The Buffalo Bills new Highmark Stadium is a colossal beauty, a remarkable structure that strikes a wonderful balance of new-age, executive-suite extravagance and vintage Buffalo quaintness. Oh, and this stadium is going to be loud. Incredibly loud. The steepness of the four levels of seats are a stark, acoustics-friendly contrast to the old stadium’s expansive fan arrangement, and the canopy encloses the top perimeter to act as a reverberation board for noise, sending all sound waves downward toward the field.
Below you’ll find my thoughts and first impressions of everything regarding the fan experience inside new Highmark Stadium.
Field view of new Bills stadium
Because of a collection of tall glass enclosures corresponding with the entries into the stadium, you can literally see the field the moment you step foot inside, even when you’re technically standing in an atrium or concourse.
In many of the concourses throughout the stadium you can peak behind you wait for your burger or your beer to be poured and see the field, so you don’t necessarily need to miss any action. It’s a nice touch that speaks directly to the passion of Bills fans.
I don’t believe you will ever be in a concourse without a view of the field.
Concourses inside new Bills stadium
Wide. They are wide. Expansive. Use any other descriptor you’d like. Whatever conjures a massive amount of space in your mind. Bars of every shape -- including many 360 counters -- are dotted throughout the stadium as are a litany of pub tables, rectangular tables, and large circular tables to incorporate your party, of any size, however you’d like.
Some of the club-level concourses are more aptly referred to as atriums and feature lounge-style couches. Many of the concourses feature massive televisions. Those atriums have a unmistakable five-star hotel lobby feel.
The old stadium’s conconcourses were notoriously narrow, leading to a jam-packed experience when in the concession line or waiting for the bathroom.
The opposite will be the case in the new Highmark Stadium.
Because of the large concourses, there are also many staircases -- and highly sought after escalators -- to travel to your seats.
Heating inside the Bills new stadium
Heating elements line the concourses in every level -- not just the clubs and suites -- giving the open-air concourses heating during those wintry games when temperates dip to and below freezing.
These heating elements are spaced every few feet, attached to beams, pointing down at fans.
Now, I don’t expect them to generate sauna-like temperatures in January -- but I assume they’ll provide much-desired heat when fans arrive inside the stadium.
Video / sound systems inside Bills new stadium
There are two distinctly rectangular video boards above either end zone inside the new Highmark Stadium. Interestingly, I noticed they aren’t overwhelmingly large. Large enough. But not overwhelmingly huge like in other new NFL stadiums built over the past 10-20 years.
After discussions with VP of Stadium Development John Polka, that was apparently a calculated decision. Decision-makers didn’t want fans to be glued to a giant video board(s) -- they wanted to push fan attention to the field. Money saved from electing against gigantic Jumbotrons was funneled to a world-class sound system.
There are 32 speaker arrays encircling the stadium. The sound engineer in the stadium design has been quoted saying it’s the most technologically advanced sound system found in any stadium in the United States.
Anything else you’d like to know about the stadium? Drop your comment below and I’ll try to answer!