PITTSFORD, N.Y. — The Bills are holding their 25th training camp at St. John Fisher University.
Bills Chief Operating Officer Pete Guelli brought the team to the Pittsford campus from Fredonia in 2000. The Aquinas graduate said he evaluated the Fredonia camp for a year before making the move.
“I had a year at Fredonia to evaluate the camp before we brought it here. There wasn’t much going on out there,” Guelli said.
News10NBC reporter Ian Mills spoke with Guelli about the differences between the two locations and why Rochester has become such an important home for Bills training camp.
“I just think most teams do not do camp like this,” Guelli said.
When the Bills first arrived in 2000, then-executive Russ Brandon highlighted the benefits for local families. “I think the young families and Rochester and people as a whole will really enjoy the experience here at Camp,” Brandon said in a 2000 interview.
Guelli explained why Rochester made sense for the franchise. “Rochester is a big market for us. You know, Buffalo is relatively small, and I think the philosophy was, if we can put those markets together, that we really had opportunity to kind of transcend and act like a bigger market. And it’s worked. We’ve just built this beautiful stadium in Buffalo, New York, but that stadium is not there if we don’t have the support we have from Rochester,” Guelli said.
The setup benefits both fans and the team. “There’s more camaraderie. The teamwork is there. And then to see the fans here, it just adds a little different energy level to practice every day. And look it’s worked,” Guelli said.
The Bills are one of only five NFL teams that still travel for training camp. Players stay in Fisher dorm rooms during camp, which have been upgraded significantly since 2000.
Bills Defensive Coordinator Jim Leonhard has a unique perspective on the camp. He spent four training camps at Fisher as a player and is now coaching there.
“I remember being in these dorms when they weren’t quite as nice and obviously there’s been a ton of upgrades. It was always a great place to go to camp,” Leonhard said.
Leonhard said the isolated setting helps build team chemistry. “As a team, you do become closer, right? You’re isolated and it’s a great set up. Not every team has this type of setting to have practice,” Leonhard said.
The campus has undergone major improvements since the Bills first arrived. Ian asked Guelli about the logistical challenges of that first year.
“They were going through a capital improvement. So a lot of the things you’re looking at now just didn’t exist. So almost a whiteboard session and a blueprint that we could help develop on how to support the team in Rochester. And, you know, that’s what we needed, the facilities needed to work for the team. And they have worked long term for 25 different camps here. And they continue to work and they continue to get better,” Guelli said.
This year’s camp features seven open practices instead of the usual 10, which has raised concerns among Rochester fans. However, Guelli said the Bills aren’t planning to leave.
“Just because there’s seven open practices this year doesn’t mean there won’t be more next year. And we’re not planning to go anywhere,” Guelli said.
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