The Buffalo Bills are back in the AFC championship, and that means plenty of Bills fans want to get to Kansas City for the game.
Game ticket sales and a spike in the cost of airfare from Buffalo to Kansas City suggest that this weekend will see another strong turnout from a Western New York contingent that hopes to witness its team finally get past the Chiefs in the playoffs and return to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1994. Even though planning to attend a wintry away game on a week’s notice can be challenging and expensive, Bills Mafia diehards say the experience will be worth the effort.
Bills fans are well known around the NFL for making strong showings at other stadiums around the league, and things shouldn’t change for this game, according to travel and sports entertainment experts who are familiar with Bills Mafia, the nickname for the Bills’ fanbase.
Bills fans are expected to be in Kansas City in droves, far surpassing the contingent of Buffalo backers in Chiefs Kingdom for both the 2021 AFC championship game and the 2022 AFC divisional round.
But getting to the game may prove to be challenging and expensive.
Prices for flights already have jetted up to around $1,200 to get to the Kansas City area, and tickets just to get into Arrowhead Stadium are approaching $400.
Still, that’s not stopping Bills Mafia from making plans this week.
“It comes with the gravity of the game,” said Matt Puccio, a Buffalo native who co-founded the 417 Mafia, a Bills fan group based in Missouri.
“I think there’s going to be an excellent showing from the Mafia,” he added. “There will be plenty of folks coming from Western New York, but the Mafia is everywhere now.”
When the teams meet at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, it will be the fourth time in the last five seasons the two will square off in the playoffs. All three previous matchups have been won by the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
Despite that frustrating history, Nick Giammusso, president and CEO of Buffalo sports and entertainment ticket exchange VIPTix, said ticket sales are up about 60% from the 2021 and 2022 playoff games the Bills traveled to Kansas City to play.
“There’s going to be a lot more Bills fans there this time, for sure,” he said. “After Sunday’s win (over the Baltimore Ravens), we saw a lot of orders come through. It just seems like Kansas City would be more special to beat, and Bills fans are coming into the game more confident that the team can do it.”
It’s not easy to plan for a trip in one week. While Bills Mafia travels to away games in greater numbers than almost any other NFL fan base, usually fans have months to plan regular-season road trips. Trying to get from city to city when you don’t know the opponent until the week prior, as happens in the playoffs, forces fans into a pedal-to-the-metal mentality.
Therese Forton-Barnes, the founder of the Bills fan group Water Buffalo Club 716, said that besides the tight time frame, another challenge is that Kansas City is not an easy destination to get to from Buffalo.
“But people are finding a way to get there,” Forton-Barnes said. “I think people don’t want to miss this. It’s huge to be on their turf and have a great team ready to play them.”
Costs for flights have risen significantly from Monday to Tuesday. Fans making the trip for the long weekend from Buffalo or Rochester will now need to pay around $1,200 for a flight to Kansas City. Prices were closer to $800 just the day prior.
Most airlines started to increase prices shortly after the Bills won Sunday and prices have skyrocketed since, according to Matthew Covert, manager of the AAA Orchard Park Travel & Insurance Center.
“Those are some drastic increases,” Covert said. “Airline prices are based on availability, so as they continue to fill up, prices go up. That’s a really good sign that there’s going to be a lot of Bills fans there.”
Forton-Barnes knows some fans who are flying into Omaha, Neb., and then driving about 200 miles to Kansas City, because more direct flights have gotten so expensive.
Hotels are a little easier to come by and more reasonably priced. For fans willing to stay closer to the airport and in Kansas City’s downtown — both about a 20-minute drive from the stadium, prices start at about $120 per night, according to AAA. Hotels closer to the stadium cost upward of $300-plus per night and are limited in availability, AAA says.
“Your best bet is to stay downtown because there’s so much to do downtown, and then hop in a car and get to the stadium on game day,” Puccio said.
For fans opting instead to make the drive from Western New York, it’s going to be a long ride, but it’s becoming a much more economical option. It is about 970 miles from Highmark Stadium to Arrowhead Stadium, and it would take more than 14 hours to get there. Gassing up a vehicle for that kind of trip would probably cost a little less than $100, AAA says.
“Driving is an option as long as you’re willing to put in the time,” Covert said. “For anybody who wants to go, it’s worth it. It’s not that often you get an opportunity to be a part of this.”
Ticket prices were listed at about $390 per ticket for upper-level seats, $700 for lower-level seats and $1,100 for club seats on VIPTix, as of Tuesday. Those prices are pretty typical for a game of this magnitude, Giammusso said. There are around 6,000 tickets on the market, so prices may still come down a little bit, he added.
Once in Kansas City, there will be plenty for Bills fans to do.
Puccio has been in communication with Kansas City Bills Backers at Taps on Main bar and restaurant, and Northland Bills Backers at Al’s Bar & Grill in Parkville, Mo., both located near the Kansas City International Airport.
Buffalo native Grant Tower founded the Kansas City Bills Backers chapter and is one of the owners of Taps on Main, which brings in all the Bills Mafia tailgate legends, such as John Lang, aka “Bills Elvis,” and Ken Johnson, better known to Bills fans as “Pinto Ron.” Tower said he also sees Bills alumni when the team is in town.
Alan Burns, a graduate of St. Francis High School in Hamburg, runs Al’s Bar & Grill, which is known for some of the best wings in the area, Puccio said.
Downtown is brimming with live music and entertainment, as well as good barbecue restaurants, Puccio added.
“Everybody that is in town from Buffalo, they know Taps on Main is the place to go, and Al’s is just as fun,” he said. “If you’re a Buffalonian or former Western New Yorker, you’re going to feel right at home at both places.”
Additionally, sports travel group Fans of Buffalo has organized a trip to Kansas City. Excluding airfare, packages range from $949 per person to $1,349 each.
The Fans of Buffalo group is offering a downtown stay, close to the Power & Light District and Taps on Main. It is also putting together a tailgate party prior to the game across the street from Arrowhead Stadium with a DJ and local barbecue buffet, and will offer a bus service from downtown.
Gameday Hospitality will also host the Buffalo Red Zone on the Road tailgate in Kansas City, with all-inclusive food and drinks, DJ, tailgate games and an appearance by former Bills center and current radio color commentator Eric Wood.
The morning of the game, Puccio said there will be a caravan of vehicles about a mile and half from the stadium that will drive together to the tailgate. One of the bigger Bills tailgate scenes is expected to be in Lot G, in the red parking area at Arrowhead Stadium, Puccio said.
“Weeks like this can be hectic, but it’s fun,” Covert said. “It’s exciting to see the people wanting to go. It makes it all worth it.”
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