The Buffalo Bills didn't move very far when they moved into their new stadium.
Their old home is disappearing right across the street.
The Bills will play their first regular-season game at new Highmark Stadium on Thursday night against the Detroit Lions, beginning a new era after spending 53 seasons in the stadium on the other side of Abbott Road.
The old Highmark Stadium hasn't been imploded
or simply abandoned.It's being demolished piece by piece.
Crews began dismantling the 53-year-old stadium this spring and have spent the summer tearing through the more than 900,000-square-foot building. The larger demolition and site preparation project is scheduled to continue through March 2027.
Here's what happened to the Bills' old stadium and what will
eventually replace it.
Is the old Bills stadium being demolished?
Yes.
Demolition began after power to the old Highmark Stadium was disconnected May 1, four months after the Bills played their final game there.
The stadium opened in 1973 as Rich Stadium and was home to the Bills for 53 seasons. Buffalo played its final game there Jan. 4 before moving across Abbott Road.
Crews spent the spring and summer removing seats, suites, steel and other pieces of the building as heavy equipment gradually worked through the structure.
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle went inside the stadium during demolition in June, when trucks were driving on what had been the playing field and portions of the concourses, suites and seating bowl had already been torn apart.
Why didn't the Bills implode old Highmark Stadium?
There won't be one dramatic moment when the old stadium comes crashing down.
Unlike stadiums that have been demolished with explosives, Highmark Stadium is being dismantled through a mechanical demolition process using heavy equipment.
The project involves more than knocking down the seating bowl. The demolition plan includes asbestos abatement, removal of utilities and debris, construction of a retaining wall and eventually filling the former stadium footprint to grade.
That work is one reason demolition is taking months instead of seconds.
When will old Highmark Stadium be completely demolished?
The old stadium will continue disappearing during the Bills' first season in their new home.
The larger demolition and site preparation project is scheduled to be completed by March 2027.
That means fans attending games at new Highmark Stadium during the 2026 season could continue seeing demolition work across Abbott Road.
What will replace the old Bills stadium site?
That hasn't been completely determined.
The demolition project calls for the former stadium footprint to be filled to grade and prepared for future use rather than immediately replaced by another major structure.
The land could eventually become part of a larger mixed-use development surrounding new Highmark Stadium. Bills president of business operations Pete Guelli has said the team is exploring possibilities for the property, but no final development plan has been announced.
One familiar piece of the old complex will remain.
The Bills' existing administration and training facility near the former stadium is not being demolished as part of the project.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: What happened to the Bills' old stadium? Inside Highmark Stadium demolition
