Reports from the stadium?

[Simon]

I know it probably won't be tonight, but over the next few days I bet I'm not the only one that would like to hear some takes from y'all who finally got to see live football in there.

[djp14150]

Just now, Simon said:

I know it probably won't be tonight, but over the next few days I bet I'm not the only one that would like to hear some takes from y'all who finally got to see live football in there.

Preseason didn’t count?

[Simon]

Just now, djp14150 said:

Preseason didn’t count?

 

Not really, imo.

[Royale with Cheese]

I was in the first row, obstructed view.  

[Diggstheprocess]

Agree.

 

Apparently  they were still working on Gameday operations… tweaking sound etc. 
 

How’d the playing surface look? Seemed to be a non story on the broadcast. 

[Simon]

Just now, Royale with Cheese said:

I was in the first row, obstructed view.  

 

[Royale with Cheese]

Stadium looks great on TV.  The broadcast appearance, looks like a FIFA European soccer game.  Like a darker contrast…can’t really explain it.

[sven233]

The stadium looked great on TV.  

 

What I want to know, though, from someone that was there, is how the noise level was.  Comparable to the old stadium?  Louder?  Not as loud with 10k less fans?  Sounded good on TV, but I want to hear from people that were there.

[davefan66]

Atmosphere was incredible! Loudest I’ve ever heard a Bills game! Now, I sit 400’s with the press box over me, and a few rows back. Not sure if the sound reverbs off the wall and back out, but it was incredibly loud.

 

Jumbotrons look great. Ribbons are pretty cool, but have a ton of advertisements. Small screen 50 yard line halfway up across from my seats that shows score, time, down and distance- would like it to be a bit larger and show those stats consistently on the Jumbotrons.

 

Hype videos were great. Even had one for the start of the 4th quarter. Really got everyone energized!
 

Soundsytem sounded great..albeit a bit too loud at times. They definitely tuned it from when I attended the first practice.

Everything feels high end throughout. Fit and finish is really good. Plenty of restrooms and stalls. The way they have the food and beverage stands off the concourse for the most part, works well. Most of the sales spots don’t add to the congestion of the concourses - I feel that has a lot to do with it being new and people finding their way.

 

Would like there to be less noise and talking throughout the downtimes. Had a few spots with Maddy and someone else doing goofy things. One was the first overall pick in the “tailgate menu” - sushi, pizza and chicken pieces. Steve tasker had the “first pick” and chose sushi. Per Maddy “it sent shockwaves through the draft”….  Just stop please.

 

Concourses are brutal. No traffic flow…everyone out for themselves. Got cut off and bounced into many, many times.  And they are packed with fans. Incredibly so.

 

Parking spots are not as wide. The entrance off southwestern into Orange and white is alternating between directions. Very slow getting into the lot. Closed 2 of the lanes entering those lots for RV traffic. Makes no sense since they need to be parked way before the game. Open them for ingress and close for egress I guess.

 

Overall, they did a fantastic job getting to this game! Really did a great job with training folks. Any question I had was answered well and with a smile. 

All over the place with this…super tired!  Suffice to say, it was an amazing night!!

 

 

[Mark Vader]

21 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I was in the first row, obstructed view.  

Too many players on the field?

[Not at the table Karlos]

Was loud. Prob louder than the old stadium. The scoreboards looked better this week. Looks like they used more of the screens. 

[Richard Noggin]

On the Bills side 100 level, there are only 2 men's bathrooms options, basically at each end of the stadium. Already not enough, and then today a huge line developed PRE-GAME because the northern corner bathroom was closed until 30 minutes prior to kickoff. This is apparently a policy (there was a sign on the door that didn't make complete sense). Crazy stuff. Guys were getting squirrely as they got to the locked doors. There is some other bathroom further down that hallway, I think, but it could not handle the traffic at all. 

 

Something similar for women at one or more of their bathrooms, but they have more options along the Bills side on the main concourse level.

 

42 minutes ago, sven233 said:

The stadium looked great on TV.  

 

What I want to know, though, from someone that was there, is how the noise level was.  Comparable to the old stadium?  Louder?  Not as loud with 10k less fans?  Sounded good on TV, but I want to hear from people that were there.

 

Definitely louder. Not monumentally louder, though (although decibels got up to 116 that i saw, if we are to believe that scoreboard meter...not sure if do). We made noise across the street, too, but that bowl was so wide open. This place captures a lot more sound. 

Edited September 18 by Richard Noggin

[Blank Stare]

I was there and it was incredible. First-rate game day experience and production. I’m actually interested to see what it looked like on tv. Super loud initially, but when we jumped out to that big lead, it seemed to have subdued some of the noise. 

[Einstein]

5 minutes ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

Definitely louder. Not monumentally louder, though (although decibels got up to 116 that i saw, if we are to believe that scoreboard meter...not sure if do). We made noise across the street, too, but that bowl was so wide open. This place captures a lot more sound. 

 

And that’s with 10k less seats! 

 

Imagine how loud it would have been with 70k and that roof.

[JohnBonhamRocks]

Actually did have an obstructed view, which I did not know until getting to my seats because I split seasons and only get 2-3 games… oh well.

 

Otherwise, it was awesome. Loud. Bright. Decent food/beer selection/price. 
 

Still long bathroom lines. 

[agilen]

Stadium was off the charts. I sat in C109 (2 rows behind Fitz and his brothers - he hung out there for much of the second quarter and was awesome saying hi to folks and letting them take selfies).

 

I’ve sat in a similar section at Lumen, and Highmark is way louder. The sack on 3rd down of the first Lions drive was super loud, and the energy was there most of the game. Even the one direction thing was cool 🤷‍♂️

 

The field club was very cool, you get the tunnel where the players come off the field. They don’t all walk by you but some do - DJ Moore came to sign some autographs pregame, Kincaid and Bishop both gave high fives after. Josh came by twice but stayed to the further side by the wall and waved. Also saw Kim go up the tunnel after the game, glad she got to enjoy it.

 

Honestly, it was a fantastic night for Buffalo, we have one of the greatest stadiums in the world!

[QB Bills]

The concourse circling the stadium is a really cool touch. Probably my favourite part of the new building. Otherwise, not monumentally different than the old stadium in terms of functionality. And that's a good thing, imo. Still has a bit of that old school charm.

 

I will say though, it looks a lot nicer and much more grand from the outside than it does within.

[eball]

It’s loud. Much louder than across the street. It impacted at least two Detroit snaps. 
 

Amazing place. 
 

[Bills!Win!]

Some observations. Didn’t make it to preseason or blue and red 

 

-Traffic getting in was still horrendous 

-Bruce the Buffalo was not there the whole time

-There was a traffic jam of people trying to get to their seats at the 300 levels where nobody was moving for about 5 minutes. It was very confusing to figure out where some of the entrances were 

-This building is louder with the crowd noise. Acoustics are amazing

-No 7 nation army for kickoffs 

-Bruce Smith did the leading the charge backwards and got us all confused 

-The train horn is a real live train horn looking thing that blows out steam(?)on 3rd downs
-One republic is not a good live band 

-You can actually hear the referees when they announce a penalty

-The steps in the 300’s are very steep in some spots. Lots of random spots in the stadium with potentially dangerous drop offs. There will be a fatality someday 

-My first ever experience with no idiot fans around me. Maybe just luck or the price of the $1500 tickets 

-I understand the complaint about the video boards now. Why not make them span the whole screen? We don’t need ingame stats. Thats what phones are for

-I noticed throughout the game people at the very top of the 400’s were knocking on the walls behind them which made it sound like the old benches you could bang on to make noise, I also heard a lot of “let’s go buffalo” chants while they were on offense

-They advertised Wi-Fi but it didn’t work or connect 

-No drum line pre game 

 

-Extra stuff - Fitz jumped through a table. They showed the crowd that the Buffalo Sabres were there and the place went nuts both times. Mr. Bright side is still terrible 

 

I was very skeptical at first. But after tonight it feels like home. Definitely a superior upgrade to the old run down Highmark. 

Edited September 18 by Bills!Win!

[Richard Noggin]

In the second half, some absolute genius way up in the 400s, to the left of the "main" scoreboard, started drumming (on a snare) "Let's Go, Buffalo" while the Bills were on offense. Two consecutive drives. Some fellow geniuses began chanting along with it. 

 

Otherwise, I thought the fans were generally energetic and loud when appropriate.