The Buffalo Bills will play their first regular-season game at their new home, the newly constructed Highmark Stadium, in Week 2 against the Detroit Lions, it was announced Monday.
The contest will mark the season opener for Prime Video's "Thursday Night Football" package of games.
The Bills will open their $2.1 billion venue on a national stage, fulfilling the team's desire for a prime-time game to kick things off.
Lights. Camera. (TNF) Action. 🤩
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) May 11, 2026
📺 NFL Schedule Release 5/14 at 8pm ET on@nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/R99KYAjjmX
The new stadium has an open-air design but provides significant coverage from the elements, with a roof canopy covering 64% of attendees. The team made it a priority to keep fans as close to the field as possible, and the club moved the first row on one of the sidelines 54 feet closer to the gridiron than that of the former stadium. Fans will also be welcomed with a new area outside the stadium that includes three bison statues that will be lit up for the opener.
The demolition of the former stadium is underway, while the finishing touches still are being put on the new one, which will be open for initial events this summer, including training camp's Blue & Red practice.
The field is also undergoing a change, as the Bills are switching from turf to grass, which can also be heated.
The Bills had played at their former home since 1973. That facility had been named Highmark Stadium since the 2021 campaign.
The full 2026 NFL schedule will be released Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. A two-hour prime-time special will air on ESPN and NFL Network.
ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg contributed to this report.
