” practice this past Saturday. Thanks to an incredibly kind season ticket holder, my oldest and I were among those fortunate enough to be among the first fans in the new place.
That moment wasn’t lost on us, as a family with generations of Bills history dating back to the beloved stadium across the road. Though now
reduced to rubble, the heart of Highmark Stadium lives on and wearing an incredible suit of accomplishment. Yes, the new stadium is “smaller” if you’re going by capacity, and the overall seating effect is a more cozy vibe thanks to the use of structural verticality. Yet at the same time it seems to dwarf the old place in sheer volume.
Standing along the fence where the old Highmark Stadium is continually reduced to twisted rebar and rubble, we couldn’t help but long for one more trip inside those walls. The memories of time spent with family, watching some of the franchise’s best games and years, and then later Jim Kelly Football Camp on the same field — those will always stay with us. But we weren’t here to get caught up in the past, instead we were on a mission to find out if all the hype about the new house was true.
Was it ever. The initial plan was to avoid making eye contact with the field before getting to the stairs down to our seats for the evening. That of course proved impossible, thanks to the open-air feeling of the concourse.
Everywhere you looked, it was clear that an incredible amount of attention was spent on the finer details draped along walls, hung overhead, carved in sculpture, and painted on countless surfaces. It was as though we’d entered a small city dedicated to the Bills and populated exclusively by the fan base.
We knew our seats for the evening would be top notch because of their location, but the quality only truly dawned on us as we descended the long stairway to Row 1 behind the team’s benches. Now, back in the day my family had great seats seven rows up near the 20-yard line on the visitors’ side. Great seats, especially during those cold winter days blessed with an appearance by the Sun. But these seats? They’re on another level.
I only wish I’d had my actual camera rig to better share the experience. Nonetheless, I tried to capture a bit of the on-field action…
Then the rain came, and we figured a few sprinkles or even a minor bit of more steadily falling water courtesy of Lake Erie wasn’t going to send us running. That is, until a Florida-like downpour began drenching us.
Like the other all-weather diehards down front, we finally decided to head for the concourse. That’s where the real logjam happened, and where I see room for improvement. After about 10 minutes of standing on the stairs waiting to get under just the overhead canopy, it was clear that people who were now content being just at the head of the stairwell didn’t get the memo. No one else could make their way to cover.
It’s a concern. That rain wasn’t a major deal this night since it was only a rainstorm. Things would have been far different had it been a severe storm loaded with lightning, or even damaging wind. As I see it, the biggest change in comparison to the old stadium that’s contributing to the situation is the lack of a long “alley” between the seats and the concourse.
Feeling as though we’d jumped in the lake at that point, we decided to check out more of the new place away from the rain. We made our way around the oval, which felt a bit like navigating Hong Kong traffic during rush hour while everyone was busy checking out stuff. With a bit more elbow room we may have caught more of the finer details, but we were intent on covering as much ground as possible before the end of the scrimmage.
Eventually, we hit the stairs upward, intent on getting as high up as possible before meeting up with a certain Skarekrow. Telling you the new stadium excels at height is a disservice to what they’ve built. The fans up top really are now somewhat higher above the field than before, but yet closer to the gridiron compared to the Red Rocks-like expanse of the old stadium’s upper deck.
We eventually settled in with Skarekrow and for the remainder of the practice.
Wanting just one more view from those front-row seats, we made our way all the way back down and against a mass of humanity looking for the quickest exit. Expected at that point, a crowd of folks had gathered along the wall, hoping to catch the attention of players.
There were plenty of players going around playing catch with younger fans in the crowd. Then someone began throwing foam footballs into the seats. A couple darts later, we realized it was Maxwell Hairston tossing up inaugural season footballs, and only after he’d added his signature across them. Later, Christian Benford would make his way around to sign those same footballs and more for everyone gathered close to the sidelines.
It was clear how hyped the team was to be in the new house, and they were pumped to be in front of their home fans. Only then realizing we’d forgotten to check out the work done outside the stadium, off we went to find the family area and those huge bison all lit up.
I can’t wait to see how cool that trio looks when snow begins piling up!
It was time to head back to the thruway, content we’d seen all there was time to enjoy. Staying in the stadium late meant missing the fireworks show outside the stadium, which was an admirable team plan to filter people outside at the end of the evening.
The FOMO was real, believing I’d missed a great chance to get some photos of Highmark Stadium bathed in fireworks. Before heading out, we decided to walk back toward the main entrance to see the stadium lit up at night.
As we got into our car to head home, out of nowhere a new batch of seemingly random fireworks came to life from within the rubble of the old stadium — just a handful of steps from our parking spot. FOMO averted!
It felt like a poignant sendoff to a stadium that means so much to my family and me. It’s true that whatever plan they have for the old place will never surpass the house that Ralph C. Wilson Jr. built. The new Highmark may prove to be a difficult ticket this season and into the future if the team continues its winning ways. We may not get to see an actual game, but we couldn’t be more grateful to have been a part of opening the new Highmark Stadium.
Where there are complaints and seemingly endless threads laying into some of the sight lines and more, the bigger accomplishment seems to have gotten lost. It was a huge undertaking to bring this to life during the 21st century in small-town Western New York, and to do so a couple football fields away from the old stadium.
I understand some fans’ angst over myriad issues, which of course includes all the costs involved from planning, to building the space, and enjoying the amenities. I can’t speak to the cost of concessions since we didn’t buy anything. Will the perceived blue-collar fans be priced out long term? That’s to be decided.
As for those comments on some of the seats?
If you’re after the best seat, or just looking for an excuse to bash the work done — understand that even the best seat’s view in any stadium pales in comparison to watching it at home. The front office has already stated that it will work toward meeting and addressing each and every concern in the coming weeks, and before the Week 2 regular-season home opener.
What can’t be understated is how much work was done to make the new Highmark a full stack amplifier of Bills Mafia. To that end, the sound system is impressive, and I couldn’t stop thinking how good an in-the-round concert may be inside its walls.
Do yourself a favor and put the new Highmark Stadium on your to-do list, if even just to tour the space. We’re already planning to go back and see all the things we missed the first night.
