Report from tonight's Fan Advisory Board meeting

[plenzmd1]

Guest performers from the Sundowner from Noon to 12:30

 

Seriously, great information Jay,

 

[*]Could they offer activities inside the gates to attract/induce people into the stadium earlier. For example, some stadiums have a larger footprint to allow for additional events/activities inside the security gates. It would mean expanding the gates outward to take up some of the parking lot, but it would allow them to screen people and have them in a beer garden/ band shell kind of area (look at NY Jets stadium and others) Within that area, have Billy Buffalo firing off a t-shirt cannon and mix in a signed jersey now and then and you would have some people coming in.

[*]Call it the picnic zone, allow for an area adjacent to the stadium where you can be screened for security, but not sent to your seats (Miami stadium upper deck food courts) Have events (band/Pre game show). That way people waiting in line are distracted and those inside are entertained and have someplace to hang out instead of their seats (where they will be for 3 hours)

I would think these are great ideas.

 

The Cowboys have the Cheerleaders on stage doing dance routines and shows on stages around the stadium...maybe the Bills could get the Jills to that? Oh thats right.......

 

 

But i do love the ideas, and i do not think this is a ploy to get more money...Bills think it will make for a more enjoyable experience for all..smaller lines means less people pissed from the get go, less rime at tailgate means less hammered people...win win for everyone.

Edited April 24, 2015 by plenzmd1

[YoloinOhio]

Good idea. Half off beer from vendors between 12pm and 12:45pm? That gets tricky....

 

Or, give one voucher for half off beer (or any food/beverage?) to each fan inside the gate by 12:30pm?... to be used by 12:45pm?

 

Ha... you read my mind!... So many drunken sprints into the stadium so as not to miss Enter Sandman.

 

There are many others in college football. Are there any similar pre-game rituals in the NFL? I think it would be difficult to fabricate one.

clemson entrance is amazing. Script Ohio at the Horseshoe. Edited April 24, 2015 by YoloinOhio

[Ted William's frozen head]

Thanks Jay.

 

In terms of getting to seats earlier...maybe if they gave a voucher for $3 off at concession stand or 10% off of merchandise at Bills store if in line by 12:15 or something like that.

 

 

Or, maybe if they did some sort of exclusive interviews with Rex or a SoundFX thing from previous week that would only be shown at 12.30 on the jumbotron.

 

Maybe everyone in by 12:30 could get a front of the line ticket like at amusement parks to be used once at the beer line and restroom! LOL that would be great.

The so called 'Super gates' are bigger, but they closed all of the gates at the 'rear' of the stadium. They need more gates before there is an incident where the team has the wrong kind of 'stampede'.

Great job, Jay!

Edited April 24, 2015 by Ted William's frozen head

[D521646]

So what's with the banning of e-cigs or vaps? Why ban those?

 

Tim-

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

The so called 'Super gates' are bigger, but they closed all of the gates at the 'rear' of the stadium. They need more gates before there is an incident where the team has the wrong kind of 'stampede'.

Great job, Jay!

I suggested they take a lead from the bridges to Canada, where signs give the wait times for all bridges so you can pick your best option.

 

So what's with the banning of e-cigs or vaps? Why ban those?

 

Tim-

Because they're too difficult to tell from real ones, leading to enforcement issues. Ban anything that looks like a cigarette and then if you see one you're good to enforce.

[Kirby Jackson]

Another enjoyable and productive get-together. John Murphy came up before his show to just chat a bit and share his enthusiasm for this season. After every meeting one member goes on his show - I'm gonna volunteer for that (and of course plug TBD).

 

Some tidbits:

• Wi-Fi Update - vendor has been chosen. Plan is to have wi-fi available in-stadium by the opener. May need some tweaks early in the season to get it optimized for all areas and usage.
• Loyalty/Rewards program for Season Ticket Members (not holders - they call them Members) - In the works. Bills Bucks being replaced by a card on which they can load value. Will start with a percentage rebate of your season ticket price (2% I think). Working on a more robust system but will be starting simple. There will be much more discussion on the particulars of this program.
• OneBuffalo - They are beginning to consolidate and cross-pollinate with the Sabres. I suggested maybe a OneBuffalo sports weekend with a Friday Sabres game and Sunday Bills game package. They did say the NFL is adamant about keeping themselves separate from other sports leagues but sounded intrigued by the idea.
• Question asked re: ticket packages to home or away games. They will not get into the travel agency business, but if someone wants them to check on tickets to away games they are happy to do that. It would be last minute, from any of their unused allotment which are usually pretty bad seats. Some teams are more cooperative than others for other requests.
• All tobacco products, matches & lighters, and e-cigs will be officially banned and not allowed entry into the stadium with these items. Leave 'em in your cars, people.
• Drones are illegal in Orchard Park and have been officially banned from all stadium property.
• Bills Bucks expiring - this was something Delaware North (who run the food concessions and the Bills Store) wanted for accounting purposes. If you have expired bucks, call your ticket rep or customer service and they can work with you. For out-of-towners they even said they could take your bucks and buy what you want and ship it to you.
• The Bills are improving in just about every metric taken by the league. For last season they were first overall in club seat holder satisfaction and 5th in general ticket holder satisfaction.
• Other Fan-Fest like benefit suggestions? I said how people were so into that event I got to go to with Rex, Jim, and Thurman and suggested maybe something like that (but bigger) maybe tied into the 20th anniversary of the 4th Super Bowl team. Get alumni and fans together to talk about that team/season and anything else that might come up. Also wondered if there was a way Bills Backers around the country could be involved. Maybe something like that will come to be...
• Season Ticket Members watch your emails tomorrow or Monday for communication regarding tickets for the game in London.
• They were disappointed with no home primetime game this year, but are optimistic that another successful season will land them one next year. They said that Buffalo comes off great in that type of game if the national interest is there.
• They are looking for ways to entice people to get into the stadium earlier. I basically said they'd have to come up with a compelling reason for people to leave their tailgates and come in. Any suggestions any of you have along those lines would be appreciated.

Everybody in the front office said that Rex Ryan is always just the way you see on TV. And he wants to win so badly... His truck was still there when I left the stadium at 8:20. He needs to work on parking between the lines

Teams have been struggling with this for years. In New Orleans we started a pregame block party with $1 beers and free beer for Season Ticket Members before games and even that didn't solve the problem. The same people that were going to come early did.

 

The Philadelphia Union have a pretty good rewards program administered by a company called skidata http://www.skidatausa.com/people-access/stadiums-and-arenas.html. I pushed hard for us to go with them but that was right at the time of the ownership transfer and it got back burnered. Basically, they have these rewards cards with RFID chips and incentivize the behavior that they want. So maybe you get double or triple points by entering before noon. You get extra points by filling out surveys, paying in full, buying merch, etc...http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/tickets/season-ticket-cards-loyalty-program It allows the teams to steer the behavior and people are incentivized for it.

[boyst]

Oh yeah - season ticket update: Currently over 55k with 96% renewal rate. They think they can get to 60k and some talks of capping the number have been had.

 

And I think Rex is just a bad parker. It's not like he was straddling a line, he was just on top of one. It is a very big truck.

no. My truck is big. He doesn't have a long bed crew cab and has just the 250.

 

I came back to check on this. I'll try to take more time on responding when I get a chance. Things still fuzzy here, parents flying out to help brother soon. But I have a few ideas on getting us in earlier that I came up with last year.

[scribo]

The parking problem: the lot was covered with snow when he pulled in in the morning. The lines weren't visible.

[cwchze]

jay,

 

The only issue we had last year was the wait to get in. We have had club seats for the past ten years and

the special line to get in was half hour long each game. Not fun. Plus we would go in earlier if there

was some entertainment inside..anyway still best stadium to see game..

[PaattMaann]

So what's with the banning of e-cigs or vaps? Why ban those?

 

Tim-

 

because only tools use e-cigs, and the bills are trying to limit the amount of tools coming to and fro the stadium

[OldNMBillsFan]

Another enjoyable and productive get-together. John Murphy came up before his show to just chat a bit and share his enthusiasm for this season. After every meeting one member goes on his show - I'm gonna volunteer for that (and of course plug TBD).

 

Some tidbits:

• They are looking for ways to entice people to get into the stadium earlier. I basically said they'd have to come up with a compelling reason for people to leave their tailgates and come in. Any suggestions any of you have along those lines would be appreciated.

Along with what has already been mentioned, the only other suggestion I have for getting fans to their seat before kickoff is to have a seat drawing. The drawing would be after the coin toss. Have the numbers drawn from a ball machine. Section, row and seat. Have a camera follow the process displaying it on the Jumbotron. When the seat number is called, if the individual with that ticket is seated, they win a significant amount of cash. $5,000 or more. If the seat is empty, no one wins and there is no other drawing for that game.

[Just Jack]

But I have a few ideas on getting us in earlier that I came up with last year.

I don't think Rodeo Clowns are the answer, no matter how much Gugny and Beerball want to volunteer.

[CodeMonkey]

Best and maybe only way to get people into the stadium earlier is a downtown stadium with no tailgating.

Bills fans love tailgating. It will always trump anything the Bills can come up with.

Edited April 24, 2015 by CodeMonkey

[John from Riverside]

He can park sideways for all i give a frak......JUST WIN

[YoloinOhio]

He can park sideways for all i give a frak......JUST WIN

word

[BillnutinHouston]

In terms of getting to seats earlier...maybe if they gave a voucher for $3 off at concession stand or 10% off of merchandise at Bills store if in line by 12:15 or something like that.

 

 

Or, maybe if they did some sort of exclusive interviews with Rex or a SoundFX thing from previous week that would only be shown at 12.30 on the jumbotron.

 

 

Surprised they haven't tried more of this. I can't imagine that it would be challenging to get exclusive content, I mean they are the NFL.

[BobbyC81]

Seems like a waste of stadium space though doesn't it? Ub stadium can easily accommodate the "thanksgiving crowd", where as 20,000 in the Ralph would make it seem verrrrrryyyyy empty

 

Maybe in a few years if UB gets good and consistently draws large crowds this would be a very worthwhile option - but for now, I just don't know how it makes sense

 

Speaking of which, is there a long-range plan for the UB Sports programs like hoping to move up to a Major conference like the Big Ten?

[ricojes]

jay,

 

The only issue we had last year was the wait to get in. We have had club seats for the past ten years and

the special line to get in was half hour long each game. Not fun. Plus we would go in earlier if there

was some entertainment inside..anyway still best stadium to see game..

You don't have to use that gate, do you? Everyone crowds the first gate they see, which is gate 5, just keep walking and the last entrance (7) will take no longer than 5 minutes to get in. i know, i know....shhhhh...But i haven't had any issues getting in...

[CountryCletus]

i was trying to think about college games because tailgating is so huge with those but the fans are usually in their seats fairly early. I think it's because of the band.

 

Maybe a pre-game concert?

As if the Fillmore High School marching band wasn't enough.... Hahaha

[PromoTheRobot]

Yea I hear you I think there would be interest - even from non UB alum/fans - but even 30,000 (or 40,000 if we wanna go hog wild) would seem like a lot of dead space at the Ralph....it is a good suggestion though

UB stadium looks worse with 5,000.

 

Speaking of which, is there a long-range plan for the UB Sports programs like hoping to move up to a Major conference like the Big Ten?

Their AD Danny White has done much to advance the program, with basketball going to the NCAA's this year for the first time. But it all comes down to money. Alums have to write checks. They have the academic cred to be a Big 10 school but not the athletic facilities. I think the All-America Conference (ex-Big East) is a more likely next step. But they absolutely have to get out of the freakin' MAC.