New Bills stadium renderings are here and NFL fans have thoughts
For a time, the Buffalo Bills were threatening to leave town, despite the loyal almost cult-like devotion of the fanbase. Buffalo is one of the smaller metro areas housing a professional sports team, let alone an NFL franchise. The weather also doesn’t help the city’s case or make it a highly desirable landing spot for top-notch free agents; though Von Miller who signed a six-year contract with the Bills this past offseason may think differently.
But despite these impediments, the team reached an agreement with state and local officials in March 2022 to build a new $1.4 billion, 63,000 seat stadium in Orchard Park, ending the relocation debate.
As part of that agreement, however, the State of New York and Erie County are footing a sizable portion of the costs, with the Bills accounting for only $350 million of the build–surely a major factor enticing the team to stay put.
Fast forward to October. With the Bills ready to make a real push for a Super Bowl, the organization released the first set of stadium designs, a future home that they hope will house MVP-candidate Josh Allen for the rest of his career.
First renderings of new Buffalo Bills stadium released
The drawings show a canopy that will shield about two-thirds of seats from precipitation. Outside, there will be an area the team is calling the “Family Circle,” meant to attract fans year-round and reflect the history of the franchise.
Though this release was met largely with positive reviews, some Bills fans took to twitter to comment. The biggest piece of criticism was that the team opted for another open-air stadium.
Buffalo’s harsh conditions are not exaggerated. Just ask the 2021-22 Patriots who played in minus 15-degree conditions. And while the team may have embraced the snow and sleet as a major home-field advantage, it’s safe to assume that if given the choice, most fans would prefer the cozier confines of an indoor arena–especially when the winds are howling and it’s below freezing.
Financially speaking, an indoor stadium would also offer additional opportunities to host non-Bills events in the winter (concerts, March Madness, the Super Bowl), so the lack of a roof cuts into potential revenue the team and state could use to pay down this project.
On the lighter side, fans pointed out that the artists had some fun with the renderings, filling in the stadium’s scoreboard with a 24-3 routing of New York Jets.
The new stadium is slated to open in 2026 across the street from the Bills’ current home at Highmark Stadium–just in time for fans to watch what they hope will be the peak of Josh Allen’s career.
