Best stadium to watch an NFL game (not including Lambeau and JerryWorld)

[DanOregon]

Figure those are at the obvious top choices - but where to next? What other stadiums offer the best gameday experience?

 

[outofplace]

For a Steelers fan, Heinz Field is a great experience. If you are not a Steelers fan, you will probably hate it.

 

[jlee]

I've heard Arrowhead is great, but that's when the Chiefs' fans had hope.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

I have been told that the Seahawks' home field (is it called Qwest?) is a really excellent stadium with good fans. Of course, you have to watch the Seahawks.
It's not for every taste, like mine for instance, but there's no denying an Eagles game is an experience unto itself.

 

[Layman]

We really enjoy Lucas Oil in Indy. Not a huge fan of domes, but they do retract it for quite a few games. Best part for me, as a married guy who brings the Mrs. (or the random nephew), are the intangibles.

Good & plentiful, walkable locations for pre & post game food (or drinks). Very reasonable traffic patterns, post-game. Best of all, (IMO) it's the smallest percentage of *ssholes in the stands, of the numerous NFL stadium experiences we've had. Maybe I'm getting old & cranky.....but it's one of the few remaining places I'd actually rather go to the stadium, as opposed to just staying on my sofa.

Food sucks, though.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Is Jerry World actually a good place to watch a game? Haven't been there, but on TV the place looks as obnoxious as the man himself.

 

[Boom_70]

Is there really a bad place to watch a game?

 

[spnited]

Is there really a bad place to watch a game?

I'm sure you remember Jets games at Shea.

 

[Scouter]

Is there really a bad place to watch a game?

Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis

 

[BTExpress]

We really enjoy Lucas Oil in Indy. Not a huge fan of domes, but they do retract it for quite a few games.

Didn't know that. Seems to me like every game has a dome "look" to it (no sunshine or shadows).

Haven't seen a game in person in about 6 years. Monday night. Man behind us was whistling with the most ear-splitting tone I have ever encountered. Have no desire to go back. I have six animals at home. No need to sit with 70,000 animals at a stadium.

 

[jackfinarelli]

Qwest Field in Seattle is very nice.


FedEx Field in DC is horrible.

 

[da man]

Is Jerry World actually a good place to watch a game? Haven't been there, but on TV the place looks as obnoxious as the man himself.

Been there. Not impressed. It feels more like a movie theater than a football stadium.

 

[Boom_70]

Is there really a bad place to watch a game?

I'm sure you remember Jets games at Shea.

Indeed I do.


If question was phrased "has there ever a bad place to watch an NFL game" my answer would have been :

1 Shea
1A Shaffer Stadium

Nothing worse than Shea in December when the wind blowing and The Jets as usual were blowing as well. Pretty sure last game I watched at Shea was in the snow when OJ went over 2000 yds. My fingers are still numb

Also happend to be at the Monday night game at Shaffer when Joe Washington ran wild in the poring rain. Shaffer had unpaved parking lot that was a sea of mud and falling down drunk Pats fans.

 

[Moderator1]

Best place to watch an NFL game is right where I am now - sitting on my fat ass in my favorite chair with my 50-inch HiDef about 12 feet away. Great views, replays, cheaper refreshments, bathroom nearby, no parking hassles and I'm home pretty fast after the game ends.

Baseball may be the only sport I'll go see live now on a non-work basis and I'll probably start doing less than that. The cost, the hassles, the traffic, the drives (I have lots of pro sports within reach but all require some driving) - just not sure the "live" experience makes it worthwhile.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Best place to watch an NFL game is right where I am now - sitting on my fat ass in my favorite chair with my 50-inch HiDef about 12 feet away. Great views, replays, cheaper refreshments, bathroom nearby, no parking hassles and I'm home pretty fast after the game ends.

Baseball may be the only sport I'll go see live now on a non-work basis and I'll probably start doing less than that. The cost, the hassles, the traffic, the drives (I have lots of pro sports within reach but all require some driving) - just not sure the "live" experience makes it worthwhile.

Amen. LA Times had a good story on this a couple weeks ago, and how the rise of the viewer experience is creating a great deal of unease for the guys who leveraged themselves to the max to build the new stadiums.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/06/sports/la-sp-farmer-nfl-20100907

I wouldn't pay for a ticket to watch a game. In fact, you'd have to pay me a good chunk of change to get me off my ass and away from the laptop where I can get my fantasy updates.

 

[lisa_simpson]

Is there really a bad place to watch a game?

Georgia Dome. The team that calls it home is certainly improving, but the facility has all the charm of a Home Depot distribution center.

I've heard Arrowhead is great, but that's when the Chiefs' fans had hope.

Chiefs fans are good tailgaters regardless of the quality of the on-field product, and way more hospitable to out-of-towners than, say, their counterparts in Oakland for example. Plus I've heard great things about the stadium renovations. Hopefully the MNF crew will get some good shots of the upgrades during tomorrow night's game.

 

[Stoney]

Not sure why Jerry World is considered an obvious choice. Looks to me just like a bigger version of the same retractable dome/mall experience that exists in other cities.

 

[IllMil]

The Metrodome is a giant piece of ****

 

[Madhavok]

I'm certainly bias, but I love going to a game at Rich Stadium/The Ralph. Technically it's not in Buffalo, Orchard Park actually, but the atmosphere is pretty cool.

EDIT: I'll be going to a game at the new Mile High in Denver around mid-October. I've heard good things.

 

[DanOregon]

I went to a pre-season game at Soldier Field before the renovations. I loved it. Guys hawking beer every twenty steps, fans were very cool, it might have been a dump, but there was some history to it. Hell is Candlestick now the granddaddy of the NFL?
You really start feeling old when you realize you are older than almost every stadium in the league.