OT: What's your favorite stadium besides the Big House?
We all know the Big House is the best college football stadium in the country. But what other school's stadium have you always liked or have wanted to attend a game at?
And just to avoid 50 of the same responses, the Rose Bowl for the Rose Bowl game doesn't count.
So far it's Iowa but I still haven't seen all in the Big Ten.
That place rocks, sat in the student section and took some hazing but enjoyed nonetheless.
Camp Randall because.....Madison.
Cheese and beer my friends. Cheese and beer.
Camp Randall was cool but it was a little underwhelming. Maybe it was because of the result of the game or that it was cold as hell. But Madison was absolutely wonderful. Amazing time
I didn't like Camp Randall at all either. It was fairly ugly inside, had a lot of cheesy scoreboard and light displays, and played a ridiculous amount of EDM. It didn't seem special to me--just like an average B1G stadium with a better fanbase/attendance.
Of the stadiums I've attended this is how I would rank them:
Notre Dame (pre-Disneyland project)--feels like a smaller Big House and has a classic look
Kinnick--great views, good looking stadium. Concourses feel dangerously crammed at some times
TCF/Camp Randall/Indiana Memorial--TCF is the newest yet still feels traditional, Camp Randall looks great from the outside and has a great crowd, Indiana is a beautiful stadium but the crowd is generally poor.
Ross-Ade--small, almost decrepit looking, minor league baseballesque beer deck, poor crowd, ugly, horrible tradition of driving a train around the field. Only positive is that I sat in the front row behind the Michigan bench at around the 40 for about $90 dollars.
I concur regarding Camp Randall. They embraced the cheesy scoreboard culture early on, and I despise it.
Home of the Michigan Tech Huskies. Glorious fall atmosphere when the leaves turn, plus there's a great chance you'll witness a snow bowl game late in the season.
I love DII football. Cheap tickets, not a bad seat in the house, and great skill level.
One of my co-worker's son is a DB on Tech.
That looks like a great scene. I'd love to catch a snow game there, but weather that makes a snow game likely also makes a trip out there unlikely.
I try to take in the occasional UMD game, they're a lot of fun. I thought it would be basically like going to a high school game, but the presentation is substantially glossier and the action on the field is way better. And UMD is usually a playoff-caliber team.
Yeah, the Duluth to Houghton drive under snowy conditions is not for the faint of heart!
The model for Michigan Stadium. However, it really needs some upkeep work. Not getting it yet, as far as I know. Now in its second century.
It's really interesting, how the Yale bowl was the model for Michigan Stadium and Harvard's horseshoe shape was the model for Ohio Stadium. Ohio Stadium would have been one of my favorites, but the renovations are just awful. I would have loved to be in Ohio Stadium for the dedication game versus Michigan; 66,000 capacity with an open end and only the single deck. I hate decks. I was in Ohio Stadium for an early season game, in B deck, and almost suffocated on a 90-degree day. And when I am in C World every year with the Michigan contingent, it is nosebleed territory.
I've only been to a few others aside from Michigan Stadium:
The Shoe - blegh, wouldn't go back
Ryan Field - glorified high school stadium, but it's always packed to the gills with Michigan fans when they come to town.
Sanford Stadium - genuinely great atmosphere. Watched a UGa-Auburn game there a few years back and it was pretty rowdy. Much rowdier than anywhere else I've been.
---
Where do I want to go? In no particular order:
-Both Death Valleys. For an FSU-Clemson game, and an Alabama-LSU game
-Kyle Field
-The Rose Bowl
-The Cotton Bowl for a Texas-OU game
-Nebraska Memorial Stadium
-Beaver Stadium. Yes its an ugly ass erector set, but I imagine night games there are crazy.
on Nebraska Stadium. It's ugly as hell and honestly Lincoln is not a great place to visit. I would keep that one way down your list of stadiums to visit.
great old stadium, no bad seats and it has that intimate feel, the atmosphere is tremendous (as Lloyd Carr would say) when the Bearcats are good, and the stadium is right in the heart of campus.
Definitely worth a visit.
I've only ever been to three college games, but all three were at different stadiums and all three were memorable.
1995 - Illinois at Ohio State (Ohio Stadium): This was the game that Eddie George ran for 314yds. I was visiting a friend on campus that day and on a whim we decided to go to the game at the last minute. Was cool to see and experience.
1999 - #9 Wisconsin at Cincinnati (Nippert Stadium): This game was raucous. I was living a 10 minute walk from the stadium at the time and it was another unplanned game. Friend called me the day of and we decided to go. While the stadium isn't all that special, the atmosphere that game was incredible. UC upset Wisky 17-12. Everyone rushed the field at the end of the game. The parties that night in Clifton were especially fun.
2011 - #20 Auburn at #15 Georgia (Sanford Stadium): I went to this game because I was headed to a Raconteurs concert in Atlanta with a girl who was a huge Auburn fan. Needless to say, she wasn't happy with the result. The score at the half was 35-7 UGA. The final was 45-7. It was a shellacking. However, the UGA fans were super cool and I witnessed no harassment of the Auburn fans.
(Side note: if you can discount the yahoos that fill it on fall Saturdays, Ohio Stadium is a very cool venue.)
...the best game-day experience in the conference. Just the right distance to the major roads (although getting in on a game day is a bit tricky), walking distance from campus. plenty of walkable game-day parking, walk to High Street and Lane Avenue, and they have the most "into it" fans.
I very much like our Blue Lot; but Ohio State has the equivalent of about six Blue Lots. Get to work on it, Warde.
And as much as I hate to say it, the State of Michigan's land grant university has a good supply of convertible property for football Saturdays. The atmosphere is not nearly as good as OSU; sort of llike comparing the atmospheres of a U2 concert and a Rich Homie Quan concert.
The only ones other than Michigan stadium I've been to are Beaver Stadium, High Point Solutions (Rutgers), & Rentschler (UCONN). Beaver is by far the best of those & probably one of the better and louder stadiums in the country. Beyond being there in person and watching on TV I really like the look of Tiger Stadium (LSU), Sanford Stadium (Georgia), Camp Randall, Memorial Stadium, & Ben Hill Griffin (FLA).
Rose Bowl (if Michigan is playing in it). Nothing better than seeing the sun set in the second half at the Rose Bowl.
Always loved Univ of Washington games on a rainy and foggy day in the Fall. (or at least looks cool on TV)
I have been to camp randall twice and think it is an awesome stadium, that said this year they mailed it in and it was hard to move around the stadium.
State has nice environment and solid stadium, but I would probably pick the horseshoe as the best stadium I have been in.
Side note: michigan stadium sucks with its little seats. There I said it.
OSU - Not good
MSU - Horrible. My least favorite stadium by far and not just because it is MSU.
ND - I enjoyed ND. Campus is nice and the stadium has history and character.
Northwestern - Small but you get great seats anywhere you sit and always a ton of Michigan fans which makes the game fun.
Penn State - Looks weird from the outside but the atmosphere is great. Haven't been there for a true night game but went to that 5pm, multiple OT, whiteout game back in 2013 and it was intense.
Wisconsin - Liked the stadium but since the game was at 11am i think the atmosphere was a little more subdued than normal before the game and during.
I really want to go to Iowa, Nebraska, Clemson, LSU, Georgia, and Florida State. Also really hoping Michigan will keep the games with Texas, Oklahoma and Washington in the future so I can go to those as well.
I have heard wonderful stories from friends of mine in the south about the Grove and need to add it to my list. I will probably wait until they are expected to have more competitive teams for that.
Granted, I've only been there a couple times for The Game, so I don't know what it's like when they play Bowling Green.
LSU at night is second. It's weird how different that place is at night. It's a more genteel crowd at 3:30.
Always wanted to see an away game at Colorado. Folsom field looks great on tv. BYU would be another away game I’d like to check out. Basically any stadium sitting in the Rockies could be a nice sight.
Carrier Dome
Only domed stadium in FBS, great sightlines, sells beer, and perfect location right near the middle of campus.
I believe Idaho still plays in a dome
They do, but they are no longer in FBS.
and its pretty cool. i believe it is the largest wooden dome in the world.
I've been to a few places. I should say from the outset that all college football stadiums are great, in comparison with most other sporting venues and certainly with not being at a college football game at all. Sure, Spartan Stadium is unspectacular as a college stadium, but it's college football, so it is 90% of the way to being fun already.
The favorite venue I've attended is Death Valley in LSU (I attended an exciting match against Eli Manning's Ole Miss in 2001). I went for a night game, and it was a back-and-forth contest against a semi-rival, so it wound up being great. Same day as Marquise Walker's ridiculous catch at Iowa, for those curious.
Why'd I like it? Well, as its reputation suggests, it was bananas. I managed to get into the student section and it was great. When LSU scored people just threw whatever was in their hands into the air. Newspaper shavings, popcorn, full beverages, you name it. The cheers and the band weren't aesthetically impressive, but everyone participated with vigor, so you didn't care.
And the Stadium itself is actually a lot of fun. Different sections, organically thrown together as they are built. Decent-looking exterior architecture. Beautiful grass. Very steep rake to the seats.
It was all kinds of great.
Unpopular opinion: The Shoe isn't Michigan Stadium, but it's a great place to watch football.
Old Trafford for Manchester United. It really was something to see that pitch. You could sense the history. It opened in February 1910. A lof of games on the same plot of land.
White Hart Lane.
Go Spurs.
I'll say I'm a bit biased as my partner and I are season ticket holders here in Atlanta but I do love the overall experience at Bobby Dodd for Georgia Tech games. Lots of great areas for tailgating, it's a smaller stadium (very similar experience to anyone that's been to Ryan Field) but gets pretty rowdy, and the stadium is right downtown so the views are pretty amazing. If you ever get a chance to pass through Atlanta on a gameday, be sure to check out a game at Bobby Dodd.