07/23/2008 12:54 PM -
Although it is hard to think of it this way today but this large place on the edge of Lake Erie was a trailblazer in the stadium business. When the Bills decided they needed to exit War Memorial Stadium, owner Ralph Wilson knew he needed help getting a new place built. He had accomplices willing to help – Erie County, for one. But the kicker that made the deal really work was one of the first naming rights deal – a 25-year, $1.5 million deal with Rich Products.
That wasn’t the only unique aspect to the stadium. The main bowl of the stadium was built 50 feet before ground level. The upper deck was above ground level. It was also one of the first NFL stadiums to add luxury suites, starting with 16 in 1984 and increasing to the current total of 164. The ends of the stadium are open-aired (just one level of seats). As a result, winds often swirl at games here and kicking can be a nightmare here.
Wilson Stadium was built in an era where big was beautiful. As a result, it reminds one of a lot of college stadiums with lots of seats and not a lot of room to move around. The Bills weren’t looking for luxurious surroundings here. As the years went on, they have made a little room for folks. (The current capacity is 7,000 less than when the place opened.)
In addition to the various suites and second level luxury seating, team added sideline seats. (Some of those were so cramped the team allowed season ticket holders the option of removing cup holders for more leg room.) Several of the club seats are outside. If you have seen a game on TV from Buffalo in December, you’ll understand why thermostats were built under each seat to regulate heat.
Like most of the football stadiums of that era, this one was built without posts. You enter the place at the second level so escalators were not necessary. You are either walking down or you are headed up. When you are talking about an 80, 000 seat stadium and you say the sky is the limit, you’re not kidding. If you sit near the top of the stands here, you are up, up, and away.
However, Bills’ fans don’t seem to mind. In 2007, they averaged 71,054 fans per game, playing to 96 per cent capacity, their third highest figure in the past 20 years.
One reason for this is the general party atmosphere that surrounds the place. Nobody is quite how or why this happened. Generally speaking, this blue collar town isn’t known for being funloving and that wasn’t the remembered atmosphere at old War Memorial Stadium. But Bills games are notorious for their pre-game parties. People have been known to arrive as early as Thursday for a Sunday game in what is considered one of the better tailgate parking lots in the NFL. One of the reasons may be this is one of the easiest stadiums in the league to drive to and there are 16,000 parking spots available for the reasonable NFL rate of $5-10.
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Year Opened:
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1973
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Owner:
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Erie County, New York
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Address:
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One Bills Drive, Orchard Park, NY
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Construction Cost:
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$22 million
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Professional Tenants:
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Buffalo Bills (NFL, 1973-present)
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Capacity:
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73,967
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