Ready 4 The Game: Bills Mafia ready for return to Highmark Stadium

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) — The cheers, the sea of red and blue and all the excitement around the Buffalo Bills will return to Orchard Park as the team kicks off the regular season on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

“It’s long-awaited, I think everybody’s expecting a big season, we’re hoping for it,” said Mark Ebeling, owner and manager of nearby restaurant Danny’s. “The Bills have been great neighbors for us and everybody around here, there’s a big push, the Bills win, we all win.”

For Ebeling’s family-owned business that’s so close to the stadium, one can see the area from their windows. When the Bills are winning, their business is booming.

“We’re looking for the wins, that would really be the key thing, but we do a lot of parties in our parking lot, it’s kind of the repeat customers — we do tailgate parties, big tailgate parties,” Ebeling said.

He said his neighbors and he, who provide parking options, are looking forward to the season. He’s on his lot as early as 6:30 a.m. on game days, he said. The stadium lots will open at 9 a.m. for Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff.

“I just tell everybody, get here early, especially the first two games, just to see what’s going to happen, so you know where you can get to and how to get out because the traffic patterns have all changed,” Ebeling said.

The Erie County Sheriff’s Office has released traffic and road closures information prior to the opener for fans to look through before the game. To read more information on that, click here.

Hope Winter is a reporter and multimedia journalist who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here .