Ten of the NFL’s 30 stadiums play under a roof: five fixed domes where the weather never matters, five retractable roofs that open and close by choice, and one famous hybrid – SoFi Stadium – whose fixed canopy shelters an open-sided building. The fixed group runs from the 1975 Caesars Superdome to 2020’s Allegiant Stadium; the retractable era began with Houston in 2002 and includes Arizona, Dallas, Indianapolis and Atlanta’s eight-petal marvel.
The distinctions matter for how the game is played and governed: the NFL makes home clubs declare a retractable roof’s position before kickoff, only two roofed venues grow natural grass (both on trays that slide outdoors), and roofed buildings dominate Super Bowl hosting. An 11th roofed stadium arrives in 2027 when Tennessee’s new enclosed home opens in Nashville.
The chart below lists every roofed stadium with its team, city, roof type, surface, opening year, capacity and real-world roof habits.
NFL STADIUMS
Every Domed and Roofed NFL Stadium
All 10 indoor venues: roof types, surfaces, capacities and how they’re used
ROOFED STADIUMS
10
Of 30 NFL venues
FIXED ROOFS
5
Incl. SoFi’s open canopy
RETRACTABLE
5
Open or closed by choice
COMING NEXT
Nashville
New Titans dome, 2027
Every NFL roofed stadium
Fixed domes, retractable roofs and the indoor-outdoor hybrid – all 10
| Stadium (team, city) |
Roof type |
Surface |
Opened |
Capacity |
How the roof is used |
| Caesars Superdome (Saints, New Orleans) |
Fixed dome |
Artificial turf |
1975 |
~73,000 |
Always closed – the league’s grand old dome |
| Ford Field (Lions, Detroit) |
Fixed dome |
Artificial turf |
2002 |
65,000 |
Always closed |
| U.S. Bank Stadium (Vikings, Minneapolis) |
Fixed dome (translucent ETFE) |
Artificial turf |
2016 |
66,860 |
Always closed – clear roof panels let daylight in |
| Allegiant Stadium (Raiders, Las Vegas) |
Fixed dome (translucent) |
Natural grass on a roll-out field tray |
2020 |
65,000 |
Always closed – the grass field slides outside to grow in the sun |
| SoFi Stadium (Rams and Chargers, Inglewood) |
Fixed canopy, open-sided |
Artificial turf |
2020 |
70,240 |
Technically covered but not sealed – an indoor-outdoor hybrid open to Pacific air |
| State Farm Stadium (Cardinals, Glendale) |
Retractable |
Natural grass on a roll-out tray |
2006 |
63,400 |
Closed against desert heat; opened in mild months |
| AT&T Stadium (Cowboys, Arlington) |
Retractable |
Artificial turf |
2009 |
80,000 |
Almost always closed – Dallas rarely opens it |
| NRG Stadium (Texans, Houston – reverting to the Reliant Stadium name in 2026) |
Retractable – the NFL’s first, in 2002 |
Artificial turf |
2002 |
72,220 |
Mostly closed against Houston humidity |
| Lucas Oil Stadium (Colts, Indianapolis) |
Retractable |
Artificial turf |
2008 |
67,000 |
Closed for most games; opened on ideal fall days |
| Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Falcons, Atlanta) |
Retractable – eight-petal “pinwheel” |
Artificial turf |
2017 |
71,000 |
Mostly closed; the camera-shutter opening is used selectively |
The three categories – and the rules
What separates a dome from a retractable from an enclosure
| Category |
How it works |
| Fixed dome |
A permanent, sealed roof: Superdome, Ford Field, U.S. Bank and Allegiant. Weather never touches the game, and these buildings anchor Super Bowls and Final Fours in cold or scorching cities |
| Retractable roof |
A roof that opens and closes: Arizona, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis and Atlanta. The NFL requires the home club to declare the roof position before kickoff (roughly 90 minutes out); an open roof may generally be closed mid-game for weather, but a roof that starts closed stays closed |
| Enclosed / indoor-outdoor |
SoFi Stadium’s fixed canopy covers the seating bowl but the sides stay open – it’s protected from rain and sun without being a sealed, climate-controlled dome. It’s the category people most often misfile |
| Playing conditions |
Eight of the 10 use artificial turf; only Arizona and Las Vegas grow natural grass, both on movable trays that slide outdoors. Indoor conditions mean no wind or precipitation – historically friendly to kickers and passing offenses |
| What’s next |
Tennessee’s new enclosed Nissan Stadium is scheduled to bring an 11th roofed venue – and Super Bowl eligibility – to Nashville in 2027 |
DOME FACTS
The 90-minute rule
Retractable-roof clubs can’t game the weather in real time: the roof call is declared before kickoff, and the mid-game exception runs one way – closing for weather, not opening for advantage.
Why domes host Super Bowls
A roof removes February weather from the equation, which is how Detroit, Minneapolis, Atlanta, New Orleans and Houston have all hosted the title game.
One-third and growing
Every one of the NFL’s last four new stadiums included a roof of some kind – the league’s building trend is unmistakably indoors.
Fixed vs. Retractable vs. Enclosed, in Practice
The categories sound academic until you watch how teams actually behave: fixed domes deliver identical conditions every week, while most retractable roofs function as domes with an option – Dallas and Houston close theirs for the vast majority of games, and Arizona’s call tracks the desert calendar. SoFi belongs in its own bucket, covered but never sealed. For visiting teams from open-air markets – the entire AFC North among them, as Ravens history attests from three decades of Baltimore weather – a January road game under a roof is a meaningful variable, which is why the declaration rules exist alongside the league’s other game-operations rules.
The Bottom Line
NFL domed stadiums now cover a full third of the league: four sealed domes plus Allegiant’s translucent lid, five retractables that mostly stay shut, and SoFi’s open-air canopy – with Nashville’s 2027 project extending the trend, as covered in our ongoing Titans coverage. Know the three categories and the 90-minute roof rule, and you know everything that separates indoor football from the elements.
