- Address: 1 Bills Drive, Orchard Park
- Country: United States
- Capacity: 71,000
- Opened: 17 August 1973
- Main use: American football
- Tenants: Buffalo Bills (American football)
Extra stadium info – Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Stadium
The construction of the venue started in 1972 and its construction costs were $22 million. It opened as the Rich Stadium with a capacity of 80,000. The Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Stadium was known as the Ralph Wilson Stadium between 1998 and 2015, the New Era Field between 2016 and 2020 and the Bills Stadium between 2020 and 2021. It was renovated several times. The stadium is used for several events, like American football, concerts, ice hockey and supercross.
Ice hockey
On 1 January 1 2008, the venue hosted its first-ever ice hockey match. It was a game between two National Hockey League clubs. The Pittsburgh Penguins won the game against the Buffalo Sabres. 71,000 spectators attended the match. The Penguins won the Stanley Cup two times when they faced the Sabres at the Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Stadium in 2008.
The Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills use the venue for home games. They played their first National Football League season in 1960. The Bills drew an average attendance of 15,000 in seven home games in that NFL season. They won five NFL games in 1960. The Bills lost their first-ever National Football League game on 11 September 1960. They also lost their first-ever home game a few days later. The game between the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos, which took place in the city of Buffalo, attracted a crowd of 15,000. On 23 September 1960, the Bills won their first-ever NFL game. The match took place in Boston.
The Super Bowl
In 1991, the Buffalo Bills played their first-ever Super Bowl. They lost the game, which took place in the city of Tampa, against the New York Giants. The Bills lost three more Super Bowls in the 1990s. They faced the side which is now known as the Washington Commanders before they faced the Dallas Cowboys twice. The Cowboys won their first Super Bowl in 1972, the side which is now known as the Commanders won their first Super Bowl in 1983 and the Giants won their first Super Bowl in 1987.
Orenthal James Simpson
The former American football player Orenthal James Simpson played several years for the Buffalo Bills. He also played for the San Francisco 49ers before he ended his professional American football career in 1979. Orenthal James Simpson played in several famous movies. He is best known for being charged for the murders of his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. Simpson was acquitted of their killings in 1995. Later, he was found responsible for both deaths in a civil trial.
