When it comes to NFL stadiums, bigger is not always better. Some of the league’s largest venues are its worst. If you think the more money sunk into a project makes a stadium more amenable to fans, that’s not always true, either.
Jon Machota of The Athletic recently polled NFL experts on the best — and worst — 31 stadiums in the NFL in 2019 based on factors such as gameday atmosphere, architecture, sight lines, concession stands/food options, ticket prices, accessibility, parking, etc.
Most NFL teams have either gotten new stadiums, or had their existing venues upgraded, in this millennium. Machota’s poll encompasses 31 stadiums. The league is down to 30 stadiums now that the Rams and Chargers will share a venue — SoFi Stadium — which opens this year.
The Raiders also moved out of the Oakland Coliseum for the bright lights of Las Vegas where they will play in the brand new Allegiant Stadium, located along the famous Strip.
The five top-ranked venues are as follows:
- U.S. Bank Stadium (Vikings)
- CenturyLink Field (Seahawks)
- AT&T Stadium (Cowboys)
- Lambeau Field (Packers)
- Arrowhead Stadium (Chiefs)
The first three stadiums were built from scratch while Lambeau and Arrowhead have gone through many renovations in recent years.
Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium, which opened in 2000, received 12 votes among the worst-five stadium rankings. Just missing out on the bottom five were MetLife Stadium (home of the Giants and Jets) and Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Each received 10 votes.
2019’s five worst according to the poll are:
27. Paul Brown Stadium (Bengals)
28. L.A. Memorial Coliseum (Rams)
29. Oakland Coliseum (Raiders)
30. TIAA Bank Field (Jaguars)
31. FedExField (Washington)
MetLife, the $1.6 billion uninviting concrete and steel behemoth that replaced Giants Stadium in 2010, was ranked 26th. No one should have a problem with this. MetLife has little charm and many strikes against it. It doesn’t help that ticket prices are some the highest in the NFL and that the teams that call it home have been largely terrible since its opening. The Jets have never hosted a postseason game there. The Giants have hosted only one.
In addition, accessibility from New York has become a frustrating exercise, usually taking hours to travel the 12 miles to and fro the city. That has caused many long-time, hardcore Giant fans to give up their tickets, opting to stay home rather than make the trek.
Since season ticket holders also see their ducats as commodities, many simply choose the games they want to attend and the rest of their seats on StubHub and other secondary markets. That puts a lot of “non” or indifferent fans in the seats, diminishing the homefield advantage.
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