Buffalo‘s brand-new $2.1 billion stadium was supposed to be a triumph. The Bills opened the new Highmark Stadium to fans for their annual Red and Blue game, wearing gray uniforms, ironically. However, the experience was not up to the mark for some fans.

“Seats have a pane of glass blurring views, including at the 50-yard-line,” OutKick’s Ian Miller wrote. “Some in the upper deck legitimately block most of the red zone on the far side of the field, specifically the end zone. Expensive seats, in the lower level about 30-40 rows up at the 12-13-yard line have their view of the other side of the field blocked by a standing platform.”

Aside from this stadium, the Kansas City Chiefs’ new $3 billion home in Wyandotte County is easily one of the most talked-about upcoming stadiums. Naturally, the Chiefs were warned.

“This is bad, don’t do this @Chiefs,” Arrowhead Live shared on X, with visuals of the obstructed views at the new Highmark Stadium.

The stadium was built by Kansas City-based firm Populous. The firm has been running for more than 40 years, putting its name on venues all over the world. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London and the Sphere in Las Vegas are among their many projects. That kind of portfolio is exactly why people expected more with Buffalo’s new home.

Several fans have pointed out that certain staircases and support beams appear to cut straight through sightlines that should have been completely clear to the field, which is a pretty damning look for a stadium that took years of planning and cost over a billion dollars to build. Some have even compared it to MetLife Stadium in New York, which often competes for the title of the league’s worst stadiums.

Another point of complaint has been the smaller video screens, which SB Nation’s Chris Trapasso confirmed was an intentional decision, so fans zero in on the action unfolding live on the field. But those whose view will be obstructed will need a proper screen to see what is happening. After all, the endzones are blocked from view in some areas.

Luckily, the Chiefs seem to have dodged a bullet. The Chiefs spent more than two years working with Populous on renovation concepts for Arrowhead Stadium. Detailed renderings for an $800 million overhaul of the venue were already out in February 2024. Kansas City ended up pivoting away from renovation altogether and opted for a brand new stadium instead. Populous was one of two finalists in the team’s formal design competition, competing with fellow Kansas City-based firm MANICA for the contract. The latter won the contract.

Whether that was by coincidence or by design is hard to say. But for a fan base sitting back and watching another billion-dollar stadium get torn apart online right now, that decision is looking a whole lot smarter in hindsight than it probably did at the time.

Clark Hunt responds to key issue in new stadium model debated on by Chiefs fans

The Chiefs released the renderings of their new state-of-the-art stadium in July. The structure bears some resemblance to the good ol’ Arrowhead, but there is also a marked difference. Fans will no longer be able to enjoy the open sky, as the new venue will have a domed roof instead of a retractable one. Clark Hunt addressed that change at a recent presser.

“I’ve been in many retractable-roof stadiums, and the roof is never retracted,” he said last Thursday at training camp.

“And if you ask the operators, they’ll tell you that they maybe retract the roof for one or two games during the season. What I’ve noticed about those facilities is when they have the roof open, you’re not seeing much sky, right? The open part of the roof ends up being very small.”

A big reason why fans were unhappy with the completely closed roof is that the Chiefs might lose their home-field advantage. Teams from warmer cities often struggled in the cold Missouri weather at Arrowhead. But with the roof closed, it will become a level playing field for both teams.

However, fans will get to experience the traditional flyovers, as they do at Arrowhead. The roof is made of 40,000 translucent ethylene tetrafluoroethylene panels, and there are also windows cut out at the sides.

Only time will tell whether the new stadium will be a standout NFL venue or subject to the reviews that the new Highmark Stadium got.