Buffalo’s new $2 billion Highmark Stadium will feature natural grass, making the Bills one of few NFL teams moving away from artificial turf amid player safety concerns
19:08 ET, 15 Oct 2025
The Buffalo Bills stadium
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The new Buffalo Bills stadium will feature natural grass
Buffalo is a football city known for its snow, with a rabid Bills Mafia fanbase that breathes football. On top of the team being a perennial NFL playoff team, the Bills' new $2 billion stadium in Orchard Park will have a feature that several NFL teams could only wish for.
The Bills confirmed Friday that the new Highmark Stadium, still under construction but entering its final stages, will feature a natural grass playing surface. The decision trumped corner-cutting, durability, and cost-cutting issues that many teams around the league have settled for turf.
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Drone footage from the official Highmark account showed the NFL field coming to life under an overcast New York sky, with workers laying down sod in long strips. A behind-the-scenes video released by the team showed trucks starting to arrive before sunrise, loaded with freshly primed sod rolls, each laid with precision by crews who battled light rain well into the evening, overcoming logical issues that the team faced throughout the process.
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In the team's video, one construction manager described the moment with the pride of someone unrolling history.
"We spent a lot of time working through the details on this field," he said.
"Everything from where the natural grass and the artificial meet, to all the technology below the surface. Seeing the sod go down... that's the icing on the cake."
After years of seeing players across the league suffer on artificial surfaces, the Bills are taking a stand.
The NFLPA's 2025 player survey reported that 93 percent of players view turf as a "career risk," and 91 percent say it leaves them more sore and fatigued.
MetLife Stadium sees the New York Giants and Jets share turf, but both teams experienced season-altering injuries over the past five seasons. Eighteen players have had season-ending injuries while playing on the field.
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Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon in his first game as a member of the Jets, and Giants WR Malik Nabers tore his ACL this September, rendering him out for the year.
Buffalo's 62,000-seat stadium, located next to the current Highmark in Orchard Park, will feature a canopy roof to protect fans from snow while leaving the field open to natural light.
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Engineers assert they have 'scientifically analyzed' the city’s harsh wind patterns, a statement that elicited knowing smirks from Bills fans who’ve watched Josh Allen’s passes falter in blizzards for years.
For context, Allen has averaged 7.4 yards per attempt at home over the past five seasons, ranking No. 18 in the NFL. That figure has room to change significantly once Buffalo’s unpredictable weather transforms into conditions more like a controlled environment.
The Bills’ new home is expected to open in 2026, as they continue to play out the rest of this season. Their current stadium features turf last upgraded in 2011, after the first artificial turf was laid down in 1973.