Seats at current Highmark Stadium to be sold before demolition, says Poloncarz

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz says the long steel benches in higher sections likely won't be available for memorabilia collectors.

Photo Courtesy of Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images

Orchard Park N.Y. (WBEN) - The final beam of the new Highmark Stadium has now been placed in Orchard Park, which means the days are numbered for the current stadium. The building has been the home of the Buffalo Bills since 1973.

At the Topping Out ceremony on Friday, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said that the new Highmark Stadium is on schedule and is expected to be the new home of the Bills in the 2026 season. The current home for the Bills is expected to be torn down and used for parking for the new stadium.

Bills and Sabres COO Pete Guelli at the NFL owners meeting in Florida said that the plan is to demolish the current stadium in March of 2027. Highmark Stadium is owned by Erie County, and Poloncarz said at the Topping Out ceremony that there will be items that are sold at the current Highmark Stadium.

“Items that are valuable in the stadium, which seats are, we have to sell those.” Poloncarz said. “The Bills may be in charge of it through a third party, but then the proceeds will come back to the county so we are expecting the seats will probably be sold and people will have an opportunity to purchase those.”

Poloncarz added that the long steel benches will likely not be up for sale once the stadium is demolished. Poloncarz said that it’s too early to tell where fans can purchase the items until the stadium is in the process of being deconstructed.