The 2025 season may not mark the final year the Buffalo Bills play at their current Highmark Stadium after all.
According to WGRZ, construction of the new Highmark Stadium won’t be finished until December 2026, but the Bills are still preparing as if the new venue will be ready for the kickoff of the 2026 NFL season.
Unless there are major delays, the team expects to receive a certificate of occupancy by June 2026. While some construction will continue into the winter, the stadium should be usable by the summer.
“We have no choice but to open in July,” said Bills COO Peter Guelli in May. “The building must be ready for the team and our fans.”
Still, with the unpredictable nature of large-scale construction projects, the timeline remains flexible.
Stadium Will Be Mostly Ready, But Not Fully Finished
The Bills project the stadium will be roughly 90% complete when they receive the certificate of occupancy and begin summer operations in 2026.
“That’s when the building will be largely finished and ready for use,” said John Polka, Bills VP of stadium operations. “There will still be ongoing finishing touches and minor fixes.”
While essential functions will be in place, some “punch list” items such as imperfect paint or unfinished walls will be handled after occupancy.
Despite these final tweaks, Polka assures fans that the venue will mostly resemble its original design by the time they attend the first regular-season home game.
New Stadium Location and Details
The new stadium is being built just across the parking lot from the current Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. Funded by nearly $1 billion in state and county subsidies, the project drew criticism as the largest public stadium funding deal in North American sports history.
Nonetheless, it locks the Bills into a 30-year lease, solidifying the team’s presence in Buffalo a city that had been uncertain about its NFL future due to the aging Highmark Stadium, which opened in 1973.
Interestingly, the new stadium will seat about 62,000 around 10,000 fewer than the current venue despite continued sellouts during the Josh Allen era.
So for fans who aren’t planning on becoming season ticket holders in the new building, 2025 might be the best (and possibly final) chance to experience a game at the original Highmark Stadium.
