St. John Fisher college
Growney Stadium
3690 East Avenue
Rochester, NY 14618
877-BB-TICKS
The Buffalo Bills hold their training camp at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY. The annual event usually takes place in July and August. It is a great time to see the team practice and get ready for the season. As for wheelchair accessibility training camp earns a 3.5 out of 5 wheelz.
Parking: We were able to park in “lot K” on the campus for handicap parking. It was quite a haul getting from the parking lot to the stadium. Parking on campus is still significantly better than parking at the additional school lots and busing over (as I had done for a previous trip to training camp and found it to be very difficult because there was not a wheelchair bus ready so one was called and it seemed to be a 30-45-minute wait and from there; the driver did not seem to know how to work the wheelchair lift or the straps to secure the wheelchair. After practice, we had to wait even longer for a wheelchair bus after all of the crowd was already out on regular bases). Handicap parking on campus was wonderful, even if it was not extremely close to the field.
Getting in the stadium: The campus is very “hilly” and, at times, difficult to navigate. The sidewalks were easy to manage with no real issue. Approaching the stadium there is a line and a security check to get in the stadium. You need to backtrack a little bit to get in line and may have a little bit of a wait on an incline.
Growney Stadium: Once inside the gate just outside Growney stadium, The Bills have a mini store set up, as well as games, vendors, and food options. Once inside the stadium to either side there is accessible seating in the stands. The field is easily visible, and you can see the whole field and the entire practice. During this practice, however, the Bills did not use the stadium and instead used 2 fields behind the stadium.
Practice Fields: It again was a long trek from the stadium to the practice fields. There was a large crowd at both fields and there was no designation for handicap seating in these areas. Both fields have a fence around it [which I understand], however it made it very difficult to see due to the top of the fence in my line of vision. It is also tough to get close because of the crowds. Maybe in the future there can be an accessible area that is far enough from the players to prevent injury but still be able to see practice.
Restrooms: The restroom was fully accessible, and all the necessities were within reach.
