Jim Kelly Reveals Spring Stroke at 66, Says He Feels Really Good Now

Q: Did the stadium's unique acoustic design actually make the Bills' famously loud fanbase even louder?

Yes. The new Highmark Stadium was deliberately designed to make Buffalo’s already loud crowd sound even louder. Project materials and reporting around the stadium describe several acoustic features aimed at trapping and redirecting noise back toward the field. The most important are the steep, vertically stacked seating bowl and the 360-degree canopy covering much of the stands. Architects and team officials said those elements were intended to contain crowd sound rather than let it escape, creating a more intense environment for opponents. The stadium also includes a high-end sound system, but the key point is that the building’s shape itself was engineered to amplify fan noise. Designers described the bowl as more intimate and more vertically compressed than the old stadium, putting fans “on top of” the action and increasing the sense of volume. What is less clear is how much louder it proved in measurable terms after opening. The available material strongly supports that the design goal was to boost crowd noise, and that the architecture should enhance the effect of Bills Mafia. But the provided reporting does not cite decibel records or post-opening acoustic studies quantifying the increase. So the evidence supports this answer: the stadium’s unique design was meant to make the Bills’ fanbase sound louder, and its main structural features were built specifically for that purpose.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 24

Jim Kelly said he suffered a stroke about six weeks ago and spent several days in the hospital before recovering enough to appear publicly in Orchard Park.
The 66-year-old Hall of Fame quarterback told reporters at the new Highmark Stadium ribbon-cutting that he now feels "really good," though his eyesight and hearing remain affected.
Kelly also said recent cancer screenings were clear, a notable update after surgeries in 2013 and 2018 and chemotherapy in 2014 for oral and sinus cancers.
The disclosure came as Buffalo opened a new chapter with its 60,108-seat stadium, where the Bills are set to begin play this season and host Detroit in the Sept. 17 opener.