
Week 12, Thu, Nov 26, 8:20 PM local
Kansas City Chiefsat Buffalo Bills
Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park. Fly into BUF.
Build the quest4,169 listed, from $364 each. Check the total at checkout.
Kickoff slot
Primetime
Plan the ride back before kickoff.
Lots open
3:00 PM
Local time on game day.
Where to stay
In the city
Tailgate from 3:00 PM, then the game.
The matchup
Form, ESPN's model and the stat leaders
- Form
The Chiefs are 3-0 after 3 games, 1st in the AFC West.
They have won 3 in a row.
They are 1-0 on the road.
The Bills are 3-0 after 3 games, 1st in the AFC East.
They have won 3 in a row.
They are 2-0 at home.
What we know about Highmark Stadium
Where visiting fans stay
Checked at the source- Downtown Buffalo. 35 min. NFTA Metro Game Day Express bus, $5 one way. The correction almost every first-time visitor needs: the Bills do not play in Buffalo. Highmark Stadium is in Orchard Park, about 12 miles south of downtown, surrounded by parking lots off Abbott Road with no rail service at all. Downtown Buffalo has the hotels, restaurants and bars, and that is where the NFTA Metro Game Day Express picks you up (Metropolitan Transportation Center and Utica Rail Station on the Metro Rail line) for $5 each way. Stay downtown and take the bus.
- Buffalo Medical Campus / Allentown / Elmwood Village. 40 min. Metro Rail to a Game Day Express pickup point, then the express bus. This area sits next to downtown and has better independent bars and restaurants than the downtown core, and University Station, a Game Day Express pickup point, is on the same Metro Rail line. It makes a better base for two nights than the downtown convention hotels.
- Orchard Park. 10 min. walk or short drive. Near the stadium there isn't much, just the Red Carpet Inn Orchard Park at 0.4 miles and the Stadium View Inn at 1.9 miles. It's only worth staying there if you have a car and want to be first into the lots. If you don't have a car, you gain nothing by staying here, because the Game Day Express doesn't serve Orchard Park.
Around the stadium
From a specialist guideGetting in from the airport
From a specialist guideGetting to the stadium
Checked at the sourceTailgating
Checked at the sourceGetting in
Checked at the source- Bag policy: You can bring a clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bag no bigger than 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches, a one-gallon clear freezer bag, or a small clutch about hand-sized at 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches. You can carry the clutch in addition to one of the clear-bag options. One gap to know: the stadium's policy doesn't mention any exception for medical bags, diaper bags or nursing bags, which could be a real problem if you're traveling with medication.
- Re-entry: Smoking is not allowed. The gate-entry page states this on its own, and the game-day section repeats it, saying there are no designated smoking areas inside the stadium and no re-entry once you leave.
- Prohibited items: You can't bring in umbrellas, strollers, any tobacco products (and since there's no smoking area and no re-entry, a smoker is stuck for the whole game), outside bottles, cans or thermoses, cameras with lenses longer than six inches, video cameras, tripods, noisemakers, laser pointers, oversized or modified seat cushions, selfie sticks, or drones.
Touring the stadium
From a specialist guideOne thing to avoid
From a specialist guideBars near the stadium
Checked at the sourceBig Tree Inn
4277 Abbott Rd, Orchard Park, NY 14127
This is the closest thing the Bills have to a cathedral. It opened in 1950 as an ordinary neighborhood bar and became a sports bar under new ownership in October 1980, and from there it turned into the players' bar.
Away fans: mostly home fans.
O'Neill's Stadium Inn
3864 Abbott Rd, Orchard Park, NY 14127
It's the most family-run spot in the Abbott Road group. Rick and Peggy Cerrone opened it in 2010 and built the whole place around their sense of the neighborhood.
Away fans: reviews are mixed, leaning welcoming.
Prohibition 2020
3847 Southwestern Blvd, Orchard Park, NY 14127
This is a 1920s prohibition-themed sports bar and the only Orchard Park venue that is itself an official Bills Backer chapter, so if you want the organized supporters version of gameday instead of a dive, this is the address. It runs 20 tap lines at all times and over 20 wing flavors, and the menu leans into Western New York classics like beef on weck, five-cheese stuffed banana peppers, and the Prohibition chicken sandwich.
Away fans: the crowd is mostly home fans, since it's an official Bills Backer chapter venue.
Kettle's
3719 Abbott Rd, Orchard Park, NY 14075
This is the unvarnished option on Abbott Road, about as close to a classic Buffalo dive bar as you'll find, with an older crowd, live music most nights, and a side patio set back from the traffic, which matters when the road closes and the Billevard gets packed. There are pool tables and darts and prices are reasonable.
What to eat
The local food this city is known for: wings and beef on weck.
Inside the stadium, 2026 season
- The first season's menu has beef on weck on a Wegmans kimmelweck roll, Highmark Wings and John Young's Mumbo Wings. Source
Stand line-ups change every season.
Sidequests in Orchard Park
Listed in the order they happen. Each one earns points.
- Photo25 points
Niagara Falls State Park day trip
The American side of the falls is a state park open 365 days a year with no entry fee for the grounds. Prospect Point gives you the standard photo, and it makes for a half-day trip from Buffalo.
Free. The day before
- Tour100 points
Highmark Stadium behind-the-scenes tour
Legends runs tours of the new stadium's locker rooms and premium spaces, booked through Ticketmaster or an inquiry form. The Bills page doesn't list prices, days or game-day availability, so email [email protected] first.
$$. The day before. Bookable
- Eat65 points
Schwabl's beef on weck
This family restaurant has been open since 1837 and in this building since 1942, serving roast beef on kummelweck carved to order. It's open Tuesday to Saturday 11:30am to 7:30pm and closed Sunday, so go the day before.
$$. The day before
- Landmark65 points
Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House
This is Wright's 1903 to 1905 Prairie house complex in Parkside, fully restored with a pergola, conservatory and carriage house. The 75-minute docent tour is $25, $10 for students and free for children 8 and under, so reserve ahead.
$$. The day before
- Landmark65 points
Buffalo AKG Art Museum
This modern and contemporary art museum on Elmwood Avenue is open Saturday 10am to 6pm and Sunday 10am to 5pm, closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Adults are $24, youth 5 to 18 are $10, and under 5 is free.
$$. The day before
- Landmark65 points
Canalside on the Buffalo waterfront
This free public waterfront is open dawn to dusk with the Heritage Carousel, kayaks, the Naval Park's USS Little Rock and the Explore & More children's museum. It's a good spot for families the day before the game.
Free. The day before
- Eat65 points
Anchor Bar, original Buffalo wings
This is the Main Street bar where Teressa Bellissimo fried the first Buffalo wings on March 4, 1964. It's open Sunday 11am to 8pm, so go for dinner the night before or after the game.
$$. 19 hours before kickoff
- Drink25 points
Pearl Street Grill & Brewery
This downtown brewpub has four floors, nine bars and copper-roofed patios near the waterfront. It's open from 11:30am daily, a good place to meet the night before or after the drive back from Orchard Park.
$$. 18 hours before kickoff
- Tailgate100 points
Red Zone walk-in tailgate
Gameday Hospitality sells tailgate entry by the person, just a 3 to 5 minute walk from the stadium. If you flew in without a tailgate crew, this is your answer.
$$$. 4 hours before kickoff. Bookable
- Eat65 points
Charlie the Butcher, Orchard Park
This counter-service spot serves beef on weck from the Buffalo carvery chain. The Orchard Park shop on North Buffalo Road is a few minutes from the stadium, so it works for pregame lunch before you park.
$. 4 hours before kickoff
- Drink25 points
Danny's South on Abbott Road
This Abbott Road bar and restaurant is a short walk from the stadium lots. It's normally closed Sundays, but the site says it opens for all Bills home games, so it fills up with the pregame crowd.
$$. 3 hours 30 minutes before kickoff
- Ritual25 points
NFTA Game Day Express bus from downtown
Express buses run from six transit centers, including the downtown Metropolitan Transportation Center, to the stadium transit center near Abbott and Southwestern. It's $5 cash or Token Transit each way, and times post during game week.
$. 3 hours before kickoff
- Tailgate65 points
Pregame Plaza between Gates C and D
Inside the new Highmark Stadium's secure perimeter, this plaza has a mini field, games, music and photo ops. Security gates open 3 hours before kickoff and the plaza closes 30 minutes before kickoff; you need a ticket but no car.
Free. 2 hours 30 minutes before kickoff
Seats and views
Where each part of Highmark Stadium sits, and what you see from it.
What kind of game day do you want?
Pick one and Scout shows you where to sit.