Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Field, the highest-capacity Triple-A ballpark in the United States.

[3] Mayor James D. Griffin and an investment group purchased the Jersey City A's of the Double-A class Eastern League for $55,000 in 1978, and the team began play as the Buffalo Bisons at War Memorial Stadium in 1979.

Robert E. Rich Jr. purchased the Bisons for $100,000 in 1983,[5] and upgraded the team to the Triple-A class American Association in 1985 after buying out the Wichita Aeros for $1 million.

[6][7] Rich Jr. grew the team's popularity and was known for his innovative promotional tie-ins, most notably an annual series of post-game concerts by The Beach Boys.

In their first year at the venue after moving from War Memorial Stadium, the Bisons broke the all-time record for Minor League Baseball attendance by drawing 1,186,651 fans during the 1988 season.

[9][10] The team won two division titles and set subsequent attendance records on the heels of their unsuccessful 1993 Major League Baseball expansion bid.

The addition of regional rivalries allowed for the creation of the Thruway Cup, an annual competition between the Buffalo Bisons, Rochester Red Wings and Syracuse SkyChiefs.

The Toronto Blue Jays replaced the New York Mets as Major League Baseball affiliate of the Buffalo Bisons prior to the 2013 season.

He was known for dancing to the song "Tequila" atop the venue's dugouts, with a routine similar to the one made famous by Paul Reubens in the 1985 film Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

[37] The Buffalo Bisons honored him at a July 2018 game, with a beer launched in his likeness called Conehead IPA by Resurgence Brewing Company.

[44] Buffalo Bisons games since 2011 have featured the Wing, Cheese & Carrot (WCC) mascot race between costumed representations of various local foods just prior to the sixth-inning.

[46][47] A parody of the Gary Glitter song "Rock and Roll Part 2" featuring lyrics referencing Irv Weinstein was played at Sahlen Field during the seventh-inning stretch of Buffalo Bisons games in the 1990s.