Bills news: Recapping ribbon-cutting ceremony at new Bills stadium

On Tuesday, the Buffalo Bills hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the team’s new Highmark Stadium, which cost more than $2.2 billion and will be ready for the start of the upcoming NFL season.

Among the speakers were owner Terry Pegula, Mary Wilson, wife of former team owner Ralph Wilson Jr., and New York governor Kathy Hochul.

Bills legends like Hall of Famers Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas were in attendance, as was former Buffalo linebacker Scott Radecic who, after he retired from football, became an architect, eventually serving as a founding partner and global director of Populous, the world’s leading architecture firm specializing in sports and entertainment venues. Once Pegula chose Populous to build the stadium, Radecic took on the new Highmark Stadium construction as his passion project.

“This has got to be one of my top projects to be able to deliver a brand new building, for Populous, to the people of Western New York,” Radecic said. “To come back to a team that I used to play with and be a part of what that future fan experience is going to be, knowing that the stadium will help to create moments and experiences, create memories that young people will have with their mom and dad, grandma, grandpa and all that type of stuff, it’s really extraordinary. It’s an extraordinary building, it’s as good as anything in the world, and it’s right here in Orchard Park, New York.”

Today’s edition of Buffalo Rumblinks leads off with everything you need to know about Buffalo’s new stadium, including what fans can expect when they attend a home game this year.

Buffalo’s new Highmark Stadium boasts modern amenities, premium seating options, expansive concourses, and cutting-edge technology, which the team says is “designed to create an unmatched game day atmosphere, all while honoring the blue-collar spirit that defines Buffalo.”

The new stadium features a natural grass field, which represents a switch from the turf field the Bills previously played on, and has underground heating coils to prevent the grass from freezing and grow lights to have optimal conditions year-round.

“The old stadium, once you left the seating bowl you could not see the field. We wanted to give everybody who’s in the building, no matter where they are in the building, give them that connection to the field of play, to a scoreboard, to a video board, to something. And no matter where you are, you have that experience. And I think that’s just going to be a game changer for people over the next couple of decades,” Radecic said.

“Every seat in this place is great, the facilities are incredible,” Guelli said. “The way it’s set up for the team is perfect. As soon as you walk in here, you’re immediately able to see the field. It’s built perfectly for Buffalo, and I’m impressed by every aspect of it,” added president of business operations Pete Guelli.

“It’s awesome,” Kelly said. “I’ve been in here three or four times now,” Kelly continued, “and I’ve gotten to walk in the locker room, I’ve been in there and it’s amazing and I can’t wait for opening day. Even though you know they’re going to have a couple of preseason games here, I can’t wait to see them open up on Sept. 17th.”

We hear from Jim Kelly, who suffered a stroke about six weeks ago but says he “feels good” and was on hand for the new stadium ribbon cutting. Plus, learn more about Buffalo’s joint practice opponent; find out which players saw their stock fall following mandatory minicamp; and get to know new cornerbacks coach Jay Valai.