Under pressure: Some Bills fans are upset about the new stadium season ticket.

Want a seat at the new Bills stadium? The new virtual reality center will provide spectators with a glance. Read the whole story here.

Some season ticket holders in club seats have had a difficult time deciding their future at the new Buffalo Bills stadium.

It has prompted dissatisfaction and concern among fans who wonder if they made the correct decision. That includes some season ticket holders who have answered yes.

“I keep kicking myself, questioning whether it was a good move, but I love the Bills and going to games,” said Charlie Jufer, a retired Wilson Central School teacher, coach, and administrator. He purchased a single aisle seat in Section 220 for $4,200 per season, plus a $10,000 one-time personal seat license cost.

Bills supporters have grappled with the option to acquire expensive personal seat licenses and season tickets at the new Highmark Stadium, which is set to open for the 2026 NFL season.

Over the last few months, most season ticket holders in the club seats have visited the team’s Stadium Experience Center in Amherst, where they have heard a sales pitch from a Legends representative for seats in the new stadium. The ticket holders are expected to make a decision on the spot or shortly thereafter.

It would be a simple decision for most to stay once the new Highmark Stadium opens in 2026, if it weren’t for the expense, which includes paying thousands of dollars for a personal seat license in exchange for the ability to pay much higher ticket rates for club seats.

Some have stated that ticket prices for comparable seats in the new stadium’s clubs have nearly doubled, although season ticket holders in general admission, who account for the majority of the venue’s seats, have yet to visit the experience center to learn about pricing.

The team claims that the experience and amenities in the club sections will be vastly improved over the current stadium, but fans must determine whether this is worth the huge upfront investment.

That is especially true for the Bills season ticket base, which lacks the large corporate presence that teams in larger markets can rely upon. Individual fans, rather than businesses, account for a sizable portion of the Bills’ season ticket base.

Cutouts of Bills supporters and a prototype of the logo that will be used in the new stadium’s locker room are among the first things visitors see when they enter the Buffalo Bills Stadium Experience Center in Amherst.

Those who want to acquire season tickets in the new stadium will have less discretionary income for other entertainment activities, such as Bills road games. For some, the decision is complicated by deep family links to the team, the risk of violating years of tradition, and the fear of losing out.

The Buffalo News met with six club seat season ticket holders, three of whom have purchased seats for the new stadium and three who, for the time being, have declined.

Erie County Attorney Jeremy Toth believes the Buffalo Bills should be commended for discovering and implementing a contract clarification that requires the Bills to invest millions of dollars in the community during the stadium construction project, extending the agreement to 33 years rather than 30.

Anxious moments

“At first, I started to have anxiety, thinking about whether I would regret this either way or the other,” said Luke Mages of Clarence, who decided not to renew his season ticket in the new stadium.

“All I could think was, ‘If I do this, was I going to sit at the stadium regretting that I paid all of this money, or if I don’t do this, I am going to regret not being there?'” he replied.

Mages, 41, and his wife traveled to England last season for the Bills’ London game to see Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which inspired the Buffalo football stadium on Abbott Road. Even though the British stadium was stunning, he was not convinced.

During the February meeting of the New Stadium Community Benefits Oversight Committee, it was assumed that the Buffalo Bills’ $3 million annual community allocation would begin once the stadium was completed in 2026. However, a review of the CBA revealed that it is still active during the three-year construction period. The committee is now prioritizing the development of a system to ensure that funds are allocated effectively, which will include public participation in the process to better understand the most pressing requirements.

“And then, God forbid, the Bills don’t do well,” Mage added.

A modest family affair.

Even though he moved to Virginia and only attends two to four home games every season, Buffalo native Joe Bruzgul chose to buy two tickets to keep his family together at the new stadium. The existing season ticket group has already been reduced from ten to four tickets.

His father is no longer a season ticket holder after more than 30 years, so Bruzgul and his brother tried to carry on the family tradition by each obtaining two seats, albeit his brother reduced his number from four to two. It also allows his father to continue attending group games.

Bruzgul feels there will be less affordable tickets available for individual games. He also believes that as current members decline season tickets, the thousands of individuals on the waitlist would certainly purchase what is left.

The Buffalo Bills’ new stadium project site has been an attraction since construction began last June, but this summer may be an even better time for fans, sightseers, and neighbors to visit as the stadium takes shape, the weather warms up, and school is out until the fall.

“I have been agonizing over this decision and was going to let it go by,” said Bruzgul, 33, who lives in Blacksburg, Va., where he works and his wife attends school. “But at the moment, I’m excited. “I think I made the right decision.”

He continued, “The seat license is not a good thing, and it is really aggravating. I don’t see it as a value, but it just boiled down to, ‘Do you want to go or not?'”

Cost trumps tradition

Neil Raddu of Buffalo found that family and tradition were insufficient.

He began attending Bills games in 2002 with his grandmother, who had season seats in the Jim Kelly Club. He was 12 years old at the time, and the games allowed him to interact with his grandma.

Will all of the money come from the Bills’ billionaire owner Terry Pegula, or should season ticket holders expect to share in the costs?

But he finally declined to pay a $15,000 PSL and drastically raise ticket costs at the new stadium.

“That was our hobby together,” he remarked. “At the end of the day, the NFL is a business, and loyalty doesn’t keep the lights on at night.”

A dream comes true.

Adlana Buck of Busti in Chautauqua County has wanted to be a season ticket holder since she was a teenager, but her family couldn’t afford them at the time.

Buck, 54, left the area and spent 20 years in Florida before returning to Western New York in 2009. The Southwestern High School alumnus acquired tickets to the new stadium for herself and her husband, as well as a third ticket for her 12-year-old son, who she says has just discovered football.

“I want to be there from Day 1 once they take the field in the new stadium,” she told me. “The Bills have been an interest of mine since I was a teenager. Fortunately, I am now in a situation where I can obtain season tickets. It’s just very essential to me and my hubby. I adore the games and the overall in-person experience there, and we want our son to have the same.

The Waiting Game

Angelica James of Wheatfield said her season ticket group of eight is interested in purchasing tickets to the new stadium, but they must be at a reduced price.

She and her husband initially declined the club seats offered to them, and they are now angry that they must wait in line for ordinary admission tickets.

“We don’t know what it will look like or if we’ll ever get a call back,” said James, a four-year season ticket holder who attends with three other couples. “My husband is eager to obtain tickets, but we may have to wait another year to find out if we are qualified. “The way they’re doing this seems a little crazy.”

Give and take.

Jufer, a retired Wilson school official, normally attends a few road games each season, but he said he’d have to cut back to afford the seat license and higher ticket pricing.

Others may be forced to do the same, or at least cut or reduce their spending for other forms of amusement and recreation, thus harming other businesses and the local economy.

He was also outraged that he paid down $2,000 for his $10,000 PSL and took advantage of the Bills’ 10-year financing through M&T Bank, only to be charged the whole price.

He received his money back three days later, but not before it caused problems with his bank account and some of his purchases.

How Bills fans can participate in the NFL’s 2024 Fan of the Year contest

Football has returned, and it’s time to enter the NFL Fan of the Year sweepstakes for the 2024 season.

Each year, the Fan of the Year award recognizes fans who have a positive impact on their family, friends, and community and whose stories inspire others. Sign up using the link below to represent the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Fans can enter the sweepstakes until 11:59 p.m. EST on September 30, and they must be 21 or older.

Here’s how to enter and tell the world that Buffalo has the best NFL fans:

Click this link  to get started.
Fill out the form and suggest either yourself or someone you believe deserves the title of NFL Fan of the Year.
Each NFL team will submit their own Fan of the Year, and the winner will be announced on stage during the NFL Honors awards ceremony during Super Bowl week.