BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — M&T Bank and the Buffalo Bills are celebrating the 40-year milestone of their brand partnership, which is one of the longest running in professional football. On Wednesday, they announced the extension of the partnership.
“For us, this is all about coming together and making a difference in the community that we love,” said Eric Feldstein, M&T Bank’s regional president. “We’re here on a multi-year agreement together and what I can tell you is that’s going to mean that you’re going to see M&T Bank, Buffalo Bills coming together, whether that be through marketing, whether that be community activation. We talked about Touchdown for Teachers and the Honor Flight — those are two amazing initiatives that are really there to up light the community we love in Western New York.”
They also announced that M&T will be a founding partner of the new Highmark Stadium.
“I can tell you for sure, it’s on time. Everybody can calm down. The building will be open, we will be playing football in there next year, it’s going great,” said Pete Guelli, Buffalo Bills EVP and chief operating officer. “Everything is going well from making sure our season ticket holders are getting an opportunity to be part of the new building. The construction is going extremely well, can’t be more excited to open that building.”
Many eyes were on the building of the new stadium for the Bills during Wednesday’s celebration. Bills Alumni had a chance to share some of their memories in the team’s current home.
“Just walking out of the tunnel for the first time, that was the dream of all of [had] us growing up and to be able to do that was special to me,” said former Bills running back Fred Jackson.
Jackson said his favorite memory, along with playing his last game in Buffalo, was his son sharing the field with him at halftime.
Speaking of tunnels, during the panel, former Bills center Eric Wood brought up how the current Highmark Stadium has one tunnel for both teams to use, and clarified that the new one will have separate tunnels for the teams.
“One of the most unique things about old Highmark is that both teams use the same tunnel, which can lead to some issues when you’re going at it,” Wood said. “I remember getting in an argument with Rex Ryan in late December and then him being our head coach two weeks later.”
For Buffalo Bills Pro Football Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas, he shared three of his favorite memories at the current stadium: the comeback game, the game played against the Raiders that sent the Bills to the Super Bowl for the first time, and then the game they won against the Kansas City Chiefs before the 1994 Superbowl.
“To see kind of the excitement that was there, beating Kansas City and going to the fourth, it wasn’t 80,000 like it was against the Raiders, but it was a nice crowd — a loud crowd — that gave Kansas City problems, so those are my three,” Thomas said. “The only thing that I kind of am nudging Sean McDermott about is that I won’t be able to play in the new stadium. Can I get a shot? Just one play?”
They reminisced on the memories, talked about how the community’s connection with the Bills makes Buffalo different from other cities, and shared excitement for what’s to come in the future for the team and the community around them.
“I love this community,” Thomas said. “Three of my four kids are born here, we all live here, it’s the best community in the world. I do think within these next two years, people will be very, very happy here in Buffalo.”