What makes a particular seat in the stadium better or worse (beyond the obvious)

Submitted by IUandUofM on

Beyond the obvious the sideline seating is better than end-zone seating, I was interested in what people considered good seats.

Per the Victor's Club site (below), preferred seats require donations from the end zone at $50 per seat per year to the 35 to 50 yard line "Victors" area at $500 per seat per year.

http://www.mgoblue.com/victorsclub/preferred-seat-donations.html

There is not distinction to how high up one is. This is where I thought about what I would rather have (assuming I could chose). What is the equivalent to lets say:

- 1st row end zone ... would that be better than way up the bowl in "Blue" zone?
- 1st row 5-yard line or way up the bowl on the 20 or 30?
- What is better than the worst row 50 yard line (excluding better seats on the 50-yard line)?
- Then lastly, how do you consider the club seating ... when are they better (or maybe people think they are always better or never better).

http://www.michiganstadiumproject.com/east_first_club_level.php

IUandUofM

March 28th, 2010 at 11:37 AM ^

angle of view and height of the seating in the bowl ... not so much the value of the experience due to your neighbors ... even thought that is important.

blueheron

March 28th, 2010 at 11:57 AM ^

To me, height can make lousy placement (say, a corner) tolerable. The same can't be said (not as much, anyway) for favorable yard-line placement. This assumes that you have reasonable vision (corrected or not). And, yes, the game might be pretty far away, but you'll able to see it more easily.

I've always felt that the last-row seats are underrated. You can stand in them to stretch and not worry about offending anyone. As well, you can take in the views outside the stadium.

AMazinBlue

March 28th, 2010 at 11:42 AM ^

in between. Sitting in the fourth row of the endzone back when the stadium had the old astro turf sucked because of the rise at the center of the field for drainage. If the ball was at the opposite five-yard line all you could see was jersey numbers and helmets. Things may be different now.

I watched a ND game from 80th row on 10-yard line near the South endzone, East side and the fans were into the game and the view, of course, was fantastic. My seats are on the 33-yard line on the East sideline 28 rows up just outside the really expensive donation area and I love them. The crowd is good(they cheer) and I can hear the band most of the time.

The thing is, there isn't really a bad seat at the Big House unless the bluehairs call you out for getting excited.

jmblue

March 28th, 2010 at 11:46 AM ^

In general, you want to be somewhere between 20 and 40 rows up in any section. If you're closer than that, it's great when play is near you, but it's harder to see what's going on when play is elsewhere. If you're higher up than that, you'll have a decent enough view of everything, but you're just a little far.

sshemes

March 28th, 2010 at 12:08 PM ^

Anything not between the 20 yard lines in a low row, you can't see the other end of the field. You can if you're behind the endzone but it's still tough to tell what's going on. Generally I'd say anything from row 30-60 is good, preferably between the goal lines, or in the student section.

I'd take a higher seat between the 30 yd lines over a low one in a corner or endzone anyday.

MGoRob

March 28th, 2010 at 1:24 PM ^

I will confirm his opinion. Between 30-60 offers the best view of the entire field while still being "close enough". I prefer closer to 60 than row 30, though. It's more similar to watching on TV than anything at that distance, as you're able to see the plays develop.

I've had seats in nearly every location and anything below row 20 towards an endzone creates a nightmare to see what's going on on the other side of the field. As long as people around you cheer, it's still a good experience, but plan to watch the entire play on the SCOREBOARD. I've found myself watching the live feed on those more frequently than not when stuck in a less than desirable location. For instance, senior year I had row 1 seats (not row A, unfortunately). Everything was fantastic except when they played in the south endzone.

Kalamazoo Blue

March 28th, 2010 at 11:57 AM ^

I've sat in section 34 (north end zone) since I graduated. I really like the end zones for a view of the game that you usually don't get on TV.

Started out in row 10. You could literally hear the players during goal-line stands. Very cool. Downside: once the play crosses mid-field you've got to watch it on the big screens.

Moved up to row 75 since then. Seats are about 5 steps from the portal. Easy in. Easy out. Good view of the field. Not surrounded by blue hairs yelling "down in front." Close to the students to be a part of their energy. Can hear the band well. Love these seats. Will never move.

Don't automatically rule out mid-level seats in the north end zone.

sshemes

March 28th, 2010 at 12:14 PM ^

Yes those are good seats to be in, near the student section you get a better atmosphere for the game. And it's cool to see the plays develop with the gaps, unlike the sideline view.

I was sitting right in line with Stonum's kickoff return vs ND and knew no more than 5 yards into it that he had a TD because that hole was enormous.

cogie

March 28th, 2010 at 12:52 PM ^

I also sit in the north end zone (35) in row 94, pretty much right next to where they have the coaches video crews taping the game. You can see everything from high up and the end zone gives great perspective. As a former band member, who had "great seats" for four years, where you could only see things that happened north of the 50, I'm terrified of trying to upgrade to a higher PSD location and ending up paying more for lower seats between the goal line and 30.

jabberwock

March 28th, 2010 at 12:52 PM ^

However, having sat all over the stadium, from a viewpoint standard, I like being between rows 30-60, and right around the 20. High enough to see the whole field, far enough towards the endzone to really SEE a goal line series, and generally below average blue-hairs.

I'm actually very picky about this; I only have the time & $ for 1-2 games a year, so I try to find the PERFECT seats.

There generally ISN'T a bad seat, if you value the whole game-day experience.

Sgt. Wolverine

March 28th, 2010 at 2:20 PM ^

on what you value. I've watched games from row A (north end zone) and the very last row (east side) and a wide variety between the two in locations around the stadium (southwest corner, south end zone, student section, west side...), and I've enjoyed watching the game from every one of those seats. (Well...one of the times I sat in the last row happened to be the App St game, so I enjoyed that a little bit less. But that had nothing to do with my seat.)

First row is good because you're right there in the middle of everything, and you can see and hear things you wouldn't otherwise get to experience. Last row is good because you have a backrest and you can stand up without having anybody yell at you, and you get a nice overall view of the field. And, more importantly, though it's not close to the field, you can still follow the action. (Football action holds up over distance much better than hockey.)

Sitting on either one of the sides is good because you get a better view of the entire field. But I'm actually partial to sitting in the end zones because it provides a great view you don't normally get on tv. Yes, it makes it harder to follow the action at the other end of the field, but that's why there are video boards. And when action is in your end of the field, you get what I consider to be the best view of it.

In summary: there are positives to every seat in the stadium, so I'm inclined not to worry much about where I sit.

BlueinOK

March 28th, 2010 at 5:59 PM ^

There isn't a bad seat in the Big House. Sometimes the people around you will make the experience worse, but not the seats themselves.

Happyshooter

March 29th, 2010 at 2:26 PM ^

You don't "sit" in the student section, you stand. I was on student government my last year and was in row 4. We had to stand on the bench to see anything.

Otherwise, the view is number one, the crowd around you is number two, being near the tunnel is a big number three.

Depending on whether you are an older-American or drank too much at the tailgate, number of stairs to the bathroom and back can jump into the order as number 2 in priority.