“We are grateful to the Pegulas and to Governor Cuomo for allowing fans into the stadium for the playoff game," Wojtaszek said. “We wanted to make sure those who have been at the forefront of this pandemic and those keeping us safe during these extraordinary times were considered for this opportunity.

"These folks have made tremendous sacrifices for the greater good of the communities they serve. This offering is just a small part of what we can do to thank them.”

To be considered, Batavia Downs is asking that community members nominate a frontline healthcare worker or first responder by emailing a one paragraph synopsis on why that person should be considered for a ticket. The subject line should read: Ticket Nominee.

Email must also include:

• The nominee’s name;
• Job title;
• Place of employment;
• The nominee’s phone number and email address.

Nominations can be sent to rhasenauer@westernotb.com and will only be accepted until 11:59 tonight -- one minute prior to midnight Friday, Jan. 1^st.

Nominations will be reviewed and a limited number of nominees will be contacted on Saturday or Sunday if chosen.

“We’re very excited to give these tickets away,” said Ryan Hasenauer, director of Marketing for Batavia Downs. “Once we pick the recipients, we will be contacting each to let them know what they’ll need to do in accordance with the protocols set forth by New York State and the Buffalo Football Team.

Information on this and other ways tickets can be received can also be found on a post on their Facebook page.