Professional baseball in Buffalo, 1877–1970 Buffalo began hosting
professional baseball in 1877, when the Buffalo Bisons of the
League Alliance began play at
Riverside Park. Over the next century, the city hosted major and minor league teams including the
Buffalo Bisons (
IA, 1878, 1887–1888),
Buffalo Bisons (
NL, 1879–1885),
Buffalo Bisons (
PL, 1890), and the
Buffalo Blues (
FL, 1914–1915). Buffalo was awarded an expansion franchise by the
Continental League of Major League Baseball in January 1960, and made plans to play at
War Memorial Stadium beginning with the 1961 season. However, the league folded before the season began. The Buffalo Bisons remained in the International League and began play at War Memorial Stadium in 1961, as Offermann Stadium had already been slated for demolition. This bid included plans for a $50 million domed stadium that was designed by the architects of the
Astrodome and had a capacity of 45,000. Buffalo was one of five finalists for the
1969 Major League Baseball expansion, but franchises were awarded to the
Montreal Expos and
San Diego Padres in May 1968. However, bids for the stadium in 1970 came in
over budget, and the project stalled. Bills owner
Ralph Wilson threatened to move the Bills if action was not taken to replace the aging War Memorial Stadium, forcing Erie County to abandon the domed stadium in favor of building open-air
Rich Stadium in
Orchard Park. Major League Baseball had planned on relocating the struggling
Washington Senators franchise to Buffalo, but when the domed stadium wasn't built it instead became the
Texas Rangers. The Buffalo Bisons moved mid-season in 1970 and became the
Winnipeg Whips, leaving Buffalo without professional baseball.
Planning and construction, 1978–1987 when the blocks that became the venue's land were largely
parking lots, July 1973 Mayor
James D. Griffin and an investment group purchased the
Jersey City A's of the
Double-A class
Eastern League for $55,000 in 1978, and the team began play as the
Buffalo Bisons at
War Memorial Stadium in 1979. This new franchise assumed the history of prior Buffalo Bisons teams that had played in the city from 1877 to 1970.
Rich Products heir
Robert E. Rich Jr. purchased the Bisons for $100,000 in 1983, and upgraded the team to the
Triple-A class
American Association in 1985 after buying out the
Wichita Aeros for $1 million. The Bisons began drawing record crowds with promotional tie-ins, most notably annual post-game
concerts by
The Beach Boys. Strong political support grew to replace the aging War Memorial Stadium with what was originally known as
Downtown Buffalo Sports Complex. The City of Buffalo originally hired HOK Sport to design a $90 million domed stadium with a capacity of 40,000 on 13 acres of land, but the project was scaled back after
New York State only approved $22.5 million in funding instead of the $40 million requested. A separate athletic facility to service the City Campus of
Erie Community College was part of the proposed complex, and was eventually built several years later as the
Burt Flickinger Center. St. John's
Episcopal Church originally occupied what would become the venue's land at the corner of Washington Street and Swan Street, and Randall's Boarding House originally occupied the adjacent lot on Swan Street.
Mark Twain famously was a resident of the
boarding house while editor of the
Buffalo Express. Constructed between 1846 and 1848, the church remained in use until 1893 and was demolished in 1906. The land then became the site of
Ellsworth Statler's first hotel,
Hotel Statler, in 1907. HOK Sport (now known as
Populous) designed the downtown venue as the first
retro-classic ballpark in the world. The open-air venue was designed to incorporate architecture from the neighboring
Joseph Ellicott Historic District, most notably the
Ellicott Square Building and
Old Post Office. The venue's exterior would be constructed from
precast concrete, featuring arched
window openings at the
mezzanine level,
rusticated joints, and inset
marble panels. Located close to
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and along the newly built
Buffalo Metro Rail, the venue would be an attractive and accessible destination for suburban residents. The same design firm would later bring this concept to Major League Baseball with
Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The
baseball field itself would feature a
Kentucky Bluegrass playing surface and have dimensions that were designed to mirror those of
pitcher-friendly Royals Stadium. Buffalo Bisons management insisted the field have deep fences after War Memorial Stadium acquired a poor reputation for allowing easy
home runs.
Roger Bossard, head
groundskeeper of
Comiskey Park, served as consultant for the project. The venue broke ground in July 1986, with
structural engineering handled by Geiger Associates, and Cowper Construction Management serving as
general contractor. It was originally built with a
seating capacity of 19,500, which at the time made it the third-largest stadium in
Minor League Baseball.
Rich Products already owned and operated local restaurants under their B.R. Guest brand, and they assumed operation of the venue's restaurant and
concessions. The $42.4 million venue was mainly paid for with public funding. $22.5 million came from New York State, $12.9 million came from the City of
Buffalo, $4.2 million came from Erie County, and $2.8 million came from the Buffalo Bisons. The New York State funding was contingent on the Bisons signing a 20-year lease with the City of Buffalo for use of the venue, which they did just prior to
groundbreaking. The City of Buffalo and Erie County paid an additional $14 million for the construction of
parking garages to service the venue and other downtown businesses.
Bob Patterson of the Bisons threw the first pitch against
Billy Bates, and the lone score came from a
Tom Prince home run.
Pam Postema, the first female
umpire in the history of professional baseball, officiated the game. Prior to the event,
The Oak Ridge Boys performed "
The Star-Spangled Banner" and both Mayor
James D. Griffin and Governor
Mario Cuomo threw
ceremonial first pitches. The formal dedication of the venue took place on May 21, 1988, prior to the Buffalo Bisons defeating the
Syracuse Chiefs in an interleague
Triple-A Alliance game by a score of 6–5.
Larry King threw the
ceremonial first pitch and sat in on commentary with
WBEN broadcasters
Pete Weber and
John Murphy. In their first year at the venue after moving from War Memorial Stadium, the Buffalo Bisons broke the all-time record for
Minor League Baseball attendance by drawing 1,186,651 fans during the 1988 season. The team had capped
season ticket sales at 9,000 seats to ensure that individual game tickets would be available. The inaugural Build New York Award was given to Cowper Construction Management by the General Building Contractors of New York State for their work on the venue. The venue was lauded by mainstream media outlets, including feature stories by
Newsday,
New York Daily News,
San Francisco Examiner,
Sports Illustrated,
The New York Times Magazine and
Vancouver Sun. Eric Brazil wrote in his
San Francisco Examiner column that the venue, "just may be baseball's prototype for the 1990s and beyond". Pete McMartin wrote fondly of the venue in his June 1989 article for the
Vancouver Sun, contrasting it with the recently opened
SkyDome in Toronto:
MLB preparation and seating expansion, 1990–1995 expansion as seen in
right field behind
Fabio Lanzoni, June 1993 In anticipation of Buffalo being awarded a major league franchise,
Robert E. Rich Jr. began establishing minor league
farm teams for the
Buffalo Bisons organization. Rich Jr. acquired the
Double-A Wichita Pilots and founded the
Class A Short Season Niagara Falls Rapids. He renamed Wichita's team to the Wranglers and planned to upgrade their franchise to Triple-A upon the Bisons joining
Major League Baseball. The proposed seating expansion to accommodate Major League Baseball was revised by
HOK Sport to preserve the aesthetic of the roof, which would now be kept and raised to cover a third deck. In this new design, less seating would be built on the third deck, and instead a new
right field seating structure would be built in front of the Exchange Street
parking ramp. In addition, expanded
bleachers would be added in right field that could later be converted to permanent seating. Capacity after this expansion would increase from 19,500 to 41,530 at a cost of $30 million, but unlike the earlier design would take longer than a single offseason to complete. Prior to the 1990 season, 1,400
bleacher seats and a
standing-room only area within the third-base mezzanine were added at a cost of $1.34 million, increasing the stadium's capacity from 19,500 to 21,050. In September 1990,
Bob Rich Jr. attempted to buy the
Montreal Expos for $100 million and move the team to Buffalo, but owner
Charles Bronfman declined his offer. That same month, Rich Jr. and his investment group presented their bid for a Buffalo expansion franchise to the
National League Expansion Committee. Members of this investment group included
Jeremy Jacobs,
Larry King,
Northrup R. Knox,
Robert G. Wilmers,
Robert O. Swados and
Seymour H. Knox III. It was reported that the investment group was prepared to fund $134 million in private capital required for expansion, which included the $95 million
franchise fee and initial operating costs. The largest share of the financial burden would fall on Rich Jr., who pledged a minimum of $10 million cash and the equity in his three minor league teams. Rich Jr. publicly voiced concerns in December 1990 that without a
salary cap and
revenue sharing, he would have to raise ticket prices to unaffordable levels while being unable to produce a competitive on-field product. 27,000 major league
season ticket commitments were made by April 1991, consisting of 18,000 paid seat deposits and 9,000 complimentary deposits awarded to the existing Bisons season ticket holders. Buffalo was one of six finalists for the
1993 Major League Baseball expansion, but franchises were awarded to the
Colorado Rockies and
Florida Marlins in June 1991. National League president
Bill White later confirmed that Rich Jr. publicly questioning the league's financial structure sunk his bid. In their fourth year at the stadium, the Buffalo Bisons once again broke the all-time record for Minor League Baseball attendance by drawing 1,240,951 fans during the 1991 season. Rich Jr. offered to let the
Montreal Expos finish their home schedule at the venue in September 1991 after
Olympic Stadium was damaged, but the team instead played their final 13 home games on the road. In June 1992, Rich Jr. attempted to buy the
San Francisco Giants and move the team to Buffalo, but owner
Bob Lurie declined his offer. The proposed name for the team would have been the New York Giants of Buffalo, as the franchise had previously played as the
New York Giants from 1885 to 1957 in New York City. The 1988 to 1993 Buffalo Bisons seasons were the six highest-attended campaigns in
Minor League Baseball history, with each season drawing over 1,000,000 fans. Prior to the 1994 season, a restaurant called Power Alley Pub was constructed under the bleachers in right-center field. The restaurant provided seating with views of the field through the outfield wall. Rich Jr. moved his
Class A Short Season Niagara Falls Rapids after he was unable to secure repairs for the aging
Sal Maglie Stadium. The team resumed play as the
Jamestown Jammers in June 1994. In July 1994, Rich Jr. notified the Major League Baseball Expansion Committee that he was interested in pursuing a Buffalo expansion franchise. However, he would retract this notification the following month after the
1994–95 Major League Baseball strike commenced. Buffalo was withdrawn as a candidate for the
1998 Major League Baseball expansion, and franchises were awarded to the
Arizona Diamondbacks and
Tampa Bay Devil Rays in March 1995. Rich Jr. was offered an expansion franchise by the
United Baseball League of Major League Baseball in November 1994 at a cost of $5 million, which would have played at the venue beginning with the 1996 season. However, franchises were awarded in February 1995 to
Long Island, Los Angeles,
New Orleans,
San Juan, Vancouver and
Washington before the league folded without ever playing a game. The Buffalo Bisons considered sharing the venue with the
Toronto Blue Jays for their
1995 season, as the
Ontario Labour Relations Board prohibited non-union
replacement players from competing at
SkyDome during the
1994–95 Major League Baseball strike. The Blue Jays instead chose to play at their
spring training home of
Dunedin Stadium, but the strike ended in April 1995 and the team returned to SkyDome.
Alterations and seating reduction, 1996–2019 A new outfield fence was erected prior to the 1996 season at a cost of $50,000 so that the venue's playing surface mirrored the dimensions of
Jacobs Field. Left-center field was reduced from 384 feet to 371 feet, center field was reduced from 410 feet to 404 feet, right-center field was reduced from 384 feet to 367 feet, and the height of the center field fence was reduced from 15 feet to 8 feet. This change allowed the
Cleveland Indians, Buffalo's major league affiliate, to better evaluate their
prospects, while also making the park more
hitter-friendly. The venue was home to the Buffalo Nighthawks of the
Ladies Professional Baseball League before the league shut down mid-season in July 1998. The Nighthawks were in first place with an 11–5 record when the league folded, and were declared Eastern Division champions. The park's original four-color
dot matrix scoreboard in center field was retrofitted with a 38-foot wide by 19-foot tall
Daktronics LED video screen in 1999 at a cost of $1.2 million. The venue was home to the
Buffalo Bulls of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association in 2000. The Bulls finished the season with a 12–35 record and moved to
Amherst Audubon Field the following year.
Major League Lacrosse staged an exhibition at the venue on August 11, 2000, as part of their Summer Showcase Tour.
Robert E. Rich Jr. planned to purchase a Major League Lacrosse franchise at a cost of $1 million to begin play at the venue in June 2001. However, he withdrew support after determining that removing and replacing the
pitcher's mound for lacrosse games would damage the field and put the Buffalo Bisons at a disadvantage. The 20-year lease between the Buffalo Bisons and City of Buffalo for use of the venue was renegotiated in January 2003, with the addition of funding from Erie County. Prior to the 2004 season, $5 million in renovations to the venue were completed, including removal of the stadium's right field
bleachers and construction of a four-tier Party Deck in its place. The removal of the bleachers decreased the stadium capacity from 21,050 to 18,025. A 4-foot wide by 8-foot tall
digital billboard was installed on the corner of Washington Street and Swan Street before the 2007 season at a cost of $70,000. The 20-year lease between the Buffalo Bisons and City of Buffalo for use of the venue expired following the 2008 season, and the city began offering year-to-year leases to the team thereafter. The venue's
luxury suites were consolidated and renovated beginning in 2010, reducing the total number from 38 to 26. A
conference suite was constructed on the first-base side of the stadium at a cost of $250,000, and the year-round suite can accommodate business gatherings of up to 40 people. Prior to the 2011 season, the park's original scoreboard in center field was removed and replaced by an 80-foot wide by 33-foot tall Daktronics high-definition LED video screen at a cost $2.5 million. That same year, a new $970,000 field drainage system and a new $750,000 field lighting system were added to the venue. The venue was one of six that played home to the
Empire State Yankees of the International League in 2012. The team was forced to play at alternate sites that season as
PNC Field was undergoing renovations. The Yankees finished the season with an 84–60 record and advanced to the International League playoffs. $500,000 was spent in improvements to the venue before the 2014 season, including a new sound system and the installation of new LED message boards down both baselines. A campaign to replace the park's original red seating with wider green seating began in 2014. The stadium's capacity was reduced from 18,025 to 17,600 when 3,700 seats were replaced prior to the 2015 season at a cost of $758,000. 2,900 seats were replaced prior to the 2017 season, reducing capacity of the venue from 17,600 to 16,907. 2,000 seats were replaced prior to the 2019 season, reducing capacity of the venue from 16,907 to 16,600. Following the 2019 season, protective crowd netting was installed throughout the venue at a cost of $475,000 to meet Major League Baseball safety standards.
MLB residency and renovation, 2020–2021 warming up from Exchange Street parking ramp, August 2020 In June 2020, the Buffalo Bisons canceled their season at the venue due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The
Toronto Blue Jays, the Bisons' major league affiliate, announced the following month that they would play their
2020 season at the venue after the government of Canada denied them permission to play at
Rogers Centre. The venue's first Major League Baseball game took place on August 11, 2020, in which the
Toronto Blue Jays defeated the
Miami Marlins 5–4 in
extra innings. The Blue Jays finished the season with a 32–28 record, and advanced to the
American League Wild Card Series. Major League Baseball and the Blue Jays organization jointly funded renovations of the venue prior to the 2020 season at a cost of $5 million. Permanent upgrades included installation of
LED field lighting, installation of
instant replay technology, installation of
Hawk-Eye for
Statcast tracking, a resurfaced
infield, and relocation of the home
dugout to the third-base side of the stadium. Temporary facilities designed for the postponed
MLB at Field of Dreams game were also utilized. s, July 2021 The Blue Jays used the venue for part of their
2021 season due to the ongoing pandemic, after having started the season at
TD Ballpark. The Bisons accommodated this residency by temporarily relocating to
Trenton Thunder Ballpark in
Trenton, New Jersey. The venue drew higher attendance for MLB home games than the
Miami Marlins,
Oakland A's and
Tampa Bay Rays drew at their own home venues. The Blue Jays played 49 Major League Baseball games at the venue over the course of two seasons, tying
Hiram Bithorn Stadium for the all-time record of most regular season games hosted by a non-home ballpark. The Bisons and Blue Jays jointly funded additional renovations of the venue prior to the 2021 season. These permanent upgrades included the installation of new light standards, new
batting cages, new
foul poles, a resurfaced
outfield, and the relocation of both
bullpens from foul territory to right-center field. The renovated venue was named Professional Baseball Field of the Year in November 2021 by Sports Turf Managers Association.
Fire and proposed renovations, 2023–present In September 2023, the venue sustained $600,000 in damage after a fire started in a mobile
concession stand. The Buffalo Bisons hired a
lobbying firm in November 2023 to seek funding from New York State for renovations that would improve the fan experience. In March 2025, the Bisons announced that the venue would undergo an overhaul of the sound system, with the first phase of the project to be completed prior to the start of the 2025 season.
Naming rights Pilot Air Freight of
Philadelphia purchased the 20-year naming rights to the venue in 1986. The stadium would be named Pilot Field in exchange for the company paying the City of Buffalo $51,000 on an annual basis. Their name was stripped from the venue by the City of Buffalo in March 1995 after Pilot Air Freight defaulted on payments. The stadium was then known as Downtown Ballpark until July 1995, when local
HMO North AmeriCare purchased the naming rights and the stadium became North AmeriCare Park (
colloquially known as The NAP). North AmeriCare agreed to pay the City of Buffalo $3.3 million over the course of 13 years. The Dunn Tire chain of tire outlets assumed North AmeriCare's remaining contract with the City of Buffalo in May 1999, and the venue became Dunn Tire Park.
Sahlen's purchased the 10-year naming rights to the stadium in October 2018, and it was renamed Sahlen Field beginning with the 2019 season. ==Notable events==