Ralph Wilson Stadium Ralph Wilson Stadium ( originally Rich Stadium ) is a football stadium , located in the town of Orchard Park , a suburb of Buffalo , New York . It is the home for the Buffalo Bills , of the NFL . The stadium is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer and current Bills owner Ralph Wilson . History . What is now known as Ralph Wilson Stadium , also known as " The Ralph " , is located in Buffalo , New York . While suitable for American Football League play , Buffalo War Memorial Stadium was both in disrepair and deemed undersized for a National Football League team , with a capacity of under 47 , 000 ( league mandates instituted after the merger dictated a minimum of 50 , 000 seats ) . The stadium opened in 1973 . The construction of the stadium and its location were the source of years of litigation , which ended with a financial settlement for a developer who had planned to erect an all - weather stadium in Lancaster , New York . However , plans changed because it was not wanted to be close to Lancaster High School . The stadium ended up being built by a man named Frank Schoenle , and his construction company . In 1972 , Rich Products signed a 25 - year , $ 1 . 5 million deal , by which the venue would be called " Rich Stadium " ; this is one of the earliest examples of the sale of naming rights in North American sports . ( The name was somewhat of a compromise , after Bills owner and founder Ralph Wilson rejected the name Rich wanted to use , " Coffee Rich Park . " ) After the original deal expired in 1998 , the stadium was renamed in honor of Wilson , after Rich balked at paying a greatly increased rights fee , which would have brought the price up to par with other NFL stadiums . The first playoff game at the stadium was a 17 – 10 Bills victory over the Houston Oilers on January 1 , 1989 . The Bills won every ensuing playoff game at the stadium until they were defeated by the Jacksonville Jaguars on December 28 , 1996 . Other sporting events . On January 1 , 2008 , the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2008 NHL Winter Classic . The Penguins won 2 – 1 in a shootout , but , despite the loss , over 71 , 000 fans showed up making it the best attended NHL Winter Classic to date . The stadium annually hosts the region ' s Section VI high school football playoffs . The opening ceremony of the 1993 Summer Universiade was held at the stadium . Concerts . Occasional concerts that had high demand were prominently held at the stadium during the 1970 ' s through 2001 . This including The Grateful Dead , as documented on their " Truckin ' Up to Buffalo " CD / DVD on July 4 , 1989 . The Who played the stadium on the their 1982 " Farewell " Tour and 1989 Tour . The last concert at the stadium in 2001 was an ' N Sync concert with Dream as a supporting act . The Rolling Stones played the stadium in 1981 . Metallica and Guns N ' Roses brought their co - headlined Guns N ' Roses / Metallica Stadium Tour to the stadium on July 25 , 1992 , with Faith No More as their opening act . The stadium also held The Monsters of Rock Festival , featuring Van Halen , Scorpions , Dokken , Metallica & Kingdom Come , on June 19 , 1988 . There were notable large concerts that were scheduled to take place at the stadium but was later canceled . Led Zeppelin was set to perform at the stadium on their 1977 North American Tour . The concert was canceled due to the death of lead singer Robert Plant ' s son . The last concert that would have played at the stadium was a Bruce Springsteen concert in 2003 . That concert was canceled due to low ticket sales and moved to the smaller Darien Lake Performing Arts Center instead . Concert appearances began to wane in the 1990 ' s at the stadium . No concerts have been held at the stadium since 2001 . This was due to the availability of other venues in Western New York such as Art Park in Lewiston , New York , Darien Lake Performing Arts Center in Corfu , New York and First Niagara Center , which opened in 1996 , replacing Buffalo Memorial Auditorium in downtown Buffalo . Non - sporting or music events . The stadium has also hosted the Drum Corps International championships three times . Design . The stadium is open - air , with a capacity of 73 , 079 . The stadium has never had a natural grass surface ; AstroTurf was installed in the stadium upon its opening in 1973 . In the 2003 offseason the original turf was replaced with a newer AstroTurf product , AstroTurf GameDay Grass ( also known as AstroPlay ) . In 2011 , the Bills announced they would be changing their turf to a new product , A - Turf Titan , produced by a Western New York company , beginning in the 2011 season . Buffalo will be the only NFL stadium using the A - Turf Titan product . The stadium originally had a capacity of 80 , 020 , however the capacity was reduced in 1998 as a part of the Bills lease renewal with Erie County , New York . The stadium at that time was refitted with larger seats and more luxury and club seating . The lease agreement also stipulated that Erie County would continue to upgrade the stadium ; in summer 2007 a new High Definition Mitsubishi LED board measuring 88 . 8 ' by 32 . 5 ' and ribbon boards were installed . Total cost for the project was $ 5 . 2 million . The new scoreboard replaced the old 41 . 5 ' by 31 . 5 ' Sony JumboTron installed 13 years earlier for $ 8 million ( inflation adjusted ) . Buffalo , by virtue of its position downwind of Lake Erie , is one of the nation ' s windiest cities , and as a result , Ralph Wilson Stadium often is a difficult stadium for kickers , with swirling winds that change direction rapidly . This is exacerbated by the design of the stadium . The field is 50 feet below ground level , while the top of the upper deck stands only sixty feet above ground . The open end lies parallel to the direction of the prevailing winds , so that when the winds come in , they immediately drop down into the bowl , causing the stadium ' s signature wind patterns . Taking advantage of the stadium ' s windy conditions , micro - wind turbines , under the brand name TurboMill® , were installed by a company named WindStream Technologies allowing Ralph Wilson Stadium to leverage the wind gusts to create electricity for the stadium .