Where would you put a new Bills stadium? Inquiring minds want to know. Developers at www.19ideas.com would also like to know. The website is currently looking for feedback from the community as to where people would like to see the new stadium in the future. Call it a grassroots, open-minded, freeform workshop that will lead to some interesting data generated by the fans. The exercise is simple. The interactive website gives people the ability to pick up the current stadium, parking lot and field house, and maneuver them freely on the map (try it out).
“As a Bills fan myself, the idea for this online tool started with my own curiosity and opinions of where a new stadium could potentially go,” said Dan Gigante, partner and digital director at 19 IDEAS. “I kept thinking about where I thought it would fit around Western New York, but I’m a visual person who needed to see these possibilities for myself. Once I had a working prototype, I quickly realized this is a tool many across the region could play around and have fun with.”
The online tool also allows users to pick up and move a number of other stadiums, including Heinz Field (for a modern downtown stadium reference) and Lucas Oil Field (for a dome stadium reference). Visitors to the website have the ability to Tweet their favorites and share with their friends. Or post to their Facebook page in order to promote their favorite ideas.
“As our name suggests, we’re forward thinking people. But we’re also impassioned Buffalonians. We hope this tool will provide some amusement for locals, expats, and Bills fans around the world who can now have a clear vision for their ideas on a new stadium,” said Gigante.
The application is powered by Google Maps API, and driven by determined Buffalo programmers who have decided that it’s time to allow everyone to play the game that was originally designed for the elite few.