WHY IS RALPH WILSON STADIUM SO BAD?

[Steve In Atlanta 2008]

Theres been allot of complaining about our current situation about the Stadium.

 

Ive been to very few stadiums but id like to point out that "The Ralph" to me is one of the better stadiums.

 

Ive been to;

 

Jacksonville which i think is the worst

 

Tampa... which is one of the better ones to me. Family Friendly and right down the road from Mons Venus (when no family)

 

Minnesota... SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS

 

Atlanta... Its ok for a dome

 

KC... UGH

 

Charlotte... Pretty Nice

 

Tennessee... similar to Charlotte

 

Buffalo.... to me still one of the best! Keep in mind its "FREE"

 

Comments???

[Wacka]

Oakland and SF- both play in stadiums made for baseball, Suck. Candlestick has very narrow hallways.

[Chalkie Gerzowski]

Should have tried Baltimore's Memorial Stadium.

 

[Flbillsfan#1]

The fact is these NEW stadiums are pricing the average fan out. When Raymond James Stadium was built a few years ago in Tampa, ticketholders that had season tickets for YEARS on the 40 to 50 Yardline maybe 10 rows up were told they had to pay a seat license of $2,500 upfront & their seats in the New Stadium would be between the 10 & 20 yardline & about 30 rows up, or they could get seats between the 20 & 30 yardline but their seats would be near the top of the stadium.

[BLARS]

Theres been allot of complaining about our current situation about the Stadium.

 

Ive been to very few stadiums but id like to point out that "The Ralph" to me is one of the better stadiums.

 

Ive been to;

 

Jacksonville which i think is the worst

 

Tampa... which is one of the better ones to me. Family Friendly and right down the road from Mons Venus (when no family)

 

Minnesota... SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS

 

Atlanta... Its ok for a dome

 

KC... UGH

 

Charlotte... Pretty Nice

 

Tennessee... similar to Charlotte

 

Buffalo.... to me still one of the best! Keep in mind its "FREE"

 

Comments???

Buffalo's Stadium is still one of the best- Candlestick is weird-some seats are on odd angles. The Meadowlands is by far one of the worst I've ever been in. Dark halls, dank,generally like an old garage. And the crowd didn't help my impression.....

[lets_go_bills]

My only complaint about the Ralph is how long it takes to get through the pat-downs. Geez those guys are slow, I missed the kickoff and first three plays of a game this year thanks to those turtles.

 

Oh and the $9 for a beer is crazy.

[robkmil]

Theres been allot of complaining about our current situation about the Stadium.

 

Ive been to very few stadiums but id like to point out that "The Ralph" to me is one of the better stadiums.

 

Ive been to;

 

Jacksonville which i think is the worst

 

Tampa... which is one of the better ones to me. Family Friendly and right down the road from Mons Venus (when no family)

 

Minnesota... SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS

 

Atlanta... Its ok for a dome

 

KC... UGH

 

Charlotte... Pretty Nice

 

Tennessee... similar to Charlotte

 

Buffalo.... to me still one of the best! Keep in mind its "FREE"

 

Comments???

 

What do you mean by its free? you have to pay to go in and taxpayers pay to maintain it.

[robkmil]

My only complaint about the Ralph is how long it takes to get through the pat-downs. Geez those guys are slow, I missed the kickoff and first three plays of a game this year thanks to those turtles.

 

Oh and the $9 for a beer is crazy.

 

 

The pat downs are a ridiculous process. There need to be a better, more efficient way to get this done.

 

9$ dollars isn't bad when you look at the size of the beers and compaer them to the cost at other events.

[Bmwolf21]

What's wrong with Jacksonville's stadium (other than them having to tarp off the seats?) Been there a couple times and I liked it, nothing bad to say about it- other than it being ungodly hot every time.

[Paup 1995MVP]

I went to the Bills-Redskins game last year at FedEx Field. That stadium is huge. The seats go very high up around the entire field. Very nice sight lines. Tremendous stadium. Ravens stadium is very nice as well, although not nearly as big as Fed Ex. Have also been to the Georgia Dome several times. Very sterile place. Domes suck bigtime.

 

Ralph Wilson stadium is very basic, but the sight lines are solid and the atmosphere can not be beat. Now lets get a winning team to go with the best fans in the NFL.

[reddogblitz]

The Ralph is a nice stadium. However it's not about if it's a nice stadium or not, it's if it has enough luxury boxes that can sell for bookoo bucks to big shots. The owners don't have to share that revenue with the rest of the teams, so it's a gold mine for them. It's also about when a team gets (the taxpayers to buy) a new stadium, the value of the team goes way up. That's what this whole new stadium jazz is about.

 

I've been to:

 

Cotton Bowl when the Cowboys used to play there. For all I knew at the time it was fine. Of course I was only about 8 years old at the time!

Texas Stadium - Before Jerry Jones bought the team it was nice. He then started to trash it so he could get the taxpayers to build him a new stadium which they now are. Cool design. Fans are out of the elements while the game in played as it should be, in the elements.

Reliant Stadium in Houston - Nice but still, a Dome. Went down there for teh game in Blue Dredsloe's first season. Houston fans were making fun of us until we came back and won.

Super Dome before Katrina - Went there to see Doug Flutie vs. the Saints in the last game of the season. Rob Johnson started instead and the Bills whipped the Aint's. Then Rob Johnson started again the next week in Tennesse is the most bone headed decision Ralph has ever made. Anyway. Domes are wierd. They turn the lights down and shoot off fireworks. But still in the halls and stuff it's quiet. It's just wierd.

Qwest Field in Seattle - Very nice stadium. Similar design to Texas Stadium where much of the crowd (not all) is under the overhang so should it ever rain there, you can stay dry. The club is not near as good as the Ralph. The food is not near as good and it's too crowded.

Ford Field in Detroit - Went there for Super Bowl XL. Saw the Miracles play in front of the stadium before the game. Very cool. It's a dome though. You wear coats and hats and gloves because it's cold out and then you gotta stuff 'em under your seat or wear them inside. It's a dome.

The Ralph - We sit in the club seats. Very nice. The club food is great. I have sat in non club seats too. Fans are very rowdy. You ladies don't want to know what goes on in the Men's rest room at those games. DO NOT wear a visiting team jersey in there! When the team is doing well it is the most raucous stadium I've been in.

[The_Philster]

Theres been allot of complaining about our current situation about the Stadium.

only by prima donnas who don't know what they're talking about

[The_Philster]

Super Dome before Katrina - Went there to see Doug Flutie vs. the Saints in the last game of the season. Rob Johnson started instead and the Bills whipped the Aint's. Then Rob Johnson started again the next week in Tennesse is the most bone headed decision Ralph has ever made. Anyway. Domes are wierd. They turn the lights down and shoot off fireworks. But still in the halls and stuff it's quiet. It's just wierd.

Actually, the week after the Saints game was the game that Flutie fumbled away the game ..and the QB switch the following year was Wade's call. No reliable news source has ever offered any proof that Ralph told him to make the switch...only that he was in favor of it

[8-8 Forever?]

Ravens stadium is fantastic and also in the city. Great sitelines, very tight to the field. Beautiful. Fedex is a monstrocity but the amenities are great (screw the game, just sit in the cigar bars all game and have a ball..). The Ralph is fine but embarrasing as the fans turn the whole property into a garbage dump. The Ralph on a nice day is awesome. on a really cold or windy day its tough.. yes, the fans are too rowdy, but hey they're all south buffalo knuckleheads, so what would you expect...

[BuffaloBill]

Theres been allot of complaining about our current situation about the Stadium.

 

Ive been to very few stadiums but id like to point out that "The Ralph" to me is one of the better stadiums.

 

Ive been to;

 

 

Buffalo.... to me still one of the best! Keep in mind its "FREE"

 

Comments???

 

 

The issue with the Ralph is not so much from an individual fan perspective but from a team perspective. It is a two part issue 1- do they have enough stadium features to generate revenue and 2- will the local economy support the revenue generation (sale of PSA's, boxes, sold out stadium etc.). It is a keep up with the Jones' mentality (in all senses of the phrase).

 

Having been to several stadiums - I agree from a fan perspective the Ralph is great. I disagree with you on KC I thought Arrowhead had a great atmosphere and was one of the better stadiums I have been to as a visitor.

[GhostsOfTheRockpile]

I love it to death, but The Ralph is a dump. Period.

 

As 8and8forever mentioned, too many people turn the stadium and parking lots into their personal toilet. Concourses are tight, dark, dank and disgusting; bathrooms are tiny and scarce; there's what... ONE ATM on the entire property? Places I've been to:

 

M&T Bank Stadium: in my opinion, the best stadium in the NFL, bar none. I've sat down low and up high, and the sight-lines from both are fantastic, concourses are open, the stadium is easy to get around, plenty of bathrooms and concession stands, its clean... top notch.

 

FedEx Field: as another poster mentioned, the amenities are second to NONE at this point, the stadium is clean, the concourses are nice... but there's ZERO atmosphere in there, and if you're sitting up high it can feel like you're a mile away from the field. Plus, the stadium has obstructed view seats. IN THE 21ST CENTURY. Epic fail.

 

Gilette Stadium: quite the paradox. Its one of the nicest stadiums I've ever been to (and I've been to about 17 MLB stadiums on top of these football stadiums), but its miserable to watch a game if you aren't in the club level. The lower bowl is on a gentler slope than I'm used to at my seats at the Ralph, so looking around people in front of you gets annoying, and if you're in the upper deck... forget it, you're a mile away. Plus, the way it is constructed with open endzones and corners makes it nearly impossible to retain any sort of sound. Miserable.

 

Heinz Field: awesome. Second only to Baltimore, and amazing for the same reasons.

 

Meadowlands: as big a dump as the Ralph, only cleaner.

 

SkyDome / RogersCentre: I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

 

To be honest, some of the idiots at Bills fans could USE getting priced out. It isn't always a bad thing when the car full of 20-year olds that shows up, gets wasted, pukes and passes out in the stadium can't afford to come to the games. Ideally, any new stadium or Ralph renovation would cut capacity to the high 60,000's, raise prices a bit, drive up demand/cut supply, and price out some of the jerks who use it as an excuse to make asses of themselves (and yes, I realize this would likely result in the pricing out of perfectly civil, die hard fans... to them I say, welcome to the NFL of Kraft, Snyder, Jones, Johnson and Mara).

[Hammered a Lot]

The Ralph is a nice stadium. However it's not about if it's a nice stadium or not, it's if it has enough luxury boxes that can sell for bookoo bucks to big shots. The owners don't have to share that revenue with the rest of the teams, so it's a gold mine for them. It's also about when a team gets (the taxpayers to buy) a new stadium, the value of the team goes way up. That's what this whole new stadium jazz is about.

 

I've been to:

 

 

The Ralph - We sit in the club seats. Very nice. The club food is great. I have sat in non club seats too. Fans are very rowdy. You ladies don't want to know what goes on in the Men's rest room at those games. DO NOT wear a visiting team jersey in there! When the team is doing well it is the most raucous stadium I've been in.

 

I'm not a lady so do tell what happens in the non club seat restrooms.

[nucci]

I love it to death, but The Ralph is a dump. Period.

 

As 8and8forever mentioned, too many people turn the stadium and parking lots into their personal toilet. Concourses are tight, dark, dank and disgusting; bathrooms are tiny and scarce; there's what... ONE ATM on the entire property? Places I've been to:

 

M&T Bank Stadium: in my opinion, the best stadium in the NFL, bar none. I've sat down low and up high, and the sight-lines from both are fantastic, concourses are open, the stadium is easy to get around, plenty of bathrooms and concession stands, its clean... top notch.

 

FedEx Field: as another poster mentioned, the amenities are second to NONE at this point, the stadium is clean, the concourses are nice... but there's ZERO atmosphere in there, and if you're sitting up high it can feel like you're a mile away from the field. Plus, the stadium has obstructed view seats. IN THE 21ST CENTURY. Epic fail.

 

Gilette Stadium: quite the paradox. Its one of the nicest stadiums I've ever been to (and I've been to about 17 MLB stadiums on top of these football stadiums), but its miserable to watch a game if you aren't in the club level. The lower bowl is on a gentler slope than I'm used to at my seats at the Ralph, so looking around people in front of you gets annoying, and if you're in the upper deck... forget it, you're a mile away. Plus, the way it is constructed with open endzones and corners makes it nearly impossible to retain any sort of sound. Miserable.

 

Heinz Field: awesome. Second only to Baltimore, and amazing for the same reasons.

 

Meadowlands: as big a dump as the Ralph, only cleaner.

 

SkyDome / RogersCentre: I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

 

To be honest, some of the idiots at Bills fans could USE getting priced out. It isn't always a bad thing when the car full of 20-year olds that shows up, gets wasted, pukes and passes out in the stadium can't afford to come to the games. Ideally, any new stadium or Ralph renovation would cut capacity to the high 60,000's, raise prices a bit, drive up demand/cut supply, and price out some of the jerks who use it as an excuse to make asses of themselves (and yes, I realize this would likely result in the pricing out of perfectly civil, die hard fans... to them I say, welcome to the NFL of Kraft, Snyder, Jones, Johnson and Mara).

This is what they did in Philly when they got rid of the Vet and built the Linc. It seems to have worked like you described above.

[oak tree 12]

My only complaint about the Ralph is how long it takes to get through the pat-downs. Geez those guys are slow, I missed the kickoff and first three plays of a game this year thanks to those turtles.

 

Oh and the $9 for a beer is crazy.

 

lol,secutity is the same everywhere. buffalo is the best deal in the nfl. go to a NE game sometime. parking 50 food is ridiculous welcome to the NFL bro.

 

its all geared now to corporate dollars. thats why buffalo cant compete we simply dont have the corporate base.

 

thats why it pisses me off so bad when people and media say boycott the bills. great freaking thinking for what purpose so we can loose the team that a city of our size has no business having in the first place. i live for my sundays @ the ralph and have for over 30 years and people want to jeopardize us having a team by not going to bills games great freaking thinking.

 

i know a lot of people are not happy now me included but we are @ such a disadvantage to compete with the jerry jonses and daniel snyders of this league its not funny.

[GhostsOfTheRockpile]

This is what they did in Philly when they got rid of the Vet and built the Linc. It seems to have worked like you described above.

 

Good point, nucci. It worked like a charm. My roommate in grad school was from Philly, and his family has had seasons tickets since the mid 80's. They had four tickets to games at the Vet, but were "priced out" of two of them, but still hold onto two.

 

To this day, they all maintain moving to the Linc was the best thing that ever happened to the Eagles. Not just for business reasons, but because it changed the atmosphere at games. He tells me you'd be surprised at how energetic and fun a game can be even without the "raucous" drunks in the upper deck.

 

Think about Sabres playoff games. People go nuts, and yet the percentage of drunk idiots is TINY compared to your average Bills game. Its possible to create an amazing home field advantage atmosphere without treating the stadium and surrounding property like a toilet.

 

There has to be a way to capture the middle ground between the family friendly Sabres game atmosphere and the often ridiculously over-the-top atmosphere at Bills games.