The US-China trade war froze B in stadium plans across America.
Construction costs surged 0M+ overnight for NFL venues.
Owners have 90 days to pay 0s of millions extra, or abandon plans entirely.
The crisis that will determine your team's home for the next generation:
The new administration's tariffs created unprecedented uncertainty in construction markets.
Experts rate current uncertainty at 9/10 - higher than COVID-19 or the Great Recession.
For NFL owners with stadium projects in development, this creates an impossible situation...
Modern NFL stadiums already cost -3B to build.
Add a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, with steel prices jumping 15-25% since January.
This affects everything from structural supports to roofing materials.
The problem goes deeper than materials:
The financing challenge is equally severe.
Annual interest payments increase by M/year for every 50 basis points on B of debt.
A club with B in debt pays M extra on a 3-year construction loan, plus M annually until repaid.
Teams already pushing NFL debt limits face tough choices.
The Buffalo Bills are the perfect example - their stadium budget has jumped past B.
Their responsibility grew from 0M to .35B - 2.5x their original commitment.
And that was BEFORE tariffs hit...
Teams like Bears, Browns, Jaguars, and Titans must reassess everything:
• Timelines
• Budgets
• Financing structures
• Even location decisions
All hang in the balance with billions at stake.
Owners face a brutal 90-day decision window.
Teams spend -5M monthly on design work alone. Few want to continue without cost clarity.
If uncertainty remains beyond 3 months, those with flexibility will likely postpone building plans.
The catch? Delaying projects creates its own penalties.
"For each year projects are delayed, costs increase significantly due to inflation and other factors."
These yearly increases could potentially exceed the tariff impact.
It's a no-win situation for many franchises.
Why not switch to American steel?
Domestic suppliers can't match pre-tariff Chinese prices, typically 10-20% lower.
Plus, American mills already have limited capacity due to the infrastructure boom.
For a stadium needing ~25,000 tons of steel, the math is brutal.
Some cities are racing to beat tariffs.
Mobile, Alabama fast-tracked votes to finance a 7M arena specifically to avoid tariff impacts.
As the contractor's CEO admitted: "I don't think anyone knows where we're headed with tariffs."
We've seen this before.
During the Great Recession, planned NFL stadium projects stalled outright.
The Vikings saw plans delayed for years.
Many teams scaled back ambitions—reducing capacity or amenities—to keep budgets manageable.
Stadium construction challenges mirror what's happening across industries.
When materials surge 15-25% overnight, organizations have three options:
• Pay the premium
• Delay indefinitely
• Find a strategic procurement solution
The third path is where opportunity lives.
Strategic procurement transforms how organizations:
• Source critical materials
• Structure supplier relationships
• Manage contract risk
• Create value beyond savings
It's the difference between crisis and competitive advantage.
I've seen this transformation firsthand:
At McKinsey developing strategies for global organizations.
At FreeMarkets revolutionizing how companies sourced materials.
Now at Summit Procurement, guiding teams through complete procurement transformation.
In today's volatile economy, procurement isn't a back-office function.
It's a strategic imperative determining which organizations thrive versus survive.
The tariff crisis facing stadiums today will hit your industry tomorrow. Notice the film industry, anyone?
Will you be prepared?
Want protection from similar disruptions?
Subscribe to the REBUILD Procurement Podcast where we explore these strategies weekly.
Or sign up for a 30-minute call to discuss our Procurement Maturity Model Diagnostic.
Follow @aveeck for more insights.
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