By Shaun Handley,
Publication Date: 2026-10-21 19:03:00
When the Buffalo Bills broke ground on a new Highmark Stadium, we weren’t just building concrete and seating. We were gaining the rare chance to rebuild the network and security posture behind it too, from a blank slate. Learn how my team and I built it, before the stadium around it was even finished.
Out with the old
For 52 years, Highmark Stadium was home for the Buffalo Bills. It was also, by the end, showing its age. Narrow concourses. Not enough restrooms. A building designed for a different era of game day experience.
When we broke ground on a new Highmark Stadium, the physical need was obvious: more space, better amenities, a structure built for Buffalo weather instead of in spite of it.
What wasn’t as obvious to most people outside my department was that the building wasn’t the only thing showing its age. The network behind it was too.
Our old stadium ran on a mix of vendors stitched together over years of shifts in the IT landscape. Fans told us…
