After 52 seasons--and five different names--the Buffalo Bills and their fans will say good-bye to their current home, what is now called Highmark Stadium. Across Abbott Road, crews are working to have a new stadium open in time for the 2026 season. The occasion has prompted a new book from authors Budd Bailey and Greg Tranter, "One Bills Drive: The Buffalo Bills Greatest Home Games."
A veteran Buffalo sports reporter, Bailey provided perspective on the stadium's origins.
"In the late Sixties, there was talk about a dome stadium for a while that would hold baseball and football, but that fell through for whatever reason. Then, the county turned to a different plan which was to build a cheap stadium in Orchard Park. I think the number was $23 million, which, when you think about it, is one-hundredth of what the new place will cost. Looking back now, that guaranteed the Bills would stay," Bailey said.
"Rich Stadium (the facility's original name), etcetera, did its job perfectly for 52 years and set the stage up for more thrills in the next 30 years. And when you think about it, for $23 million of taxpayer money that’s probably a pretty good bargain.”
An author of several sports-related books, Bailey brought a sportswriter's point-of view to the project. The approach is different for Tranter, renowned for his collection of 108,000 items of Buffalo Bills memorabilia.
"He now lives in Massachusetts and has had season tickets for 40 years. Has missed like five games in that span, driving in for games," Bailey said of Tranter, who frequently attends Bills' road games in New Jersey and New England.
"But he’s pretty normal about it, in the sense some collectors are little obsessive and squirrelly. He knows that he’s just having fun with it.”
The pair put together a list of over 80 games that could fall under the heading of "greatest" in stadium history. To get the total under 50, each put together their own list, agreeing on 47. They disagreed, however, on the greatest game. Bailey's vote was for the January 1993 playoff win in overtime against the Houston Oilers.
"Greg actually wanted the 51-3 game against the Raiders (January 1991). His logic was, the Bills had never been to a Super Bowl and that game put them into the Super Bowl and that meant everything to the franchise. I came back and said, without a doubt it’s a great game in Bills history. I had it number two. The difference was it wasn’t an interesting game. It was 41-3 at halftime."
The publisher broke the tie, siding with Bailey. The book cover is a photo of Frank Reich and Steve Christie celebrating the game-winning field goal.
The list contains eight Buffalo Bills' losses. It also includes what might be the worst game in stadium history, the 1987 game against the New York Giants that featured replacement players while the NFL regulars were on strike. After nine turnovers, the game was decided in overtime, 6-3. The Bills won; anybody who watched, lost.
Publisher timing prevented a worthy entry onto the list: the 2025 season opener, a 41-40 win over the Baltimore Ravens in which the Bills scored three times in the game's final four minutes.
"So, we decided to rewrite the introduction and explain why this fabulous Ravens’ game isn’t in the book. My lede was, “Man plans, and the football gods laugh,” Bailey reflected.
"And told the story about how we were all set and ready to go and why we ignored the most exciting regular season game in Bills’ home history.”
