The Buffalo Bills new Highmark Stadium is spectacular. I wrote as such yesterday in the immediate aftermath of the media tour inside. I’m sure all writers, reporters, and TV anchors had similar takeaways from the team’s ribbon cutting ceremony too.
There’s very much a five-star hotel vibe to the lounge and atrium areas in this behemoth. The concourses are expansive and dotted with bars and tables of every shape and size. The outside of the stadium is metal and glass. It’s a $2 billion NFL stadium —
no wonder it has a distinct industrial feel. How it could it not?
To avoid overwhelming fans with urban chic style, the Bills commissioned nearly 50 local arts to create pieces that have been meticulously situated throughout the stadium. The artwork generates gallery-like energy and, frankly, a little homeyness to the gargantuan structure.
Katherine Fitzgerald of The Buffalo News pieced together a nice collage of some of this art inside the stadium:
VP of Stadium Development John Polka told us there’s still some signage that needs to be hung — mostly from large sponsors. Loading the hallways, concourses, and atriums with nothing but Bills logo decor would’ve been the low-hanging fruit decision for stadium planners.
The art element is significantly cooler, and gives the shiny new building real character.
I snapped this picture on my phone from right underneath what I think is the niftiest art installation in the stadium — from what we were able to see during the tour.
That installation consists of over 1,000 pieces of plexiglass, per VP of Designed, Stadium Operations Frank Cravotta, and as you can imagine, forms an enormous floating Bills logo for fans to see through tall glass windows as they’re approaching new Highmark Stadium through the main entrance.
There’s even these murals paying homage to Van Miller in one of the field-level club lounges.
The Buffalo AKG Art Museum — formerly known as the Albright-Knox Art Gallery — is one of the crown jewel destinations in the city.
And murals have become a signature part of the beauty and charm of Buffalo.
I’m glad the Bills decided to align their stadium with Buffalo’s art-forward ambiance by incorporating the creative works of Western New York artists in unique ways inside the building.
The artistry provides an exquisitely nice touch inside a marvel, that, for Western New York, feels unfamiliarly opulent — it’s the perfect threading of the needle to remind Bills fans they are… home.
