Women are rising up the ranks throughout professional football, earning positions of power in a space that for too long was ruled almost exclusively by men. We're seeing more and more women breaking barriers in the sport, but what are the stories beyond the headlines? Who are the women shaping and influencing the NFL today? Answering those questions is the aim of the Next Woman Up series. While the conversational Q&As are edited and condensed for clarity, this is a forum for impactful women to share experiences in their own words. Without further ado, we introduce:
Bridget Kane, Buffalo Bills
Position: Manager of Stadium and Event Operations
How did you get your start in a career in football?
I graduated from high school a year early. I thought I wanted to become a teacher, but I pivoted to sports management at Canisius College in 2019. Growing up, I would sit with my stepdad during his fantasy football drafts, and I would learn and soak up all the knowledge. He is a big part of the reason I went into the sports world. I started to get more experience with a part-time job as a facility assistant at the Nardin Athletic Center at Canisius, working basketball games and gymnastics meets. That helped me get the stadium operations internship with the Buffalo Bills in 2021. When that ended, I was called to interview for the stadium operations and events assistant position in April 2022 because they were expanding our department due to the new stadium construction.
You were recently promoted from Stadium Operations and Events Assistant to your current role. What does that position entail?
My position has remained the same, for the most part. I am going to be more involved with managing the building and our staff, while still helping manage the setup and operation needs for events.
As a department, we cover a vast variety of responsibilities. One of my favorite things is that every day is different, and the phrase that was instilled in me when I started full-time was "Whatever it takes to get it done." So, that's whatever it takes to put on a football game in our facility or an event. I handle everything from arranging furniture layouts to picking up a shovel to unbury the stadium when Mother Nature dumps snow on us. I help coordinate snow removal prior to games from inside the stadium bowl to the parking lots. Some of my large projects include a furniture reuse project, where we inventoried everything from the old stadium and picked furniture for backhouse spaces to move to the new stadium. That includes making layouts and coordinating with our moving company to have the stuff picked up and delivered to the new stadium locations.
The long-term goal is that I will have a full-time direct report that helps with event setups and miscellaneous operation needs. A major project that I took on with my promotion is coordinating the final clean efforts for the new stadium with our cleaning vendor and the Bills' new stadium construction team. As spaces are finished, our cleaning vendor will go in to do a final clean, so when the stadium is officially turned over to us, it is easier to manage the cleanliness of it from the start.
I also help coordinate with concert production teams when we have concerts and am in charge of putting together our advance guides, including "Visiting Team," "Network" and "Concert" guides. I'm currently working on building these out for the new stadium.
I'm glad you mentioned snow games because they are so iconic.
They are great. I love how snow games look on TV, but I despise the snow so much. You see it coming, especially if the lake doesn't freeze. If the lake freezes, we get a little bit of a break. We have had a couple of snowstorms in years past where we had to shovel the stadium out. We've dug out the stadium from 7 feet and had 48 hours until kickoff to do it. It's a crazy experience, but it's really cool how we all come together to get it done. I can say that shoveling the stadium is not like shoveling your driveway.
That's incredible. I also love snow games. This might fall in line with that, but what is the most challenging part of your job?
Outside forces like the weather and things we can't control are challenging, and that's a huge part of operations -- finding a solution to the problem. I think a lot of operations is being reactive while still trying to be proactive in our daily work. But I think the most challenging part was having an old stadium that didn't keep up with modern technology, which is a big reason why we are now getting a new stadium.
From a stadium operations standpoint, what do the next few months look like for you and your team in terms of learning the building and getting everything ready for game day?
We're hoping to be handed the keys in June. Then we can move into the building and start fully learning it as an organization. Right now, we're dealing with a lot of office renovations, so I'm not able to get over there as much as I'd like. I just want to go get lost in the building because I've been staring at the plans for the last three-plus years. I want to go in and figure it out as a whole. We've already been doing trainings on sprinkler systems and sump pumps that we have in the basement. The next couple months will include a lot of learning from the construction team and all of the different vendors that are also working on the stadium.
Once we're in the building, it's going to be about teaching the ins and outs to all of our staff and vendors and how we're going to operate on game day. I think that's going to be the hardest thing: learning how it's going to function on game day. How people are going to enter the building, where they are going to go, where they want to go and where the best hangout spots are. Also, where are the problem areas? We had a stadium that was 50 years old, and I knew every nook and cranny. Now, we're going into the unknown, so a big portion of the next couple months will be learning that building from the top down. It's very exciting but very nerve-wracking.
That sounds exciting. When you look back at your career so far, what have you learned about yourself?
I've learned that I'm very adaptive, and I never thought I was. This job makes you that way. You have to be able to pivot easily and quickly and think on your feet. I've found that I function best under pressure. It's not always best for me to sit on a problem and go over 100 scenarios on how to fix it. I've learned I'm fully capable of finding a quick solution.
Now, let's turn to mentorship. Do you have any mentors, and what advice have you received from them?
There are a couple of people who have helped me since I started here. Joe Frandina, the team's Director of Construction Management, is one. His knowledge of operations is so extensive, and he's helped me significantly through career guidance. His knowledge of the old stadium is invaluable. Whenever we have a new hire, I tell them to talk to Joe because he has the knowledge to guide anyone with what they need. He's also the person who said, "Whatever it takes to get it done."
Another mentor is (Bills VP of Stadium Development) John Polka, who first hired me when I was 21 years old. He took a chance on me, which led to my now full-time position. His leadership is amazing, and in my opinion, he's one of the greatest leaders in our organization. He's the leader I aspire to be. And then (Bills Senior Director of Stadium Operations) Matt Hunter, who has taught me everything from a facilities standpoint and continues to teach me.
Lastly, do you have a favorite moment from your time with the Bills?
There are a couple. It was the first game after Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest. I was in the tunnel, and Nyheim Hines ran the kickoff all the way back for a touchdown, and it was the most amazing feeling in that stadium. Everyone was happy and it was a storybook moment.
Another, which is going to sound funny, involved a snow game. I worked a 36-hour shift because we had to shovel out the stadium. We kept getting dumped on, and I slept there -- maybe for like an hour was all. I remember standing on top of the 300 level and looking at all the snow coming down, and I almost couldn't see the other side of the stadium. I remember thinking, How are we going to get this done? It was 1 a.m. and we either were scheduled to host a 4 p.m. or prime-time game, and we got it done. We got the stadium opened and were able to do it. It was a great feeling.
