Highmark Stadium

Buffalo, United States

Opened in 2026
Architecture, Brand Activation, Interior Design, Wayfinding, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture

Designed for the Buffalo Bills, Highmark Stadium brings fans closer to the action through an intimate seating bowl, climate-responsive architecture and spaces that celebrate the traditions of Bills Mafia.

Total Capacity

60,108
Disciplines
Collections
- National Football League Stadiums

Working alongside the Buffalo Bills, Populous developed a design approach rooted in the franchise’s history, the region’s architectural heritage and the traditions of its passionate fan base.

The 60,108-seat stadium opened in 2026, establishing a new era for the franchise while honoring the traditions and identity that have defined Bills football for generations. From the intimate seating configuration to its hospitality spaces and brand activations, every element reflects the team, its fans and the character of Western New York.

Zoom

“I chose Populous because they understood from the beginning that the new Highmark Stadium needed to be designed distinctly for Buffalo and for Bills Mafia as a special fan friendly stadium.”

Terry Pegula

Owner, Buffalo Bills

Highmark Stadium’s architecture draws inspiration from Buffalo’s historic buildings and industrial heritage, combining a sense of strength and resilience with contemporary materials and a modern approach to climate-responsive stadium design.

The design responds directly to Buffalo’s challenging weather conditions. A 360-degree canopy covers approximately 65% of the stadium seats, providing protection from the elements while preserving the outdoor football experience that the Buffalo Bills prides themselves on. The stadium also incorporates a custom wind-mitigating façade and the world’s largest stadium roof snow-melt system.

A series of monumental vertical fins wraps the exterior, creating a colonnade that defines the building’s architectural identity. Perforated metal panels between the fins help mitigate wind while maintaining an open-air environment. Iron-spot brick grounds the stadium in its surroundings, while curved architectural elements soften the building’s monumental scale.

Inside, a vertically stacked seating bowl brings fans closer to the field, creating an intimidating atmosphere that concentrates crowd energy around the action. The configuration includes the closest upper seating bowl in the NFL, reinforcing the intimate atmosphere and home-field advantage central to the stadium’s design.

“The most legendary stadiums are shaped by the communities they represent. Highmark Stadium is a reflection of the city of Buffalo and the Bills Mafia. This stadium is as bold and resilient as the fans we designed it for.”

Scott Radecic

Global Director and Co-Founder

The first General Admission Plus (GA+) concourse in an NFL stadium sits just 12 feet above the field, offering fans a new way to experience the game. Open concourses maintain views of the field, while premium hospitality spaces and seven sensory rooms accommodate a range of fan needs.

Populous integrated architecture, interior design, brand activation, landscape architecture, urban design and wayfinding to create a cohesive experience rooted in Buffalo’s identity.

More than 35 brand activations celebrate the Bills’ traditions, the city’s industrial heritage and the culture of Bills Mafia. A recurring design element known as “the charge,” inspired by the forward-moving stroke in the Bills logo, appears throughout the stadium, connecting its architecture, interior design and experiential graphics.

Outside, the Family Circle serves as a gathering place anchored by three monumental American bison sculptures, symbolizing the connection between the team and its community. The surrounding landscape also includes the 1.7-mile Highmark Trail, featuring interactive activities, fitness challenges and opportunities for fans to engage with the stadium beyond game day.

“From the outset, Highmark Stadium was designed with Bills Mafia in mind. Our focus was to create the most intimate and intimidating atmosphere possible. The result is a place unlike anywhere else in the NFL.”

Jonathan Mallie

Global Director and Managing Director of the Americas

Highmark Stadium opened a new era of Bills football in Orchard Park, bringing the franchise’s traditions into a venue designed for the next generation of fans.

The stadium’s regular-season debut welcomed 60,644 fans and drew 18.6 million viewers on Amazon Prime Video, marking the most-watched Thursday Night Football season opener in the platform’s history. The national audience reflected the excitement surrounding the stadium’s opening and the significance of the occasion for Buffalo.

Designed to support the traditions of the franchise while meeting the demands of modern NFL football, Highmark Stadium establishes a new gathering place for fans and the surrounding community, building on Buffalo’s legacy as one of the league’s most passionate football cities.

“This is a modern interpretation of classic sports architecture in Buffalo. Our building looks the way it does for a very specific reason. I think Populous has done a tremendous job of getting us there.”

Frank Cravotta

SVP of Design, Buffalo Bills

Disciplines Used at Highmark Stadium

Architecture

Architecture

The exterior design purposefully brings together powerful elements that invoke a sense of fortitude and strength. The exterior design of the stadium is lined by a series of metal-clad columns. The colonnade encircles the perimeter of the building and spans from the ground to the base of the canopy. Attributes of strength and resilience are embodied in these repeated vertical elements which present a monumental scale of the building. A mass-customized perforated metal façade system traverses the entirety of the stadium perimeter. Its primary objective is to protect the fans from the elements while maintaining an open-air football experience that allows the weather to be one of the team’s strongest allies.

Iron-spot brick forms a solid band at the base of the stadium that grounds the building in its surroundings and serves as the material closest to the fans as they approach the stadium. A large opening at the north endzone captures the stadium's curvature from the east and west sides and provides a primary focused entry point to the stadium. Angled corners of the seating bowl are rounded by the building’s form to provide a subtler to the building’s exterior appearance while a single primary curve undulates across its expanse while introducing a more contemporary look to the design.

A 360-degree canopy follows the form of the seating bowl and exterior facade, dipping down towards the end-zones and rising towards the stadium’s center. Beneath the canopy, stacked seating across all levels brings fans closer to the action, charging an electrifying game day atmosphere while protecting fans from Buffalo’s challenging weather. The seating arrangement above the north end zone positions fans as close as 12 feet vertically from the field, amplifying the home-field advantage through an intimidating wall of support.

Disciplines Used at Highmark Stadium
Interior Design

Interior Design

The interior design at Highmark Stadium draws directly from Buffalo's culture, creating spaces that reflect the city's people, traditions, and character. More than 40 local artists and specialty makers contributed custom artwork and installations that celebrate the region throughout the stadium.

Signature moments anchor the fan experience throughout. The central chandelier features nearly 2,000 suspended acrylic "Floe" elements surrounding the illuminated “Charge” logo, a symbol of the Bills, while the Field Club tunnel is defined by 18 vertical LED displays that transform based on the players' walk or the viewer's direction of travel. Open concourses, colorful destination bars, interior marketplaces, and inclusive design strategies improve circulation, expand food and beverage options, and create welcoming spaces for every fan.

Disciplines Used at Highmark Stadium
Brand Activation

Brand Activation

Highmark Stadium's brand activation strategy transformed the Bills brand into an authentic and immersive game-day experience. Populous worked alongside the organization to understand the team's identity through extensive research and visioning sessions.

From destination gathering places like the "Too Cold for Them” Frozen Helmet installation to storytelling installations like the “Broken Table” which nods to the traditions of the Bills Mafia, every activation reinforces the culture of Buffalo while creating meaningful opportunities for partners. Rather than covering the stadium’s structural crossbeams, they were reimagined as storytelling opportunities to honor the city’s steal-making heritage, becoming 12 seamlessly integrated activations. While collaborating with the Bills, the team identified a simple yet key mark on the existing logo—the “Charge”—then amplified it across the project as a defining feature of both brand and architecture.

By designing the brand strategy in tandem with the stadium design, a cohesive story was created starting the moment fans arrive at the stadium.

Disciplines Used at Highmark Stadium
Wayfinding

Wayfinding

The team designed fan navigation to be intuitive throughout the venue while simultaneously reinforcing the Bills to identify. From distinct entry gates and color-coded signage to the continuous 360-degree open concourse and clear sightlines, every design detail helps orient fans throughout their game experience. Special attention was given to landmark spaces, including the Family Circle plaza, the player tunnel, and the north and south end zone social spaces, to make them both memorable and authentic to Highmark Stadium.

Disciplines Used at Highmark Stadium
Landscape Architecture

Landscape Architecture

The landscape vision surrounding the new Highmark Stadium is designed as an extension of the Bills’ identity, connecting fans to the experience of Bills Mafia tailgating. Locating the stadium at the high point of the site heightens fans’ procession as they arrive from every direction creates a cascade of outdoor destinations along the way. Integrated stormwater promenades, tailgate areas, stadium plazas and pedestrian allees shape circulation while organizing smaller parking lots that create a more human scale and foster a distinct identity for each tailgate area.

The stadium plaza is an outdoor destination designed to welcome fans and inspire new traditions for generations to come. Native plantings and large shade trees frame and enhance the experience within the plaza. At its heart is the Family Circle and its family of American bison, symbolizing family, community and belonging. Positioned to honor the location of the former stadium, it serves as a welcoming beacon at the stadium’s main entry.

Disciplines Used at Highmark Stadium