The NFL is building away the weather. My proposal: designated “Open air Games” for future retractable-roof stadiums. All future domed stadiums required to be retractable or no option of your city getting a Super Bowl... Hear me out on this.
I love modern NFL stadiums. I'm not anti-dome at all. But I think we're in danger of engineering something essential out of football.
More teams are moving toward enclosed stadiums for understandable reasons: concerts, year-round events, fan comfort, Super Bowl eligibility and revenue.
But football is also supposed to have unknowns. Wind, rain, cold and snow change strategy and create games we remember for decades.
So I've been kicking around a compromise:
The open air Game.
For future roofed NFL stadiums, if you want Super Bowl eligibility, the roof over the field has to be retractable.
The NFL then designates maybe 3–4 games every season as Elements Games, announced with the schedule in May.
The home team doesn't choose them based on the forecast.
Week 16 - Buffalo at Chicago - OPEN AIR GAME - ROOF OPEN
Maybe it's 45 and sunny. Maybe it's 15 and windy. Maybe it snows six inches.
Nobody knows.
That's the point.
Existing permanent domes get grandfathered, and obviously there are exceptions for legitimately dangerous weather.
I'm not trying to get rid of domes.
I'm trying to keep domes from eventually getting rid of weather.
Build the roof. Host the concerts. Host the Super Bowl.
But a few Sundays every year?
Open the damn thing and play football.
What do you think?