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Buffalo Bills Adjust Tailgating Policy To Curb Unruly Fan Behavior At New Era Field

Photo of the tailgating lots outside of New Era Field, home of the Buffalo Bills.

Image Credit: Adam Moss (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Its no secret that the Buffalo Bills have some of the most unruly fans in the National Football League. Ask any fan of the New England Patriots or New York Jets that have been brave enough to venture into New Era Field as a visiting fan. In fact, they’re almost as bad as Philadelphia Eagles fans. The Buffalo Bills are now taking measures to deter unruly football fans from tailgating in the bus lots at New Era Field. The measure will require all limos and fan buses to purchase a tailgate package for their occupants as well as tailgate within a designated area called “Tailgate Village”.

Tailgate Village will be able to accommodate up to 4,000 fans and will feature a live DJ each home game. Pricing for the buses and limos that wish to tailgate are as follows.

  • $300 for a 20-passenger vehicle
  • $600 for a 40-passenger vehicle
  • $900 for a 60-passenger vehicle
  • $100 for buses with passengers that are not tailgating

Parking passes must be purchased in advance and will obviously require individual fans to pull their money together with the rest of the group.  Each fan allowed into the area will be given a wristband. The new tailgating plan was put together via a partnership of the following groups.

  • The Buffalo Bills organization
  • All-Pro Parking
  • Orchard Park Police Department
  • Erie County Sheriff’s Office
  • Limousine-Bus-Taxi Operators of Upstate New York
  • BPI security firm

Bus lot tailgaters were required to pay a $100 deposit during the 2018 NFL season. That dollar amount did little to curb the unruly fan behavior. The Buffalo Bills organization have cited websites like DeadSpin and Barstool Sports as a major culprit behind unruly fan behavior throughout the professional sports world. They’re not wrong. In the past, footage has surfaced of Buffalo Bills fans jumping off of buses and onto tailgate tables; all while being cheered on by other fans.

“Tailgate Guys” will oversee Tailgate Village at New Era Field. The company is headquartered in Opelika, Alabama, and will create a custom tailgate experience for the buses and limos that do choose to pay the hefty tailgating fees for the area. Packages purchased from “Tailgate Guys” will include a tent, tables, and chairs custom to the size of the number of people tailgating. For an additional fee, fans will be able to add more items to their tailgate packages including grills, cornhole games, televisions, etc. The new tailgating rules will not apply to limos carrying fewer than 11 passengers as they will still be able to park alongside Abbott Road in the bus lot.

 

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