Why a Dome Stadium Will Likely Never Happen For The Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are 3-1 and are preparing for a huge Sunday Night Football matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, in what is a rematch of the 2020 AFC Championship game.

The Bills are coming off a 40-0 win over the Houston Texans in what as yet another impressive showing from the Bills defense, while the offense played well but left points on the board settling for field goals.

The weather was a huge subject on Sunday. It didn't stop raining the majority of Sunday in Orchard Park, with heavy rain at times during Bills/Texans.

It was so wet that puddles had formed on the sideline and it was hard not to avoid getting soaked if you went to the game as a fan.

The rain brought up thee discussion on Twitter about the Bills needing a dome or retractable roof stadium, but the chances of that happening for this next stadium that is currently being negotiated is slim to none. Not just because it's been widely reported the Bills ownership wants a new open air stadium in Orchard Park, but price.

The general cost of a new, open-air stadium in the NFL right now carries a price-tag of a billion dollars or just over one billion. A dome or retractable roof stadium carries a price tag over $1.5 billion. This was back in July, when news of the Bills potential new stadium came to light.

In late August, the AP reported that the Bills proposed a $1.4 billion open-air stadium that would seat 60,000 and include 60 suites.

This likely means a proposed stadium with a dome or retractable roof would have cost close to $2 billion.

Get our free mobile app

The chances of a new stadium in Orchard Park not being helped paid for by taxpayers is highly unlikely. The drastic difference in cost (roughly 500 million) for a domed stadium, vs. an open-air one is likely too much to seriously consider it. Asking the county and state to pay a few million dollars more just for a roof? That doesn't seem like it will happen.

There is a portion of the fanbase who would love to stay with an open-air stadium since that means visiting teams are forced to play in the cold and snow, however, it could also hurt the Bills and their offense.

This past Sunday was not a fun game to sit through. Okay, the actual game was, but that weather was awful. I'm not going to lie, I thought about how much better it would have been with a dome, but because of the price difference, that likely will never happen.