The Top 5 Most Expensive NFL Stadiums
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Hey Friends,
There has been a lot of talk about NFL stadiums recently.
The Bears are unhappy with their current setup in Chicago and have signed a purchase agreement to acquire a 326-acre piece of land for nearly $200 million.
Furthermore, the Buffalo Bills ownership group has recently made threats to move the team to Austin, Texas, should they not receive full or partial public funding for a new $1.5 billion stadium in Buffalo.
So, today, I thought it would be fun to cover the other end of the spectrum — the nicest (and most expensive) stadiums in the National Football League.
Most Expensive NFL Stadiums
SoFi Stadium: $5.5 billion
Allegiant Stadium: $1.9 billion
MetLife Stadium: $1.7 billion
Mercedes-Benz Stadium: $1.5 billion
AT&T Stadium: $1.48 billion
Enjoy!
SoFi Stadium — Inglewood, California
Opened: September 8, 2020
Capacity: 70,240 but expandable up to 100,240
Construction Cost: $5 billion
Home Team(s): Los Angeles Rams & Chargers
Located on the former Hollywood Park racetrack site, Los Angeles Rams owner and chairman Stan Kroenke might have built the nicest sports complex in the world.
SoFi Stadium is a 70,000 seat, indoor-outdoor, year-round, state-of-the-art stadium, but the real magic comes at Hollywood Park, a 300-acre complex constructed around the facility.
Once completed, Hollywood Park will include:
25-acre community park
5.5-acre lake
2.5-acre public plaza
6,000-seat concert space
Over 1.5 million square feet of retail, restaurant, and office space
Headquarters for the NFL network
At least 2,500 townhomes, apartments, and a hotel
The result? SoFi Stadium has been selected to host some of the most prestigious events in sports, including Super Bowl LVI this year, the College Football Championship in 2023, and the Olympic Ceremonies in 2028.
Fun Fact: SoFi Stadium has a 360-foot, double-sided, 4k video board that weighs roughly 2.2 million pounds and features 70,000 square feet of digital LED lighting.
That makes it the largest video scoreboard in professional sports, or roughly 3x larger than the Dallas Cowboys $40 million video scoreboard at AT&T Stadium.
Allegiant Stadium — Las Vegas, Nevada
Opened: July 31, 2020
Capacity: 65,000 but expandable up to 71,835
Construction Cost: $1.9 billion
Home Team(s): Las Vegas Raiders (NFL) & UNLV (NCAA)
After the National Football League officially approved the Raiders to move from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2017, a new $1.9 billion domed stadium was built using a combination of private and public funds.
Public Financing: $750 million
Private Financing: $1.15 billion
The stadium is beautiful — there are 6,000 club seats, a 93-foot eternal flame in honor of former Raiders owner Al Davis, and a 1,000-gallon water tank — but Southern Nevada was forced to raise more than $1 billion in debt to help fund their $750 million financing commitment.
A 0.88% tax on hotel rooms in Clark County generates revenue toward the stadium bond payments. Still, the government was forced to draw on reserves to make payments during multiple months due to pandemic-related tourism declines.
In addition to the Raiders, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) also play their football games at Allegiant Stadium.
Fun Fact: The Las Vegas Raiders have a 19-million-pound, natural grass, retractable field that they roll into the stadium on gamedays. It’s similar to the Arizona Cardinals, and you can see a video of the process here.
MetLife Stadium — East Rutherford, New Jersey
Opened: April 10, 2010
Capacity: 82,500
Construction Cost: $1.7 billion
Home Team(s): New York Giants & Jets
Opened in 2010 as a replacement to nearby Giants Stadium, MetLife Stadium is an 82,500 seat complex—the largest in the NFL—situated in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Serving as a home to both the New York Giants & Jets, the 2.1 million-square-foot complex was constructed with a natural backdrop, allowing the stadium to transform overnight into a home field for the home team, be it college or professional.
MetLife Stadium also routinely hosts some of the world’s biggest events, including concerts by U2, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, and more, which made it the highest-grossing stadium in the world for non-NFL events in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 & 2016 according to Billboard Magazine.
The best part? MetLife Stadium was 100% privately financed, using debt and MetLife’s $20 million annual sponsorship payments for 25 years.
The stadium is also expected to host the Final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Fun Fact: As the host of Super Bowl XLVIII, a 43-8 blowout victory by the Seattle Seahawks over the Denver Broncos in 2014, MetLife Stadium became the first open-air stadium in a cold-weather city to host the Super Bowl.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium — Atlanta, Georgia
Opened: August 26, 2017
Capacity: 71,000 but expandable up to 75,000
Construction Cost: $1.6 billion
Home Team(s): Atlanta Falcons (NFL) & Atlanta United (MLS)
Opened in 2017 as a replacement for the legendary Georgia Dome, Mercedes-Benz Stadium serves as the home of the Atlanta Falcons (NFL) & Atlanta United (MLS).
Here’s a good look at the differences:
In addition to hosting the top 10 most-attended MLS games of all time, the stadium has garnered a reputation for its unique and differentiated offering.
There are 1,262 beer taps with 47 different beers available, most of which are only $5, and the stadium holds the record for the total number of food and beverage transactions at a sports event (120,357).
Fun Fact: If you’re looking to run a marathon, about 33 laps around the stadium’s perimeter would equal the required distance.
AT&T Stadium — Arlington, Texas
Opened: May 27, 2009
Capacity: 80,000 but expandable up to 138,084
Construction Cost: $1.48 billion
Home Team(s): Dallas Cowboys
With a nearly $1.5 billion construction cost, AT&T Stadium instantly became the NFL’s nicest venue upon its opening in 2009.
The stadium can expand to seat an insane 140,000 people, includes a 660,800 square foot retractable roof that only takes 12 minutes to open or close, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones brokered one of the most unique stadium deals in recent memory.
Here’s a summary of the agreement between Jerry Jones, the Cowboys, and the City of Arlington, Texas:
The city paid over $300 million to complete the project, while the NFL paid roughly $150 million, and the Cowboys covered the rest.
Arlington funded the $300 million-plus payment through various tax increases, including a 0.5% sales tax increase, a 2% hotel tax increase, a 5% rental car tax increase, a 3.5% parking tax, and more.
The Cowboys pay the City of Arlington $2 million in annual rent on a 30-year lease, requiring that they must play all their home games in the stadium.
Jerry Jones sold the naming rights to AT&T for $17 million to $19 million annually, and he has to pay $500,000 of that to the city of Arlington.
At the end of their 30-year lease, extensions are available that could bring the total lease up to 70 years, albeit at a much lower annual rent.
After the 30-year lease ends, the Cowboys reportedly have the opportunity to purchase the complex from the city for $100 million, receiving credit for previously paid rent and operating costs.
Jerry Jones pays all operating costs for the venue and receives all revenue.
As we know, anything can happen over the next few decades, but regardless, AT&T Stadium will undoubtedly serve as an interesting case study in the public vs. private stadium funding debate.
Fun Fact: Jerry Jones claims that AT&T Stadium receives so much natural light that you could play a game without ever turning on the lights depending on the time of day.
Have a great day, and I’ll talk to everyone tomorrow.
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Huddle Up is a daily letter that breaks down the business and money behind sports.
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