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Ralph Wilson Stadium -
Address: 1 Bills Drive, Orchard Park
New York, 14127
Home of: Buffalo Bills (NFL)
Date opened: 1973
Capacity: 80,020 (original)
73,967 (current)
Cost: $22 million
Ralph Wilson Stadium, named after the long time owner of the
team, is the home of the Buffalo Bills of the AFC East. Located
at 1 Bills Drive, Orchard Park, New York, 14127, the stadium can
hold 73,967 people. The park was built in
1973 and the naming rights were bought by Rich Foods for 25 years
through the 1998 season. The stadium only cost $22 million to construct
in 1973 (all public funding), and went through a $63 million renovation
process before the 1999 season. The surface is Astroturf 8, a surface similar
to grass with the benefits that come with not having to work so hard to maintain
it. The choice of Astroturf over a natural grass surface is one made primarily
because of the weather conditions in the Buffalo area late in the year. The
stadium often hirers workers with the sole purpose of shoveling snow away from
the field and out of seats because the snowfall is so heavy in the later months.
A natural grass field would die out quickly in such extreme weather conditions.
Tickets range from $48 for lower level seating all the way to $30 in certain
sections of the upper deck.
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