ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) – As the Buffalo Bills continue to dig out from this weekend's severe winter weather and prepare Highmark Stadium for Monday's rescheduled playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, they want fans to be aware: many seats will still be full of snow at kickoff.
"It's not pretty out there," Bills Vice President of Operations and Guest Experience Andy Major said Monday on local sports radio WGR 550, adding that he personally had a shovel in his hand this morning.
"It is all hands on deck," Major said. "We actually do have even our full-time staff out here helping. We're still looking for more snow shovelers."
Video captured by Nexstar's WROC shows crews are still working to clear the snow as of 12 p.m. local time.
The game was originally set to kick off on Sunday but was rescheduled due to the significant winter storm set to hit the area.
The latest snow totals from the National Weather Service include a report of 18 inches of snow in Orchard Park. Major said there was 3 feet of snow inside the stadium. The Bills reminded fans in a social media post to "dress appropriately" and wear "waterproof boots and pants."
The field itself will be ready for the 4:30 p.m. kickoff. No new snow is expected this afternoon in Orchard Park as the lake-effect snow band shifts north.
"The biggest thing is the seating area," Major said. "The aisles will be as clear as we can possibly make them, and have tons of salt on them. But the seating area, people will literally be walking into some snow and sitting into some snow on their seats. We just wanted to let everybody know, that's kind of where we are."
Some sections remain impassable as of noon.
The Bills re-upped the call for help on Monday morning, offering fans $20 per hour and food for their assistance. Erie County made an exception to its travel ban for fans heading to shovel out the stadium.
One shoveler spoke with Nexstar's WIVB Monday morning, warning fans to expect to stand.
"The stadium is crazy right now," Bills fan Joe Machina told WIVB's Hope Winter outside the stadium just after 8 a.m. ET. "They got plows trying to get the field ready to get the snow off, and the seats are covered. Most likely, the fans are going to all have to stand."
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz echoed that sentiment: "Many seats/bleachers will be snow covered," he posted online Monday morning.
Shoveling will continue at least until gates open at 2:30 p.m. local time, Major said. The team's parking lots, scheduled to open at 12:25 p.m., "will be pretty good," he added, though not all private lots may be as fortunate. A fan shuttle will be provided from the McKinley Mall near the old Sears location to bring fans to the stadium who can't find parking in their regular spaces.
The struggle to prepare the stadium has only solidified that moving the game from Sunday to Monday was "100%" the right call.
"Honestly, 100%," Major said. "I think everybody agrees with that one. There's no question. There's no way we could've played that game yesterday. It would've been impossible."
The Bills' new stadium, expected to open in 2026, will have an overhang that covers some seats from the elements, but will not have a dome or retractable roof. A study found adding a roof would add approximately $300 million to the cost of construction.
While Monday's game will likely be the snowiest of the NFL's Wild Card Weekend, it won't be the coldest. With a temperature of minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit and a wind chill of minus-27 at kickoff, Saturday night's game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins holds that title. The game, a Chiefs 26-7 victory, stands as the fourth-coldest in NFL history.
The cold likely had an impact on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes' helmet, which cracked after a tackle, and led to frozen beer, according to Nexstar's WDAF.