Virtual reality center will give Bills fan look at stadium

Jan 06, 2024

Heavy equipment and work is underway for the $1.5 billion project for a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills.

The new Buffalo Bills stadium won't open for three years, but team leadership is still working on presenting what the fan experience will look like at the new Orchard Park venue.

A big part of that will be providing for season ticket holders an early look inside the new $1.54 billion stadium and how and where each of these fans will fit into it.

Since it is impossible to do that in person for a facility that won't be fully constructed until 2026, much of it will be accomplished through a stadium fan interaction center, the Stadium Experience, currently under construction in an open space at the Walker Center in Williamsville.

It is expected to open by the end of the summer. The Bills had initially said it would open in the spring.

The invitation-only center will be a place where season ticket holders can custom design their experience at the new stadium.

They will experience their potential seat in the new stadium in virtual reality and feel what it is like to sit in a variety of seats from a 360-degree view.

But it will be about more than just the view from a particular seat.

Fans will be able to design where they want to park and tailgate and then enter and make their way around the new stadium. They also will find out what their options will be like for food and beverages.

It likely also will be the place where season ticket holders find out how much personal seat licenses will cost at different locations around the stadium – an important consideration for fans choosing where to sit or whether to continue on as a season ticket holder.

The PSL, which is a one-time fee charged to season ticket holders for the right to buy tickets, is a standard tool used to help finance new stadiums but a new concept in the Buffalo market.

Ron Raccuia, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Bills, said the Stadium Experience will ultimately be the place for season ticket holders to get a visual sense of what the new stadium will be like as it is constructed over the next three years.

"The stadium experience center will really put our Bills fans at ease on how this is going to be and how they’re going to park, where they’re going to sit, what the food and beverage experience is going to be – all those things that will make the experience there and that we will keep building on over the next 36 months," he said.

Season ticket holders will be contacted this summer to set up an appointment at the center. First priority for seats in the new stadium will be given to existing Highmark Stadium season ticket members.

The Bills are working with Legends, the consulting firm that is overseeing the sales process for the Bills, to get the center up and running.

The Bills announced Monday that the team has launched a deposit campaign to create a priority list of potential season ticket holders at the new stadium.

Fans interested in purchasing season tickets in the future Bills stadium can join the wait list by making a $150 deposit per seat. That will secure them an appointment in the coming months to the Stadium Experience.

The new Highmark Stadium will have a capacity of just over 60,000, or about 10,000 less than current Highmark Stadium, where the Bills have just over 63,000 season ticket holders.

The Bills are completing the season ticket renewal process for 2023 and are encouraging fans to secure their seats at Highmark Stadium for this season to maintain their current priority for seats in the new stadium.

Season ticket holders will receive a dedicated new stadium representative to walk them through every step of the way.

"Every fan that has a seat in the new stadium will come through the center," Raccuia previously said.

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Michael J. Petro is a business reporter for The Buffalo News. The Buffalo State College graduate is a former sports writer who previously served as the editor of both The Sun and Buffalo Law Journal.

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