Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Over the last several years in Western New York, fans have been presented numerous opportunities to enjoy watching their Buffalo Bills play key games on the schedule with others at large block parties or outdoor watch parties. This included some big games for the Bills, whether it'd be a prime-time affair or even a playoff game.
This all stems from the team's success during the COVID pandemic and fans not being allowed to gather indoors and in close quarters due to established health regulations.
But what has led to many of these big Bills watch parties and gatherings either not taking place or being canceled this year?
Jay Manno from Soho Buffalo and Frankie Primo's +39 says sometimes, it comes down to those events being cost prohibitive.
"We actually had one scheduled in North Tonawanda for [Thursday] night. That was the plan, to shut down Webster Street for the game, but the lack of participation from some of the other businesses makes it kind of cost prohibitive to do it by yourself," said Manno in an interview with WBEN. "Last year, for example, when we did the one in North Tonawanda, it was myself and then we had a couple other businesses that were able to have tents where they could sell their stuff, but it ends up being my staff and my team doing all the work."
Manno very much enjoyed the larger Bills watch parties during COVID, because everything had to be outdoor dining and no indoor gatherings were permitted.
"It made sense," Manno said. "Me, personally, I was hoping it would stay that way. For example, Frankie Primo's downtown, I've always tried to get people to embrace eating on the patio and having drinks on the patio on a day like today, 48, 50, 55 degrees, 60 degrees. If you were in Italy, you would be eating outside right now. You'd just have a very fashionable sweater on and probably a hat, and you'd be chain-smoking cigarettes with a dog at your feet. But it was great because during COVID, when you had to do it, people were really embracing it. I was hoping that would carry over when COVID ended and we would be that way, but it just hasn't been that way. At the end of the day, people want to be inside unless they're at the actual game."
If the partnerships with other local businesses or sponsors are not in place for these larger events, Manno says the price tag to put them on skyrocket drastically.
"The one we did in North Tonawanda last year, just for the two big TVs, was $7,000. When you do the rest, $7,000 there, and then another couple thousand for security - even though in North Tonawanda, we didn't necessarily need security but you still have to man the entrances and everything else," Manno said. "And then I had probably 25 staff on for that event last year, I think we did Seattle on a Sunday at 4 in the afternoon. And as soon as it started to cool off, once the sun was off the street, people started to go inside or started to go home."
To make these gatherings worthwhile for Bills games, Manno says there are a couple of factors that are important to keep in mind.
"Obviously you've got to do an away game, because 60,000-plus people down at the stadium is your target audience. They're not going to come out, they're going to go to the stadium. And try and pick warm weather games, warm weather prime-time games," he said. "Those early games, the early Monday night, Sunday night and Thursday night game, those make the most sense because weather is always a factor. Everything in a climate like ours, the weather is always a factor. You don't want it to be a coin toss."
Manno is hopeful, though, the large block parties and outdoor watch parties can continue for Bills games in the near future.
"I have every intention of probably doing one, at least, in North Tonawanda again next year. It got tougher to do downtown because certain places were as busy as they possibly could be," Manno noted. "Inside, they were as busy as they possibly could be, so it didn't make sense from a staffing standpoint for a place to spend the money on payroll and staffing and table and chair rentals, things like that, when they probably weren't going to do any more business themselves in the first place. It got cost prohibitive, but I'm sure we'll be able to do it downtown again."