clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Bills vs Colts: COVID-19 testing opens with enthusiasm at Bills Stadium

6700 tests or so will be administered over the next two days.

Matt Warren is Associate Director of NFL coverage for SB Nation and previously covered the Bills for Buffalo Rumblings for more than a decade.

Over the next two days, approximately 6700 fans will be tested for COVID-19 at Bills Stadium prior to this Saturday’s game between the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts. The testing is mandatory for folks attending the game as part of the plan developed between the team, Erie County, and New York State.

Testing opened at 6:30 a.m. EST in the stadium parking lot. There was a long line of cars in line before the opening bell—some arrived as early as 5:30 a.m.—but the line quickly diminished once testing began, according to reporters on the scene. Most fans waited approximately ten minutes for their test.

Testing at the site will remain open until 9:00 p.m. EST tonight with the hours repeated on Thursday. Fans are not allowed to provide their own COVID-19 test or get tested at any other facility if they want to attend the game.

When you enter the parking lot, there are three large tents, each with ten drive-through bays, so 30 tests can be administered at the same time. You can see in the video why it’s moving so quickly.

While there was no tailgating, that doesn’t mean Bills fans weren’t excited to be “congregating” at the stadium again.

“It’s really refreshing to hear people honk to the tune of ‘Let’s Go Buffalo’ outside the stadium. Very nostalgic,” tweeted Mike Baggerman from Newsradio 930 AM in Buffalo.