COMPILED BY BRIAN MEYER
Aug. 10, 2022
Rocking two nights: A high mark, and high challenge, for Highmark Stadium
On successive days this week, Highmark Stadium – a nearly 50-year-old venue designed for football – will become home to a pair of adrenaline-charged rock and metal shows: Def Leppard, Motley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts tonight, followed on Thursday by Metallica, with openers Greta Van Fleet and Ice Nine Kills.
That’s two shows, seven bands and likely 70,000 fans in less than 24 hours – a unique scenario in Highmark Stadium history. The closest to it: Michael Jackson and family played back-to-back shows during their 1984 Victory Tour. Add in the Buffalo Bills’ preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, and that’s three major events in four days.
People are also reading…
The News’ Madison Hricik and Tim O’Shei examine the Herculean challenges that come with this flurry of stadium activity.
Stadium concerts are big events – and big money, especially for the stars. A financial study commissioned by Pegula Sports and Entertainment detailed the revenues from concerts held between 2015 and 2019, directly following a 2014 renovation to the stadium.
Also, check out our guide to the back-to-back stadium concerts. The questions are the same for all concerts: What time can I get in? What about parking? When does the show start? Can I bring my camera? We've got the official answers to those questions and more.
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
Trump’s non-endorsement hangs over 23rd Congressional District primary: Donald J. Trump continues to dominate the contest as both Carl Paladino and Nick Langworthy hype their connections to the former president. Read more
GOP chorus against FBI search of Trump home has an unlikely ally: Andrew Cuomo: New York’s former governor joined the chorus of GOP outrage at FBI agents swarming over former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate but from his own – and different – perspective. Read more
Upgraded Erie County credit rating will lower borrowing costs for new Buffalo Bills stadium: Buoyed by a flood of federal stimulus money, strong sales tax growth, 2020 cost controls and a growing property tax base, Erie County's finances are doing better than ever. Read more
EEOC to meet in Buffalo to reinforce fight against racism: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will hold a "listening session" in City Hall on Aug. 22, as it gathers input for its strategic enforcement plan for the next five years. Read more
New York counties directed to develop domestic terrorism prevention plans: The action comes in response to what Gov. Kathy Hochul views as a troubling surge in domestic terrorism and violent extremism typified by the racist shooting in Buffalo May 14. Read more
Water quality concerns continue at Olcott beach: For 12 days since mid-July, Niagara County health officials have deemed Krull Park beach in Olcott unsafe for swimming because of elevated bacteria levels in the water. Read more
GUSTO
Your guide to the 2022 Erie County Fair: Here's what you need to know as the 182nd Erie County Fair opens. It runs through Aug. 21 at the Hamburg Fairgrounds. Read more
COLUMNS
Erik Brady: Hasek was a perfect fit for Buffalo … and a perfect puppy for our family: Former Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek gets back to Buffalo often to check up on Hasek’s Heroes, the hockey program for disadvantaged youth that he established in 2001. Read more
Rachel Lenzi: Serena Williams’ decision to leave tennis is shocking, inspiring: Williams “shocked us all,” writes Lenzi. “Her words about her impending departure from tennis, done so creatively through Vogue magazine and its online presence, came Tuesday morning. It was another moment when Williams left many of us in awe (and some of us in tears) through the course of her storied career.” Read more
WITH YOUR MORNING COFFEE
• For more than 50 years, Buffalonians on their way through midtown made New Chicago Lunch at Main near Utica a favorite destination. This installment of [BN] Chronicles looks back on this popular restaurant that served its final customers on Christmas Eve, 1976.
• Buffalo’s Board of Ethics has been “out of business” for the past two-and-a-half years and has morphed into a “dead-letter office for citizen complaints,” Investigative Post’s Geoff Kelly reports. The oversight panel, charged with probing ethical breaches by city employees, monitoring potential conflicts of interest and other tasks, hasn’t met since February 2020.
• Given that National Lighthouse Day was celebrated this past Sunday, it’s fitting that we showcase “a beacon to Buffalo." The Visit Buffalo Niagara blog talks with Mike Vogel, president of the Buffalo Lighthouse Association and the “current informal holder of the title ‘keeper’ of the lighthouse.”
• Nature hikes don’t have to be strenuous experiences. Only in Your State’s Samantha Gill suggests nine “easy hikes” in the Buffalo area, including Tifft Nature Preserve, Knox Farm State Park and Reinstein Woods.
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