Buffalo Bills' New Stadium Boasts Unified Network Infrastructure with Cisco

The Buffalo Bills' new stadium, Highmark Stadium, has undergone a significant technological overhaul with the implementation of a converged network infrastructure. Cisco is the primary technology partner for this project, which aims to provide a single pane of glass for IT operations and improve fan experience. The old stadium's fragmented systems have been replaced by a unified platform that includes Wi-Fi 7 delivered through DB10 antennas, broadcast operations running on SMPTE 2110 standard over IP Fabric for Media, and digital signage powered by Cisco Vision Edge.

The new network infrastructure has already shown significant improvements in fan experience. During the 2026 preseason opener at Highmark Stadium, fans consumed about 16 terabytes of Wi-Fi data, roughly 19 times higher than the 840 gigabytes consumed during a 2025 preseason game at the old stadium. The Bills' IT director, Shaun Handley, attributes this improvement to the new network infrastructure and notes that the old stadium's poor wireless service was one of the top complaints from fans.

The converged network also extends beyond fan Wi-Fi and includes broadcast operations, digital signage, staff communications, and location-based analytics. The Bills have begun testing Cisco's AI IQ tool alongside Catalyst Center to flag potential network issues before they become outages. Perimeter security runs on Cisco Secure Firewall, with more advanced threat-defense tools planned for the future.

One of the key decisions behind this project was building a dedicated technology center outside the stadium bowl, which allowed the IT team to begin standing up IDFs, switches, and network cameras roughly eight months before the stadium's completion. This approach eliminated the last-minute scramble that plagues most large facility projects.