Part of professional football’s history is the fact that games are played through all weather conditions. It provides a certain level of entertainment that other sports simply cannot. It also makes weather games a pain to watch in person or at home. Teams have to play conservatively in rain, snow and extreme wind conditions, lowering their chances of winning in the elements.
Over the past decade, more NFL teams have built domed stadiums to establish a fair playing field for themselves and their opponents. The Las Vegas Raiders, along with the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, are teams that helped start this trend, while the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and Washington Commanders are following suit. Having a stable environment to play a game is important, especially in the NFL, where every game matters due to the short, 17-game regular season. Domes simply help teams win.
Domes are also more enjoyable for the fans who fill the stadium. Fans don’t have to worry about getting rained on or dressing up in heavy layers of clothing and shoveling snow out of their seats; they can just sit back and enjoy the game with their friends and family.
One of the most important benefits domes provide from a viewership perspective is more explosive offense. This season, four of the top 10 offenses in total yards per game were teams whose home games are played in a dome. Having a top 10 offense and being able to have a “dome-field advantage” is going to bring more eyes to screens and more people to the stadiums.
The Detroit Lions are a perfect example of this. Head coach Dan Campbell is able to call whatever play he wants in Ford Field because he does not have to worry about rain or wind during a December Thursday Night Football game. When it comes to his quarterback, Jared Goff, he has all the confidence in the world when he is playing at home and is able to make throws to every area of the field.
For diehard NFL fans, it might be hard to come to terms with the fact that domes are becoming more prevalent. With Super Bowls XVIII, XXIII and XLI being played in wind gusts and rain, the NFL shifted toward hosting the big game in outdoor stadiums with mild winters and domes. When accounting for climate change and increasingly common extreme weather events, domes are a much safer place for stadium workers, fans, coaches and players. The future of football will be played under a roof.
