Twenty months after breaking ground, the $2.1 billion New Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, has topped out, according to a release from Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Project stakeholders, Hochul, other politicians and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell gathered on April 4 with over 1,000 guests and hundreds of union workers to celebrate the placement of the final structural steel beam, which also marked the project reaching about 50% completion, the release said.
A Gilbane/Turner joint venture is managing construction of the 60,000-seat future home of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, right next to the team’s existing venue. Kansas City, Missouri-based architecture firm Populous designed the new stadium.
To date, the construction team has placed more than 22,000 pieces of steel, weighing over 25,000 tons total, the release said, with almost all of the steel being produced in the U.S. and 60% of it being produced in New York state. The scope of work required the participation of 16 fabrication companies.
In addition to structural steel work, project teams have removed 742,000 cubic yards of dirt and installed over 46,000 cubic yards of foundation concrete in addition to placing miles of piping, according to the release. As many as 1,500 workers will be on site at peak construction.
With the topping out complete, construction will continue on the interior of the building as well as on the roof. The Gilbane/Turner JV is in the midst of placing a canopy structure at the stadium’s top level, which will rise to 116 feet above grade. The team is also installing precast materials to form the exoskeleton of the building, before the skin of the building — including precast architectural, perforated metal and glass panels — is installed this spring.
In addition to the 360-degree canopy, which will cover 65% of the seats, other features of the new stadium include:
- Heated concourses and seating in several areas.
- The world’s largest snow melt system, which will utilize roof sensors to monitor and liquefy snow piles.
- Two video boards and an acoustic system.
- A mix of concessions, kitchens and retail stores.
“This achievement is testament to the hard work of our skilled trade partners who have worked over 1.8 million hours to date building this state-of-the-art facility,” said John LaRow, principal-in-charge at Gilbane.
Speakers at the event took it as an opportunity to tout the union labor used to deliver the project.
“This topping out milestone at New Highmark Stadium stands as a testament to the positive impacts development done under project labor agreements and with prevailing wage measures can have on our local communities and collective state economy,” said Gary LaBarbera, New York State Building and Construction Trades Council president.
New Highmark Stadium is scheduled to open prior to the 2026 NFL season.
