Highmark Stadium
The Pit New Highmark Stadium | |
Highmark Stadium under construction in October 2025 | |
Interactive map of Highmark Stadium | |
| Full name | Highmark BlueCross BlueShield Stadium |
|---|---|
| Former names | New Highmark Stadium (construction) |
| Address | 10 Bills Plaza |
| Location | Orchard Park, New York, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 42°46′23″N 78°47′32″W / 42.77306°N 78.79222°W |
| Owner | State of New York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Country of Canada |
| Operator | Legends Hospitality |
| Capacity |
|
| Surface | Playing surface: Kentucky bluegrass Bench area: artificial turf |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | June 5, 2023 |
| Opened | June 30, 2026 (planned) |
| Construction cost | $2.2 billion |
| Architect | Populous |
| Structural engineer | Walter P Moore |
| Tenants | |
| Buffalo Bills (NFL) (2026–present) | |
Highmark Stadium (also referred to as New Highmark Stadium and colloquially as The Pit) is an American football stadium under construction in Orchard Park, New York. It will replace Ralph Wilson Stadium as the home field of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL) starting in the 2026 NFL season.
The 67,000 capacity, 62,000-seat stadium is being built adjacent to Erie Community College's south campus across the street from the existing Highmark Stadium, which will be demolished following the completion of the new stadium. The stadium is being designed by Populous, who previously designed Sahlen Field in downtown Buffalo and twelve other active NFL stadiums, with which the new Orchard Park stadium will share numerous design elements and features.
The stadium is estimated to cost $1.7 billion. Under an agreement with the state of New York, taxpayers will pay $850 million of the construction cost (with $600 million coming from New York State and $250 million coming from Erie County). With the State of New York also paying for all maintenance and repair costs once the stadium opens, it is the largest taxpayer contribution ever for an NFL facility.
Groundbreaking for the stadium occurred in June 2023, with major construction starting that same month along with a groundbreaking ceremony on June 5, 2023. The same day the Bills announced an extension to its existing stadium naming rights deal with Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, with the Highmark Stadium name to be used for the new venue; it has been referred to as "New Highmark Stadium" during construction to distinguish it from the Bills' previous home, which was also called Highmark Stadium since 2021.