Buffalo Bills fans celebrate a Tyler Bass field goal against the Indianapolis Colts during the fourth quarter at Bills Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Attendees generally described a well-behaved fanbase, but 10 people were ejected for mask-wearing violations, county officials say.
Nearly all of the 10 Buffalo Bills fans who were ejected from Saturday's wild-card playoff game were removed from Bills Stadium because they didn't follow the Covid-19 rule requiring masks, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said Tuesday.
"There were 10 ejections, and I believe almost every one of them was related to someone who wasn't wearing a mask," Poloncarz said at a Covid-19 briefing. "And then there was one arrest, and I've been told the arrest was someone who was ejected who tried to get back into the facility."
The same general rules will be in place along with the same cap on attendance, roughly 6,700 people, at the playoff game versus the Baltimore Ravens.
Spokespersons for Poloncarz's office, the Bills and the Erie County Sheriff's Office had previously either declined comment or referred The Buffalo News to another agency for the information.
Saturday's game against the Indianapolis Colts was the first that Bills fans were allowed to attend in person this season. The state allowed just over 6,700 fans in for the wild-card game, with strict rules on mask-wearing, social-distancing and the need to obtain a negative Covid-19 test beforehand.
Similar rules are in effect for Saturday's divisional game in Orchard Park against the Baltimore Ravens.
"Wear your mask because that's the rule, and that's how we're able to get more people back in," Poloncarz said.
Stephen T. Watson
News Staff Reporter
I report on development, government, crime and schools in the northern Erie County suburbs. I grew up in the Town of Tonawanda and worked at the Post-Standard in Syracuse before joining The News in 2001. Email: swatson@buffnews.com
