Gilbane, Turner, Populous tapped to design and build new Buffalo Bills stadium

The joint venture of Gilbane Building Company and Turner Construction Company, in association with 34 Group, has been selected to provide construction management of the planned new NFL stadium for the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y. The project team also includes the project management firm, Legends Project Development, and Populous as the designer.

Gilbane and Turner have a 25-year history of collaborating on construction projects, including the new construction or renovation of 16 NFL stadiums, and some 5.5 million sf of construction put in place.

The project scope, according to the Buffalo Bills, includes a new 1.35 million-sf open-air stadium, a 18,750-sf ancillary building, demolition of the current stadium, and related site development. The stadium’s capacity will be approximately 60,000 seats with an expandable capacity to hold special events. It is set to open fall of 2026.

More from the Bills: Premium areas will include suites, ledge seats, clubs, and other premium seating products. The stadium will include state-of-the-art video and scoreboards, sound system, administrative and event staff offices and lockers, broadcast facilities, team store, locker rooms, food service kitchens and concessions, signage, sports lighting, maintenance, and storage areas, plaza, parking, and site landscaping.

“We continue to partner with a first-class team of experts and professionals to bring our stadium to life," said Bills Executive Vice President/Chief Operation Officer Ron Raccuia. “Gilbane | Turner has a tremendous wealth of experience in stadium construction and we look forward to partnering with them.”   

Buffalo Bills stadium draws inspiration from historical architecture of Buffalo

Design details from Populous: The exterior design highlights the team’s desire for a visual identity that reflects some of the historical architecture of Buffalo, while also delivering a future-forward appearance.

“The stadium will create a new place to foster the iconic culture of the Bills fan base, while creating an exciting vision for the future of the franchise and the community,” said Populous senior principal Scott Radecic. “As we continue to work with the Bills, we look forward to creating an industry-changing stadium that reflects Buffalo’s strong community and history.”

“Our approach to the design takes its cues from historic architecture in Buffalo, such as ‘The Rockpile,’ ‘The Aud,’ and Kleinhans Music Hall, and merges their projection of strength with modern materials and a building form that is set to create an intimate and intimidating football-first environment,” said Populous senior principal Jonathan Mallie. “We are thrilled with the progression of the design for the new stadium and all that lies ahead.”

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The initial design, which is subject to updates, features a stacked seating interior bowl to enhance crowd noise, as well as dynamic fan areas that will include local food and beverage offerings and foster fan culture.

The project team is inviting interested subcontractors, vendors, suppliers, and professional services firms to bid on the project here.