Bills raise some alarms for those attending the game Sunday

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

Quote

We are so excited to be hosting fans at full capacity for our opening game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 12.  We wanted to provide some information about gate entry so you can prepare ahead of time.  Like many businesses right now, we are experiencing some staffing challenges and our game day personnel will need to operate even more efficiently than normal to make gate entry run smoothly.  As a result, we recommend that you enter the stadium much earlier than you may be accustomed to in order to be in your seats for kickoff. 

 

To help make sure you don’t miss kickoff, we are opening the gates 30 minutes earlier beginning at 11:00 a.m. We strongly recommend that you arrive at the gate entry area no later than 12:00pm.  Anyone arriving to the gates after 12:00pm could be in jeopardy of missing kickoff.

 

[Logic]

Thanks.

I usually like being in the stadium early, any way. I like seeing pre-game warmups and introductions and pyro and planes and all that jazz. 

Gonna have to remember to be at the gates extra early this week. Nothing worse than spending all that money/effort getting to a game and then being stuck in that drunken cattle herd and hearing the sounds of the crowd at the opening kickoff from outside the stadium.

[Utah John]

Great idea, letting people know.  Besides getting in very early lets you see a lot of the pre-game activities.

[Blainorama5]

Not sure a notice to get in early really rises to the level of "alarms" (sounds kind of alarmist to me 😉) but certainly a good note for folks attending.

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

3 minutes ago, Blainorama5 said:

Not sure a notice to get in early really rises to the level of "alarms" (sounds kind of alarmist to me 😉) but certainly a good note for folks attending.

"Hey guys - we're gonna have fewer people working at the stadium" is an alarm to me.

[T&C]

"operate even more efficiently than normal". Reminds me of the job I just left after 20 years... 3 people are absent so you will have to handle it all. 

[Don Otreply]

4 minutes ago, T&C said:

"operate even more efficiently than normal". Reminds me of the job I just left after 20 years... 3 people are absent so you will have to handle it all. 

Yup, been that way for, it seems like forever, some things never change, 

[BADOLBILZ]

19 minutes ago, Blainorama5 said:

Not sure a notice to get in early really rises to the level of "alarms" (sounds kind of alarmist to me 😉) but certainly a good note for folks attending.

 

 

Some people freak out if they aren't in their seat at kickoff.........and that's just the stitious ones.

 

What this says to me is unless you want to be lined up like cattle wait until after kickoff to go in.

 

They need to fix this gate entry BS..........worst part of the entire experience at the stadium.

 

 

[BringBackFergy]

12 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

 

 

They need to fix this gate entry BS..........worst part of the entire experience at the stadium.

 

 

You’re the problem. When you try to sneak in your wine coolers and favorite dilllldo, the security wastes time searching everyone. Just bring your essentials (lip gloss, spandex and napkins). 

[Just Joshin']

I hope they have fixed the issue with the ticket bar code readers.  At the practice I attended the sun was inhibiting the reading of the code.  

[Reks Ryan]

17 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

 

They need to fix this gate entry BS..........worst part of the entire experience at the stadium.

 

 

Very true.  From my experience the Bills (Rich / Ralph / Highmark Stadium) are about the worst in the league the last 6 or 7 years.  At some point after the stadium renovation,  the wait at the gates got terrible.

I try to get to 2 road games / year.  3 this year with such a good schedule. So I do have experience in other NFL stadiums.

[Scott7975]

Classic double dipping.  Keep staff low so the payroll is lower.  Get fans in the stands earlier so beer sales go up.

[JMF2006]

Crap I barely got to the parking lot by 11 am if I was going with the GF  

 

Looks like I will be watching from home for the foreseeable future anyway.

[BADOLBILZ]

23 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

You’re the problem. When you try to sneak in your wine coolers and favorite dilllldo, the security wastes time searching everyone. Just bring your essentials (lip gloss, spandex and napkins). 

 

Security isn't the problem

 

[BADOLBILZ]

18 minutes ago, Scott7975 said:

Classic double dipping.  Keep staff low so the payroll is lower.  Get fans in the stands earlier so beer sales go up.

 

 

There certainly isn't a financial incentive to fix the problem.

 

The biggest issue is actually the ticket processing............every 10th fan thru has en e-ticket they can't pull up on their phone when it's time to perform..........and the Bills didn't make it very clear to most ST holders that they had the option of getting the season ticket "card" again..........so it will be worse yet this year.

 

E-tickets........great for a lot of things........not so much when trying to jam 50K boredom-averse fans thru a few gates in 30 minutes or less.

[MarkyMannn]

1 hour ago, T&C said:

"operate even more efficiently than normal". Reminds me of the job I just left after 20 years... 3 people are absent so you will have to handle it all. 

Been there......... A lot!

[Scott7975]

11 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

There certainly isn't a financial incentive to fix the problem.

 

The biggest issue is actually the ticket processing............every 10th fan thru has en e-ticket they can't pull up on their phone when it's time to perform..........and the Bills didn't make it very clear to most ST holders that they had the option of getting the season ticket "card" again..........so it will be worse yet this year.

 

E-tickets........great for a lot of things........not so much when trying to jam 50K boredom-averse fans thru a few gates in 30 minutes or less.

 

I was going for sarcasm but yes, I agree with you here.

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

Do they tell you what a digital wallet is and how to use it to get in? 

[3rdand12]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

Thanks.

I usually like being in the stadium early, any way. I like seeing pre-game warmups and introductions and pyro and planes and all that jazz. 

Gonna have to remember to be at the gates extra early this week. Nothing worse than spending all that money/effort getting to a game and then being stuck in that drunken cattle herd and hearing the sounds of the crowd at the opening kickoff from outside the stadium.

Drunken cattle herd ? seems a tad harsh 

I used to resemble that remark !

[BillnutinHouston]

I've always liked going in early.  I'm not averse to tipping a few but I'm always there for the football. 

[Scott7975]

5 minutes ago, 2020 Our Year For Sure said:

Do they tell you what a digital wallet is and how to use it to get in? 

 

Apple has Apple Wallet

Android has Google Wallet

 

You can probably add tickets to that.

[Albany,n.y.]

29 minutes ago, Albany,n.y. said:

I had one of the printed tickets with no bar code & a chip inside.  I figured the staffing problems could mean that the ticket scanner might not know what to do with my ticket so I switched it to my cell phone.  I had to learn how to put a ticket in a digital wallet because 2 years ago I had trouble getting my ticket to come up on the phone I brought.  I have a different phone now.   

One other thing.  When I 1st wanted to switch to a mobile ticket I didn't realize I could just hit a button & change it from a "Smart Ticket" to a mobile ticket.  So I tried to transfer it to myself & it kept rejecting it because you can't transfer a ticket to yourself.  I even tried a different e-mail address.  Then I went to my account in the Ticketmaster site on my desktop & immediately saw the way to change the ticket.  For a while I was going back & forth between the computer & my cell phone.  

Edited September 7, 2021 by Albany,n.y.

[Albany,n.y.]

11 minutes ago, 2020 Our Year For Sure said:

Do they tell you what a digital wallet is and how to use it to get in? 

I didn't know how to use it & get in but if you have ticketmaster tickets you can bring up your event & go save to phone.  It takes you to the Google pay download & after you download it the ticket is in there if you save it to the phone-at least that's how I think it works, I just found it by trial & error.  Then I bought a parking pass & had to do the same thing.  They're both in a Google Pay app now.

[SectionC3]

2 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Some people freak out if they aren't in their seat at kickoff.........and that's just the stitious ones.

 

What this says to me is unless you want to be lined up like cattle wait until after kickoff to go in.

 

They need to fix this gate entry BS..........worst part of the entire experience at the stadium.

 

 

 

It was bad at the preseason game.  They were obviously and grossly understaffed. Took way too long to get into the stadium.  

[PonyBoy]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

There certainly isn't a financial incentive to fix the problem.

 

The biggest issue is actually the ticket processing............every 10th fan thru has en e-ticket they can't pull up on their phone when it's time to perform..........and the Bills didn't make it very clear to most ST holders that they had the option of getting the season ticket "card" again..........so it will be worse yet this year.

 

E-tickets........great for a lot of things........not so much when trying to jam 50K boredom-averse fans thru a few gates in 30 minutes or less.

I held up the boarding recently on a flight because I couldn't pull up boarding pass on SW website, even though I checked 2x before boarding & it worked.  Wouldn't work at crunch time. Girl behind me in line said just screen shot it, then it's in my photo gallery. Great advice!! This would work for E-tickets too I'm sure. Spread the word!

[Punching Bag]

26 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

 

It was bad at the preseason game.  They were obviously and grossly understaffed. Took way too long to get into the stadium.  

 

Maybe they need to be like Disney World with express lines you pay extra to go faster.

Get fans used to paying more for everything with new stadium.

[North Buffalo]

We went in to US Open with digital wallet no muss no fuss but then again my wife is a digital ninja... id have screwed it up.

[PonyBoy]

20 minutes ago, BUFFALOBART said:

The Mobile tickets, have a floating encryption code, that changes every 15 seconds. You cannot enter the stadium, with a screen shot of your ticket.

The Bills already have that, via 'Club Seats'.

Funny. That was about the fastest entry that I have experienced, since before the 'stadiium upgrade'.

@ BUFFALOBART My bad, just trying to help. 

[msw2112]

2 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

There certainly isn't a financial incentive to fix the problem.

 

The biggest issue is actually the ticket processing............every 10th fan thru has en e-ticket they can't pull up on their phone when it's time to perform..........and the Bills didn't make it very clear to most ST holders that they had the option of getting the season ticket "card" again..........so it will be worse yet this year.

 

E-tickets........great for a lot of things........not so much when trying to jam 50K boredom-averse fans thru a few gates in 30 minutes or less.

 

I recently took my daughter to a WNBA game.  The tickets were on my fairly new, very fast, 5G phone.  My daughter is too young to have her own phone.  My ticket loaded, was scanned, etc.  I then tried to open my daughter's ticket.  No dice.  They would not let her into the arena.   We held up a long line of people who were starting to get upset (and I didn't blame them).  Finally, we had to step out of line.  It took a several minutes to get it sorted out and we ended up missing the introductions, anthem, etc.  I'm not a big WNBA fan, but my daughter loves basketball and was really excited about the event.  This episode really took something away from the experience.  I hate electronic tickets.  And for god sakes, it's the WNBA.  There were plenty of empty seats.  It was pretty clear that we were not trying to scam the system.  Just let the kid in....

 

I also agree that the gates at the Bills' stadium are terrible and slow.  The only thing worse was the old SD Chargers' stadium.  I was there for a Bills-Charges game and we got to the gate with plenty of time to spare and missed the entire 1st quarter trying to get in.  And although I wouldn't put it past the Pegulas to save a few dollars (much more likely on the Sabres side, however), I understand where the team is coming from.  There is a labor shortage in EVERY INDUSTRY.  My company is dealing with it, and just about every business person that I know.  My wife and I even had terrible trouble trying to hire some household help.  

[Logic]

42 minutes ago, BUFFALOBART said:

Nobody was wearing masks, @ the Packers game. Security couldn't say, or do anything. They would've been overwhelmed.

I'll be at the game this Sunday, and this is pretty much what I was expecting. Not great, but predictable.

Did you see ANY masked folks at the game?
 

[RiotAct]

are any gates known to be better (shorter lines) than the rest?

 

Gate 4 took a pretty long time back in 2019 during the home opener.  We lined up around 12:15 and didn’t make it in til 5-10 minutes before kickoff.

[SectionC3]

43 minutes ago, BUFFALOBART said:

The Mobile tickets, have a floating encryption code, that changes every 15 seconds. You cannot enter the stadium, with a screen shot of your ticket.

The Bills already have that, via 'Club Seats', and a few gates that are limited entry for those seats.

Funny. That was about the fastest entry that I have experienced, since before the 'stadiium upgrade'.

 

not me.  I’ve had days where I cruised in, even if the game was sold out.  They probably had 50k fans last week - maybe 65% capacity - and the wait was long by the cemetery entrance.  Half of the metal detectors at one of he gates were unstaffed. 

1 minute ago, RiotAct said:

are any gates known to be better (shorter lines) than the rest?

 

Gate 4 took a pretty long time back in 2019 during the home opener.  We lined up around 12:15 and didn’t make it in til 5-10 minutes before kickoff.

Get away from Abbott road.  Those are the worst.  Try gate 7 in the back part the cemetery. 

[Richard Noggin]

2 minutes ago, Logic said:

I'll be at the game this Sunday, and this is pretty much what I was expecting. Not great, but predictable.

Did you see ANY masked folks at the game?
 

The vast majority of folks were not wearing masks no matter where they were in the stadium.

 

Actually seemed like people were giving me looks any times I masked up myself and my 4-year old daughter to walk to the concessions area.

[SectionC3]

5 minutes ago, Logic said:

I'll be at the game this Sunday, and this is pretty much what I was expecting. Not great, but predictable.

Did you see ANY masked folks at the game?
 

Very, very, very few. 

[RyanC883]

2 hours ago, Albany,n.y. said:

One other thing.  When I 1st wanted to switch to a mobile ticket I didn't realize I could just hit a button & change it from a "Smart Ticket" to a mobile ticket.  So I tried to transfer it to myself & it kept rejecting it because you can't transfer a ticket to yourself.  I even tried a different e-mail address.  Then I went to my account in the Ticketmaster site on my desktop & immediately saw the way to change the ticket.  For a while I was going back & forth between the computer & my cell phone.  

 

ticketmaster tech is always behind.  

[Mr. WEO]

2 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

There certainly isn't a financial incentive to fix the problem.

 

The biggest issue is actually the ticket processing............every 10th fan thru has en e-ticket they can't pull up on their phone when it's time to perform..........and the Bills didn't make it very clear to most ST holders that they had the option of getting the season ticket "card" again..........so it will be worse yet this year.

 

E-tickets........great for a lot of things........not so much when trying to jam 50K boredom-averse fans thru a few gates in 30 minutes or less.

Every other stadium does it pretty well.  Was at yankee stadium Saturday and boom boom right through including metal detectors.  Similar are MSG where nearly everyone enters at the same point.  It’s not difficult to figure out.  Then again, they are still selling beer out of garbage cans at the  Ralph concessions

[RiotAct]

10 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

 

not me.  I’ve had days where I cruised in, even if the game was sold out.  They probably had 50k fans last week - maybe 65% capacity - and the wait was long by the cemetery entrance.  Half of the metal detectors at one of he gates were unstaffed. 

Get away from Abbott road.  Those are the worst.  Try gate 7 in the back part the cemetery. 

thanks - will try that. Hopefully I’m sober enough to find Gate #7 😂

[WotAGuy]

1 minute ago, Buffalo619 said:

Two hours early??? Why??

Same reason you gotta get to the airport  two hours before boarding time. Security and one person doing the work of three. 

[BADOLBILZ]

13 hours ago, PonyBoy said:

I held up the boarding recently on a flight because I couldn't pull up boarding pass on SW website, even though I checked 2x before boarding & it worked.  Wouldn't work at crunch time. Girl behind me in line said just screen shot it, then it's in my photo gallery. Great advice!! This would work for E-tickets too I'm sure. Spread the word!

 

 

Yep, everybody has a story like that.........it's reality.

 

In one game last year(2019) I went thru security and both sides of the ticket check in front of me were blocked by people with issues getting an e-ticket on their phone.    One poor guy his phone had died and he was just blocking the way and looking back at the crowd in shock realizing he couldn't get in until he went somewhere and charged his phone LOL.   

 

If you have your card you can have it out as you pass thru the metal detector and then it's a 3-4 second process scanning and you are gone.  

 

It's not the security that is holding everything up, that's fairly efficient,  it's the ticket check.

 

I hate to say it but it's naive to think that everyone will rush in early so that the place is packed at kickoff.    The homefield advantage will likely be muted until the second quarter...........telling fans to start coming in 2 hours early is not a viable solution.  

 

 

Edited September 8, 2021 by BADOLBILZ

[Bills fan since 87]

I tried to "save" my ticket master tickets to my phone via downloading the google pay app.as it suggests.  Yet the tickets are no where in there.  Fortunatley they are still in the ticket master app.  Just wish i could screen shot it so i dont have to worry about internet connection at the gate