New NFL stadiums are focused on modern fan experiences, but financing often falls on taxpayers. Major teams like the Chicago Bears, Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, and Cleveland Browns are set to relocate to new stadium concepts. The Kansas City Chiefs are faced with deciding between Missouri or Kansas for a new stadium and target moving by 2031.
The idea of new NFL stadiums is always an interesting conversation for fans. While fans may argue against teams moving out of a building with such a rich history, the counterargument is that in order to enhance the fan experience and encourage fans to attend games, buildings need to be up to modern standards. Ultimately, it's the NFL owners that decide when a new stadium is necessary to enhance revenue and attract more special events to their building.
Unfortunately, the burden often falls on taxpayers, with the benefits of new sports stadiums being debated heavily, as to whether they benefit the city more, or the team. The reality is that new stadiums are on the way in the NFL, and iconic buildings such as Arrowhead Stadium and Soldier Field will soon be relics of the past. With that said, some new stadium renderings have kept popping up and certainly just by looks, they definitely stand out.
Now let's rank the stadium concepts currently being planned (or actively under construction) that fans can expect to see as new homes for teams in the near future. These NFL stadiums didn't come cheap: a list of the most expensive stadiums 1 Chicago Bears - Lakefront Concept The Chicago Bears have gone back and forth on whether a new stadium would be constructed in Chicago's downtown core, by the lakefront, or whether they'd move to nearby suburb Arlington Heights. GIVEMESPORT Key Stat: Constructed in 1924, Soldier Field is currently the NFL's oldest stadium, though the Bears didn't call it home until 1971.
They played at Wrigley Field from 1921-1970. Bears president Kevin Warren said before the team's hall of fame game in early August that the focus is on the 'Lakefront Concept', which would sit just south of where Soldier Field currently stands. The focus is the .
.. campus downtown.
I still think that's the most beautiful piece of property in the country, where lake meets architecture downtown. Warren provided an update that the goal is for construction to begin in 2025, and for the stadium to be ready for the 2028 season. While it would be tough to say goodbye to Soldier Field, the new renderings of the Lakefront Concept certainly look breathtaking and have that modern look that the NFL is now prioritizing.
With a stadium like this in a huge football market, (and the closed roof), one has to think a Super Bowl would be held in Chicago fairly quickly once this stadium is ready. 2 Cleveland Browns - New Domed Stadium Concept The Cleveland Browns recently unveiled their new stadium concept , and the renderings revealed that the new stadium would be with a closed roof. That would make the Browns the only AFC North team to play in a domed stadium.
While the concept definitely has all the makings of a state-of-the-art facility, the issue here would be Cleveland losing a homefield advantage with weather no longer being a factor. The advantage they would gain of course, is in crowd noise, as the Dawg Pound would certainly make life difficult for opposing quarterbacks in a dome setting. The Browns are leaning toward Brook Park as the team's new location, which is roughly 20 miles away from their current downtown home.
David Jenkins, chief operating officer of the Browns and Haslam Sports Group recently said: The more transformational option is to build a $2.4bn new domed stadium in Brook Park, creating a modern, dynamic, world-class venue that would greatly enhance the fan experience and enable the State of Ohio and our region to compete for some of the biggest events in the world 365 days a year. The concept of this new stadium looks like the team hit it out of the park, as the city would be in prime position to host major events other than the Super Bowl on a year-round basis.
3 Tennessee Titans - New Nissan Stadium From a 100-year-old building, to one having just opened in 1999, the Tennessee Titans began plans to construct a new stadium a couple of years ago. Ground broke on the new stadium's construction site earlier this year, and is expected to be ready in time for the 2027 season. The goal for Tennessee here, was to host more big events, such as the Super Bowl and NCAA's Final Four tournament, as the city of Nashville has prospered as a tourist attraction in recent years.
With Nissan holding the naming rights to the Titans' home stadium for the next 20 years, the new building will retain the same name, and will sit adjacent to the team's current home. Among the upgrades fans can expect will be to the luxury suites, premier seats, reserved seat licenses and the Mosh Pit, being dubbed as the new fan section. 4 Buffalo Bills - New Highmark Stadium Of all the stadiums currently being conceptualized or under construction, the Buffalo project is the furthest along, with the Bills' New Highmark Stadium expected to be ready by the fall of 2026 .
The challenge for the Bills with this stadium is the roof. While the renderings show the roof will be somewhat enclosed, the Bills likely will still want the unforgiving Buffalo weather to be a factor for visiting teams. At the same time, they won't want heavy snowfall to force them to play home games in another stadium, as they were forced to do back in November 2022 , playing their Week 11 home game in Detroit.
The key improvements here over Buffalo's current home stadium include the partially enclosed roof, and the fact that fans will be 55 feet closer to the field, which will make noise a bigger factor for opposing teams. While the partially open roof will be an advantage as far as the cold weather remaining a factor, it likely takes Buffalo out of the running as a future Super Bowl host. When will the Bills move to their new stadium? Here's what we know so far about Buffalo's new stadium project.
5 Kansas City Chiefs - Missouri or Kansas? Right now, the Kansas City Chiefs have essentially created a bidding war between the states of Kansas and Missouri , as to which state will build the team's new home. The team is expected to make a decision in early 2025, on whether they will stay in Missouri, or move across the border to Kansas. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly signed a bill which came into effect on July 1st which would fund up to 70% of the stadium.
Misssouri is currently working on its own proposal to entice the Chiefs to stay in Missouri. As for the renderings we've seen, the Kansas proposal certainly looks enticing. Much like Buffalo, the Chiefs would likely want weather to play somewhat of a factor in January playoff games, which would retain the advantage they have now.
However, if the Chiefs adopt a domed stadium, the city suddenly becomes a potential Super Bowl host, as we've seen Super Bowls traditionally played in either warm weather, or closed stadiums. Missouri will have it work cut out if they plan on keeping the Chiefs in the state they've called home for over 60 years. Arrowhead Stadium is the loudest in the NFL, averaging over 140 decibels.
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