Bills to Debut New Highmark Stadium in Week 2 Matchup Against Lions

The Buffalo Bills will play their first regular-season game at their new home, the new Highmark Stadium, in Week 2 against the Detroit Lions , it was announced Thursday.

The game will mark the season opener for Prime Video's "Thursday Night Football" package of games.

The Bills will open their more than $2.1 billion stadium on a national stage, fulfilling the team's desire for a primetime game to kick off the new venue.

Lights. Camera. (TNF) Action. 🤩

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The new stadium is open air but provides significant coverage from the elements with a roof canopy covering 64% of fans. The team made it a priority to keep fans as close to the field as possible and has moved the first row on one of the sidelines 54 feet closer to the field than the old stadium. Fans will also be welcomed to the stadium with a new area outside the stadium that includes three bison statues that will be lit up for the primetime opener.

The process of demolition to the former stadium is already underway, while the finishing touches are still being put on the new one to be open for initial events this summer, such as the team's training camp Blue & Red practice. A change in the stadium is the field -- the Bills are switching from turf to grass (which can also be heated).

The Bills had played their home games at their former home since 1973. That stadium was also named Highmark Stadium since the 2021 season.

The full NFL schedule will be released Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET. A two-hour primetime special will air on ESPN and NFL Network.

ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg contributed to this report.

_Originally reported by [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/48744949/bills-play-first-regular-season-game-new-stadium-week-2)._