How Dangerous Is Highmark Stadium Compared To Others In The NFL?

Some people sit on the fence about going to Bills games at Highmark Stadium. Is it considered a safe place to watch a game?

Last week, a fan unfortunately died in the stands after getting in a fight with another fan as he cheered on his team in New England. It was one of what I'm sure was many instances where fans let their emotions get the better of them and a fight broke out.

It has a lot of people wondering if they will be safe when they go to a game.

How safe is Highmark Stadium?

Sportsbook Review did a study of the stadiums of all 32 teams in the NFL. They looked at everything from the crimes that happen inside the stadium to how safe it is outside the stadium.

What did they study to come up with the results?

How do you determine what makes a stadium safe or dangerous? They looked at these factors:

Stadiums with the highest local crime (Total)
Stadiums with the highest amount of violent crime
Stadiums with the highest local property crime
The number of fans who claim to have witnessed a crime at that stadium
The number of fans who claim they were the victim of a crime at that stadium
Asking fans which stadium they would not feel comfortable at as a fan of an opposing team
How comfortable women would feel being alone at or around the stadium
How comfortable parents would feel leaving their children at the stadium without the parent there

What were the results?

Out of all of the criteria above, Highmark Stadium didn't come in within the top 5 of any of them. As a matter of fact, it was in the top 2 on the list of the safest stadiums! Here are the top 5 safest:

Gillette Stadium - New England Patriots
Highmark Stadium - Buffalo Bills
MetLife Stadium - New York Jets & New York Giants
Lambeau Field - Green Bay Packers
Raymond James Stadium - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

When it comes to feeling comfortable leaving a family member there, just 20% of men were not comfortable leaving a female partner or family member alone at or around Highmark Stadium, that is the lowest percentage among NFL stadiums.

The highest amount of crime went to Empower Field in Denver. The highest violent crimes were found around Ford Field in Detroit. The stadium with the highest local property crime was also Empower Field in Denver. The stadium where people claim to have seen a crime the most was Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and the stadium where you're most likely to become a victim of a crime is AT & T Stadium in Dallas.

The full list can be found here.

There's a good chance that you've been to one of these stadiums and not had an issue. We went to Detroit a few years ago to watch the Bills with about 10 guys and didn't have a single problem. Everyone was really nice. We had a great time. But it never hurts to be aware of your surroundings and know what you're getting into before you get there.