Trouble at Gate 1

[Lori]

stop being a p---- you went to a buffalo bills game not an off boardway performance of cats.

And people have DIED in scrums like this at other sporting events. Ask Joe Panos what happened at the end of Wisconsin's upset win over Michigan a few years ago.

[Bmwolf21]

And people have DIED in scrums like this at other sporting events. Ask Joe Panos what happened at the end of Wisconsin's upset win over Michigan a few years ago.

Not to mention how many have been injured or killed in those soccer fan scrums in Europe.

 

But hey, complaining about it makes you a kitty.

[Hossage]

The bills are responsible for a dangerous situation. There were three ticket takers for hundreds of people and they were being lightly worked. Six policemen stood behind the ticket takers and not pat people down when there was clearly a need to defuse the situation and get the crowd moving.

 

Security guards let only a trickle of people through to be searched. They absolutely were being slow on purpose, and were smug about it. The police were much slower and more thorough in their searches than at any other game.

 

The crowd was relatively well behaved, but any fool could see it was an explosive mob scene. Ranks of people in the crowd leaning forward and jockeying for position pushed fans in front over the portable metal bar barriers from behind. They tipped over and people tripped over them and became entangled in their bars. One person in front of me had his foot caught and was screaming for his life so he did not get trampled by the crowd or break his leg. I nimbly avoided the barrier as I was pushed over it. The gates were then closed and locked in front of us, causing people to be pressed up against them.

 

I turned around and very slowly made my way out of the crowd, telling people that they had locked the gate. It was dark and the crowd was so thick that people could not see. There was no communication from the security to the crowd.

 

I should have complained about this before now, because the situation was absolutely inexcusable.

[DonInBuffalo]

Channel 2 has an article about this on their web site:

 

http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?...75&catid=37

 

I couldn't find anything about it on any of the other local TV web sites or the Buffalo News.

 

Checking the FAQ at the "Contact Us" section of the Buffalo News, it says there not to email them unsolicited news tips, but to instead contact them by phone.

[Lori]

We've talked about the situation at the gates quite a bit this year. I'll repeat what I said in the earlier discussion -- at all the road games I've attended, I've NEVER seen bottlenecks like the ones at the Ralph. This also isn't the only stadium in the league where people show up at the gates half an hour before kickoff, so that excuse flies about as well as a frozen turkey. There are not enough screeners. Until the Bills and/or Erie County solve this problem, it's not going to get better.

 

And changing up the traffic flow from previous games, making the congestion even worse? Yeah, that was a good plan. Or not.

[clumping platelets]

stop being a p---- you went to a buffalo bills game not an off broadway performance of cats.

 

 

Russ Brandon? Is that you?

 

You know where you can go

[clumping platelets]

Bills organization is lying and should be held accountable. Someone deserves to be fired. I nominate Scott Berchtold

 

What a dumbass!

[clumping platelets]

This response from the Bills organization disgusts me to no end.

[DonInBuffalo]

FYI, email I sent to Adam Benigni

Adam,

 

 

 

Good to see that someone in the local media addressing this issue. I wasn't at the MNF game, but have dealt with siimilar situations earlier in the season that fortunately didn't get as out of control. Unless this issue gets dealt with, IMO it's just a matter of time before a very serious incident occurs, such as one similar to the Who concert in Cincinnati where a number of people died.

 

 

 

Based on what I've read in the forum thread linked below, and also my personal experiences at previous games this season, your article doesn't entirely do justice to the seriousness of this situation.

 

 

 

http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=77087

 

 

 

Your article doesn't represent an entirely accurate picture of what is going on here, but that's not your fault. The Bills organization is stonewalling the local media. It's plainly obvious they've changed their "security" procedures for the express purpose of forcing fans to enter the gates much earlier than they normally would, with the clear intent of trying to increase their concession revenue. I recommend your station followup on this and get some real answers, not just fluff b.s. crap from Berchtold. If your sports duties at the station prevent you from doing so yourself, I recommend you pass this along to your station's most senior investigative reporter.

 

 

 

 

 

Don xxxxxx

 

 

 

I live in North Buffalo, and have been a Bills season ticket holder for over 20 years.

The only part I changed was x'ing out my last name in this post

[Bleed Bills Blue]

This response from the Bills organization disgusts me to no end.

I haven't heard the exact statement, but blaming the late arriving crowd would be like blaming sun glare for your car accident because it made it really hard to read the text on your cell phone screen.

 

I was in "line" at about 7:15, which is to say I was at the back of the crowd, right at the crest of the hill that rises up from the parking areas. It took about 45 minutes to go from there to the barricade, and another 20 minutes or so to get through the turnstiles and to my seat.

 

Now, things were moving ok, although very slow, up until about 7:45 when it began to get increasingly chaotic and ugly. I would guess the barricade was breached a little after 8:00, maybe 8:15 (I wasn't watching the time at that point).

 

So, yes, I guess the breaking point was reached as it neared game time and large numbers of late arriving fans (partying or otherwise) began to realize they were probably going to miss part of the first quarter. But the entry procedure the Bills had put in place threw fuel on that fire. It was ineffectual and incompetent, confusing and dangerous.

 

The added irony here, is that the whole pat-down security procedure was sped up to the point of absurdity. To get everyone through the checkpoints faster, the checkers simply went through the motions with hundreds of fans. One quick pat-or-none-and through you went. In addition, I noticed they were hardly concentrating on their jobs at hand, anyway. They had one eye on the mob the whole time. I plainly saw fear on their faces as they worried about their own safety. Nothing more frightening than an out of control mob!

[eliteqb]

sue the bills!!!

 

sadly, in today's world that's the usual course of action.

[scribo]

It is all about money. I am a subcontractor for the company (CSC) that provides the event staff personnel at the Ralph. Now, I am working at FedEx Field, but I have spoken with the regional vice president, who also oversees the Buffalo office.

 

He told me each season CSC tells the Bills more staff is needed, but each year the request to up the budget is denied. But that only covers the guys and gals doing the pat downs. The Ralph has its own security personnel, and they are the ones responsible for controlling the crowd before fans go through the screen stations. I know it is again budget issues, the team unwilling to pay for the additional personnel needed to set up and maintain organized lines leading to the gates.

 

Tragically, it will probably take a few fans getting seriously injured or even killed in thee stampedes before the team will do what's necessary to ensure safety.

 

Of course, let's not forget these stampedes wouldn't happen if there weren't so many a-holes ready to push and shove others whenever they can get away with it. But, alas, the reality is the world is full of these jerks, so the franchise needs to remedy this situation immediately.