Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN) - This Saturday could very well be the final concert to take place at Highmark Stadium before the new facility is set to open across the street along Abbott Road in 2026.
Country music fans, young and old, are set to flock to Orchard Park this weekend to see country legend George Strait headline the show, with Chris Stapleton and Parker McCollum also tagging along.
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While concerts at Highmark Stadium don't generally bring in as many fans as a Buffalo Bills game does on a given Sunday during football season, many private lot owners around the stadium still expect a decent crowd to see the "King of Country" take the stage.
"I remember George 25 years ago when he played at the stadium, and it was a very good crowd, well-mannered and stuff. And I'm hoping for good weather," said Eric "The Hammer" Matwijow, owner of Hammer's Lot outside the new Highmark Stadium construction site.
With stadium construction continuing to limit the number of parking options closer to the stadium, Matwijow believes there could be a bit of a parking crunch.
"I think for people looking, I wouldn't come late, because there could be a traffic jam. It is a Saturday and people like to go shopping and do that stuff," Matwijow said with WBEN. "I would just say to get out here as early as possible and enjoy the day, tailgate, and just have a good time, enjoy the atmosphere. And then you'll maybe watch some of the workers at the stadium."
Mark Ebeling, owner of Danny's South at the corner of Big Tree Road and Abbott Road, says he's opening up his lot at 8 a.m. Saturday to get people in early, and see where things go from there to get their feet wet.
"I think the football season draws a bigger, bigger crowd, we all know that. The parking for football is insane, and it's been crazier and crazier every year," said Ebeling in an interview with WBEN. "This year, I heard it's even going to be worse, so we're going to see what happens. But concerts are generally very easy. The people are real easy going, they filter in nice and easy. They don't all come at one time, which is very good for them."
Matwijow says he's already expecting a number of people from out-of-town coming to Western New York for the show, with people from as far as Ohio inquiring about parking in his lot.
While it may be hard for Matwijow to see how much this weekend's George Strait concert will reflect this upcoming football season, he does recommend a couple of practices that may come in handy come Saturday night.
"Ride sharing, as many people as you can get in the vehicle would be a wise thing. They do have buses coming in from other areas in bulk. [It might be like] night games, so maybe they might spread out some of the backup and stuff like that for traffic," Matwijow said. "This is a learning curve. We do have that preseason game, and people are going to realize, 'Hey, we've got to get out here early,' or ride share, or park at a great distance and have a long walk to the event and a long walk back."
Looking ahead to the football season in Orchard Park, Ebeling feels not only will the stadium construction congest game days a bit more than usual, but he sees more fans looking to get in one last hurrah for the old stadium before the new one opens.
"Definitely, just to get into that last game, it'll be pretty cool. And it's been a big draw for the last few years, obviously, with the way the Bills are playing, and that's always a good thing too," Ebeling said. "I think people are going to come down just to hang out for the last, what is it, 10 games of this stadium, which is going to be interesting."
And one of the more discussed talking points leading up to any football season in Western New York is prices to park near the stadium, whether it'd be one of the available stadium lots, or a private lot adjacent to the stadium or a short walk down the road.
With another slight uptick in pricing expected in the stadium lots this season, Ebeling is expecting a trickle-down effect to some of the other surrounding lots near the stadium.
"The further you get away from the stadium, the better off you are. If you cross that light at 20a and Abbott, where I'm located, you're stuck sometimes three hours in the parking lot of the Bills lot. And the residents around the area all vary differently," he said. "I'm higher than everybody else, but I offer public restrooms. I offer a restaurant, and I've got high dry, stone-paved parking lots. You're not parking in the mud and making a mess of yourself. So it all varies, everybody's got their own little glitch to it."
Meanwhile, Matwijow noticed that parking passes on the secondary market in the early goings this year are already being priced for as much as $118 per-game.
While some other lots near the stadium may be going up, Matwijow says his rate for fans will remain the same, but acknowledges that can change leading up to football season.
"We're going to hold steady. My insurance has gone up, I don't think any of my other expenses right now have gone up at all, but there's always that possibility once we get the restrooms in and the dumpsters taken care of and stuff, everything's a rising cost nowadays," he said. "We're going to try to hold the line the best we can, I have a lot of regular customers that have supported me through the years. But it is business, it's nothing personal. If we have to raise them a little bit, then we have to do that."
The concert is slated to start at 5:45 p.m.