Add The New York Post on Google Highmark Stadium will be singing a new tune this season.
The Bills will play the Canadian national anthem when they host the Lions on Sunday, Sept. 17 for their home opener in Week 2, the organization announced Wednesday.
The Barenaked Ladies will perform “O Canada,” and Auliʻi Cravalho, the voice behind the main character of both “Moana” moves, will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
While there are tensions between the U.S. and Canada over trade issues, there is history of Buffalo sports teams playing “O Canada” ahead of games no matter the opponent, and the Bills are seemingly interested in honoring that.
The NHL’s Sabres, minor league baseball’s Bisons and the National Lacrosse League’ (NLL)’s Bandits all play both anthems before games.
It’s only the latest change in the Bills’ home base this offseason.
In August, the Bills invited season ticket holders to a training camp practice inside the new $2.2 billion stadium. It drew an attendance record of 51,807 fans, however, the reveal didn’t all go according to plan.
Fans shared photos and videos detailing the poor sightlines and obstructions blocking views of the full field.
Many encountered stair railings, booths and small video boards sticking out in the way of their view, often obstructing an end zone. The rage carried over to social media.
“Whoever designed the new Bills stadium should (sic) wasn’t very keen to detail,” one fan posted on social media with accompanying pictures showing the field not being fully visible. “Imagine paying tens of thousands on PSLs and season tickets and walk into a view like this.”
Bills loyalists paid thousands of dollars to renew their season tickets for the upcoming season with the promise of a new stadium to enjoy.
One fan, Melissa Wroblewski, said she was “assured” by the organization her new tickets would be free from obstruction. She found railings were blocking her view.
“We asked if there was going to be an obstruction multiple times because it was a concern,” she said. “We were told that the image was just a rendering and there would be no obstruction.”
Others holding front-row or lower-bowl seats were priced out of their premium seats because of PSLs.
“My previous season tickets in the last stadium were in a lower section and were more expensive, and they first tried to sell me my old seats, which would have cost $5,000 per seat for the PSL and $2,500 per seat for the season,” Kevin Kruger, a season ticket holder since 2019, told The Post. “So my starting cost to be a season ticket holder in my old seats would be $15,000.”
The Bills responded to fans’ repeated complaints, vowing to “refine any details” over the weeks remaining until their home opener.
The team also decided to tear out and replace the grass at the stadium ahead of their first three home games in Weeks 2-4.
“We’re committed to having the best possible playing surface for our players,” president of business operations Pete Guelli said in a statement. “With a stretch of three consecutive home games early in the season, we decided it was the appropriate time to re-sod our field.”
