NFL stadium rush is on

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The Buffalo Bills aren’t the only NFL franchise interested in replacing or upgrading their stadium. Seven other teams are working on plans.

While the Bills stadium plan – expected to cost $1.4 billion – is the most expensive at the moment, the other stadium deals won’t come cheap.

Like the Bills plan, most of the stadium deals involve large sums of public money. 

Here’s a look at the other plans in the works: 

• New England Patriots. Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, which opened in 2002, is getting a $225 million makeover starting this year. Owner Robert Kraft and his family are footing the entire bill. The project calls for enhancements to the north end zone and entry plaza and the addition of a 75,000-square foot, glass-enclosed hospitality space. Gillette is also getting a new 370-foot-by-60-foot video board. Offering 22,200 square feet of viewing space, it will be the largest outdoor stadium video board of its type in the country. 
• Tennessee Titans. Last month, team officials unveiled a $600 million plan to renovate Nissan Stadium in Nashville where the Titans have played since 1999. Reports indicate that the Metro Sports Authority, the stadium’s state-owned landlord, would cover about half the cost, with the team picking up the remainder. The goal is to make the 23-year-old facility “Super Bowl ready” by not only renovating the stadium but also creating a neighborhood and entertainment district around it that would include paths, parks and an “activated riverfront” with docks, canoe launches and riverside dining. 
• Jacksonville Jaguars. Team owner Shad Khan has proposed a $441 million development project around TIAA Bank Field that includes a 125,000-square-foot, stand-alone practice facility, a Four Seasons hotel, residences, office space and renovation of a city-owned marina. In August, the Jacksonville City Council approved funding for the $120 million practice complex. Under the terms of the agreement with the team, the city will contribute $60 million, with Khan picking up the remaining half of the cost.
• Washington Commanders. An effort is underway to move the Washington Football Team, now officially known as the Commanders, from its current home – FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland – to a new stadium that would be built in Northern Virginia. Washington’s current stadium lease expires in 2027. Team officials have reportedly shared renderings of a proposed domed stadium that would be connected to a commercial and retail complex. The cost could run as high as $2 billion. 
• Chicago Bears. One of the oldest franchises in the NFL with one of the oldest stadiums, is edging closer to a big move. Built in 1924, Soldier Field is one of the oldest stadiums in America. The Bears have called it home since 1971. The team announced last fall that it had reached a $200 million agreement to purchase a racetrack property about 30 miles northwest of Soldier Field. The move comes amid speculation that the team plans to build a stadium and entertainment complex on the 326-acre site. No word yet on what a new stadium might cost or who is going to pay for it. 
• Green Bay Packers. The only publicly owned, nonprofit team in the NFL announced in November the sale of $90 million of team “stock” to help finance improvements at Lambeau Field, which opened in 1957. The Packers are reportedly considering $250 million in stadium upgrades, including concourse improvements and new video scoreboards. 
• Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens completed a self-funded $120-million renovation of M&T Bank Stadium in 2019 and spent a total of $220 million on stadium upgrades since 1999. The Ravens are reportedly interested in additional renovations, and, just recently, The Maryland Stadium Authority, a public entity that owns the stadium, said it intends to propose legislation that would establish a $1.2 billion fund to support upgrades for the Ravens and baseball’s Baltimore Orioles, who play at nearby Camden Yards. The bill would increase the allowable bond debt for stadium projects from $235 million to $1.2 billion and allow up to $600 million in outstanding debt at stadium.  The Ravens’ lease at M&T Bank Stadium runs through 2027, when the facility would turn 30 years old. 

Populous, an architectural and design firm the Bills are using to develop their stadium plans, is also involved with the project in Washington and construction of a practice facility and team headquarters for the Carolina Panthers.

Mark Scheer