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 VillageVisiting fans pick this
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.
Jay Zbaczyniak (zbcznk), Google Maps
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 guide
There's no hotel cluster and no bar district here. Just two motels within two miles, the Red Carpet Inn at 0.4 miles and the Stadium View Inn at 1.9 miles. The pre-game drinking scene is a handful of classic roadside taverns on and around Abbott Road and Southwestern Boulevard, like Big Tree Inn, Danny's South and O'Neill's Stadium Inn. These are institutions, but they sit along a suburban highway strip, not a walkable area. New development is coming near the stadium (Danny's South was recently listed for sale as development picks up), so this could change in future seasons.
Map of the area
Tap a pin to see the place.
Getting to Highmark Stadium
From Buffalo Niagara
From a specialist guide
Buffalo Niagara (BUF) is about 20 minutes from Orchard Park and 20 from downtown by car. No rail.
On game day
Checked at the source
NFTA Metro Game Day Express. It drops you at the stadium. The exact 2026 drop point hasn't been published yet. No rail service at all.
Parking and tailgating at Highmark Stadium
Parking
From a specialist guide
Official lots are permit-only. Private lots and front lawns around the stadium sell spots for cash, first come first served.
Tailgating
Checked at the source
This is the key option for a fan without a car in Buffalo. The stadium's own lots require a car and an advance-purchase parking pass, and tailgating there has to fit inside your marked parking space and stops at kickoff. But Gameday Hospitality runs the Red Zone tailgate at 3904 Abbott Road, right next to the Highmark Stadium property, a 3 to 5 minute walk from most gates. You don't need a car or a game ticket, just a tailgate reservation. It runs for three hours with a buffet of Sahlen's hot dogs, chicken fingers, subs and pizza, and the VIP tier adds wings and beef on weck. Pricing rises the later you book, and a season pass covers all home and playoff games. Times shift with kickoff, for example 10:00 to 13:00 for an afternoon game or 16:30 to 19:30 for a night game. Gameday Hospitality runs the Buffalo Red Zone Tailgate. It's paid, with tier-based pricing that rises closer to game day, GA and VIP tiers, and a season pass available. You don't need a car or a match ticket. It opens for three hours of entry, timed to kickoff, for example 10:00 to 13:00 or 16:30 to 19:30.
Tailgating without a car
Checked at the source
Gameday Hospitality's Red Zone sells per-person walk-in tailgates a 3 to 5 minute walk from the stadium.
Game day at Highmark Stadium
Getting 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 guide
The Bills have launched a tour program for the new stadium that includes a game-day option called the Gameday Tour, a VIP pre-game tour that takes you behind the scenes as the teams prepare for kickoff. You book it at thehighmarkstadium.com/tours. Pricing and availability aren't listed yet, so confirm both before buying. The Rally Day Tour runs the day before a home game, a self-guided behind-the-scenes look as the stadium gets ready. There's also the Bills Mafia Tour, a 60-minute guided tour of the locker room and field level, and the Bills Mafia Elevated Tour, a 90-minute VIP tour that adds the Gallagher Founders Club and the National Broadcast Booth. Prices and availability weren't finalized when the tour program was announced, so book through thehighmarkstadium.com/tours and check current details.
One thing to avoid
From a specialist guide
Don't book at the airport or in a random Southtowns suburb hoping to be close. Without a car, anywhere outside a Game Day Express pickup point means a $60 or more taxi each way. And don't assume the old stadium's layout still applies, the gates, lots and address all changed for 2026.
Food and drink at Highmark Stadium
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.
Bars near the stadium
Checked at the source
Big Tree Inn OP, Google Maps
Big 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.
Charlie Brown, Google Maps
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, Google Maps
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.
Kettles Korner, Google Maps
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.
Things to do around Highmark Stadium
Listed in the order they happen on game day. 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 at Highmark Stadium
Where each part of the stadium sits, and what you see from it.
100 Level101 to 155Club and suite levelsC221 to C233300 Level301 to 349Tap any part of the stadium to see its view.
