The Buffalo Billss new $2.1 billion stadium, set to open in 2026, will feature cutting-edge technology and architecture that will make it one of the most progressive stadiums in the NFL. It will also include one feature players likely wish they had for this weekend. A heated football field.Buffalo is the NFLs only cold-weather city with an outdoor natural-turf stadium that doesnt have a heated field. (Its one of the reasons the team pays $20 an hour and provides food and hot beverages for fans who help shovel snow when needed.)If youve ever walked on grass frozen over in the deep winter, its like walking on concretenot a surface conducive to tackle football. And with nearly half of all quarterback concussions resulting from helmets hitting the ground, a heated field is a crucial safety measure. Heat tech also promotes grass growth throughout the winter months and, on game day, prevents the turf from icing over, making it more playable.A grounds crew member blows snow off the field during a timeout in a game between the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers at Highmark Stadium on December 01, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. [Photo: Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images]Thats why sophisticated field heating systems are becoming more prevalent than ever in NFL stadiums. And in a brave new AI-driven world powered by smart-everything, its actually old-school science and engineering that power the systems that keep NFL turf thawed, playable, and safe.Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi smiles as he checks the turf on Packer stadium in December of 1961. A covering of hay kept the turf from freezing, the reason for Lombardis smile. He said a solid footing would give the Packer running game the edge. [Photo: Bettmann/Getty Images]The (un)frozen tundraGreen Bays Lambeau Field, famously nicknamed the frozen tundra, features a powerful heating system to ensure its gridiron remains anything but frozen.Green Bay Packers staff shovels snow in the stands prior to an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, at Lambeau Field on December 23, 2024 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. [Photo: Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images]Up until 1997, electric coils buried in the turf kept the Lambeau turf warm. Now, a mixture of water and glycol, pumped through 34 miles of tubes buried six-to-12 inches under the playing surface, does the job. Three massive boilerseach as powerful as 40 home furnaces combinedheat the mixture, while four pumps circulate it under the football field from the south end zone. Sixteen thermostats monitor field temperatures to ensure uniform heating, and the glycol prevents freezing when they shut down after the season.Interior view of Arrowhead Stadium and its snowy field prior to the game between the Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday December 15, 2019 in Kansas City, MO. [Photo: Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images]Playable at minus-27More recently, in 2016, the Kansas City Chiefs completed their heating system at Arrowhead Stadium. And theyve needed it. Since 2016, the Chiefs have hosted 14 January playoff gamesmore than double the Patriots, who have hosted the second-most (6), but since 2006 have played on synthetic turf. In January 2024, Kansas City hosted the Miami Dolphins for one of the coldest games on record, with a temperature at kickoff of minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit and a minus-27 wind chill. It was so cold that one hard hit shattered the helmet of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.Installation of the heating system at Arrowhead Stadium, ca. 2016. [Photo: Kansas City Chiefs]The $2.2 million heating systemvery similar to the one in Green Baywas the MVP that day. Powered by three boilers under the stadium bleachers near the players tunnel, hot water is pumped through four-inch pipes, which then branch into smaller three-quarter-inch pipes laid in a zigzag pattern under the football field. These smaller pipes run sideline to sideline, spaced nine inches apart and buried nine inches deep under the sand beneath the fields surface.Heating tubes laid down on Arrowhead field, prior to being covered with turf. [Photo: Kansas City Chiefs]Just like a home thermostat, Arrowheads system automatically turns on when temperatures drop below a certain point. While it takes a couple of days to fully warm up, it can maintain the field temperature around 50 degrees even in the coldest weather.The Chiefs prefer a 50-degree field temperature, but every groundskeeper has a different strategy. The Packers keep their turf at around 38 degreesenough to keep the roots from freezing while allowing the turf to harden slightly for that Lambeau home-field advantage. The Baltimore Ravens keep their field at 50 degrees, while in Philadelphia, the Eagles have warmed their field to as high as 60 degrees. Other stadiums with field-heating systems include Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh and Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.Crews work to clear snow from the field before a game between the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers at Highmark Stadium on December 1, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. [Photo: Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images]Cold-field advantageWhen the Bills open their new venue in 2026, it will be a new standard for cold-weather stadiums. It will feature a partial canopy roof covering over 60% of the seats, designed specifically to handle Buffalos heavy snowfall. This innovative 360-degree canopy will be heated, with sensors to monitor weather conditions and an advanced snow melt system to prevent snow accumulation and potential structural issues.A rendering of the Bills New Highmark Stadium [Image: Buffalo Bills]And though the field will be heated and the grounds crew will have the ability to wirelessly control both the temperature and moisture content of the turf, Dont expect the Bills to make it too comfy for competitors from more fair-weather climes. The stadium will remain famously outdoors, open to the elements, with no dome, continuing to guarantee home-field advantage.