Guide to Buffalo Bills Training Camp
- Veronica R. Chiesi Brown
- Jul 8, 2015
- 3 min read
Buffalo Bills training camp (yes the only one in New York because we are the only New York team) begins at the end of this month, finally! Yes, it does seem like forever as this season already has so much excitement and energy and the team hasn’t even hit the field with pads yet! If you plan on heading out to camp, there are FAQs and other information listed on the Buffalo Bills website. I will also provide some tips based on my experience attending camp and being St. John Fisher alum.
Parking: You can’t park on campus unless you are media, a member of the team or organization, an employee or have a special pass. Visitors are shuttled from two main locations (Mendon & Sutherland High School) also in Pittsford. It is about a five minute (depending on traffic) bus ride to the camp. Two more locations are made available (middle schools) if it gets crowded.
Cost: Camp is free with the exception of the $1 fee for riding the shuttle. That fee is for people ages 12-62. Night practice is also free but a ticket is required. The tickets are available through Ticketmaster or at other locations that are expected to be released soon.
Autographs: This is tricky. There is an autograph tent but it is only for children ages 14 and younger and there is only one autograph per child. Also if it is crowded the number of children allowed in line may be limited. Players MAY still sign autographs along the fences but there is no guarantee. Also there are no organized autograph sessions after night practice or on days camp is not in session.
Activities: There are activities for children if they want to do something other than watch practice (say what?) It includes a football toss, obstacle course, field goal challenge and some other activities.
Vendors: There are food vendors set up outside of the stadium. There is limited space so there are limited vendors. When you arrive at camp there is a large tent which includes a satellite Bills Store and of course, various opportunities for you to take home some freebies from different sponsors.
Times/Dates:
Day Practices (run from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.):
July 31st, August 1st, August 2nd, August 5th – August 7th, August 10th & 11th , August 16th, August 17th, August 22nd & August 25th
Night Practices (run from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.):
August 3rd, 8th (this runs until 8:30), 12th, 18th & 23rd
**Note the Buffalo Bills practice with the Cleveland Browns on the 17th and 18th**
Some other notes: Training camp gets packed. The odds of you getting a good “seat” dwindle the later you get there. There are “stands” but there are not an abundance of seats. The front of the bleacher seats on the platform handicapped reserved spaces. Depending on how strict security is, you can stand behind a rope behind that section and in front of the last set of bleachers but they limit that to provide ample walk way room. There is also the opposite side of the field but those areas are usually reserved for special parties. There are some bleachers but not many. There is another field behind the main one but not as much activity happens there.
Other special groups also attend camp and get prime seating at the end of the end zone in a raised area (i.e. businesses, alumni (oh yeah!), organizations, etc.). There is also another special reserved tent behind that one but doesn’t provide much of a view of camp.
So those are my tidbits based on being there and having gone to school at St. John Fisher. This isn’t Fredonia, as I have said before. Access to the players is limited but hopefully you can find a spot to get a good firsthand look so you can judge just how good our team will be.
Veronica R. Chiesi Brown @VRCB32
Link to: Bills Fanatics FB Group
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