

Ralph Wilson Stadium, like much of the Buffalo area, is buried in snow. (AP Photo/The Buffalo News, Harry Scull Jr.)

Updated at 12:33 with Bills comments



The Buffalo Bills are planning to play their 1 p.m. game Sunday against the New York Jets in Ralph Wilson Stadium, despite a massive lake-effect snowstorm that buried the area south of the city and another that is expected to drop another few feet of snow on top of that.

The Bills play in Orchard Park, which is southeast of Buffalo and right in this week’s snow belt (downtown Buffalo, by comparison, got comparatively little snow). The town was pounded on Tuesday — nearby Gardenville has received five feet of snow so far, per the Buffalo News — and forecasts call for three to eight more inches Wednesday and then possibly another two feet through Thursday night.

“We are preparing to play this game at RWS at 1, just as we always have,” the team’s senior vice-president of communications Scott Berchtold said in a conference call with reporters.

Suffice to say, the various jurisdictions are finding it hard to keep up with so much snow. At this point, plows are getting stuck in the snow, and simply finding places for the plows to put the snow is nearly impossible. However, unless the NFL determines differently, there will be a game and the team is going ahead with preparations, offering people $10 an hour and a free ticket to shovel out the stands in the stadium. There will be24/7 triple shifts attacking snowfall that amounts to four feet over a 200-acre site (with more to come). Over 220,000 tons of snow must be removed, enough to fill the ADPRO Sports Complex eight times, the team says.

“We have not had this much snow, as far as we know, in the history of our team,” Andy Major, the team’s vice president of operations and guest experience, said, adding that it typically takes three days to clear one foot of snow from the stadium.

Just how much snow needs to be removed?



220,000 TONS, enough to fill the @ADPROSports Complex 8 times over. pic.twitter.com/VtriPCGSMb — Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) November 19, 2014

And if that can’t be accomplished? The NFL will have the final call on what will happen with the game. Meanwhile, citizens keep shoveling.

“I can’t say enough about the people of Buffalo,” Marrone told reporters. “Words can’t describe it. Everyone is just helping each other.”

Thanks to technology and playbooks on iPads, the Bills have been able to prepare for the game despite having personnel stranded around the area. “We really don’t know exactly what’s going to happen,” Marrone said.

Marrone and his staff are staying at the team’s facility, so game preparations continue, albeit at a different pace.

Want to help clear the Ralph? We're looking for snow shovelers. Pay is $10/hour + game tickets. Call 716-636-4840 for details. — Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) November 19, 2014

In 2010, the league moved a late-December game in Philadelphia between the Eagles and Vikings to a Tuesday night because of an impending blizzard that never materialized. This time, the snow is real. All too real.