In reply to by lbpeley

Indiana Blue

May 8th, 2015 at 10:02 AM ^

is a "dive" and trash dump all in one !!!  If that's your pick, you really need to get out more !

For tradition and atmosphere, notre dame is pretty good.  For viewing alone, actually IU just refurbished their stadium and it is very nice. 

B1G stadiums I've been to that are OK  -  Penn State, Iowa

B1G stadiums I've been to that suck:  MSU, Purdue, Illinois, Northwestern

Go Blue! 

lbpeley

May 8th, 2015 at 10:10 AM ^

Get some perspective and reading comprehension. I replied to the poster that said he'd only been to one other college stadium so that one would have to be his pick. Other than the Big House, I've only been to Spartan Stadium so by that logic Sparty Stadium would have to be mine. Hint: Sparty Stadium is in no way shape or form my second favorite stadium.

mGrowOld

May 8th, 2015 at 9:16 AM ^

I've been to a LOT of college football stadiums and I agree it's the Rose Bowl and it's not even close.  The Rose Bowl usually kicks off around 1:30 PST which means the sun starts to set behind the San Gabrial mountains as the third quarter ends and the fourth quarter begins.  As the picture Carrotville selected shows - it's breathtaking.  

I like to think God himself wanted to create a magnificent background for a football game to show humans THIS is how you create drama kids.

stephenrjking

May 8th, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^

I'm going to be controversial, but it's in good faith: The Rose Bowl game is a magnificent event. The setting, of course, is spectacular. The game is peerless. Twilight over the San Gabriel's is amazing (and you should see the sunrises--best I ever saw anywhere was over those mountains on a drive home from work after a double). Everything about the Rose Bowl is great. But the physical Stadium itself is kind of meh. The concourses are too narrow, the restrooms too scarce. The seating bowl is pretty, but the elliptical shape puts you further from the field and most of the bowl is shallower than Michigan Stadium. You who have been there know how lousy the parking situation is out there; forget about getting anywhere fast. Everything is in serious need of renovation, but public funding issues make that hard to do. None of that changes anything about how wonderful the experience of attending a Rose Bowl game is; a summit experience for a sports fan. I got to go to one (2007) and the final result scarcely changes how awesome it was that I got to attend. But the facility is mediocre. Think of it this way: assuming no spare time to enjoy the city and equal weather, would you rather attend a UCLA home game than a home game for, say, Auburn or Florida or Texas? I wouldn't.

GRBluefan

May 8th, 2015 at 7:48 AM ^

About half of the b1G stadiums, and penn state is easily the best combination of venue and atmosphere. Especially for night games.

Based on nothing but TV, I would love to see a game at Washington.

1464

May 8th, 2015 at 10:43 AM ^

I enjoyed what I saw of Happy Valley, but my only game there was the 4OT field goal abortion from a few years ago.  I don't have any really happy memories of that stadium.  I do remember thinking about the erector set that supported the stadium as the PSU fans were stomping around.  Scary.

It's probably best the game went so many overtimes, as on the way out I saw a group of hill-dwellers standing in vigil in front of a makeshift Paterno shrine.  If I hadn't had that extra time to sober up, I'd have likely mouthed off to them and found myself in some sort of The Hills Have Eyes sequel...

stephenrjking

May 8th, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^

A lot of Stadiums look like that. Neyland Stadium is totally unimpressive from the outside, for example. It's just functional design at work. I'm really grateful that the Michigan Stadium renovations left the exterior looking sharp; most above-ground stadiums that were raised before the current era of aesthetic expansion look pretty spare.

club2230

May 8th, 2015 at 10:24 AM ^

I've been to PSU for a night game and was unimpressed.  The stadium itself is a large unattractive piece of concrete.  Sure it's built off of the ground, so it looks big, but in my opinion that is all it has going for it. 

Interesting comparison to the Big House.  When you enter Beaver Stadium it is at field level so the first thing you see is the field size up close.  You turn around to see the stands.  This left me feeling that the stadium was smaller than it was.  The opposite is true for the Big House.  Since it is built in a bowl you are entering the stadium more than halfway up so your entrance view is the field from afar and about 67% of the stands.  This leaves me feeling that the stadium is bigger than it may be.

 

WestQuad

May 8th, 2015 at 11:22 AM ^

I saw Michigan play at all three stadiums.  Rose Bowl is cool inside and the area around it is lovely, but you're sort of isolated.   My memories of Washington stadium are a bit fuzzy, but I remember walking there through Seattle and there being water/Ocean/River right outside the stadium.  I'd give the edge to Washington's stadium there.  However,  PSU's crazy erector set, despite being in the middle of nowhere was crazy.  The white out was one of the most amazing things I've seen.  No water features or beautiful sunshine, but for raw Roman Colosseum energy/experience, I'd have to go with PSU.

OSU-meh. It was o.k.

MSU-bad. 

Northwestern-meh.

Purdue-(it's been 35 years, but I remember liking it.)

Wisconsin--Camp Randall is very cool.  Not quite PSU level, but they've got some great traditions and a nice game day.  The Great Dane is also great for breakfast.

Any recommendations on which of the following to go to next?  Rutgers, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana or Nebraska.     

(BTW-there was a thread the other day asking what the most Michigan thing you ever did was. In 1998 I moved to L.A. and stopped for 20 minutes in Omaha and peed on the Nebraska stadium. Co-National championship my ass.)

iPhone

May 8th, 2015 at 7:51 AM ^

The only other one I have been to is BGSU's, but I really want to go to LSU's stadium on a Saturday night versus Alabama.

M-Dog

May 8th, 2015 at 10:34 AM ^

Agreed.

Stadiums on my bucket list:

- SEC night game at LSU

- Nebraska

- Wisconsin

- Florida

- Georgia

- Auburn

- Oregon

- Notre Dame

These for tailgating/environment:

- Grove at Ole Miss

- Tennessee navy

- Clemson

- Washington

- Cal

- Army

 

lilpenny1316

May 8th, 2015 at 11:49 AM ^

That's the top of my list, sans-Rose Bowl.  Make sure you head next door to see Mike the Tiger.  Dude has his own habitat.  

For comparison sake, I recommend the drive 20 miles to Southern U's campus to see their live jaguar.  He lives inside a cage with a dog house and a cat tree from Petco.

adammeekhof

May 8th, 2015 at 7:55 AM ^

Besides Michigan (I just learned there were more stadiums outside of that one) Bryant Denny!  Great tailgate area and awesome atmosphere in the stadium. 

Mabel Pines

May 8th, 2015 at 7:59 AM ^

is Purdue, sadly. In 1996 or was it 1995? I've tried to block it out. They stunk. and we lost. Some students were swearing at my Grandma. So I'm not going to sugar coat it, people, it's a dump. A giant, cement dump. So to answer your question, I guess the swamp looks nice on TV.

Yo_Blue

May 8th, 2015 at 8:00 AM ^

Rose Bowl - not even close.

Iowa was fun in a quaint way - we parked in a back yard and when we returned after the game found our car blocked in.  The house owner said we could mow down the bushes but would probably scratch up the car (it was a rental).  We told them that was not a problem since we were from Detroit and that all Detroiters got free cars.  They stood by in awe as we plowed through the bush on our way out.  No damage, but they had a story for their friends.

Jerry World was pretty awesome - went there for the Alabama game, but you did say College stadiums...

jabberwock

May 8th, 2015 at 8:00 AM ^

My Stadium preference for 2015 is:
 

Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT

Byrd Stadium, College Park, MD

TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN

Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN

Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA

Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN

Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL

U. of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ

 

wayneandgarth

May 8th, 2015 at 9:03 AM ^

umbig11 - I live in Minneapolis and have been to TCF a lot.  Its a nice new stadium.  Not huge - just over 50,000, not full of frills but it is a quality venue.  They do have a lot of nice touches like the name of every county in Minnesota inscribed around the entire outside of the stadium.  The building has a throwback look to it in all brick (Brickhouse nickname). 

They are now selling beer throughout the stadium which is good.  Otherwise, the food is ordinary.  A decent amount of tailgating too in the area.  There are some great microbrew pubs within 2-4 miles as well....worth the visit especially if a nice day.

Also, with the team improving the atmosphere/buzz in the stadium (bigger student attendance), makes it funner.

stephenrjking

May 8th, 2015 at 12:15 PM ^

Tailgating is hard to come by in Minneapolis, which is a topic of some discussion amongst the fanbase. The urban campus affords little space near the stadium to tailgate, and the few nearby parking lots are sold to season pass holders. I believe there is significant fairground parking at the St. Paul campus with shuttle service, but I think that's about it. I did briefly consider tailgating at a riverside park (name escapes me) on the far side of the Minneapolis campus, walking to the game after, but I haven't done it. The upside is that dinkytown is not a bad walk from the Stadium, so there's that.