A new stadium and a new commemorative can: PepsiCo Beverages North America is marking the Buffalo Bills' first regular-season home opener at Highmark Stadium with thousands of limited-edition cans and a free pregame tailgate experience on September 17. The activation underscores how major beverage brands continue to deepen stadium-level hospitality commitments as new venue builds reshape the sports food-and-beverage landscape.
The Activation
The free Tailgating Deserves Pepsi event, held outside Highmark Stadium ahead of kickoff, features ice-cold Pepsi, gameday food from Wegmans, premium giveaways, and a meet-and-greet with a Bills legend. Fans can claim one of the limited-edition commemorative cans at the tailgate or as they exit the stadium after the game, while supplies last. Each can carries exclusive Pepsi and Buffalo Bills artwork, Bills Mafia's "BILLIEVE" rallying cry, and the printed signature of quarterback Josh Allen.
"Bills Mafia has built one of the most iconic gameday cultures in sports, and Pepsi is proud to have been part of it for decades," said Gustavo Reyna, Vice President of Marketing at Pepsi. "As fans gather for the first regular-season home opener at the new Highmark Stadium this week, we're excited to celebrate alongside them and help kick off a new era of Buffalo football with the great taste of Pepsi."
Why It Matters for Operators
For foodservice and hospitality operators inside and around new stadium builds, the Pepsi-Bills partnership illustrates the commercial value of long-term pouring-rights deals. Pepsi has served as the Official Soft Drink of the Buffalo Bills for 28 years and secured a Founding Partner designation at the new Highmark Stadium — a facility that the Bills describe as featuring frictionless food and beverage marketplaces, 360-degree concourses, and expanded premium seating. Those venue amenities directly drive per-cap beverage spending, making anchor sponsorships like this one a meaningful revenue mechanism for stadium operators and their concession partners.
The Wegmans integration at the tailgate also signals growing collaboration between regional grocery and foodservice players and major league sports properties — a trend that restaurant and hospitality operators can monitor as they evaluate catering, pop-up, and co-branding opportunities tied to live events.
The Bigger Picture
Pepsi's Tailgating Deserves Pepsi platform extends beyond Buffalo. As the NFL's Official Soft Drink, PepsiCo is rolling out similar gameday fan activations at venues across the country throughout the 2026 season — a pattern that reflects the brand's broader strategy of using sports venues as experiential marketing channels. For beverage industry professionals tracking on-premise activation trends, the Bills campaign represents a textbook case of how a long-standing pouring-rights deal can be refreshed around a milestone moment to generate both consumer engagement and trade visibility.
Jason Hartlund, Chief Commercial Officer of the Buffalo Bills, called the activation a strong example of "Pepsi's creativity and continued investment in our longstanding partnership," adding that the organization looks forward to entering "this new era of Bills football" with a partner aligned to the community.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
