​New Highmark Stadium, now home to the Buffalo Bills, is set to host its first regular-season game more than four years after plans were revealed to replace its predecessor in Orchard Park.Team ownership joined state and local politicians for a ribbon-cutting ceremony June 23. Now the Bills are set to host the Detroit Lions at 8:15 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, on Prime Video in the stadium’s first regular-season game.So, what makes this stadium unique? What has changed and what remains the same?Here’s everything Bills fans should know about new Highmark Stadium.Virtual tour: We toured the Bills new stadium. Here is what we saw.What Buffalo Bills fans should know about new Highmark StadiumNew Highmark Stadium sits at 10 Bills Plaza. Abbott Road separates it from the stadium where the Bills played from 1973 through the 2025 season.Construction of New Highmark Stadium cost approximately $2.2 billion, including $600 million from New York state and another $250 million from Erie County.Demolition of the old stadium remains ongoing.The Bills held the first public event at the new stadium Aug. 8 with their annual Return of the Blue and Red practice. Attendance was limited to personal seat license holders.Personal seat license purchases also helped finance the stadium. Bills owner Terry Pegula said fans contributed $263 million through PSL purchases.How new Highmark Stadium puts Bills fans closer to the fieldBills owner Terry Pegula mentioned London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the Highmark Stadium ribbon cutting ceremony June 23. This building’s structure, he said, was inspired by one of the English Premier League’s top stadiums, which has hosted nearly a dozen NFL games since 2019.New Highmark Stadium places fans closer to the field than its predecessor. It features a steeper, taller seating bowl that rises roughly 120 feet and is designed to provide strong sightlines throughout the stadium.It also has fewer seats – 60,108 compared to the old stadium’s capacity of 71,608. Concourse design creates more open space, helping fans see more of the game while preventing bottlenecked foot traffic.The playing surface is natural Kentucky bluegrass, a switch from the old stadium’s artificial turf. Beneath it lies a heating and irrigation system designed to melt snow and maintain the surface’s temperature.How parking, entry and weather protection have changedA 360-degree canopy covers roughly 64% of the seating bowl. Made of steel, the canopy is designed not only to shield fans from inclement weather but also to trap crowd noise and direct it toward the field.Atop the canopy sits the world’s largest stadium snow-melt system.Engineers studied regional wind patterns while creating a perforated metal exterior designed to direct wind away from the stadium’s interior. Radiant heating systems aim to ensure fan comfort in seating and concourses when weather turns cold.Stadium parking lots are designed to accommodate more tailgate space. Stadium entryway