Architect says obstructed views at Bills stadium weren't an oversight or a design flaw

The new Bills stadium has multiple seats with obstructed views. After Saturday's practice at the facility, some of the customers who purchased PSLs attached to seats with obstructed views complained to the team, which is evaluating the concerns on a case-by-case basis. As the architect of the stadium explains it, the obstructed views were part of the design. “You will find some level of obstruction in every stadium in the world,” Jonathan Mallie, global director and managing director of Populous’ Americas practice, told Michael Petro of the Buffalo News. “The goal was to bring everybody closer to the field and create an upper deck with an incredible proximity and presence within the bowl to help create a next level experience for Bills Mafia." The Bills have said that less than one percent of all PSL account holders took issue with obstructions, many of which were the result of safety measures associated with the installation of staircases to the upper levels of the building. (Specifically, glass barriers and handrails.) The situation was a direct result of a desire to make the seating more vertical, so that the fans — and the noise they generate — will be closer to the field. Petro pegs the number of seats associated with the complaints at roughly 500. The real question is whether the obstructions were properly and accurately disclosed before the commitment to the PSLs was made. The team believes that any obstructions were "clearly indicated through the virtual experience" that was used to market the PSLs. "However, if anyone felt differently, we're having those conversations, and we want to make certain at the end of the day that they're satisfied with their seat," Bills chief operating officer Pete Guelli told Petro. That's the heart of the issue. Did the virtual view of the seat match the actual view? Obviously, there's an obligation when selling PSLs to ensure that the view from the seat being licensed is accurately disclosed to the customer. Yes, all stadiums have some seats with obstructed views. Yes, someone will still buy those seats. But no one should be led to believe that the obstruction isn't as bad as it really is. And, frankly, there wouldn't have been roughly 500 problematic seats after the first event at the stadium if those who bought the PSLs for those seats knew exactly what they were getting, when they agreed to buy it.