Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN) - It's here. The Buffalo Bills home opener and it's Monday Night Football in Buffalo.
"Bills Mafia" is being encouraged to arrive early for Monday's prime-time matchup against the Tennessee Titans at Highmark Stadium.
The Buffalo Bills say it will be a normal year with regard to screening fans prior to entry to the stadium.
Bills' Vice President of Operations and Guest Experience, Andy Major advises fans to get to the gates on time.
"The biggest thing is this is "Monday Night Football", so the times are different," said Major on Friday.
Parking lots are slated to open at 3:15 p.m. ET, while the stadium gates will open at 5:15 p.m. ET, two hours ahead of a 7:15 p.m. ET kickoff. Major says you may not be the only ones having trouble getting to the stadium.
Related
"Staff may have a tough time getting here just like fans, because of the traffic and the Monday night atmosphere. So a lot of excitement," he explained.
Major encourages fans to get in their seats early on Monday night, as there will be a special pregame ceremony.
"We promise to have another special home opener and pregame ceremony for our fans. I don't want to give too much away," said Major. "But we definitely encourage fans to be in their seats pregame, enjoy that pregame ceremony is going to be a very special moment."
Major did say that Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly will be the "Legend of the Game" on Monday night.
With no COVID-19 restrictions in place this season, Major says screening will be closer to normal this season.
"We'll have our security teams out there, and we'll have our ticketing teams out there for the mobile tickets," Major said.
Major asks for fans to be ready and have their mobile tickets ready for scanning on a cellular device.
In addition, there will be something new at Gate 5 for fans entering the stadium gates.
"It's a walk through open gate technology to help fans get inside this screening area a little bit sooner," Major explained. "That's something we're testing for the whole stadium, and then we'll look at that for the future of the new stadium, as well."
If you're thinking about ridesharing to the game, Major says you may want to think again.
"For large scale events, there's really not a ton of drivers. So if fans are going to take rideshare postgame, they're going to probably wait a long time," Major notes.
Major also encourages using an NFTA super shuttle that will be out-and-about throughout the city and in the Northtowns.
Hear more from Major ahead of Monday night's home opener in the player below: