Thurman Thomas Weighs In On Bills Stadium Uproar

Buffalo Bills legend Thurman Thomas is very familiar with the old Highmark Stadium, a venue he called 12 of his 13 NFL seasons home en route to Canton.

While the old Highmark Stadium – formerly and affectionately known as The Ralph, for Ralph Wilson Stadium, and Rich Stadium before that – was a place where memories and heartbreaks were made, the new Highmark Stadium has been under fire for some supposed seating issues that may prevent some fans from seeing the game.

Thomas, though, doesn't feel like it's a big issue, either.

Speaking with USA TODAY's Ralphie Aversa courtesy of his construction company 34 Group and Carhartt, Thomas said he understands the reality of building a new stadium, noting that the expectation that the stadium will be "100% perfect" might be unrealistic.

"Yeah, I think you could probably do that with every single NFL stadium across the board, all 32 teams," Thomas told USA TODAY regarding the apparent imperfections in new Highmark Stadium. "You can probably find a spot that people don't agree with or have some type of complaint with that seating. I think the Bills are handling it right now.

"Obviously you want everything to be 100% perfect, but everything's not going to be 100% perfect. And I think the Bills and Gilbane and Turner, they're working on those situations to correct them. And I have (seen) a couple of deals where it is a blocked object or whatever that might be in the way. But I think I'll get a better understanding of it when I go over there and actually look at where these people were sitting or where they were at, at that time."

34 Group, which was founded by Thomas, was one arm of the construction group that built the new home of the Bills, along with Gilbane Building Company and Turner Construction Company.

On Tuesday, the Bills issued a statement saying they will "refine any details" heading into the regular-season home opener after photos of obstructed seats went viral following the Red and Blue practice.

"Saturday’s practice was a great opportunity to test the new stadium. We are currently addressing internal and external feedback regarding the facility's operation following the first event. We’ll utilize the next six weeks to refine any details as we prepare for the home opener on Thursday, September 17," the Bills said.

On Aug. 12, Jonathan Mallie – the managing director of Populous’ Americas practice – called into Buffalo's WGR 550 to explain the design of some of new Highmark's stairwells.

"Starting with just the building type, stadiums in general or airports, these are some of the most complex buildings in the world that we have to deal with," Mallie said. "When you think about that, all of design are trade-offs. And so one major thing that we wanted to do was alleviate as much congestion on the concourses as possible. Create open views from concourse. Old Highmark didn't have this."

Seats with certain obstructed views won't be sold to the public for Bills home games, though they may be available for other events, such as concerts.

Thomas, though, doesn't think the seats with obstructed views will be an issue moving forward, and that fans will be thrilled with the experience at the new home of the Bills.

"And let me tell you something, how widely and how structured this stadium is, obviously you want everybody in their seats during the game, but I'm going to tell you something: It's an impressive stadium to where you can sit right behind some seats and still have a very good view at the football game and of the field," he said.

Thomas played with the Bills between the 1988 and 1999 seasons, rushing for 1,000 or more yards in eight straight seasons between 1989 and 1996.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of its 2007 class, and had his No. 34 retired by the Bills in 2018.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thurman Thomas weighs in on Bills stadium uproar