ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) 鈥� Buffalo Bills fans arrived early and lingered long after the game ended to bid to their long-time home stadium filled with 53 years of memories 鈥� and often piles of snow.
After singing along together to The Killers’ 鈥淢r. Brightside鈥� in the closing minutes of , most everyone in the crowd of 70,944 remained in their seats to bask in the glow of fireworks as Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World鈥� played over the stadium speakers.
Several players stopped in the end zone to watch a retrospective video, with the Buffalo-based Goo Goo Dolls鈥� 鈥淚ris鈥� as the soundtrack while fans recorded selfie videos of the celebratory scene. Offensive lineman Alec Anderson even jumped into the crowd to pose for pictures before leaving the field.
With the Bills (12-5), the AFC’s 6th seed, opening the playoffs at Jacksonville in the wild-card round next week, there’s but a slim chance they’ll play at their old home again. Next season, Buffalo is set to move into its new $1.2 billion facility being built across the street.
鈥渁 lifetime of memories,鈥� said Therese Forton-Barnes, selected the team鈥檚 Fan of the Year, before the Bills kicked of their regular-season finale. 鈥淚n our culture that we know and love, we can bond together from that experience. Our love for this team, our love for this city, have branched from those roots.鈥�
Forton-Barnes, a past president of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, attended Bills games as a child at the old War Memorial Stadium in downtown Buffalo, colloquially known as 鈥淭he Rockpile.鈥� She has been a season ticket holder since Jim Kelly joined the Bills in 1986 at what was then Rich Stadium, later renamed for the team鈥檚 founding owner Ralph Wilson, and then corporate sponsors New Era and Highmark.
鈥淚鈥檝e been to over 350 games,鈥� she said. 鈥淭oday we鈥檙e here to cherish and celebrate the past, present and future. We have so many memories that you can鈥檛 erase at Rich Stadium, The Ralph, and now Highmark. Forever we will hold these memories when we move across the street.鈥�
There was a celebratory mood to the day, with fans arriving early. Cars lined Abbott Road some 90 minutes before the stadium lots opened for a game the Bills rested most of their starters, with a brisk wind blowing in off of nearby Lake Erie and with temperatures dipping into the low 20s.
And most were in their seats when Bills owner Terry Pegula thanked fans and stadium workers in a pregame address.
, many fans stayed in their seats as Kelly and fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Reed addressed them from the field, and the team played a video message from 100-year-old Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy.
鈥淭he fans have been unbelievable,鈥� said Jack Hofstetter, a ticket-taker since the stadium opened in 1973 who was presented with Super Bowl tickets before Sunday鈥檚 game by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. 鈥淚 was a kid making 8 bucks a game back in those days. I got to see all the sports, ushering in the stadium and taking tickets later on. All the memories, it鈥檚 been fantastic.鈥�
Bud Light commemorated the stadium finale and Bills fan culture with the release of a special-edition beer brewed with melted snow shoveled out of the stadium earlier this season.
In what has become a winter tradition at the stadium, fans were hired to clear the stands after a lake-effect storm dropped more than a foot of snow on the region this week.
The few remaining shovelers were still present clearing the pathways and end zone stands of snow some five hours before kickoff. The new stadium won鈥檛 require as many shovelers, with the field heated and with more than two-thirds of the 60,000-plus seats covered by a curved roof overhang.
Fears of fans rushing the field were abated with large contingent of security personnel and backed by New York State troopers began lining the field during the final 2-minute warning.
Fans stayed in the stands, singing along to the music, with many lingering to take one last glimpse inside the stadium where the scoreboard broadcast one last message:
鈥淭hank You, Bills Mafia.鈥�
___
AP Sports Writer John Wawrow contributed.
___
AP NFL:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
