Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Call it lessons learned from past years.
Buffalo Bills-bound fans could snarl traffic patterns around some suburban school districts.
That's why some of the suburban school districts that neighbor Highmark Stadium will be instituting an early dismissal protocol because of the Thursday night's prime-time matchup between the Bills and Miami Dolphins.
Hamburg Superintendent Tom Adams says it boils down to a safety issue for students, faculty, parents and others.
"We know traffic will be heavy by early afternoon," Adams said with WBEN.
Typically schools let out in the 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. hours. That's also when stadium-bound traffic begins to peak with tailgaters arriving early for pregame festivities.
"Nobody wants to see anyone put at risk," Adams said.
Once the Bills' schedule was released in May, Southtowns suburban school districts made the decision to institute their respective early dismissal protocols. Hamburg, Orchard Park and Frontier are among those districts that are employing early dismissal initiatives.
"It comes down to safety," said Bill Bruton, Frontier public relations spokesman with WBEN.
Thursday's game is the only home game on the Bills' 2025 schedule where early dismissal protocols are needed. None of the team's other home games conflict with schools schedules.
"Everyone wants to play it safe," Bruton said.