By Sandra Tan

Copyright buffalonews

It’s not easy patrolling an entire area in and around a massive NFL stadium, and trying to do that in an old and antiquated building doesn’t help.

The new Buffalo Bills stadium won’t only be more convenient and comfortable for players and fans, it should also be easier on law enforcement.

Policing the over $2 billion stadium under construction in Orchard Park is expected to be a more seamless task than it is at the current more than five-decade-old Highmark Stadium.

That could mean the need for fewer Erie County Sheriff’s Office personnel on the scene for game days starting next season. While Town of Orchard Park police patrol around the stadium, Erie County sheriff’s deputies are on the scene at the game inside and right outside the stadium on team property.

The Bills say the stadium was designed to ease some of the challenges of policing such a large and active venue for games, as well as concerts.

Some of what will help the most is the decreased capacity of this stadium, having both entrance and exit ways at field level in and out of the stadium, accessibility of elevators throughout, modern lockup areas for unruly fans, a wider security perimeter making checkpoints easier for delivery trucks and sightlines making it possible to see what’s going on inside the bowl from the open concourses.

Erie County Sheriff John Garcia toured the 60,000-plus seat venue this summer and likes what he sees.

Garcia said he came away impressed with how the stadium, designed by architectural firm Populous, will help address security concerns that are prevalent at the current stadium across the street on Abbott Road.

“I have to compliment the Bills and the builder on how much time they took to really think things out,” Garcia said.

The Bills believe that policing the new stadium may get easier because of some of the venue’s new features and amenities, but until they see it all in operation it is difficult to say just how effective it will be in easing the burden on law enforcement.

“In the design, that was carefully considered, and looking at all that stuff that would help was part of the process,” said Pete Guelli, chief operating officer and executive vice president for the Bills. “We’re anticipating it being a lighter lift for everybody. It’s difficult to know for sure until you see how 60,000 fans react on game day, but that’s our hope.”

The new stadium will have 60,108 seats, and about 54,628 will require a personal seat license. Most of the remaining seats will be set aside as “mandatory holds” for visiting teams, the NFL and Bills players’ families and staff or as “sponsor holds” for the Bills’ founding partners.

With 10,000 fewer seats in the new stadium than the current venue and what’s anticipated to be more expensive tickets to get into the games, Garcia said he’s hopeful there will be fewer people causing problems during Bills contests.

If they do, law enforcement will have elevators to transport these people around the stadium and modern lockup areas to hold them.

“When somebody was unruly, you take them out and (have to) fight them all the way up the stairs,” Garcia said about how it is at the current stadium. “You know the dangers in all that.”

Fans who get out of their seats for concessions or to go to the restrooms will also be able to have a sightline to the action on the field, keeping them engaged in the game and potentially avoiding other distractions around the stadium, Garcia said. The open concourse also will be helpful to law enforcement trying to spot any trouble happening in the bowl.

“It’s 360 (degrees), so I could see everything,” Garcia said.

Handling security with vendors and suppliers and other trucks coming in and out of the stadium will also be made easier, thanks to entry and exit points at the new venue and a wider security perimeter. The Sheriff’s Office will be able to do away with having to conduct multiple checkpoints, Garcia said.

At the current stadium, space is more confined and there’s only one way in and out at the field level.

It will also be easier to patrol the outside of the stadium in team lots with parking areas and entrances and exits designed with greater ease and space for both fans – including those who tailgate – and law enforcement. They are designed to improve the traffic flow in and out of the lots, something the Sheriff’s Office is responsible for handling.

Additionally, the Bills have agreed to start fully covering the cost of the deputies who handle traffic control around the stadium. Currently, those costs are borne by the county.