LGB Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 The Bills have announced that tickets will be required to attend the first weekend of training camp. "By ticketing these practices we can have a firm grasp on the attendance numbers. Normally, our first set of practices is on a Friday and we see spiked attendance on Saturday. This year, our first practices are on Saturday and Sunday and we want to be proactive with the possibility of attendance at those sessions reaching a point that could pose a safety issue." said Russ Brandon, Buffalo Bills chief operating officer/general manager. For anyone that attended camp last year on a nice weekend day, when attendance was heavy, you might have spent over an hour with parking and/or waiting for your turn at a shuttle bus. Parking lot overflows were common at East Rochester High School – for which you were given instructions to a lot south of town. Since a camp session only lasts a short time, you might have finally made it to camp in time to watch the team wrap up drills or head to the locker room. East Rochester High School is pretty close to camp, but there just isn’t very many parking spots or room for all the bus traffic when there are other events going on at the school. Not sure if requiring free tickets will help, but why not sell the tickets at the price of the shuttle bus fee - which is required anyway - and then designate which tickets are for which parking lot? Then the number of tickets issued could be adjusted with events going on at the schools. Fans from out of town will be able to plan on arriving at their designated parking lot with less chance of being given instructions to another lot and missing camp (after the drive from Buffalo). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsWatch Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Not sure if requiring free tickets will help, but why not sell the tickets at the price of the shuttle bus fee - which is required anyway - and then designate which tickets are for which parking lot? If you sell tickets to training camp then professional scouts can set up and take all of the film they want. This happened to Redsucks a couple of years ago, This way only the Patriots* can do this without buying film from unconnected private attendees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGB Posted June 12, 2009 Author Share Posted June 12, 2009 If you sell tickets to training camp then professional scouts can set up and take all of the film they want. This happened to Redsucks a couple of years ago, This way only the Patriots* can do this without buying film from unconnected private attendees. Maybe still offer the free admission, but designate groups of tickets for certain parking lots so that folks from out of town know which is the better parking lot in order to avoid delays. It was my experience that East Rochester High School had many delays last year. Look to see if the Bills have updated information Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 If you sell tickets to training camp then professional scouts can set up and take all of the film they want. This happened to Redsucks a couple of years ago, This way only the Patriots* can do this without buying film from unconnected private attendees. Exactly. Maybe still offer the free admission, but designate groups of tickets for certain parking lots so that folks from out of town know which is the better parking lot in order to avoid delays. It was my experience that East Rochester High School had many delays last year. The Bills have more information That's 2008 info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGB Posted June 13, 2009 Author Share Posted June 13, 2009 That's 2008 info. Thanks for the clarification on that. Hopefully the information on that URL will be updated as camp is right around the corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfreak Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 I have been driving from Virginia to Pittsford every year since they moved there from Fredonia, and I really don't think they need to change anything about the way camp is run. It is annually considered one of if not the most fan friendly camp in the NFL. If you switch the shuttle charge from the shuttle to the ticket, then the younger kids that aren't required to pay for the shuttle would then have to pay, because they are required a ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGB Posted June 13, 2009 Author Share Posted June 13, 2009 I have been driving from Virginia to Pittsford every year since they moved there from Fredonia, and I really don't think they need to change anything about the way camp is run. It is annually considered one of if not the most fan friendly camp in the NFL. If you switch the shuttle charge from the shuttle to the ticket, then the younger kids that aren't required to pay for the shuttle would then have to pay, because they are required a ticket. Yes, it is a great camp experience (much better than Fredonia), but while parking at East Rochester High school is the closest, sometimes there are delays because of long lines and not enough parking. If you are traveling from Virgina, it is probably not a day trip, but if you are coming from Buffalo, it might be smart to allow enough time to park and shuttle because last year folks were turned away when the East Rochester High school lot filled up - which caused delays - as you were instructed to travel to another lot south of town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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