Memorable NFL stadium farewells: Patriots, 49ers among top 10

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Sunday afternoon will mark the end of an era at what was once known as New Era Field.

The Buffalo Bills, long of Orchard Park, New York, are slated to play their final game at Highmark Stadium, the place the franchise has called home since 1973. Barring a surprise return in the postseason — a number of upsets would have to occur — Sunday’s Week 18 game against the New York Jets will be the last NFL contest played at “The Ralph.”

The closure of Highmark (née Rich) Stadium will serve as not just a change in venue for the Bills franchise but a changing of the guard for stadia nationwide.

The open-air sunken bowl cost just $22 million to build in the early 1970s and is currently the fourth-oldest active NFL stadium, behind Soldier Field (1924), Lambeau Field (1957) and Arrowhead Stadium (1972), which the Chiefs are planning to leave as part of their agreement to move from Missouri to Kansas in 2031.

Like the Titans, Bears and Broncos, all of whom have made concrete plans or tentative designs to build new palaces, the Chiefs are looking to build a covered stadium, in part to eliminate the weather factor but also to attract major events like a Super Bowl or Final Four.

The Bills have done no such thing with their new venture. The next Highmark Stadium will be open-air, with a canopy over fan seating, and feature a grass field, in contrast to the artificial turf used at the old place.

The memories from the Ralph — Buffalo’s three home AFC title wins, the comeback over Houston in the 1992 postseason, Nyheim Hines’ triumphant kick returns in the 2022 season, the Bills’ seven playoff victories over the past five seasons — will carry over.

But before Bills Mafia can make new ones at Highmark Stadium II, how will the team send off the old stadium on Sunday?

Locked into a wild-card spot after ceding the AFC East to the Patriots for the first time in five years, the Bills have yet to decide whether to even run Josh Allen and the starters out there against the rival Jets. There’s little to play for aside from either a higher seed as a road team, but will Buffalo’s lasting memory be a Mitchell Trubisky-led outfit running out the clock in throwback red helmets against checks Jets depth chart Brady Cook?

That won’t make for a memorable finale … unlike the following 10 best stadium farewells in NFL history.

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