The Buffalo Bills are giving fans without season tickets a new shot to get inside the new Highmark Stadium.
After word came out that the team’s Return of the Blue & Red Scrimmage would be reserved for season ticket holders, the Bills lined up an open practice at the new stadium for Tuesday, August 18. Pete Guelli shared the news with The Buffalo News.
The practice is expected to be held in the morning, though an official start time has not been announced. Buffalo will stage the session two days before heading to Berea, Ohio for a joint practice against the Cleveland Browns.
Guelli said the August 18 workout is meant to give all fans - season-ticket holders and everyone else - a chance to attend. Having a personal seat license, or PSL, will not improve anyone’s odds of getting into this particular practice. Tickets are expected to go on sale Tuesday, July 21.
That’s a different setup from the Return of the Blue & Red Scrimmage, where Guelli said the team does not expect many tickets to be available. He pointed to the fact that PSL holders will be seeing the stadium and sitting in their seats for the first time.
“We’re expecting since it’s PSL holders’ first chance to get into the building that they’re likely to take the vast majority of tickets,” Guelli told The Buffalo News. “Since we now have PSL holders, they have the right to their specific seat, where in the past, it was maybe more of a general-admission type of event.
We could see some available inventory, but I think it’s important to manage expectations. There’s so much (excitement) to get in the building, and it’s the first opportunity for PSL holders to see it, so we’re expecting them to be here.”
In Other News...
New Sabres Defenseman Shares Wild Trade Night Moment
Louis Crevier is already giving the Sabres a little more to think about on the back end after arriving in the Bowen Byram-Jordan Greenway deal with Chicago. The 7th-round pick from the Blackhawks has seen his ice time climb there, and Buffalo is bringing him in with a real opportunity to stick on the blue line next season, which is exactly the kind of low-cost swing a team trying to deepen its defense can use.
The fit matters because the Sabres are not just adding another body, they are looking for someone who can actually push for a role. Crevier is expected to compete for a spot on the roster and could end up filling an opening left by Logan Stanley if the veteran does not return, giving Buffalo a bigger, more established option than a pure depth add. For a player whose path has already included a meaningful jump in responsibility, this could be the moment where he turns a change of scenery into a real NHL foothold. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Linked To Proven Scoring Help As Pressure Builds In Buffalo
The Sabres are still sorting through how to replace the offense they lost when Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram moved on, and the search has pushed the front office toward a familiar kind of summer dilemma: trust the kids, or add a proven scorer who can help right away. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen is reportedly weighing outside options while also keeping an eye on internal development, but the need for more production is hard to ignore for a team that wants to take a step forward.
Seattle winger Jared McCann has surfaced in the broader conversation as the kind of player Buffalo would have interest in if the Kraken decide to listen, and his situation makes him one to watch as the season moves along. He is in the final year of his contract, has been part of trade chatter before, and his track record as a reliable goal source only adds to the appeal. The complication, as always, is whether a deal like that can actually get traction once the details start to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Suddenly Have A Colten Ellis Dilemma They Cannot Mismanage
Colten Ellis arrived in Buffalo as a waiver claim before last season, and he made the kind of early impression that forces a front office to pay attention. He got into 16 games and helped stabilize the Sabres at a time when every usable option in net mattered, which is part of why his situation has quickly become more than a depth-chart footnote.
Now Ellis is entering the final year of his contract, and Buffalo has to decide how aggressively it wants to manage his role while sorting through a crowded goalie picture. With a three-goalie rotation already in play and the possibility of adding Connor Hellebuyck hanging over the position, the Sabres have to keep Ellis on a path that protects their leverage for next summer without letting the season get away from them in the process. [Read more 🡒]