Bills Are Set Up to Give Highmark Stadium Historic Send Off

The Buffalo Bills played their first game at Highmark Stadium in 1973 and will play their last in 2026.

Highmark Stadium was previously known as Rich Stadium from 1973 to 1997, Ralph Wilson Stadium from 1998 to 2015, New Era Field from 2016 to 2019, and Bills Stadium in 2020.

For 53 years, the Buffalo Bills and their fans have called Highmark Stadium home. Starting in the 2026 NFL season, their home will be moved across the street.

Heading Out of Highmark

In March of 2022, the Buffalo Bills announced they had reached an agreement with the state of New York and Erie County for a new $1.4 billion stadium to be built. The team also announced that Highmark would retain the naming rights to the stadium. 

Three years later, the new Highmark Stadium is nearly finished and the Bills have just begun their final season at the old Highmark Stadium. 

Could This Be The Year?

The Bills have had their fair share of triumphs and heart breaks in their home stadium over the last 53 years. This season, the Bills are set up to give the old Highmark Stadium a historic send-off. 

Highmark Stadium has seen three AFC Championships won in it, and 12 division titles from the Bills. This year, the Bills have a strong shot to send off Highmark Stadium with another division title, another AFC Championship, and maybe the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory.

Over the past five seasons, the Bills have suffered through an array of gut-wrenching playoff losses. Four of those losses came at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Although the Bills chances have felt better than the year before each season recently, this year truly could be the year.

The two main teams standing in the Bills’ way are the Chiefs, and the Baltimore Ravens. Between the obvious decline in production from Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce last season and Josh Allen’s 2-0 playoff record versus the Ravens, there’s valid reason to believe the Bills could go all the way. 

The Bills got their 2025 season off to a sizzling start, coming down from 15 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Ravens in Week 1.

Some New and Old Faces

The Bills have made many notable pickups in free agency and the draft with players like Josh Palmer, Joey Bosa, and Maxwell Hairston. They have also added former Bills players like Tre’Davious White, Jordan Poyer, and Gabe Davis.

Although the Bills only signed Poyer and Davis to the practice squad, their effect on the team will be deeper than just on the field. 

Poyer is nothing short of a Bills legend. Although fans may have mixed feelings about Davis, he is a seasoned vet for the Bills, and is a great addition for the team’s chemistry. 

Having these two back in the Bills’ facilities will help with team chemistry, and will help make the send off for the old Highmark Stadium even better.

Give Old Highmark a Sweet Sendoff

If the Bills could pull off a Super Bowl victory in their last season in the old Highmark Stadium, and do it with Poyer and Davis returning, it will be nothing short of a story book ending.

The Bills have the chance to do something out of a movie, and they’re off to a great start already.