Bills holding open practice Aug 18 - tickets will be open to the public

[WotAGuy]

Tickets will be available to general public.
 

“Return of the Blue and Red, an annual intrasquad scrimmage held by the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, will not be the only opportunity for fans to experience the new Highmark Stadium on a non-game day in August.

Pete Guelli, the Bills' president of business operations, told The Buffalo News that first-year coach Joe Brady will hold an open practice in the $2.1 billion, 60,108-seat stadium on the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 18.

Holding a personal seat license doesn’t get you first dibs to the practice, either. Details will be announced soon, Guelli added, but tickets are expected to be made available online by the Bills on July 21. Everyone has the same odds of attending the open practice.”

 

https://buffalonews.com/sports/professional/nfl/bills/article_b9979b83-2d5d-43f9-b4f5-d6b9bf730b7f.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_The_Buffalo_News&fbclid=IwdGRleAS3stdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeWn7PFQS-4whqoYG2La7oX9OQo4KeiNbq_ZHpiIrlc3HUI-0Op2kK0reu0GU_aem_7uV0b-3b9p1YR6B4GAtAzw

 

 

Edited July 5 by WotAGuy

[Kirby Jackson]

Thanks for sharing. There’s the answer. They are giving everyone a chance to see the new stadium early. Well done by the Bills 

Edited July 5 by Kirby Jackson

[WotAGuy]

1 hour ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Thanks for sharing. There’s the answer. They are giving everyone a chance to see the new stadium early. Well done by the Bills 

Pete Guelli: “OMG those f-ing whiners on TBD!  We need to do something!”

[zow2]

I’m sure some people will b*tch about having to miss work or whatever on a Tuesday morning to attend.  Bunch a whiny so called fans I see on social media.

 

Nowadays i’m just a one or two games a season guy since i have to come from out of town.  I don’t have skin in the game, but i didn’t have a problem with the folks that laid out $$$ to buy PSL’s, having first crack to see the new stadium and the little tiny pieces of real estate they invested in. But whatever, kudos to the Bills and Brady for reading the room and giving the first glimpse to everyone. No one should have reason to complain now.

[WotAGuy]

2 minutes ago, zow2 said:

No one should have reason to complain now.

Everyone: “Hold my beer”

[Goin Breakdown]

I'm not even "asking for a friend". So when I say that I can't afford to watch a game at the stadium anymore, is that b!tching?  I get inflation and new stadium and all that, but am I allowed to be bummed that I don't make the money it takes to see a game without considering groceries and such. Is that b!tching. Just making sure I get this whole "I'm a tough guy and everyone else sucks so I get more message board cred" thing right. 

[WotAGuy]

44 minutes ago, Goin Breakdown said:

I'm not even "asking for a friend". So when I say that I can't afford to watch a game at the stadium anymore, is that b!tching?  I get inflation and new stadium and all that, but am I allowed to be bummed that I don't make the money it takes to see a game without considering groceries and such. Is that b!tching. Just making sure I get this whole "I'm a tough guy and everyone else sucks so I get more message board cred" thing right. 

It’s not bitching. 
 

It’s whining. 😝

[SCBills]

45 minutes ago, Goin Breakdown said:

I'm not even "asking for a friend". So when I say that I can't afford to watch a game at the stadium anymore, is that b!tching?  I get inflation and new stadium and all that, but am I allowed to be bummed that I don't make the money it takes to see a game without considering groceries and such. Is that b!tching. Just making sure I get this whole "I'm a tough guy and everyone else sucks so I get more message board cred" thing right. 

When you state it the way you have, absolutely not. 
 

The issue for me is with people who take it further and attack Pegula or whoever. 
 

Pegula could have made way more money moving us to Austin if thats all he was about. He kept the Bills in Buffalo, but there’s a cost. 
 

I think you have a very justified frustration though. 

[DaVinci]

Jeez , nothing to complain about

[Billsflyer12]

1 hour ago, SCBills said:

When you state it the way you have, absolutely not. 
 

The issue for me is with people who take it further and attack Pegula or whoever. 
 

Pegula could have made way more money moving us to Austin if thats all he was about. He kept the Bills in Buffalo, but there’s a cost. 
 

I think you have a very justified frustration though. 

The condition of the Wilson’s selling to Terry was that he keep team in WNY.

 

The condition of NFL approving the sale to Terry was he get a new stadium built.

Terry has more than tripled his money since buying the Bills having even bought one of the most expensive yachts in America at 100 million just 5 years ago.

 

Buffalo median household income Is 50,000 a year with 26% of population living below poverty line.

 

Edited July 6 by Billsflyer12

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

I bet I will log in 30 seconds after the website opens and will be 200,000th in line!

[Just Jack]

2 hours ago, WotAGuy said:

Pete Guelli: “OMG those f-ing whiners on TBD!  We need to do something!”

 

I know someone that knows someone that is working concessions this year, and they said they were told a couple weeks ago to keep August 18th open for an event at the stadium. I thought they were confusing the 18th with the 8th. Looks like they were right. 

 

[Goin Breakdown]

12 hours ago, WotAGuy said:

It’s not bitching. 
 

It’s whining. 😝

See this is what I'm talking about lol. It's all good

12 hours ago, SCBills said:

When you state it the way you have, absolutely not. 
 

The issue for me is with people who take it further and attack Pegula or whoever. 
 

Pegula could have made way more money moving us to Austin if thats all he was about. He kept the Bills in Buffalo, but there’s a cost. 
 

I think you have a very justified frustration though. 

I can get behind this. It's all perspective. 

[eball]

If somebody is saying they can’t go to a game now because they have to consider their grocery bill, I wonder how many games they were going to before. It’s not like going to a game even last year was “cheap.”

 

[SoTier]

On 7/5/2026 at 8:41 PM, Goin Breakdown said:

I'm not even "asking for a friend". So when I say that I can't afford to watch a game at the stadium anymore, is that b!tching?  I get inflation and new stadium and all that, but am I allowed to be bummed that I don't make the money it takes to see a game without considering groceries and such. Is that b!tching. Just making sure I get this whole "I'm a tough guy and everyone else sucks so I get more message board cred" thing right. 

 

This is a trend throughout sports in America because  American wages have been relatively flat for most of the 21st century while most other segments of the economy, including event tickets, have kept pace with or exceeded the inflation rate.   More and more Americans can't afford to attend their teams' games in person even if those tickets are "reasonably" priced simply because higher costs for essentials like housing, transportation, and food leave less money for discretionary spending.

 

On 7/5/2026 at 10:27 PM, Billsflyer12 said:

The condition of the Wilson’s selling to Terry was that he keep team in WNY.

 

The condition of NFL approving the sale to Terry was he get a new stadium built.

Terry has more than tripled his money since buying the Bills having even bought one of the most expensive yachts in America at 100 million just 5 years ago.

 

Buffalo median household income Is 50,000 a year with 26% of population living below poverty line.

 

 

If Pegula really wanted to move the team, his legal eagles could probably find a loop hole.

 

You can't use the median household income stat for Buffalo as a weapon against the Bills' ticket pricing schedule because Bills fans don't come only from the city.  Poverty in Erie County is concentrated in Buffalo, but Buffalo makes up only 28% of Erie County's total population.  The median household income for the town of Clarence, for example, is $124,800.  Moreover, many Bills fans come from outside Erie County, outside New York State, and even outside the US.

 

39 minutes ago, eball said:

If somebody is saying they can’t go to a game now because they have to consider their grocery bill, I wonder how many games they were going to before. It’s not like going to a game even last year was “cheap.”

 

 

The vast majority of Bills fans, even in WNY, were never season ticket holders.  Depending upon their financial situations, they could afford to purchase single game tix to one or two games a year.   @Goin Breakdown is saying that the ticket increases are pricing out those fans, and I agree.  Last year, a friend wanted to attend a last game in Highmark, but we didn't go because the price of one ticket in a modestly decent seat cost more than I paid for a pair of season tickets back in 2008.  

[WotAGuy]

Instead of 80,000 Joe Six Packs, we’ll soon have 67,000 Claudes and Buffys drinking champagne and eating caviar, not being sure what the score is or who is playing. 
“Oh look!  Number 17 looks like our pool boy!”

[Dillenger4]

So, I signed up for this open practice. I said I can play CB. I mean... if Tre White can do it, I can easily do it and be better. I'm in. I've been working out (Crossfit) and mountain bike riding every week. I'm in good shape and I want to hurt the opposition. I can party too! So the boys will like me when we jam at Allens house.

[Goin Breakdown]

1 hour ago, WotAGuy said:

Instead of 80,000 Joe Six Packs, we’ll soon have 67,000 Claudes and Buffys drinking champagne and eating caviar, not being sure what the score is or who is playing. 
“Oh look!  Number 17 looks like our pool boy!”

To quote Metallica. "Sad but true"

[eball]

1 hour ago, WotAGuy said:

Instead of 80,000 Joe Six Packs, we’ll soon have 67,000 Claudes and Buffys drinking champagne and eating caviar, not being sure what the score is or who is playing. 
“Oh look!  Number 17 looks like our pool boy!”

 

75% of season ticket holders bought PSLs. This ⬆️ is a very naive and incorrect statement.

 

[blitzboy54]

On 7/5/2026 at 8:22 PM, zow2 said:

I’m sure some people will b*tch about having to miss work or whatever on a Tuesday morning to attend.  Bunch a whiny so called fans I see on social media.

 

Nowadays i’m just a one or two games a season guy since i have to come from out of town.  I don’t have skin in the game, but i didn’t have a problem with the folks that laid out $$$ to buy PSL’s, having first crack to see the new stadium and the little tiny pieces of real estate they invested in. But whatever, kudos to the Bills and Brady for reading the room and giving the first glimpse to everyone. No one should have reason to complain now.

 

I'm not picking on you, please don't take this personally. What you wrote is a good example of what I think is the wrong argument. Everything you said about the PSL's and season ticket holders is true. I don't think most people dispute it. But that isn't the problem. The issue is at the end of the day the Pegula's took $850 million public dollars to build it. That money belongs to the tax paying public. It's our money. I get why they did it, I get the argument for keeping the team here. I personally do not agree with it but what is done is done. 

 

The real issue is if you take the public's money to build a private sports stadium then the public should have some sort of access to it. I didn't say free games, I also didn't say more access than anyone else. I also didn't say forever. STH argument is I paid all this money on top of it so I get to see it first. Damn right they do. I again have no issue there. 

 

My solution is this. Since this stadium is publicly financed with zero pay back to the people that financed it there should be a period of time of open house. For maybe 2 weeks the stadium should be open to the general public to walk in, look around and check it out. I didn't say a free for all, not a mob, we are not setting up a homeless encampment on the field. It will be staffed, there will be security they can even have you go online and register for a specific time. This represents the very least they can do. When Owens Corning got a bunch of state money to expand their plant in the 80's they had an open house event to invite the public in to see it. This is simply the right thing to do. Yes it will cost them money but they can afford it and it is a microscopic fraction of the $850 million they were given.