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

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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.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
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Underrated:

Meek: In true Minnesota fashion, Huntington Bank Stadium doesn’t always get its due but is too humble to complain about it. Built in 2009, it has modern amenities without losing the classic feel. I’m a big fan of the Twin Cities in general, and Minnesota’s stadium captures both the urban setting and the coziness of the campus. Fans there seem to have a good sense of humor, especially when the Dramatic Gopher appears on the screen.

Overrated:

Sherman: You’ve gotta be rated to be overrated. So Camp Randall is already ahead of more than half of the stadiums in the Big Ten. But it’s kind of a one-trick pony. The pre-fourth quarter “Jump Around” is unique and exhilarating. Otherwise, what do you get at a Wisconsin game that isn’t readily available at other stadiums in the Big Ten? Tasty brats? The experience in Madison has untapped potential. To start, it would help if the huge Wisconsin base of students showed up for the opening kickoff. They arrive notoriously late. And this year, the students are missing the only competitive moments for the Badgers.
 


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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With other stadiums shrinking I think they chose the right size.
 




Attended: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern
Missing: Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers, Maryland, Washington, Oregon, UCLA, USC

Underrated: Indiana & Illinois (good tailgating setup, friendly fans, unique stadiums)
Overrated: Michigan (this was pre-renovations though....so my opinion could be outdated)
 

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.
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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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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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IALTO :unsure:
 

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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:D I'm familiar with the name and the stadium.
 


DarrenTheGreek said:
Attended: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern
Missing: Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers, Maryland, Washington, Oregon, UCLA, USC

Underrated: Indiana & Illinois (good tailgating setup, friendly fans, unique stadiums)
Overrated: Michigan (this was pre-renovations though....so my opinion could be outdated)
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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 😞
 



DarrenTheGreek said:
Attended: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern
Missing: Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers, Maryland, Washington, Oregon, UCLA, USC

Underrated: Indiana & Illinois (good tailgating setup, friendly fans, unique stadiums)
Overrated: Michigan (this was pre-renovations though....so my opinion could be outdated)
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was there last year. once you get the past the spectacle of the size, there's really not much else to write home about. that said, with how old it is, pretty tough to make it have all of the modernity. has it's charm and such. just kind of depends on if you're in on the awe factor. because of the large footprint/flat design, doesn't feel as "loud" as I would've thought it would be. Thought the shoe and beaver stadium both were louder (though beaver stadium only so in the lower bowl; loses a lot of the sound in the uppers it felt like)
camp randall is a dump. Excited to see NWs new stadium though honestly i do kind of like their current setup by the water
Autzen I think is a very cool layout/location on the campus. Have not been there while a game was going on though to comment on atmosphere.
 

There seems to be a wildly differing set of criteria for anyone naming what are the best stadiums. The only thing these criteria seem to have in common is they are almost never named when someone sets out to rank best stadiums. Are we talking about the way they look? How well set up they are to make the gameday atmosphere comfortable? How good the teams that call the stadium
"home" are? How wild the fans are in the stadium? How pretty the view is from in the stadium to the surroundings? How loud it is? Etc. Etc.

For me, the gameday atmosphere shouldn't be considered unless a design reality within the stadium makes it better or worse. Like, are the stands too far away from the field, or do they loom over the playing surface making it more exciting for the fans?

Autzen stadium has ranked ahead of our "bank" in every ranking I have ever seen. Yet the bank holds nearly the same amount of people in a much more comfortable design and with a much more beautiful exterior. Pretty much the only reason given for this is it is so loud in Autzen. But, is it really more loud than the bank, or is it because Oregon has been a top program for the past 20 years and if that is the case why should that have anything to do with a stadium ranking?

It is all so subjective. But objectively I know there are very few D1 college football stadiums that have more leg room, more hip room, more seatbacks, better suites, indoor clubs, etc. etc. etc. compared to the bank and although it is a little subjective, the exterior of the bank is just drop dead gorgeous compared to most college stadium erector sets. I'm pretty confident if Oregon and MN swapped 20 years of on the field success... suddenly Huntington Bank Stadium would become a much higher ranked stadium, all without undergoing a single upgrade. ;)
 

Schnauzer said:
There seems to be a wildly differing set of criteria for anyone naming what are the best stadiums. The only thing these criteria seem to have in common is they are almost never named when someone sets out to rank best stadiums. Are we talking about the way they look? How well set up they are to make the gameday atmosphere comfortable? How good the teams that call the stadium
"home" are? How wild the fans are in the stadium? How pretty the view is from in the stadium to the surroundings? How loud it is? Etc. Etc.

For me, the gameday atmosphere shouldn't be considered unless a design reality within the stadium makes it better or worse. Like, are the stands too far away from the field, or do they loom over the playing surface making it more exciting for the fans?

Autzen stadium has ranked ahead of our "bank" in every ranking I have ever seen. Yet the bank holds nearly the same amount of people in a much more comfortable design and with a much more beautiful exterior. Pretty much the only reason given for this is it is so loud in Autzen. But, is it really more loud than the bank, or is it because Oregon has been a top program for the past 20 years and if that is the case why should that have anything to do with a stadium ranking?

It is all so subjective. But objectively I know there are very few D1 college football stadiums that have more leg room, more hip room, more seatbacks, better suites, indoor clubs, etc. etc. etc. compared to the bank and although it is a little subjective, the exterior of the bank is just drop dead gorgeous compared to most college stadium erector sets. I'm pretty confident if Oregon and MN swapped 20 years of on the field success... suddenly Huntington Bank Stadium would become a much higher ranked stadium, all without undergoing a single upgrade. ;)
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I don't mind it being subjective.

I've seen a ton of efforts to quantify stuff and "atmosphere" and such always ends up just as subjective, and other numbers are arbitrarily important or unimportant like ratio of fans to bathrooms ... but they're mostly on the club level kinda thing.
 

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