St. John Fisher University prepares to host Bills training camp

PITTSFORD, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills return to St. John Fisher University in less than a week.

Crews from both the team and the university are hard at work preparing. 

News10NBCs Natalie Faas went to campus Wednesday, and camp has just grown in popularity over the years.

Events sold out quickly, but this isn’t just a popular event. It’s also a rare event: Only seven of the 32 teams in the NFL still hold their training camps on college campuses. Luckily for Rochester, the Buffalo Bills are one of them.  

St. John Fisher has been the host of the Buffalo Bills Training Camp since 2000. 

“I think some of that is a testament to the relationship that we have with the team and the Bills,” says Todd Harrison, director of camp operations for St. John Fisher University. He has been working on training camp for 16 years. 

Over the years, the university has made a lot of upgrades. Harrison said that they are always adapting to the needs of coaches and the team. 

“We used to have practices on turf. Coach McDermott is a big fan of grass, so most of our practices now are on grass,” says Harrison.

There has been one big change for fans. When camp started, tickets weren’t required. 

“There’s a few thousand tickets each day that are out there –that allows for people to come and have a seat for themselves and engage with players before or after practice,” explains Harrison.

The Bills used to sign multi-year deals to hold camp at Fisher. Currently, there’s no deal past this year. But Harrison is hopeful.

“The relationship between the team and the university is strong, and coach and the football side like to come and have the guys work and build their initial base here,” Harrison says.

If you were able to snag a ticket for training camp, we have all the information you need here.