Bills push to host a future NFL Draft.

[Augie]

2 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

A tiny tiny version and that's what I've been saying.. orchard Park has approved and entertainment district... In four zones surrounding the stadium 

 

You're probably going to get a bills Hall of Fame type exhibition... Maybe a little fan interaction stuff... A hotel and probably two or three restaurants 

 

Orchard Park zoning literally doesn't even allow for buildings over two and a half stories... The Buffalo Bills got them to change that and now they're allowed four story in the zones around the stadium.. so I can see a nice hotel , a couple of restaurants... And if a millionaire really wants to get his hands dirty maybe a brewery / restaurant 

 

 

 

I don’t know enough to have a strong opinion about OP, but you just jogged a memory of going to a football museum in Green Bay with my sister a few years ago. I thought it was going to be hokey, but I look back on that fondly now. 

[Mark Vader]

17 hours ago, Jamie Nails said:

ohh yeah. Not going to miss it. lol 

See you there!

[PromoTheRobot]

5 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

Are they really going to get rid of ECC South? Where's their campus going to go 

 

 I think there's already 10 plus hotels in orchard Park for a town of 30,000.. I think they can do one more around the stadium and a couple of restaurants maybe one with a music venue,  yes that's totally doable 

 

But orchard Park certainly cannot handle 12 new restaurants 365 days a year.. when the town only blows up 10 days a year... There's not enough of a consistent customer base 

 

They could handle two restaurants for sure

 

ECC is downsizing. Closing the South campus has been suggested. Bills could certainly use the land. I never said 12 restaurants. Just two sit downs, maybe some walk ups, have a food truck area on game days.

[Buffalo716]

3 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

ECC is downsizing. Closing the South campus has been suggested. Bills could certainly use the land. I never said 12 restaurants. Just two sit downs, maybe some walk ups, have a food truck area on game days.

That's absolutely viable and something that can and should happen 

 

There's been plenty of people who are upset that they didn't build a dome and that orchard Park is not getting transformed lol

 

There is a happy medium... What the town can handle outside of the bills being there while making a visit special 

 

I'm not on the orchard Park board but they definitely have some plans for around the stadium... I believe they have changed  zoning codes in four different areas so they can build some structures for what they call a Buffalo Bills entertainment zone

Edited yesterday at 02:19 AM by Buffalo716

[LabattBlue]

14 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

Are they really going to get rid of ECC South? Where's their campus going to go 

 

This was announced last summer.  Campus is moving to a location near California Rd & 20A.  Classes there will start in summer or fall of this year.  County will then put property up for sale to the highest bidder.   

[Matt_In_NH]

On 3/31/2025 at 10:16 AM, PromoTheRobot said:

Considering recent drafts have drawn close to 300,000 people I'd like to see how they pull this off in Orchard Park.

 

Yeah, I did a quick google search and the greater Buffalo area has 10000 hotel rooms, another 7000 in Rochester.  Figure double occupancy....I see your point.  VRBO and air B&B can fill some too.  I think people can rent their yards for tents or something....LOL

[PromoTheRobot]

2 hours ago, Matt_In_NH said:

Yeah, I did a quick google search and the greater Buffalo area has 10000 hotel rooms, another 7000 in Rochester.  Figure double occupancy....I see your point.  VRBO and air B&B can fill some too.  I think people can rent their yards for tents or something....LOL

 

Figure that a good percentage of folks, 40-50%, will drive in and drive out the same day. Most people only come out for the 1st round. I'm more worried about parking and traffic control. The area is a zoo on game days with only 71,000 attending. What happens when it's 4X that number? 

 

They better come up with a satellite parking plan with shuttle buses. Heck, there's a rarely used rail line nearby. 

Edited yesterday at 02:23 PM by PromoTheRobot

[T master]

I've heard one of the knocks that Buffalo has against it as far as hosting any of the big NFL happenings is that they don't have enough hotel space to house all of the fans that would partake in this type of event, I don't know that to be true .

 

 I no longer live in the area but if it draws as many fans as it has in the past drafts does the Buffalo and surrounding area have enough places to house the influx of fans that would come to such an event ?

 

One would think that this may be something that the NFL looks at as a piece of the puzzle that would have a influence on the draft being a successful & you know that Roger isn't going to do anything that would in any way make the NFL look out of place especially in or near his home town .

 

WE know there are plenty of spots that you would have to drive some distance but are there enough hotels near OP or very close to that area around the stadium ??

 

If it was a down town venue where they could set up by the water and such might be a add but the amount of people that would come from Toronto, Rochester, and possibly even the Cleveland area not to mention all of the other fans would be crazy ! We. know the Bills fans would have their campers for the duration and it would be a huge party but as for the rest of the fans ????????????

Edited 8 hours ago by T master

[Gregg]

7 minutes ago, T master said:

I've heard one of the knocks that Buffalo has against it as far as hosting any of the big NFL happenings is that they don't have enough hotel space to house all of the fans that would partake in this type of event, I don't know that to be true .

 

 I no longer live in the area but if it draws as many fans as it has in the past drafts does the Buffalo and surrounding area have enough places to house the influx of fans that would come to such an event ?

 

One would think that this may be something that the NFL looks at as a piece of the puzzle that would have a influence on the draft being a successful & you know that Roger isn't going to do anything that would in any way make the NFL look out of place especially in or near his home town .

 

WE know there are plenty of spots that you would have to drive some distance but are there enough hotels near OP or very close to that area around the stadium ??

 

If it was a down town venue where they could set up by the water and such might be a add but the amount of people that would come from Toronto, Rochester, and possibly even the Cleveland area not to mention all of the other fans would be crazy ! We. know the Bills fans would have their campers for the duration and it would be a huge party but as for the rest of the fans ????????????

 

How far is Toronto away from Buffalo. If the commute isn't bad, then fans could show up at the draft and go back to Toronto and stay at a hotel there. Toronto is certainly a big enough market to help Buffalo with the amount of people who would show up for the draft.

[T master]

57 minutes ago, Gregg said:

 

How far is Toronto away from Buffalo. If the commute isn't bad, then fans could show up at the draft and go back to Toronto and stay at a hotel there. Toronto is certainly a big enough market to help Buffalo with the amount of people who would show up for the draft.

 

It's a minute to Toronto, then you have to factor in crossing the boarder which would take e a bunch of extra time and effort I would imagine that they may stay in Ontario right across the bridge would be closer but still not real sure but Toronto is IMHO a bit of a drive to have to make that for 3 days in a row but NFL fans are pretty rabid about their teams so one never knows .

Edited 7 hours ago by T master

[LabattBlue]

I think the numbers for the draft are always exaggerated.  They claimed almost 800,000 over 3 days in Detroit. They are nothing but estimates…similar to how numbers are always blown up for parades and outdoor festivals.  
 

That being said, if Green Bay can host it, so can Buffalo.  A large majority of the people are locals who have no need for a hotel room.  For everyone else, plenty of room between Buffalo, Rochester, Erie…and even Southern Ontario if the demand is that great.