Buffalo Bills COO Pete Guelli says the franchise has told the NFL it wants a prime-time home opener at the new $2.2 billion Highmark Stadium this fall.
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How many prime time games will the Bills have in 2026? While that's still unknown, the team aims for one specific game.
The Buffalo Bills aren’t leaving their new stadium’s grand entrance to chance. The franchise has already told the NFL it wants a prime-time home opener when the $2.2 billion Highmark Stadium opens this fall, and Bills COO Pete Guelli says networks are already interested, as the NFL draft and full schedule release arestill weeks away.
“We’ve already been approached by networks that would like to have it. We’re just trying to work through that. It’s really a league decision,” Guelli told Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News. He added: “However it’s set up, we’re going to make sure that home opener is a big event.”
The Buffalo Bills believe the occasion deserves national attention, and Guelli told the Buffalo News the team has “been in contact with the league to share their desire.” The NFL hasn’t released the full 2026 regular-season schedule yet — the league typically unveils it in mid-May, per Yahoo Sports — so the Bills are getting out ahead of it early.
Buffalo Bills Prime Time Games 2026: Home Opener?
Before the Bills even host a real game, the new stadium will get its first taste of action. Guelli told the Buffalo News the team’s annual “Return of the Blue and Red” practice — the first official event at the new building — is scheduled for August 8 during training camp, with the building set to be “full for an event like that.”
The old Highmark Stadium across the street won’t be torn down until next March, which means both buildings will stand side by side when the Bills take the field this fall. Guelli acknowledged it’s “still early to imagine what the campus could potentially be” once the old building comes down, but the vision is ambitious.
“We’d like to find ways to make it more of a year-round destination,” Guelli told the Buffalo News. He called the area around the new stadium a potential “pilgrimage to come not only to a game, but the market to experience everything Buffalo is about.” The franchise already saw a taste of that energy — fans have been scooping up $5,000 urinal troughs from the old building’s demolition prep, and the team recently unveiled massive bison statues planned for the stadium’s exterior Family Circle plaza.
Buffalo Bills News 2026
The prime-time push comes at a moment when everything around the Bills franchise feels supercharged. Buffalo traded its 2026 second-round pick to the Bears for standout receiver DJ Moore this offseason, giving Josh Allen a true No. 1 target for the first time since Stefon Diggs was traded after the 2023 season. Allen himself is riding a new wave off the field — he and wife Hailee Steinfeld announced the arrival of their baby girl on April 2.
The Bills’ 2026 home slate is loaded with marquee opponents, including the Ravens, Chiefs, and Bears. With the NFL Draft later this month, the roster is only going to look more complete by the summer.
A new stadium, a new weapon for Allen, and a fanbase that’s already treating urinal troughs like collector’s items — the Bills want the whole country watching when this era officially begins.