Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN) - It is expected to be a busy four-day stretch for the Erie County Sheriff's Office in Orchard Park, as Highmark Stadium is set to host a trio of events that will bring the crowds in bunches.
Wednesday brings The Stadium Tour to Highmark Stadium that features Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts all playing in one concert. That event gets started at 4:30 p.m. ET.
The very next day will see Metallica performing in front of fans at the stadium, with other acts like Greta Van Fleet and Ice Nine Kills also performing. The show is scheduled to get underway at 6 p.m. ET.
Then on Saturday, the Buffalo Bills will play their first preseason game of the 2022 campaign when they host the Indianapolis Colts for a 4 p.m. ET kickoff.
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Back-to-back concerts at the stadium are a rather rare occurrence, but when you add a football game into the mix just a couple of days later, that will see a large flow of people coming in-and-out of the Orchard Park area in four days. That will also likely cause traffic issues for people getting to the stadium for the show/game, while also creating some havoc for people exiting the event.
That's where the Erie County Sheriff's Office will be busy taking measures to ensure the safety of all concertgoers and football fans alike.
"We have a great problem - people are coming back out in droves. The world's re-opened," said Erie County Sheriff John Garcia on Wednesday. "We have the Erie County Fair, the 182nd Erie County Fair that's being held, and we have two great concerts in town Wednesday and [Thursday], and then the Bills' opening preseason game on Saturday against the Colts. So we have great issues, but with those issues come traffic. So we just ask people to be patient and leave your home a little earlier. And know where you're going to enter, which gate, so you could park in a lot that's adjacent to the gate."
Despite Garcia knowing how well his deputies work with other law enforcement agencies in the area, he is still asking for people to be patient with not just those trying to direct and enforce traffic measures, but o others that are also in traffic with you.
"With the two concerts come maybe people that are not season ticket holders, or regular Bills fans, so they might not know where to go. Just be patient with your other drivers that are trying to maybe figure out where to go. But we'll get people in-and-out. Traffic after the concert and a Bills game is an issue, because you have 70,000 fans leaving all at the same time. There's no other way of doing so. So if you want to spend a little extra time in the parking lot and watch the traffic clear, make sure you do so."
According to the Sheriff's Office, Wednesday's traffic will see the section of Abbott Road in front of the stadium closed to north and southbound traffic at 1 p.m. ET, with the road remaining closed until after the concert.
As for Thursday, that same section of Abbott Road in front of the stadium will close to traffic at 3 p.m. ET, with the road remaining closed until after the concert.
Shortly before the conclusion of both concerts, Route 20a from Fieldhouse Drive will be two-lane, one-way traffic headed eastbound towards Route 219. Vehicles west of Fieldhouse Dr. can only travel westbound.
During the Bills' "Return of the Blue and Red" practice at Highmark Stadium this past Friday, traffic was closed off to people on Abbott Road between Southwestern Boulevard and Big Tree Road. That road closure certainly did not make some travelers happy, but Sheriff Garcia says that their closure patterns are always being evaluated.
"With the Bills practice, that was kind of an aberration, because usually what happens is people come in at a certain time, approximately, and they leave at a certain time. But with the practice, people were coming-and-going throughout. So for us, Abbott was a security issue to ensure the pedestrians are getting in safely and out safely," Garcia explained. "But we're always adjusting traffic patterns. We have the helicopter above, we see what the patterns are, and we work very closely with the Bills organization to make it customer friendly. We want people to feel like they're not going to get stuck in traffic. They're gonna go in and have a great experience inside, leave, and have a great experience headed home."
With the influx of people set to make their way to Orchard Park this week, this will likely put the Sheriff's Office in all hands on deck mode to not only monitor and direct traffic, but also make sure other happenings around the stadium are in good order.
While overtime may certainly be an issue and brought up as part of the discussion for deputies on site, Sheriff Garcia's concerns remain with the people.
"I just want to make sure that everybody going into the [concerts and] Bills game is safe, and that they leave in an orderly manner," he said. "As far as the overtime, it comes with the great benefit of people getting back out there and 70,000 people in a stadium. This is the largest undertaking of any security detail in New York State. ... We do this, minimum, 10 times a year, and hopefully we'll be doing it for an AFC Championship Game and a Super Bowl parade. But it's good problems."
More from Sheriff Garcia is available in the player below: