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The Best Stadiums in America

By Ryan Myerberg   //   May 27, 2010

When I was writing this week’s post on Northeast recruiting, I came across the list of largest stadiums by seating capacity. A few things stood out to me. First, the largest venue in the world is Rungrado May Day Stadium in North Korea — home of Our Dear Reader Kim Jong Il — which holds up to 150,000 impoverished and starving citizens. (Paul’s note: Allegedly.) Secondly, five out of the top 10 largest stadiums in the world are college football stadiums: Beaver Stadium, home of the Penn State Nittany Lions, is number three on that list; and Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., comes in at number nine. In between those two are Michigan Stadium, Ohio Stadium — better known the Horseshoe — home of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and Darryl K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Tex.

It made me think more about how stadiums are such an integral part of the college football experience. Certainly the action on the field is what really matters and goes into the record books, but there is no denying the ancillary parts mean almost as much; tailgating, the scenery, the co-eds, and more. I decided to look at a number of different criteria for what makes a great stadium, and pick the best of the bunch across America. A post sure to drum up some debate.

The Ansel Adams Award for Best Physical Scenery

This is a tough one, as there are myriad stadiums across America with incredible views of the surrounding landscape. I thought long and hard about this one and I came to this conclusion: no college football stadium contains a more jaw-dropping background than Folsom Field, home of the University of Colorado.

I mean, I’m not a religious man but that scene is almost biblical. I almost expect Moses to come walking down with the Ten Commandments from the top of the Rockies in the background; Moses would then go hang out in the student section for the second half, I’d think. While the results on the field haven’t been great for Colorado fans, no one can deny that Folsom Field is one of the most picturesque stadiums in the land.

The Barbarians at the Gate Award for Most Effective Hostile Takeover

While I know that Notre Dame fans will never admit to this, Irish supporters succumbed to the almighty power of the Big Red fan base when Nebraska visited South Bend in 2000. Notre Dame stadium holds nearly 81,000 people; I don’t think it’s hyperbole to suggest that over 60 percent of the stadium was decked out in red on that September afternoon.

I know this caused a lot of angst in South Bend, and it may have helped bring about the demise of the Bob Davie era (along with three straight losses to start the 2001 season) and usher in the ill-fated and brief tenure of George O’Leary.

The Clear Blue Sky Award for No-Distraction Football Viewing

As mentioned above, Michigan Stadium is one of the largest sporting venues in the world. What makes it even more special, outside of its sheer size, is the fact that it is built nearly 100 percent underground. Like a subterranean lair from the Legend of Zelda, this place means business. It’s an impressive place; well over 200 consecutive home games with 100,000 or more fans in attendance, and even though times are tough in Ann Arbor there’s no doubting the passion of the Michigan fan base — even if the stadium is not the loudest in the country.

Another interesting fact:  the father of Michigan football, Fielding Yost, anticipated Michigan Stadium to eventually hold 150,000 fans. The stadium, at a current capacity of 108,000, is 36,000 seats bigger than when it first opened back in 1927. Will it eventually hold 150,000? Maybe not in our lifetimes, but it could absolutely happen. And then North Korea will declare war on Michigan for having the audacity to one-up Our Dear Reader’s Rungrado May Day Stadium.

The John “Bluto” Blutarsky Award for Best Student Section

Beyond the stadiums themselves, beyond the pomp and pageantry of game day — beyond everything that makes up the college football game day experience — nothing is more traditional than a raucous student section. Wisconsin was on the shortlist for the award; the passion of the student section at Camp Randall is legendary, and even when the Badgers struggled, the dedicated student fan base always make it a difficult place to play. In that same vein, for a smaller venue, Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va., is always boosted by an intensely loud, key-shaking, camouflage-wearing student section. A Thursday night game on the campus of Virginia Tech is an event that should not be missed. There were a few others who I considered for this prize, including Florida, Ohio State, Oregon and Tennessee.

The winner, however, is Penn State. The white-out is one of the most recognizable (and intimidating) game day traditions in the nation. The stadium packs more than 100,000 every weekend: loud, passionate, fervent fans, many of them undergraduates. It’s everything you would expect and want from your student section.

The Stonehenge Award for National Historic Treasure

Like the panda bear in China, the Mona Lisa in France and Aretha Franklin’s pipes here in the States, American college football has given us some of the most venerable and beloved cultural landmarks in our sporting history. At over 140 years old, college football has a history matched only by professional baseball; unlike baseball, however, which has a proclivity for building newer stadiums nearly every decade, most college football stadiums have been with us for generations. So which stadium wins the award for being the most historic venue?

This is a tough one. So many stadiums have a proud and rich history. The Four Horsemen and Knute Rockne at Notre Dame; the Big House of Michigan; the Horseshoe of Ohio State; Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania, built in 1895. For my money, however, the most historic venue for college football is the Rose Bowl.

This stadium has been host to the Rose Bowl game for the better part of a century, national championship games, the Olympics, World Cup finals, Super Bowls, and also moonlights as the home stadium for U.C.L.A. at least six times a year. In all honesty, I’m not sure there are any stadiums in the country that have a resume like the Rose Bowl does.

Tags: Colorado, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State, Rose Bowl, U.C.L.A.

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