Editing Sahlen Field (section)

===Opening and reception, 1988–1989===
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| footer = Aerial views of the venue, August 2018
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Opening Day of the venue's inaugural season took place on April 14, 1988, and saw the [[Buffalo Bisons]] defeat the [[Denver Zephyrs]] 1–0.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harrington |first1=Mike |title=There's No Place Like Home, Baseball in Buffalo Celebrates 10 Years at its Downtown Location |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/theres-no-place-like-home-baseball-in-buffalo-celebrates-10-years-at-its-downtown-location/article_167be92b-3ca2-5eeb-8a03-d9e048fc0c4f.html |work=The Buffalo News |date=March 31, 1997}}</ref> [[Bob Patterson (baseball)|Bob Patterson]] of the Bisons threw the first pitch against [[Billy Bates (baseball)|Billy Bates]], and the lone score came from a [[Tom Prince (baseball)|Tom Prince]] [[home run]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Harrington | first=Mike | title=Opening Day memories: April 14 is a special day in Bisons history | website=Buffalo News | date=April 14, 2016 | url=https://buffalonews.com/sports/baseball/professional/opening-day-memories-april-14-is-a-special-day-in-bisons-history/article_e1838d40-6160-5cb2-ae26-ce571e450c9c.html | access-date=April 1, 2022}}</ref> [[Pam Postema]], the first female [[Umpire (baseball)|umpire]] in the history of professional baseball, officiated the game.<ref name="cuomo">{{Cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/mario-cuomo/|title = Mario Cuomo – Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref> Prior to the event, [[The Oak Ridge Boys]] performed "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]" and both Mayor [[James D. Griffin]] and Governor [[Mario Cuomo]] threw [[ceremonial first pitch]]es.<ref name="cuomo" /><ref>{{cite web | last=Campbell | first=Jon | title=Gov. Andrew Cuomo, defying history, hasn't thrown a first pitch. Is this the year? | website=New York State Team | date=July 23, 2020 | url=https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2020/07/23/ny-gov-andrew-cuomo-first-pitch-baseball/5475553002/ | access-date=May 30, 2022}}</ref>

The formal dedication of the venue took place on May 21, 1988, prior to the Buffalo Bisons defeating the [[Syracuse Mets|Syracuse Chiefs]] in an interleague [[Triple-A Alliance]] game by a score of 6–5. [[Larry King]] threw the [[ceremonial first pitch]] and sat in on commentary with [[WBEN (AM)|WBEN]] broadcasters [[Pete Weber (sportscaster)|Pete Weber]] and [[John Murphy (sportscaster)|John Murphy]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Bisons mourn passing of Larry King, who was set to join their MLB ownership group | website=The Buffalo News | date=January 23, 2021 | url=https://buffalonews.com/sports/baseball/bisons-mourn-passing-of-larry-king-who-was-set-to-join-their-mlb-ownership-group/article_cab455fc-5da2-11eb-83d4-9f03bad0dedd.html | access-date=July 24, 2021}}</ref>

In their first year at the venue after moving from War Memorial Stadium, the Buffalo Bisons broke the all-time record for [[Minor League Baseball]] attendance by drawing 1,186,651&nbsp;fans during the 1988 season.<ref>{{cite news|title=Buffalo Bisons Set Minor League Attendance Mark|agency=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-08-20-sp-568-story.html|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=August 20, 1988|access-date=May 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517132448/http://articles.latimes.com/1988-08-20/sports/sp-568_1_minor-league|archive-date=May 17, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> The team had capped [[season ticket]] sales at 9,000 seats to ensure that individual game tickets would be available.<ref>{{cite news | title=BUFFALO MAKES MAJOR LEAGUE EFFORT | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=September 5, 1988 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1988/09/05/buffalo-makes-major-league-effort/3347fdc2-b95d-4cd8-bd34-2d6a29bb54aa/ | access-date=May 26, 2022}}</ref>

The inaugural Build New York Award was given to Cowper Construction Management by the General Building Contractors of New York State for their work on the venue.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ciminelli Cowper Co. Gets 'Build New York' Award |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/ciminelli-cowper-co-gets-build-new-york-award/article_d59c8745-bed9-513d-8e9c-84aee7b3f293.html |work=The Buffalo News |date=April 27, 1990}}</ref>

The venue was lauded by mainstream media outlets, including feature stories by ''[[Newsday]]'', ''[[New York Daily News]]'', ''[[San Francisco Examiner]]'', ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'', ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]'' and ''[[Vancouver Sun]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Warner |first1=Gene |title=National Media Anything But Cool To Buffalo Baseball's 'Hot' Status Swirl of Coverage Boosts Scouting Report, Big-League Hopes for City |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/national-media-anything-but-cool-to-buffalo-baseballs-hot-status-swirl-of-coverage-boosts-scouting/article_d65436d6-2347-5de6-9258-ede8fd619c6c.html |work=The Buffalo News |date=August 23, 1989}}</ref> Eric Brazil wrote in his ''San Francisco Examiner'' column that the venue, "just may be baseball's prototype for the 1990s and beyond".<ref>{{cite news |title=And Here's The Pitch |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/and-heres-the-pitch/article_1440c25e-1f1e-55a6-af23-1f9cdbca9860.html |work=The Buffalo News |date=August 11, 1989}}</ref>

Pete McMartin wrote fondly of the venue in his June 1989 article for the ''Vancouver Sun'', contrasting it with the recently opened [[Rogers Centre|SkyDome]] in Toronto:

{{blockquote|It was a matter of philosophy. Toronto built an edifice: Buffalo embraced an idea. Toronto elevated technology over the game: Buffalo honored the past. Buffalo ended up with the better ballpark. It may be the best ballpark built since the construction of the game's holy triumvirate – [[Wrigley Field|Wrigley]], [[Fenway Park|Fenway]] and [[Tiger Stadium (Detroit)|Briggs]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=McMartin |first1=Pete |title=Buffalo ball park shames Skydome |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/495267949/ |work=The Vancouver Sun |date=5 June 1989}}</ref>}}