PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen laughed at the notion of some referring to the Buffalo Bills’ new home as “the house that Josh built” by saying he had nothing to do with the $2.1 billion facility’s design or construction.
It’s a figurative nickname, after all, in representing how the Bills have enjoyed a surge in popularity and competitiveness since the star quarterback’s arrival in 2018.
What Allen can’t dispute is looking forward to the Bills' first
opportunity to take the field at Highmark Stadium on Saturday night, when the team holds its annual Blue and Red scrimmage in front of what’s expected to be a full house.
“It’s really cool to be a part of a team that gets to play the inaugural season at a new stadium, a stadium I think that was long-needed here in Western New York,” Allen said Friday, after the Bills closed their training camp schedule in suburban Rochester, New York.
Allen acknowledged he’s not much of a sentimentalist in reflecting on the team’s former home, also called Highmark, which has since been reduced to rubble across the street.
“We had good times there,” he said. “But looking forward to having good times in the new one, too.”
In having bid farewell to their aging, utilitarian home, with dark, narrow corridors and few amenities, the Bills make the transition into the modern age.
There will be much to get accustomed to from new sightlines to the sound system, a curved overhang to reduce the effects of the wind and elements, and a natural grass field replacing the artificial turf surface.
There will be no cramped tunnel for the players of both teams to squeeze out of, with home and visiting locker rooms now separated. And even the seating configuration will be different, with the 60,000-plus seats stacked more vertically, and seemingly on top of the action.
First-year coach Joe Brady regards the practice on Saturday as the first of several key test runs. The Bills will hold several more practices in the new facility, along with playing two preseason games, before their prime-time Thursday home-opener against Detroit on Sept. 17.
“I’m going to be looking at everything, just getting a feel of play clocks while I am calling it. Vantage points from lights and how does the wind feel? There’s so many things just from my perspective,” Brady said, noting he has spent countless meetings going over every scenario regarding the new stadium.
Brady even had Bills staff provide an orientation of the building to members of players’ families. The last thing the coach wants is having his players distracted on game day because someone can’t find an entrance.
“It’s like truly walking into the house,” general manager Brandon Beane said. “Yeah, it’ll be different, and the number one thing we have to do is try and get over there as much as we can with our team to make it feel like home.”
For most players it won’t take long to get accustomed to their new surroundings. The big exception is the special teams unit, with kicker Tyler Bass and Buffalo’s two punters on the roster having to take into account the wind and elements.
Though the new stadium is not covered, it has design elements to reduce the effects of the wind.
The curved overhang is one element. Another is the the new stadium being taller and also having a north-south orientation. That’s different from the west-east facing former home, which allowed the gusting winds blowing in off of Lake Erie to funnel and swirl into the stadium bowl.
“I’d love to go over there on a windy day just to see,” long-snapper Reid Ferguson said. “I’m sure it’ll take a few practices in there to kind of get our bearings on the different parts of the field where the wind may swirl a little bit if there is any. So, yeah, excited to get in there.”
Veteran pass rusher Bradley Chubb might be in his first season with the Bills, but he’s familiar with playing in Buffalo after spending the previous four seasons with the AFC East rival Miami Dolphins.
Though eager to play in the new stadium, Chubb said he’ll miss the old one.
“It’s that old-school feel. Everybody shares the same tunnel, the locker room’s not super updated, the shower’s cold, even when it’s cold outside,” Chubb said. “But you know, change is good. New is good.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
