Beautiful snow-globe NFL playoff games, like the one played between the Bears and Rams on Saturday night or Patriots and Texans on Sunday, could become an endangered species as a half dozen teams are in varying stages of planning moves from outdoor stadiums to domes.
One of those is the Bears, who currently have suburban Arlington Heights and Gary, Ind., in a bidding war to replace Soldier Field. And that idea does not sit well with franchise legend Brian Urlacher.
“I’m not a fan at all,” Urlacher told Jim Rome last week. “One of the few advantages they have is the weather. Nobody wants to go there in the winter. Our fans love it. Playing there, we enjoyed it because we knew it was the one thing we had to our advantage is the weather … I feel like teams from the West Coast coming up in the winter, teams from Florida, they don’t want to be in that weather. No one does.”
“I’m not a fan of the indoor [stadium],” Urlacher continued. “I know they want to get the Super Bowl, I know they want to get Final Fours. I understand all that, but I think you’re taking an advantage away from your football team.”
In addition to the Bears, the Chiefs, Browns, Commanders, and Titans have plans to move from outdoor stadiums to domes. The Broncos are planning a retractable-roof stadium with a target date for the 2031 season.
Renderings for new stadiums have frequently had noticeable similarities to recent facilities like SoFi in Greater Los Angeles, U.S. Bank in Minneapolis, and Allegiant in Las Vegas, and some fans have wondered whether homogeneity and shelter from the elements are actually going to come at the detriment of the competition.
“Football is supposed to be played outdoors. ‘Just Say No’ to any more domed, fixed roof stadiums,” the FB Helmet Guy wrote on X/Twitter over the weekend, responding to a gorgeous shot of Patriots quarterback Drake Maye connecting with receiver Kayshon Boutte on a touchdown as snow is heavily falling.
Wisconsin sports radio host Grant Bilse reacted on his show last week after renderings of a new Commanders stadium were released by the team.
“I’m not saying it’s a bad stadium. It looks beautiful, and will no doubt be an upgrade from FedEx Field. It’ll be cool,” Bilse said. “Why are all the stadiums built post-AT&T Stadium—SoFi, Allegiant—they’re all the same. They’re all the same! You could look at this rendering for the Washington stadium. The columns! They’re all unique, and they’re fitting the locale! O.K., the columns look nice, but it’s another stadium with a translucent roof. Football’s an outside sport! Football is meant to be played outside!”
An NFL spokesperson declined to make someone from the league available for comment about all of the planned domes, saying that these decisions are left up to the clubs.
Financial Considerations
There are obvious business considerations for why franchises are switching to domes. It’s easier to sell tickets, particularly to luxury buyers, when they’re shielded from adverse weather. As Urlacher alluded to, team owners aspire to host big events like Super Bowls and the Final Four in their stadiums. You can also host big concerts in the winter. Stadium maintenance costs could be lower.
Regarding the retractable dome being planned in Denver, the NFL spokesperson said it would be up to the team whether to keep it open or closed during the regular season and in the wild-card and divisional playoff rounds. The team just has to make its decision 90 minutes before kickoff.
However, for conference championship games and the potential Super Bowl, the decision is “solely at the discretion of [commissioner Roger Goodell],” the spokesperson said. During games that begin within an open roof, referees, in consultation with the stadium manager and league office, can order it closed during the game due to “hazardous conditions” or precipitation up until the last five minutes of the first quarter.
While a half dozen teams are in the process of switching to domes, there are still a fair number of stadiums where snow games can happen for the foreseeable future. The Bills are moving to a new outdoor stadium next season, and the Packers, Giants, Jets, Patriots, Steelers, Ravens, and Bengals do not appear to be planning new stadiums anytime soon.
