Celebrating the Topping Out of New Highmark Stadium, Future Home of the Buffalo Bills

More than 2,000 people gathered to watch final beam of structural steel lifted into place at new $2.1 billion state-of-the-art stadium.

The Buffalo Bills and team owner Terry Pegula welcomed New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, and other dignitaries to Western New York today to celebrate the "Topping Out" of new Highmark Stadium, scheduled to open in 2026.

A Topping Out ceremony is a customary way to celebrate a significant milestone during the construction of a new building.

Workers placed the last piece of structural steel atop the 156-foot-high stadium structure as part of the ceremony. The final beam was accented with an American flag, the New York State flag, and an evergreen tree, signifying good luck and prosperity for future building occupants. Before this morning's ceremony, hundreds of partners, employees, and stakeholders signed the final beam.

A joint venture of Turner Construction Company and Gilbane Building Company provides construction management of more than 1,200 trade persons onsite daily, which will continue to climb into the summer.
Construction at the site of New Highmark Stadium began with a ceremonial groundbreaking on Monday, June 5, 2023. The largest construction project in the history of Western New York is now over 50 percent complete (based on the volume of work in place). All precast stadia (seating bowl) are complete, and workers will begin seat installation later this spring.

Other construction milestones include:

Roof canopy installation continues, including the start of the snow melt system.

The first piece of exterior precast panels was set at the beginning of March and will continue through spring and summer.

Exterior perforated metal panel installation will begin in the next few weeks.

Grading and utility infrastructure for the playing field has begun with the target installation of the natural grass turf in the fall of 2025.

Today's milestone comes just twenty months after the groundbreaking of the new 60,000-plus-seat facility, designed by the Bills in conjunction with Legends and the architectural firm Populous.

"I know how much the Bills mean to this community. It's part of the spirit, it's part of the identity. I really believe this is going to secure the franchise here for decades," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Bills owner Terry Pegula recognized the construction site workers who have been on-site since the groundbreaking and helped keep the stadium construction on schedule.

"Today is not about Terry Pegula, Kathy Hochul, Mark Poloncarz, or Roger Goodell. "Today is about you hard workers; men and women. Electricians, carpenters, operating engineers, painters, teamsters, ironworkers. The list goes on and on," Pegula said.

Additional facts & figures are as follows:

The construction team has put in place more than 19,000 individual pieces of steel weighing nearly 24,000 tons.

The scope of work necessitated the participation of 16 fabrication companies, with 60% of the steel produced in New York State and almost all made in the United States.

The project has included the removal of 630,000 cubic yards of dirt and installing 18,000 cubic yards of foundation concrete, over 1.5 million square feet of concrete floors, and miles of piping among other materials.

As many as 1,500 workers will be on the site at the peak of construction- including people working on masonry, electrical, and plumbing. Workers have already contributed over 1.0 million craft hours to construction, which is expected to double by completion.

Additional Quotes

"This milestone marks more than the structural progress of a stadium—it reflects the spirit and strength of the Buffalo community. We are deeply grateful to the Buffalo Bills, our dedicated staff and trade partners, and the thousands of union tradespeople—so many of whom call this region home—whose skill and commitment are bringing this landmark project to life. It is profoundly meaningful that members of the community are helping to build a venue that will serve as a source of pride and celebration for generations to come." - Joe Byrne, Program Director for Gilbane | Turner, the construction manager for the new stadium.

"We're incredibly proud to reach this major milestone in the construction of the new Highmark Stadium. 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. Thanks to the incredible collaboration with the Buffalo Bills, the Gilbane | Turner team, Populous, Legends, and the support of the State of New York and Erie County, this stadium will serve as a proud beacon for the region and showcase the very best in professional sports venues." - John LaRow, Principal-in-Charge, Gilbane | Turner, the construction manager for the new stadium.

"Today marks a major milestone for the future home of the Buffalo Bills and one of the largest construction projects ever built in Western New York. This world- class stadium would not be possible without our skilled union workers and partners, and I look forward to cheering along with them at the first Bills game being played here in the 2026 season." – New York State Governor Kathy Hochul