An analysis by The Tennessean has found no correlation between upgraded stadiums and on-field success in the NFL.
According to the paper's Nick Suss, 10 NFL teams have moved into brand-new stadiums since 2008. Three, including the Rams, relocated cities to get their new venues. One, the Minnesota Vikings, had to build a new stadium because the roof of their previous stadium collapsed. "The other six, like the Titans, built their new stadium for the sake of having modernized amenities and a better fan experience," Suss wrote. "Combine the 10 examples, and there's no correlation between moving into a new stadium and more winning. If anything, teams have tended to get a little bit worse in their new homes."
Suss pointed out that the Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium, their home that opened one year earlier.
"That's the fairy tale version of this story. Build a stadium. Field a competitive team. Win immediately. Rake in all the trophies and accolades and cash and positive press for your city. It's the end-of-a-Disney-movie sort of result the Tennessee Titans are going to be shooting for when the new Nissan Stadium opens in 2027. Reality tells us the Rams' story is much more of an outlier than a trend."
Seven of the 10 — the Rams, Chargers, Falcons, 49ers, Giants, Cowboys and Colts — saw their combined winning percentage for the three seasons after the move drop when compared to the combined three seasons prior. The 49ers saw the biggest regression, from posting 13-3, 11-4-1 and 14-2 seasons leading up to their move to Levi's Stadium, to suffering through 8-8, 5-11 and 2-14 seasons in the three seasons immediately following the stadium's debut — a 67 percent to 31 percent comparison.
"Even the juice that comes from a first year in a new home hasn't really translated to a positive trend," Suss wrote. "These 10 teams won an average of 9.4 games in the year before moving stadiums and 9.5 games in their debut campaigns."
Nine of the 10 made the playoffs as many times or more in the former three-year window than the latter. Overall, these teams won 58.96 percent of their games in the three seasons before their stadium opened and 53.4 percent of their games in their first three seasons in the new stadium.
The Tennessee Titans broke ground on a 1.8 million-square-foot domed stadium in February.
"There is one shred of good news for the Titans, though," Suss concluded. "Home-field advantage is a real factor. The last 10 teams to move stadiums were a combined 48-32 in their first seasons as new tenants, good for a 60 percent winning percentage."
