ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) – As progress continues on the new Buffalo Bills stadium — located across the street from the current facility — the team is sending an early warning to fans that fewer parking spaces will be available for games during the coming season.
Andy Major, the Bills’ vice president of operations and guest experience, said Monday that the stadium grounds will have about 1,000 fewer parking spaces this season due to construction. That’s after factoring in gains from initiatives such as shuttling in game-day staff from off-site parking locations and turning a youth field into parking spaces.
“We’re certainly stressing carpooling,” Major said. “We’re in the middle of our great new stadium getting built, but that has obviously given us some challenges with the parking situation. We experienced a little bit of that last year, and this year we’ll experience a little bit more.”
Fans hoping to park in stadium lots will need to buy their parking pass ahead of time. Parking spaces in team-owned lots will not be available on gameday, Major said.
With Lot 3 unavailable due to construction, the Bills are implementing other changes to the lots available for presale. (A parking map for Highmark Stadium can be viewed below.)
Lot 1 (south of the stadium off Big Tree Road) and Lot 7 (north of the stadium off Southwestern Blvd.) will be available for presale to season-ticket holders.
Lot 4 (across the street from the stadium on Abbott Road) will be available for presale to individual game ticket holders.
Lots 2 and 6, offering preferred parking north and south of the stadium, is available to season-ticket holders and other partners but is “basically sold out.”
Major applauded private lot owners surrounding the stadium for being great partners and for implementing some policies that also apply in Bills-owned lots to help control some of the tailgating “craziness.”
Major said he does not forsee any changes to tailgating in stadium lots given the tighter squeeze for parking.
“We encourage our fans to tailgate and have a good time — just do it responsibly,” Major said.
Highmark Stadium parking map, courtesy of the Bills