Gov.: Steelers-Bills won’t be pushed back again

Last updated: 2024/01/15 at 4:06 AM

BigP Published January 15, 2024

Alaina Getzenberg, ESPNJan 14, 2024, 03:49 PM ET
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BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says the playoff game between the Steelers and Bills “will not be pushed back again,” despite an ongoing travel ban in the area around Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.

The wild-card game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET Monday after originally being planned for 1 p.m. Sunday. The decision to push back the game was announced early Saturday afternoon.

Hochul was speaking in a news conference Sunday afternoon with other government officials amid the lake-effect snowstorm in the Buffalo area. Snow continued to fall Sunday in some areas at a rate of 3 to 6 inches an hour, in addition to wind speeds up to 50 mph, according to Hochul.

“Game time on Monday, weather conditions will be very cold. They’ll be in the teens, and even wind-chill factors as low as zero, maybe to 9 degrees, but that’s going to be very, very cold,” Hochul said. “But this will be without the danger of the winds and the blinding snow and the hazardous traffic conditions for those as they traveled to the stadium or leaving based on current predictions. So that is a better dynamic, by far better dynamic, than we would’ve had today. I’m not saying it’s going to be pleasant, but conditions won’t be life threatening either.”

A travel ban remains in place for Orchard Park and other surrounding areas, including downtown Buffalo, with Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz saying the ban in the area around the stadium will likely stay in place until Monday.

Despite the travel ban, some people have walked to the stadium with shovels to help begin to clear out the snow, and when the travel ban is lifted, more help will be needed in preparation for the game.

The Steelers’ flight landed in the Buffalo area Sunday afternoon.