Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is ready to open the team’s new stadium this year, but may wish the design had been just a little different.
The Bills are set to kick off their first season at the new Highmark Stadium, one designed to blunt the often brutal winds that come off Lake Erie. But Allen appeared to hint that he wished instead for a fully enclosed stadium, a sentiment that many fans raised during the construction of the team’s new home.
Josh Allen Wanted Wind Gone From New Stadium
In an appearance on the “Like a Farmer” podcast, Allen seemed to hint that he wished they had taken out the wind entirely by giving the stadium a dome. When asked if he would have changed anything, Allen took an extended pause and looked upward for several seconds before launching into his answer.
“As long as there’s no wind, we’re good,” Allen said. “They claim that the way they design it, the way that the ‘roof’ and the perforated metal siding will dilute the wind so you’re not gonna feel too much of it.”
Many fans had criticized the team and owner Terry Pegula for not building a dome, especially given the often treacherous weather in the winter. The stadium is located in Orchard Park, an area just south of the city of Buffalo that often gets hit hardest by lake effect snow coming off Lake Erie.
The team held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Highmark Stadium this week, with the first regular-season game scheduled for Week 2 against the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football.
Bills Quarterback Had Shared Praise for New Design
Allen had a more diplomatic answer earlier in the month, telling reporters that he was excited to play before fans in the team’s new home.
âThis place has got grass, and itâs going to be pretty cool in there,â Allen said on Tuesday, via WIVB 4âs Gabriella Baiano. âIâve been in there a few times, and I think the fans are going to be very pleased when we get that place rocking.â
And the Bills quarterback seemed more sure of the stadium design earlier this year, saying the team was careful to design away the worst of the wind.
âThe wind logs that theyâve been tracking has put the wind in that stadium is over, I guess, less than half of what it actually is outside,â Allen said, via Essentially Sports.
Allen added at the time that there was no way to cut out the wind entirely — as Buffalo plays in one of the windiest areas of all NFL teams — but that the design would bring a significant improvement.
âI think it depends on wind direction,â Allen said. âObviously, thereâs a prevailing wind thatâs pretty constant, but if it switches the other way, there could be a little more wind in there, but I think itâs going to be extremely manageable. I do think that the flags on the goalpost may have a little movement to them, but itâs not going to be near as much as the other one.â
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