LONDON, ENGLAND (WKBW) — When the Buffalo Bills take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday fans will get a glimpse at the stadium that has had the biggest influence on the new Bills stadium that is being built in Orchard Park.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium opened in 2019 and was designed by Populous. It has become one of the top soccer venues in both the United Kingdom and the world.
In 2022, the Bills selected Populous as the designer of the team's new stadium. When the Bills selected Populous, the stadium development team traveled the globe to visit other venues built by their new partner for some inspiration. That group included John Polka and Frank Cravotta, the masterminds behind the new stadium, set to open in 2026. Polka is the Vice President of Stadium Development and Cravotta is the Vice President of Stadium Design.
“I remember standing on the field for the very first time and saying, this is exactly what we’ve been talking about,” Polka said about his first trip to Tottenham.
“When we went there, about a year and a half ago, it was empty, so I’m really looking forward to what it feels and sounds like on Sunday,” Cravotta added.
Below you'll find an exterior and interior view of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
You'll also find renderings of the exterior and interior of the new Bills stadium.
So what are the biggest similarities and differences between Highmark Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?
Similarities:
- Exterior of building, including height and steel facade.
- Stacked seating in bowls, allowing seats to be closer to the field.
- Partial overhang covering seating. In Buffalo, about 70% of seats will be covered. Tottenham has full coverage.
- Seating capacity will be similar, Tottenham seats 62,850.
“One of the absolute biggest similarities that I hope people take away from Tottenham is how intimate and stacked the bowl is,” Polka said. “So it’s bringing fans a lot closer to the game.”
“You know here, we’re dug in the ground, you're going to walk up and see this massive building coming out of the ground there,” Cravotta said. “The facade, the steel facade and how it looks is something people should be keeping their eye out for.”
As far as major differences are concerned, the open concourses at the new Highmark Stadium are unlike what they have in Tottenham. It’s also a stadium designed and built for an English Premier League club, not an NFL team, which is why developers believe what they are building in Orchard Park is one of a kind.
“There’s been a lot of talk that we’re Tottenham 2.0 and I think there are a lot of similarities, but there are so many elements of this building that are going to make it unique,” Cravotta said. “I’m really excited for Bills fans to see and hear about it, and go there and travel but I think [ours] is going to be better than Tottenham, for Buffalo, for certain, it’ll be better.”
You can find a further look at our behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium on our Instagram page here.
If you're heading across the pond for the game, you can find tips from the London Bills Backers here.
If you're not traveling, you can find 10 places in Western New York where you can watch the game here.
