Bills seek shoveling help for stadium

Despite over four feet of snow already dumped on the area this week and another foot or more expected, the Buffalo Bills are still preparing to play Sunday's game against the New York Jets at Ralph Wilson Stadium as scheduled.

"All of our intention and all of our focus is 1 o'clock on Sunday," a Bills representative said on a conference call Wednesday.

The Bills did not provide a timetable on when the NFL would decide whether it will be necessary to postpone the game or move it to another location.

"We are working with the Bills today to determine the status of the stadium," an NFL representative said.

The Bills estimate they will need to remove 220,000 tons of snow to clear the stadium for Sunday's game. The team is seeking at least 500 fans -- working on three shifts -- to shovel out the stadium. In return, the Bills will pay fans $10 per hour and offer free game tickets.

"We don't have a maximum number [of people to shovel]," Bills vice president of operations and guest experience Andy Major said. "We can't have too many people helping."

The team tweeted out a picture of its snowbound situation. The amount of snowfall is unprecedented for the stadium.

"We have not had this much snow, as far as we know, in the history of our team," Major said, adding that it typically takes three days to clear one foot of snow from the stadium.

With driving bans in place across much of the area, Bills players were unable to get to the facility Wednesday and may not be able to practice Thursday either.

"We really don't know exactly what's going to happen, obviously with the weather report for tonight," coach Doug Marrone said.

Marrone and most of his coaching staff stayed overnight Tuesday and plan on remaining at the facility Wednesday night.

"It's very difficult to put in words exactly what is going on," Marrone said. "It's just a very, very difficult and challenging situation, not just for our organization and our football team but for the region."

Jets coach Rex Ryan, when asked whether it's a competitive disadvantage for the Bills since they couldn't practice Wednesday, said: "Hope so. No, I'm just kidding."

"I think the main thing is, obviously, everybody is safe up there," Ryan added. "It's hard to imagine what they're going through since here, not that far away, we have no snow."

ESPN Jets reporter Rich Cimini contributed to this report.