Oldest NFL Stadium and Its Fellow Historic Stadiums
- The Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers play at the oldest NFL stadiums.
- The New York Jets and New York Giants share the same home field, likewise the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams.
- Home-field advantage must be addressed when it comes to betting on NFL games.
There are 17 NFL stadiums that have been around since 2000. The newest NFL stadiums include SoFi Stadium, which serves as the home field for both the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams, as well as the New York Giants and the New York Jets, both playing at MetLife Stadium. However, lovers of historic stadiums might want to check when the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, and New Orleans Saints play as they take the field in the oldest NFL stadiums.
It should be noted that each of those teams has won at least one Super Bowl except the Buffalo Bills, as they made NFL history by losing four Super Bowls in a row when Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, and Bruce Smith were among the stars for the Bills.
Let’s take a look at the oldest home-field advantages in the NFL.
Division Rivals Chicago and Green Bay Play in Oldest NFL Stadiums
NFC North: The Home To Historic Stadiums
Most NFL stadiums have luxury boxes and plenty of other amenities for fans. However, there is nothing like watching the Chicago Bears play at Soldier Field, or the Green Bay Packers take the field at Lambeau Field.
The Bears have been playing home games at Soldier Field since 1924, making it the oldest NFL stadium. While the Packers have had home dates in Milwaukee, most home games at Title Town since 1957 have occurred at Lambeau Field.
With the only cold-weather cities to host a Super Bowl being in enclosed stadiums, there hasn’t been an NFL championship game at the two oldest NFL home fields since the Green Bay Packers topped the visiting Cleveland Browns in the 1965 NFL championship contest. The first Super Bowl was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum the following year.
Chicago last hosted an NFL championship game in 1963, when the Bears edged the New York Giants 14-10 at Wrigley Field.
Arrowhead Is Home To The Current Champions
The Kansas City Chiefs began playing at Arrowhead Stadium in 1972. There were some lean years, with the Chiefs failing to post a winning record 13 times over 15 seasons.
Arrowhead Stadium hosted an NFL playoff game for the first time in 1991 when the Chiefs defeated the Los Angeles Raiders 10-6. The Chiefs won AFC championship games at home following the 2019, 2020, and 2022 seasons. It could be argued that the Chiefs have the best home-field advantage in the NFL.
What’s In A Name?
The oldest NFL stadiums (Soldier Field, Lambeau Field, and Arrowhead Stadium) are still known by their original names, even though GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium can be used when mentioning the Chiefs’ home base. In the lucrative world of corporate naming rights, it is not unusual for stadium names to change.
The Buffalo Bills’ home field opened in 1973 as Rich Stadium. In 1998, the NFL stadium was named Ralph Wilson Stadium in honor of the franchise’s founder and former owner. It became New Era Field in 2016. In 2020, after a year as Bills Stadium, the name was changed again to Highmark Stadium.
In an era when many teams played in open-air stadiums, the New Orleans Saints took a different approach and began playing in the Louisiana Superdome in 1975.
The name was changed to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in 2011. Ten years later, it was announced that the naming rights were sold to Caesars Entertainment, and now the facility is known as the Caesars Superdome.
Super Bowl Returning to the Superdome
Don’t be looking for the New Orleans Saints to be making an appearance in the Super Bowl when it returns to New Orleans in February. The Saints are more likely to finish with the worst record in the NFL during the 2024 season than earn a spot in the playoffs. However, the NFL is holding the Super Bowl in New Orleans for the 11th time. Regarding Super Bowl stadiums, no facility has hosted the NFL title game during the Super Bowl era more frequently than the Caesars Superdome.
The first three Super Bowls held in New Orleans occurred at Tulane Stadium, beginning with Super Bowl IV when the Kansas City Chiefs topped the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in front of 80,562. At the time, it was the largest crowd to watch a Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XII was the first at the Superdome, and the Dallas Cowboys won their second NFL title with a 27-10 win over a Denver Broncos team playing in the Super Bowl for the first time. The Oakland Raiders, Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, and Baltimore Ravens also won Super Bowls at the Superdome.
Which NFL Stadium Has the Highest Capacity?
AT&T Stadium is home to the Dallas Cowboys. Not that there are many reasons to watch the Dallas Cowboys these days, but their home field has a seating capacity of 80,000 and can be expanded to 105,000. MetLife Stadium and Lambeau Field can also exceed 80,000 in capacity. When Lambeau Field opened, the capacity was just over 30,000.
When asked how many NFL stadiums there are, with the Jets, Giants, Rams, and Chargers playing at the same facility, the answer is 30.
Where Was The First NFL Championship Game Held?
When the NFL began in 1920, the champion was decided based on the regular-season results.
The first NFL championship game was held in 1933 at Wrigley Field, with the Chicago Bears winning 23-21 against the visiting New York Giants.
Ten of the first 12 NFL title games were played at Wrigley Field, the Polo Grounds, or Griffith Stadium.
