Favourite stadia in the league ...

[Danger Mouse]

Was wondering ... 

 

As an overseas tellyclapper, I don't get much access to the reality of football in the States. I only get access to the TV production. And I know from the sports I attend over here that this production can often have little in common with the actual game-going experience itself. 

 

So, for those of you who travel to road games, which are the best / worst stadia in the league? Are there some that you look forward to visiting, some that have more soul than others, some that you just hate? Some that surprised you?

 

I was at Tottenham this year.  Which I thought worked really well as an NFL ground, tbh (whereas Wembley doesn't) and if the Bills are basing the new one on that, it's quite exciting. 

 

But it has always seemed to me that Rich Stadium - or whatever it's called this week - is one of the very best in the league. But then I love old stadia. and find, say, the Texans or Cards stadia seem to be big and corporate but lacking in character somewhat. 

 

Anyway, just interested. Any views?

Edited December 26, 2023 by Bill Grundy

[TampaBillsJunkie]

Los Angeles SoFi Stadium is amazing.

https://www.sofistadium.com

 

[BRH]

I’ve only been to the old Meadowlands, the old Texas Stadium, FedEx, Arrowhead, and M&T.  
 

The first three were/are complete dumps.  Arrowhead, at least before the renovation, was a lot like the Ralph except in red.  M&T was pretty nice actually. 

[LABILLBACKER]

5 minutes ago, TampaBillsJunkie said:

Los Angeles SoFi Stadium is amazing.

https://www.sofistadium.com

 

The stadium is stunning but the over the top pumped in fake noise makes it a bad experience. 

[BBFL]

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a nice one for luxuries. Soldier Field or Lambeau for the history and atmosphere and obviously Rich/Ralph for the fans.

 

Did get to go to Lumen Stadium at the tail end of the L.o.B when we played there, that was just as nuts as Bills fans can get. Bob Woods had a game that day! 

[spartan19]

Being a season ticket holder thst sits behind the visitors bench, i regularly have fans from other cities next me me that rave about our stadium, especially the sitelines.  I hope the new stadium is as nice for actually watching the game. Its all i care about.

[stevens273]

Was at SoFi Saturday night. Absolutely gorgeous. The Chargers production was not great. Very few replays on the 360 video screen. PA announcer sucked. Never mentioned a Bills player by name. 
I hope the Rams do a much better job. 
 

[ColoradoBills]

18 minutes ago, spartan19 said:

Being a season ticket holder thst sits behind the visitors bench, i regularly have fans from other cities next me me that rave about our stadium, especially the sitelines.  I hope the new stadium is as nice for actually watching the game. Its all i care about.

 

Pegula and his team said that was the #1 priority for the new stadium.

FWIW.

[klos63]

Sofi was great.  Cool looking, and it was so easy to get around.  Huge concourses and I was surprised how easy it was to leave after the game. Not crunched up walking out.  Food was expensive,  but not much different than most sporting events.

 

[Milanos Milano]

Al is probably buried somewhere there. 

[RoyBatty is alive]

Sometime these great new stadiums don't work out as planned.  Example is Jerry's House.

 

I went there when it was first built and yes it is impressive but going in there was like hanging into an airport hangar, it was "too big".  Most cowboys fans are dead and this big open space didn't make it acoustically impressive at all.  In fact, most of the game I ended up watching the game on their massive overhead screens.   Who wants to go to a quiet game and to watch the game from a screen?

Edited December 26, 2023 by RoyBatty is alive

[947]

I live in the Chicago-area & I can tell you The Ralph is a 100x better stadium experience than Soldier Field.

 

I've been to several other NFL stadiums & not been blown away by any, but I haven't been to LA or Dallas.

 

The worst was the dome in St Louis while the Rams were there. Domes suck, but it was also the most quiet large building I've ever been inside of. We ditched our seats and moved up to 10th row behind the Rams' bench. Between plays, I could hear an entire conversation between Kurt Warner & Jason Sehorn.

[Stevie Ray]

1 hour ago, LABILLBACKER said:

The stadium is stunning but the over the top pumped in fake noise makes it a bad experience. 

LOL, agreed. I was at the game and was laughing at the 3rd down "noise" coming from the PA system as opposed to the smattering of Charger fans in the house.

[Riverboat Ritchie]

Have been to Sofi, jville, arrowhead, Baltimore, candlestick, Oakland co, la co, Jack Murphy, Tottenham, and of course Rich Stadium.  In terms of pure luxury and just being nice SOFI is the best. Perfect for LA.  But each time I am there I do kinda miss being able to slam the bleachers and make some noise. It’s nice though. I hope they make the rows bigger in new stadium as I thought they were kinda narrow at Tottenham. Watching though fans start standing in Tottenham in end zone area was pretty cool. Go Bills. 

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

I haven’t been to the new mega stadiums like Sofi but similar ones have this cheesy corporate feel.  I’ve had way more fun in the old, rundown stadiums they just seem to suit the game of football better to me 😂

[BillsFan2313]

Highmark. The toilet facilities are top notch

[boyst]

41 minutes ago, Riverboat Ritchie said:

Have been to Sofi, jville, arrowhead, Baltimore, candlestick, Oakland co, la co, Jack Murphy, Tottenham, and of course Rich Stadium.  In terms of pure luxury and just being nice SOFI is the best. Perfect for LA.  But each time I am there I do kinda miss being able to slam the bleachers and make some noise. It’s nice though. I hope they make the rows bigger in new stadium as I thought they were kinda narrow at Tottenham. Watching though fans start standing in Tottenham in end zone area was pretty cool. Go Bills. 

Baltimore is the closest to the ralph I've seen. The titans stadium is awful nice for the vibe as well but no pregame.

 

Been to Carolina, it's dull. So is Jacksonville. The atmosphere is not authentic.

 

Houston, Atlanta, Detroit are just building where football is played. 

[Allen2D̶i̶g̶g̶s̶TBD]

The Dolphins have a great looking stadium, but their fans don't seem to care much about the game.

[Einstein]

3 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

The stadium is stunning but the over the top pumped in fake noise makes it a bad experience. 

You sure this happened? Because it's illegal under NFL rules.

The Falcons even lost a draft pick for doing it...

 

https://www.nfl.com/news/atlanta-falcons-lose-2016-pick-for-pumping-fake-noise-0ap3000000482500

[BillsPride12]

I think I've been to about 9 different NFL stadiums.  I would say my favorites are probably Lambeau and Arrowhead but I've always been an old school football kinda guy so I'm more about character and history than bells and whistles.  Denver's stadium was also pretty cool