ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) 鈥� Chris Clark glances out the window overlooking the Buffalo Bills’ long-time home, Highmark Stadium, and can still picture what the site resembled before it opened in 1973.
The 73-year-old Clark鈥檚 memories go beyond the days of tailgating and smashing of tables, comeback victories and miserable defeats, and before the likes of Josh Allen, Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith and O.J. Simpson ever stepped foot on the artificial field.
In the 1960s, Monsignor Leo McCarthy would send Clark and a bunch of his South Buffalo friends to the abandoned farm field and former Dupont explosives storage and testing site, where they鈥檇 let beagles loose to chase rabbits. The purpose of the exercise was to keep the kids out of mischief, said Clark, now the Bills vice president of security.
鈥淲hat they wouldn鈥檛 do to keep me out of jail,鈥� he said with a laugh.
It certainly worked for Clark. In becoming an Erie County sheriff鈥檚 deputy, he’s spent much of his life in and around the stadium, from directing traffic on game days in the 1970s to the current job he鈥檚 held since 2006.
And it鈥檚 with a sense of melancholy Clark approaches Sunday, when the Bills close the regular season by hosting the New York Jets in what could well be the final game at the facility.
鈥淚 know there鈥檚 a big, beautiful prize across the street,鈥� Clark said, referring to .
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 like walking out the door of the home you got married,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e鈥檙e almost ready to close the doors on my second home.鈥�
Clark enjoyed a front-row seat to everything the stadium has had to offer 鈥� including hosting the Rolling Stones and the inaugural . It’s where country music stars Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney were arrested for taking off on a sheriff鈥檚 department horse during a concert in 2000.
Clark has witnessed three colleagues survive getting hit by cars while directing traffic. He remembers watching in awe from the roof of the administration building as the Bills overcame a 32-point deficit for a in a 1992 wild-card playoff.
And he鈥檚 handled security for various coaches, general managers, a former president, Bill Clinton, and a pop icon, Taylor Swift.
The bonds and memories made at a stadium affectionately coined 鈥淭he Ralph,鈥� in honor of the team鈥檚 late founder and owner Ralph Wilson, hold true for players and coaches.
鈥淭o be honest, when I have to call it Highmark Stadium, I do. But I love The Ralph. I鈥檓 like, that鈥檚 the perfect name,鈥� Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly said.
The fondest memory over his 11-year career in Buffalo was making his Bills debut in 1986 and taking the field to greet his parents and five brothers in the stands.
Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas described the stadium’s closing as bittersweet.
鈥淭he only way that we can leave that stadium and leave it the way it should be with all those memories will be the best memory of all: going to the Super Bowl and winning,鈥� he said.
Such a feat would certainly bring closure to what Thomas and the Kelly-era Bills failed to do in losing four straight Super Bowl appearances in the 1990s.
This year鈥檚 team has as good of a shot as any, having clinched its seventh straight playoff berth, but will open the postseason on the road. Buffalo currently is the AFC鈥檚 No. 7-seeded team and can climb no higher than No. 5.
It鈥檚 at the stadium where Mary Wilson got her introduction to football when she and Ralph began dating before marrying in 1999.
鈥淎ll those years and all the people we鈥檝e had in our box, yeah, Ralph did it right,鈥� Mary Wilson said. 鈥淭hey built a great stadium. Every seat was great.鈥�
Though large in having at one time an 80,000-plus seating capacity, the stadium鈥檚 three-level design still provides a sense of intimacy, especially in the lower bowl where fans are mere yards away from the field.
Despite her ties to the past, Wilson looks forward to attending games across the street.
鈥淚t鈥檚 saying hello to the new,鈥� she said.
For coach Sean McDermott, the future can wait.
鈥淚鈥檓 emotional about it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 look across out my window and I see the stadium and it鈥檚 almost, I don鈥檛 want to say sad 鈥� it鈥檚 not a sad day 鈥� but it is a little sad.鈥�
On Sunday, , McDermott was among the last to leave the stadium after spending a few extra moments savoring the memories of his nine seasons in Buffalo.
鈥淟ife moves fast. And it鈥檚 been a special place for a lot of people,鈥� McDermott said, before looking ahead to Sunday. 鈥淲e owe it to the stadium and to the memories that exist in that stadium to go out the right way here.鈥�
The game provides a historical bookend. Buffalo’s first regular-season game at the facility was a 9-7 win over the Jets in which kicker John Leypoldt hit three field goals.
There鈥檚 been many duds and breath-taking outings since.
Fans flooded the field after a 1980 season-opening 17-7 win over Miami, ending Buffalo鈥檚 20-game losing streak to the Dolphins. There was Buffalo鈥檚 51-3 rout of the Raiders in the 1990 season AFC championship game. And what few fans were there in December 2017 witnessed a 13-7 overtime win against Indianapolis in a game played in near-whiteout conditions.
Clark laughs at how a former explosives site became home to a stadium that’s electrified so many.
Though so many of the faces have changed, the one thing that鈥檚 remained the same to Clark is what the Bills and the stadium have meant to a Rust Belt community.
鈥淭his is an anchor. It鈥檚 what brings people together,鈥� he said, noting how many former Buffalonians travel from far and wide to attend games.
鈥淭hese people spread out to Atlanta and Carolina and wherever, and they鈥檙e still Bills fans. And their children are Bills fans,鈥� Clark said. 鈥淭o know how many families, how many couples have met here. It’s like a Hallmark movie.鈥�
___
AP NFL:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
