Ralph Wilson Stadium

Ralph Wilson Stadium
"The Ralph"
Location	One Bills Drive Orchard Park, New York 14127
Opened	1973
Owner	Erie County, New York
Operator	Erie County, New York
Surface	AstroPlay
Construction cost	$22 million USD
Architect	HNTB
Former names	Rich Stadium (1973-1998)
Tenants
Buffalo Bills (NFL) (1973-Present)
Capacity
80,020 (original); 73,967 (current)

Ralph Wilson Stadium is a football stadium located in the town of Orchard Park, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. It is the home stadium for the Buffalo Bills National Football League football team. It was originally named Rich Stadium.

History

The stadium opened in 1973. The construction of the stadium and its location were the source of years of litigation, which ended with a financial settlement for a developer who had planned to erect an all-weather stadium in Lancaster, New York. However plans changed because it was not wanted near Lancaster High School. In 1972, Rich Products signed a 25-year deal for $1 million per year, by which the venue would be called "Rich Stadium"; this is one of the earliest examples of the sale of naming rights in North American sports. After the original deal expired in 1998, the stadium was renamed in honor of Bills founder and owner Ralph C. Wilson.

The first playoff game at the stadium was a 17-10 Bills victory over the Houston Oilers on January 1, 1989. The Bills won every ensuing playoff game at the stadium until they were defeated by the Jacksonville Jaguars on December 28, 1996.

Other Events

On September 17, 2007 the NHL announced their first outdoor regular season game in the U.S. will take place at Ralph Wilson Stadium on January 1, 2008. The Buffalo Sabres will host the Pittsburgh Penguins in what is being called the AMP NHL Winter Classic.^[1]

Design

The stadium is open-air, with a capacity of 73,967. The field is made of AstroTurf GameDay Grass, which replaced the AstroTurf that was original to the stadium. The stadium originally had a capacity of 80,020, however the capacity was reduced in 1998 as a part of the Bills lease renewal with Erie County, New York. The stadium at that time was refitted with larger seats and more luxury and club seating. The lease agreement also stipulated that Erie County would continue to upgrade the stadium; in summer 2007 a new High Definition Mitsubishi LED board measuring 88.8' by 32.5' and ribbon boards was installed. Total cost for the project was 5.2 million dollars. The new scoreboard replaced the old 41.5' by 31.5' Sony JumboTron installed 13 years earlier for 8.0 million dollars (including inflation).

Buffalo is one of the nation's windiest cities, and as a result, Ralph Wilson Stadium often is a difficult stadium for kickers to play in, with swirling winds that change direction rapidly. This is exacerbated by the design of the stadium. The main bowl of the stadium is fifty feet under ground level, while the upper deck stands above ground. The open end lies parallel to the direction of the prevailing winds, so that when the winds come in, they immediately drop down into the bowl, causing the stadium's signature wind patterns.

Photo gallery

Buffalo Bills vs Patriots 10/22/06 Orchard Park, NY	Bills facing the Patriots in 2006	100, 200, and 300 seating levels illustrated	The field house is home to off-season OTAs and weekly practice
Interior concourse	Buffalo's downtown skyline as seen from upper deck during dusk.	Ralph Wilson Stadium from above.	Stadium logo

Notes

This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies.

External links

• Stadium page from official Buffalo Bills site
• The Standard
• BillsDaily

Coordinates: 42°46′25.46″N, 78°47′13.12″W

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