Acme Packing Company
As we wrote about in June, when Ohio lawmakers approved the Cleveland Browns’ proposal to build their new domed stadium, the NFL continues to lose outdoor venues for its teams. The latest is the Washington Commanders, the Green Bay Packers’ Week 2 opponent, who just received final approval on their new domed stadium by the D.C. City Council on Wednesday.
As of right now, the Browns, Commanders, Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans are in the process of transitioning from outdoor fields to domed stadiums. The Kansas City Chiefs, who currently play outdoors, are also championing a bidding war between the states of Kansas and Missouri right now. If Missouri wins this race to hand over tax money to billionaire Clark Hunt, they’ll renovate Arrowhead. If Kansas gets the nod, they’ll build a domed stadium in their state.
If you’re keeping track, three of the four oldest outdoor stadiums in the NFL, all besides Lambeau Field, are at risk of being replaced: Soldier Field (Bears), Arrowhead Stadium (Chiefs) and Highmark Stadium (Bills). The Buffalo Bills are already nearing the end of their construction of their new stadium, which thankfully is an outdoor venue.
If the NFL loses these venues, the oldest outdoor stadiums, besides Lambeau, will be Hard Rock Stadium in Miami (1987) and EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville (1995). Quickly, we’re racing toward a reality where Lambeau Field is going to be the only open-air stadium built before the millennium.
