Weather can be a major factor in football, but some NFL stadiums are able to take Mother Nature out of the picture.
There are domed stadiums across the league. From conventional domes to retractable roofs, certain teams have the luxury of playing in controlled conditions.
Along with a neutral environment for the home team, a dome also opens the doors for a given city to host the NFL’s biggest game. Conditions in cities like Detroit, Minneapolis and even Atlanta can be daunting in early February, but roofed stadiums have allowed each of those cities to host a Super Bowl without the game being affected.
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The Tennessee Titans are well aware of that benefit. The franchise reached an agreement with Nashville Mayor John Cooper to build a new, domed stadium that will replace Nissan Stadium, opening up the potential of the first Super Bowl in the city.
How many NFL teams play in a dome right now? Here’s a look at the roofed stadiums across the league.
Which NFL teams have domed stadiums?
One-third of NFL stadiums have a roof of some kind. Here are the 10 domed stadiums that house NFL teams:
- Allegiant Stadium – Las Vegas Raiders
- AT&T Stadium – Dallas Cowboys
- Caesars Superdone – New Orleans Saints
- Ford Field – Detroit Lions
- Lucas Oil Stadium – Indianapolis Colts
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta Falcons
- NRG Stadium – Houston Texans
- SoFi Stadium – Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams
- State Farm Stadium – Arizona Cardinals
- U.S. Bank Stadium – Minnesota Vikings
Along with a roof, age is another thing that is common between these stadiums. Nine of the 10 venues are 20 years old or younger, with Caesars Superdome being the lone exception. The last four stadiums that opened across the NFL all featured a roof of some kind.
NFL
Which NFL stadiums have retractable domes?
Of the 10 domed stadiums, five of them have retractable roofs. The Cowboys, Colts, Falcons, Texans and Cardinals all have the opportunity to open and close the roofs to their stadiums.
Not all of these roofs retract the same way. For instance, NRG Stadium has two sliding panels made of steel and translucent fabric, while Mercedes-Benz Stadium features eight “petals” with air-inflated, fabric pillows.
The NFL has rules in place for teams with retractable roofs. In such venues, the home team must notify the referee or highest-ranking league official working a game 90 minutes before kickoff about whether the roof will be open or closed. The roof itself must then be in its set position at least one hour before kickoff.
Which NFL stadiums have a retractable field?
The NFL’s two desert teams have the ability to move their full football field out of their stadiums.
The Raiders have a retractable grass field that weighs a whopping 19 million pounds and can be moved via a field tray. The 13 rails of the tray are powered by 72 electric motors and transport the playing surface outside the south end of Allegiant Stadium.
Similarly, the Cardinals are able to take their natural grass field out of State Farm Stadium to avoid humidity issues inside the venue. It takes around 70 minutes to move the playing surface in or out of the stadium along 13 tracks.
Las Vegas and Arizona are the only two teams with grass fields and a roof at their stadium.