The “Hard Knocks” circus is coming to Western New York, and Buffalo Bills fans are finally seeing first-hand what that entails.
The HBO reality series is reportedly setting up shop in Greater Buffalo, with a huge crew that features 30-to-40 staffers through Labor Day, according to the Democrat & Chronicle.
This is the Bills’ first time appearing on “Hard Knocks” in the series’ 20-plus-season history. The show intends to chronicle the final season at Highmark Stadium, as well as the reigning AFC runner-ups and a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
Though the show will spotlight a team in one of the league’s smallest markets, the Bills have publicly been less than excited to appear on “Hard Knocks,” though they are playing ball with the show.
How Many People Are Working On ‘Hard Knocks’ in Buffalo?
Aside from the 30-to-40 people embedded with the team, there will be hundreds more behind the scenes to put the show on, notably HBO and NFL Films staff.
The Bills have expressed their angst about their lack of control in what will air on HBO. But they have, and will have, the opportunity to present storylines for the show to spotlight.
“I wouldn’t go as far as saying we have control, but we’ll be involved,” Bills chief operating officer Pete Guelli told the Democrat & Chronicle said. “We know that we’ll have a chance to meet with NFL Films and talk through some of the content that’s part of the show.
“We’ve had some really productive meetings with them around logistics and how to integrate them into the campus without it being a challenge for anything that we’re operating. We talked about the process of how we collaborate on the show but nothing’s been defined.”
The league altered its rules so the Bills could appear on “Hard Knocks” this season. Playoff teams were previously exempt from the series, but with that rule amendment, Buffalo was chosen.
“That’s obviously not something we sought out,” Guelli said. “When the league changed the rules around who could participate, they immediately came to us and our goal is just to make it as positive of an experience as we possibly can.”
What Did The Bills Say About Training Camp?
There is less than a month until Bills training camp opens at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, and if you want to go see it, admission is free but there will be a lottery.
“We know they’re going to be in high demand so we’re going to continue with the lottery system because we want to give everybody an opportunity to get there,” Guelli told the Democrat & Chronicle.
With 2025 slated to be Buffalo’s final season before it moves into the new Highmark Stadium, many were wondering if this would also be the Bills’ last training camp in Rochester. After all, Rochester is about 80 miles northeast of the team’s home stadium.
But Guelli told the newspaper the team is closing in on long-term deal to keep its annual training camp at St. John Fisher.
“It works really well for us, so we see no reason not to continue,” Guelli said. “I think everybody realized pretty quickly what an incredible setup that is. It works very well for our football-ops team, and it’s a great marketing extension into Rochester, so there’s a lot of alignment that we wanted to continue on in Rochester.”
