BUFFALO (WBEN) - Highmark Stadium staff and parking lot owners are in the process of preparing for a major event, as Billy Joel comes to Orchard Park Saturday night.
"This event will give us a little primer for the regular season," said Eric Matwijo, owner of the Hammer Lot. "The excitement in the air even for the preseason game is going to be tremendous - the stadium is going to be totally filled up even for preseason - but this will be a little primer to get our feet wet back into the activity of parking cars and having people around tailgating."
To this point Matwijo hasn't heard anything to suggest tailgating won't be permitted in light of rising COVID numbers, and he plans on opening his lot early afternoon.
"I have not seen any requirements that people have to be so far away," he continued. "I have heard of no rules or regulations as opposed to the normal football season before COVID, so as far as I'm concerned, we're all ready to rock n' roll here..."
While not saying anything about tailgating, the Erie County Department of Health did release the following statement Wednesday regarding the concert and other events, including Bills games, at the stadium.
"...Anyone entering an Erie County facility or building is required to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status. This requirement extends to concourses, indoor areas and other enclosed spaces at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park."
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Dr. Tom Russo, the chief of Infectious Disease at the Jacobs School of Medicine, encouraged everyone to wear a mask even when sitting or walking in the outdoor seating area of the stadium, even though that isn't required by the county at this time.
"I think what we're learning is this delta variant is extraordinarily infectious," said Russo. "We know the virus spreads much better in the indoor setting than the outdoor setting or when people are in close quarters for long periods of time. Mask usage is most appropriate in those higher risk settings to try to keep this clamped down."