Highmark Stadium Tailgating
Buffalo Bills · Orchard Park, NY
Tailgating is a game-day tradition for Bills fans, and it carried across the street intact when the new Highmark Stadium opened for the 2026 season. The numbered lots of the old stadium are gone; the outer colour-coded lots (Green, Grey and Orange) now hold the biggest official tailgates, while the private lots along Abbott Road remain the rowdiest scene in the NFL. Lots open four hours before kickoff. Charcoal and propane grills are permitted in designated areas: keep grills on pavement, away from vehicles, and extinguish all flames before entering the stadium. Check the official tailgating policy for lot-specific rules, which the team updated for the new building.
Tips & Fan Reports
If you're coming from Toronto, leave early so you can take in the full tailgating experience. Get there at least 4 hours before the game - the lots are the party.
Designate a driver or use public transit if you plan to drink at the tailgate.
Check the weather forecast and plan accordingly. Dress in layers for late-season games.
Pack trash bags and leave your spot cleaner than you found it, cleanup is expected and enforced.
Arrive early for the outer lots. Green fills fastest now that it anchors the official tailgate scene.
Bring extra food and drinks to share with neighbors; the tailgate community at Highmark Stadium is social and generous.
Download your parking pass and game tickets to your phone before arriving; cell service can be limited near the stadium.
Where to Tailgate
Green Lot
The largest of the outer official lots and the centre of gravity for stadium tailgating at the new building. Grills, games and the full Bills Mafia atmosphere.
Known for Biggest official tailgate scene · Opens four hours before kickoff · Advance-purchase pass required
Hammer Lot
The famous private lot on Abbott Road, unaffected by the stadium move and still the source of the most viral tailgate videos in football.
Known for Unfiltered Bills Mafia energy · Independent of the team · Fills early on primetime games
Orange Lot
A calmer perimeter option for families or groups who want the tailgate without the full intensity. Longest walk of the official lots, and usually the last to sell out.
Known for Quieter, family-friendly · Easiest official lot to get into · Longer walk to the gates
Rules to Know
What Highmark Stadium allows, and what it does not.
- Each space is a 9ft by 18ft parking stall with a 9ft by 10ft tailgating area behind the parked vehicle.
- Emergency lanes, drive aisles and crosshatched areas must stay clear and unobstructed at all times.
- Tailgating ends at kickoff, when everyone must go into the stadium with their game ticket.
- Natural gas and propane grills are allowed. Charcoal grills are allowed only if raised at least 6 inches off the ground.
- No open-pit fires, wood stoves, oil fryers or other cooking stations.
- Tents are permitted, but nothing may be driven into the ground — no stakes, no through-surface inserts, no tent poles into the surface.
- Cups and cans must be plastic or otherwise non-breakable. No bottles and no glass.
- Personal-sized Bluetooth speakers are fine. Portable PA systems are not, and neither is excessive volume or music with profanity or slurs.
- No selling food or drink, and no private catering companies.
- No golf carts, Segways, skateboards, scooters or hoverboards in the tailgating lots. Bicycles go at the designated racks.
- No drones, megaphones, airhorns or other noisemakers.
- No weapons or firearms, including toy or costume versions.
What to Bring
- A bag the gate will accept
Clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC bags may be no larger than 12 x 6 x 12 inches; one-gallon clear freezer bags and clutches no larger than 4.5 x 6.5 inches are also permitted.
- A card or a phone wallet
Highmark Stadium is cashless at concessions, retail, parking, and the 50/50 raffle; debit cards, credit cards, and supported mobile wallets are accepted.
- Your tickets on a charged phone
Bills tickets are managed in the Bills mobile app, and guests should add tickets and parking permits to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet before arrival.
- Winter layers, gloves and a hat
January lows average 16°F in the seats at Highmark Stadium.
- A poncho, not an umbrella
Umbrellas are on Highmark Stadium's prohibited list, and October averages 5.4 inches of rain.
Buffalo Bills Tailgate Gear
Canopies, grills, coolers, and official Buffalo Bills gear for the ultimate tailgate.
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How We Checked This Page
Every section below names the source it was read from and the day it was read. Where we could not reach a published figure, the page says so rather than presenting an estimate as a checked fact.
- Pregame
Buffalo Bills official parking page, tailgating rules section (stall and tailgate-area dimensions, grill, tent, sound and prohibited-item rules)
- Venue policies
Current Buffalo Bills pages for new Highmark Stadium accessibility, gate entry, game day, ticket policies, and mobile ticketing reviewed.
- Weather
NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals