Which Big Ten football stadiums are the best, most underrated and overrated? (Minnesota Underrated)

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Our stadium is great but they still need to something to that upper deck. Even just a few thousand seats with more restrooms and a canopy to make it louder than it already is.
 

Ski-U-Ham said:
I went to Champaign when the Vikings played the Bears there in the early 2000s. I don't remember a thing about the stadium. The Vikings lost though 😞
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That’s funny, only Vikes game I’ve been to was against the Bears at TCF.
 

Rose Bowl Brew said:
Are the steps still crumbling on the upper deck of the bank? Shortly after it opened I noticed it for several years the upper deck steps had cracks and were crumbling. I think they were in sections 238-244?
Also, atmosphere at the bank is lower level of the B1G.
Cute stadium but not much to it.
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Good grief.
 





Minor clarification, I saw someone post that Autzen was "on campus" that's not really accurate, Autzen is across the Willamette River from campus. It's a great walk from campus to the stadium, it's a little under a mile.

Autzen has no bad seats and capacity is listed at 54,000 with average attendance around 104% of capacity. The crowd is close to the field and above the field, I'd guess the front row is about 6-8 ft above the playing field and fans on the visitors side are about 12 feet from the opposing teams bench. Basically the fans are right on top of the opposing teams bench. So it's nice and "cozy":)

I saw one article that said Autzen "averaged" 115dbs during the ohio st game last year.

I haven't been inside other Big Ten stadiums, but from what I've read, Kinneck sounds a bit like Autzen in terms of environment during the game. Love what they do with the Kid's hospital.

Husky Stadium may be the most beautiful setting and quite possibly the loudest stadium in the Big Ten. I think they posted a 127db level a few years ago.

I'm not all that excited about monster stadiums seating 100k with less than sell outs or with a bunch of fans sitting on their hands. Stadiums need to be filled with great active fans that know the game... when to get loud, when to be quiet, when to pump up the local team. That's what makes a great stadium in my opinion.
 

GoDucks349 said:
I'm not all that excited about monster stadiums seating 100k with less than sell outs or with a bunch of fans sitting on their hands. Stadiums need to be filled with great active fans that know the game... when to get loud, when to be quiet, when to pump up the local team. That's what makes a great stadium in my opinion.
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Sadly I think we're moving into an age where at the games ... engaged fans are being pushed out by pricing.

Some teams seem to try to make space for them specifically but that just seems like it becomes a lucky subset of fans.... but not accessible to non season ticket holders.

I wanted to go to a twolves game a couple times last year, every ticket was a resale ticket and jacked up if you wanted to plan ahead. Yeah there's occasional cheap 200 level tickets available (for some games even 200 level were all jacked up resale prices...) but it seems way less common as time goes on.

Then they ask the crowd to be loud and:

 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Sadly I think we're moving into an age where at the games ... engaged fans are being pushed out by pricing.

Some teams seem to try to make space for them specifically but that just seems like it becomes a lucky subset of fans.... but not accessible to non season ticket holders.

I wanted to go to a twolves game a couple times last year, every ticket was a resale ticket and jacked up if you wanted to plan ahead. Yeah there's occasional cheap 200 level tickets available (for some games even 200 level were all jacked up resale prices...) but it seems way less common as time goes on.

Then they ask the crowd to be loud and:

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Telling the crowd to get loud during the World Series lol. Insane.
 



everybody knows my name said:
TCF Bank Stadium (I refuse to use the new name) is a beautiful stadium with lots of amenities, a beautiful facade, a beautiful interior, and plenty of access. It was designed for its surroundings and engineered to please the fans and the athletes.

The one valid criticism isn't a flaw in the stadium. Opposing fans like to say that The Bank is small. But it isn't small. It's an 80,000 seat stadium that hasn't had the last 30,000 seats installed, due to lackluster fan support.
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I long to see what the 80,000 seat version would look like in reality. I hope we get to see it one day.
 


www.latimes.com

Rose Bowl files lawsuit accusing UCLA of trying to move football games to SoFi Stadium

The City of Pasadena and the company that operates the Rose Bowl file a lawsuit to prevent UCLA from trying to get out of its football contract with the stadium.
www.latimes.com www.latimes.com

  • Pasadena filed suit against UCLA to enforce its Rose Bowl lease through 2044, accusing the university of trying to relocate football games to SoFi Stadium.
  • UCLA denies breaching the contract, arguing preliminary relocation discussions don’t violate the lease agreement.
 

Unregistered User said:
Awesome!

Don't call it the new name, I don't.

It should be called The Brickhouse by every fan. I was designed to honor Memorial Stadium.

Go ahead and google The Brickhouse Stadium, and tell me what the first result is.

It's worth a Google.

Go ahead...I'll wait.
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I agree!
 



Unregistered User said:
www.latimes.com

Rose Bowl files lawsuit accusing UCLA of trying to move football games to SoFi Stadium

The City of Pasadena and the company that operates the Rose Bowl file a lawsuit to prevent UCLA from trying to get out of its football contract with the stadium.
www.latimes.com www.latimes.com

  • Pasadena filed suit against UCLA to enforce its Rose Bowl lease through 2044, accusing the university of trying to relocate football games to SoFi Stadium.
  • UCLA denies breaching the contract, arguing preliminary relocation discussions don’t violate the lease agreement.
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I hate to see them move to an NFL stadium, but I get it.
 

Unregistered User said:
www.latimes.com

Rose Bowl files lawsuit accusing UCLA of trying to move football games to SoFi Stadium

The City of Pasadena and the company that operates the Rose Bowl file a lawsuit to prevent UCLA from trying to get out of its football contract with the stadium.
www.latimes.com www.latimes.com

  • Pasadena filed suit against UCLA to enforce its Rose Bowl lease through 2044, accusing the university of trying to relocate football games to SoFi Stadium.
  • UCLA denies breaching the contract, arguing preliminary relocation discussions don’t violate the lease agreement.
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Is going to SoFi ... gonna change a lot?


Sure nicer venue but would they get more revenues or something? College teams playing in NFL venues historically haven't gotten a great deal ...
 

Unregistered User said:
Awesome!

Don't call it the new name, I don't.

It should be called The Brickhouse by every fan. I was designed to honor Memorial Stadium.

Go ahead and google The Brickhouse Stadium, and tell me what the first result is.

It's worth a Google.

Go ahead...I'll wait.
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Brought back memories of my last Homecoming game against Northwestern. If I remember right the TE Cooper scored a touchdown in the end I was sitting in.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Sadly I think we're moving into an age where at the games ... engaged fans are being pushed out by pricing.

Some teams seem to try to make space for them specifically but that just seems like it becomes a lucky subset of fans.... but not accessible to non season ticket holders.

I wanted to go to a twolves game a couple times last year, every ticket was a resale ticket and jacked up if you wanted to plan ahead. Yeah there's occasional cheap 200 level tickets available (for some games even 200 level were all jacked up resale prices...) but it seems way less common as time goes on.

Then they ask the crowd to be loud and:

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I think it's a big difference between college and pro crowds. I use to have season tickets to the Blazers, as well as, Ducks football and basketball and the vibe is just different. My thoughts at the time were pro fans expect different results because the players are "employees".......... Oh, wait, that change seems to be happening at the college level with NIL. So maybe college crowds will become more like pro crowds going forward. Just a thought.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Is going to SoFi ... gonna change a lot?


Sure nicer venue but would they get more revenues or something? College teams playing in NFL venues historically haven't gotten a great deal ...
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Reading on Reddit about this, it sounds like the issues are distance from campus, and that the Rose Bowl isn't in all that good of condition. Though I think they are doing some renovations for the Olympics.

SoFi isn't exactly next door to UCLA though either. Too bad they'd never be able to be on campus, but there's no room.
 

disco said:
Reading on Reddit about this, it sounds like the issues are distance from campus, and that the Rose Bowl isn't in all that good of condition. Though I think they are doing some renovations for the Olympics.

SoFi isn't exactly next door to UCLA though either. Too bad they'd never be able to be on campus, but there's no room.
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SoFi saves a whole 13 minutes of travel time from campus to stadium.
 

everybody knows my name said:
TCF Bank Stadium (I refuse to use the new name)
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I love Huntington Bank Stadium (and the name doesn't bother me). I never once called it by the old name because I couldn't stand the right wing asshole who ran it. I always referred to it as "Gopher's Stadium" and I still do. Unlike US Bank Stadium non-football fans always know what stadium I am talking about.
 
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Go4Broke said:
I love Huntington Bank Stadium (and the name doesn't bother me). I never once called it by the old name because I couldn't stand the right wing asshole who ran it. I always referred to it as "Gopher's Stadium" and I still do. Unlike US Bank Stadium non-football fans always know what stadium I am talking about.
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You showed them! :LOL:
 

Have been to every Big Ten stadium minus Rutgers, Oregon & Washington (was at USC in '11 & while not been to a Gopher game at Rose Bowl, have been to two Rose Bowl's). I love our stadium. I can hit the bathroom & get a coke all during a TV time out. While that doesn't sound like much, try doing that at any of the other venues. I swear when I was at Nebraska, there was a traffic jam in the aisle the entire game. Seems like there's so many bottlenecks where other than the concourse during halftime & that one bathroom on the plaza level, I don't find too many.

I do wish it was smoother going in & out of the stadium with security. Just seems to be so much easier going in & out at every other venue for whatever reason. I wish you could get a refill on a souvenir soda. I wish the pizza was better. Like everyone, I wish the prices were a little more fan friendly, but it is what it is. Minor complaints for me.

Other opinions:
Kinnick > Camp Randall
Horseshoe > Big House
 


Go4Broke said:
I did show them! You must have missed the news that TCF Bank doesn't exist anymore and Bill Cooper hasn't been heard from for years. I'm claiming partial credit for it.
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He died of cancer in 2017.
 

Admittedly I’ve only been to 7 Big Ten stadiums, but here’s how I rank them:

1. Michigan Stadium
2. The Bank/Brickhouse
3. Husky Stadium
4. Ohio Stadium
5. Camp Randall
6. LA Coliseum
7. Ryan Field

Now, my top choice was probably influenced by the insane atmosphere of seeing Michigan beat Ohio St for the first time in approximately 47 years in 2021, but man was that fun. The Bank is a really nice and pretty intimate place to watch football. Those involved with its design did a great job. I’ve seen 2 games in The Shoe, but both have been blowouts, so I haven’t seen it really hopping. The Coliseum and Ryan were both deteriorating relics when I saw them. The Coliseum has since been renovated and Ryan torn down. I’d like to see the newer versions of both.
 

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